Fractale

[Buffalobiian]

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/4920/53659.jpg

Plot Summary: The story takes place in a fantasy setting where a thousand-year-old Fractale System has maintained the world and turned it into a paradise. In the present, the system is breaking down and no one knows how to maintain it anymore, causing a lot of people to perceive it as the end of mankind’s happiness. One day, Crane finds an injured girl called Phryne under a cliff. She disappears leaving a pendant. Crane sets out for a journey with the girl-shaped avatar Nessa to look for Phryne and discovers the secret of the Fractale System. -ANN, Randomc

Links: ANN (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com.au/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=11796), AniDB (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=7873), Official (http://fractale.noitamina.tv/)



Umee - Episode 01 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=186078)
UTW - Episode 01 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=186095)

-

[shinta|hikari]

This is probably the most original this season, although that in itself does not say much.

[Buffalobiian]

This is probably the most original this season, although that in itself does not say much.

Yeah. It's a good setting - now I'm just hoping it carries itself well to the end. The older character designs were instantly likeable in any case. I did, however, think the avatar girl looked better with purple hair like in the picture above.

Umee's translations near the beginning left me a bit confused, so I'll probably give UTW's a try later on.

[Kraco]

UTW seemed good to me. Though I was reminded of umee's "What is this shit? Ghibli?" tokyotosho comment the moment I saw the flying things. Seemed very appropriate.

Certainly a series to keep watching for now. The only negative detail I can say is hearing Rio Kazumiya every time Clain opens his mouth. Yu Kobayashi uses exactly the same voice here. Otherwise it was all good, from the thought-out looking setting to the goofy villains.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW seemed good to me. Though I was reminded of umee's "What is this shit? Ghibli?" tokyotosho comment the moment I saw the flying things. Seemed very appropriate.

Resembling Ghibli is always a good sign in my books. Not much can go wrong there.

I picked up something of interest from that first family conversation before. The fact that the father has quit the trading business and lived in L-something for 5 years without the mother knowing reveals that they never brought it up before. The only reason I see that it didn't happen was that they simply don't care where each other are. and that they can truly live through their doppels as if they were really there. It's a lot different from our webcams and other such things, since no matter now connected we are, we still maintain a sense of self - and a sense of "here" and "there".

[Kraco]

Resembling Ghibli is always a good sign in my books. Not much can go wrong there.

Yeah, don't get me wrong. I really like Ghibli movies and have been collecting the dvds. But it really did remind of Ghibli.

[David75]

What might have been borowed:
Nausicaa->Sky motorcyle
Nadia-> trio with a fat and a tall guy and a female (although the later is very different), pursuing a girl. They also have a balloon type vehicle (altough more of a 1900's like mecha in Nadia)

Oh! My Goddess->A tad stretched maybe, but Phryne's comments about how Clain cares for old hardware is almost a direct copy of Belldandy's ones in the same "Girl descends on guy" situation.

[Ryllharu]

I saved this for a while when I'd have the time to appreciate it.

It definitely reminds me of a cross between Nadia and Castle in the Sky with a strong dose of Dennou Coil (or maybe even Summer Wars) thrown in. I couldn't possibly hope for more. David, I think you nailed it on the comparison to Nadia. The girl and the attendants are perhaps technologically superior, but they're also a bit dull for thinking their deceptions would work.

Phryne was also very likable. She had an impertinence about her that was pleasant. She began judging Clain from almost the moment she met him and relented appropriately when she found the collection of old electronics and later the projector.

I'm not sure what to make of Clain yet.

[David75]

I don't know about Dennou coil, never watched it.
Regarding Nadia, well the trio behavior really is similar, and the trio in Nadia has a far superior machine in terms of functions, size, manoeuvrability. It's just that its design looks like 1900 hardware.

I just hope they took a great inspiration from those shows for a very good reason and the show will be awesome. At least I can wish :cool:

Regarding Clain, I admitt I'll need some time to tune to the character, as I still hear Rio from "Sora no wo to" whenever he speaks... and since I liked Rio's character, that'll be hard.

For now, I do not have enough material to further judge the show. I'm still neutral, which is quite good considering the probing I did on many shows this season with bad outcomes.

[RyougaZell]

I was confused when Phyren simply left and then the red-head girl appeared out of nowhere. And on the pic on the first post of this thread she has purple-hair? Uhh...

Seems interesting enough to follow.

[Buffalobiian]

I was confused when Phyren simply left and then the red-head girl appeared out of nowhere. And on the pic on the first post of this thread she has purple-hair? Uhh...

Seems interesting enough to follow.

She came from the brooch (or whatever that thing is). Apparently it stored data (and really old data at that), and when he loaded it, it became a person now (Avatar?).

The brooch symbol was also on that building that he takes refuge in because it blocks out all radio waves. Putting all that together, I'd go and say that Phyren's not from the future, but from the past.

[Everon]

Heh, I guess I'm not alone in feeling that i've seen this setup before. For me I got some vibes of Eureka Seven and Nadia. Character designs and setting seems to hint they took time to create an interesting background for this universe. It'll probably two more episodes before I can figure out if this is going to be good or not.

[MFauli]

Im seriously put off by the violet hair of that girl in the OP´s picture. So before I might give this show a chance: Are those comparisons to great anime like Nadia, Eureka Seven and Denno Coil also comparisons to these shows´ quality? Or is it just an anecdotally "oh, this character looks like that one" and "I remember something like that from X"? I had my fill for underachiving series for the moment :/

[David75]

first ep wasn't enough to be able to give a proper answer.

[Buffalobiian]

Im seriously put off by the violet hair of that girl in the OP´s picture.

Her hair is actually maroon in the anime.

[RyougaZell]

Her hair is actually maroon in the anime.

I though she was a red head.

[Buffalobiian]

I though she was a red head.

She is too. It's definitely red than maroon.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - episode 02 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=187599)

[David75]

That ep had a much better feeling to it.
Liked it.

So this is a world where there's no war because no one ever interacts with each other anymore.
God awful.

[KitKat]

I love the Ghibli-esque feeling to this show. It has a lot of different directions it could go, and I'm interested to see where they'll take it. I'm not such a fan of the extra-stupid villains though. Imo, it ruins the atmosphere. I like this show better when it's being serious. Nessa can get away with being silly because she actually is like a child and doesn't know anything. From her, silliness is just a natural part of who she is. The others are just plain stupid.

I'm kinda freaked out by the 'daily prayer'. Seems like everyone's data is collected by them just looking at it? That's scary.

[shinta|hikari]

Best show this season.

It manages to set the atmosphere, invoke emotions of loneliness, confinement and joy, and make a usually irritating idiotic brat archetype likable. I know I've said similar things a ton of times in recent memory, but Kana Hanazawa makes that last achievement possible.

[Buffalobiian]

That ep had a much better feeling to it.
Liked it.

It was the complete opposite experience for me. The first episode was engaging. This episode had Clain dragged around town setting stuff off and following a little girl, walking through the completely foreseen journey of discovering that he did not in fact hate Nessa.

Both Nessa and Phyrene are selfish in the way that they do what they want, when they want. At least Phyrene had a sort of mysterious charm to her though. Nessa's just a kid, and an annoying one at that. Hopefully she'll stop touching stuff now (and stop asking Clain to touch her) so we can finally get on with the real story - finding Phyrene and fixing the Fractale system.

Much of the negativity I experienced from this ep was probably just disappointment. I was hoping we'd start exploring already.

I'm alright with the stupid villians at the moment. They're not quite "Team Rocket's blasting off again" stupid. Twice they've been shown that using their brawn works better than their brain, but I doubt they'd learn that.

[shinta|hikari]

The whole touching stuff had a point, and an important one. It was supposed to flesh out the very reason and motivation for the journey that is about to take place. It also provided contrast on the current worldview and status, as well as gave a hint of what was loss in the process.

I really liked it because none of this was explicitly said, but you get a very clear feeling of it in the events of the episode.

I can also relate to how Clain (sp?) feels, especially after being hugged by a loli another tangible (human?) being.

[Buffalobiian]

The whole touching stuff had a point, and an important one. It was supposed to flesh out the very reason and motivation for the journey that is about to take place.

I know it had a point, but I don't quite understand what you saw in it. Can you spell it out for me? (unless you're saying that the whole touching thing lead to the events that happened in episode 02).

I mainly saw it as an indicator of the relationship between Nessa and Clain. If Clain wanted to see her, she's tangible. If he wanted to get rid of her, she becomes ethereal. Funny how she had to wait to find out she's in ethereal form before she decided he didn't want her, yet knew when he missed her and appeared accordingly (I assume she knew, and wasn't sheer coincidence).

If she left the security guard on her own accord though, did she take the "key" with her?

[shinta|hikari]

The fact that Clain can touch anyone is already valuable. Clain was lonely, extremely so, even if he didn't want to admit it. While appearing to be okay with his way of life, in fact pretending to prefer it enough to leave Nessa in that office, in truth he actually wanted contact.

Contact in this case is not merely verbal communication. Human's can't touch doppels (at least as far as Clain knew before this episode), and most doppels don't even look remotely human. Nessa provided Clain with a reminder of what he is missing, and how much he misses it. Clain now realizes that he is extremely unsatisfied with his way of life, and that motivated him to change it. Change in this case is their search for Phryne, something that a human with no ties or attachments (like most people in their world, and like most people in our world desire to be) would never do, since it requires a commitment not only to his travel partner Nessa, but also to the cause of finding his target (who he probably has feelings for already partly due to their physical contact as well). This also means that Clain has begun to see what was "wrong" in the Fractale system.

I think the main thing this emphasizes is that humans need physical contact as a means of communication and understanding, as well as comfort, something which is almost non-existent in the Fractale world. The almost excessive focus on physical contact in the show (head patting, embracing, touching) is intended to convey this.

[Ryllharu]

I found the discussion Clain had with his parents to be extremely disheartening. People with doppels come off extremely flippant and selfish. Clain was absolutely right, if they truly were concerned about him at all, they'd be there with him.

Everyone going off on their own direction had nothing to do with perfect trust, and everything to do with not caring one iota about others.

Nessa contrasted that rather well. Though she is a doppel-like existence herself, she is overly concerned with a human and physical connection.

[Kraco]

I found the discussion Clain had with his parents to be extremely disheartening. People with doppels come off extremely flippant and selfish. Clain was absolutely right, if they truly were concerned about him at all, they'd be there with him.


That conversation itself was born from those new emotions Clain discovered. I agree fully with Shinta here. The whole touching issue was the actual core of this episode. It didn't bother me at all. But the goofy villain henchmen still do. I'm just not yet used to watching a Ghible series, I guess. When you sit down and put a Ghibli dvd into the drive, you are already expecting goofy enemies but this is pretty much the first time (that I remember) it happens with a series.

[shinta|hikari]

I don't really see them as "enemies" but as "misguided side characters" at present. The girl does not seem like a character that will end up being a plain villain.

This has nothing to do with her being a loli.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - episode 03 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=189742)

[Kraco]

Okay, that wasn't very Ghibli anymore... >_>

The bloodbath certainly came out of nowhere with such goofy first two episodes. Interesting, all in all, even if I'm not yet sure how wise it's to mix styles like that. Perhaps it was used on purpose to emphasize the unquestioning and dull nature of the people under the Fractale system.

[shinta|hikari]

I loved it. Clain's shock when faced with such brutality was believable as well. How can you react after bring sheltered so long?

Then again, I have always liked darker takes on lighter themed shows (like Madoka), as long as it is done well and with a purpose.

[David75]

I found it totally awesome, I mean the violence. After all, big brother mentionned that casualties could happen... So it's not like we were totally surprised, were we?

Also, we have to remember that Phryne was seriously hunted first ep.

Now, let's see what they'll do about all that.

[RyougaZell]

Nyaatorrents is down again. Any other link for the torrent?

[Buffalobiian]

Nyaatorrents is down again. Any other link for the torrent?

Can't find one, but UTW has DDLs set up with their releases should it happen again for anyone.

http://utw.me/2011/01/28/fractale-03/

If they can brainwash the masses, I don't see why they can't brainwash Phryne neither. She looks pretty dull at the moment.

[RyougaZell]

Can't find one, but UTW has DDLs set up with their releases should it happen again for anyone.

http://utw.me/2011/01/28/fractale-03/

If they can brainwash the masses, I don't see why they can't brainwash Phryne neither. She looks pretty dull at the moment.

Nyaa is back, but I did get it from a DDL before. Thanks.

Excellent third ep. I wonder... was Nessa based on that girl then?

[Ryllharu]

This episode indeed took quite a turn, it went from Nessa demanding Enri 'show her her treasures!' and everyone saying that Clain does dirty things with girls to that bloodbath. Quite a surprise.


If they can brainwash the masses, I don't see why they can't brainwash Phryne neither. She looks pretty dull at the moment.
I don't think that the Fractale system is meant to brainwash the priestesses. Especially one like Phryne who appears to be like royalty among them. They own the system. They likely know every sordid detail about it, that it is falling apart, and what a threat having Nessa (the doppel) running around freely can be. Indoctrination is never applied to the ones at the top of the pyramid.



Excellent third ep. I wonder... was Nessa based on that girl then?
It is strange that doppel Nessa appears to be disconnected from real Nessa. Normally, doppels and their people are linked, aren't they? It could be that doppel Nessa is like the true self of real Nessa. The real Nessa could be hiding her personality behind her position like Phryne does occasionally (as she did here).

[KitKat]

Okay, that wasn't very Ghibli anymore... >_>

The bloodbath certainly came out of nowhere with such goofy first two episodes. Interesting, all in all, even if I'm not yet sure how wise it's to mix styles like that. Perhaps it was used on purpose to emphasize the unquestioning and dull nature of the people under the Fractale system.

Unquestioning and dull like the two cronies of Enri? Fractale-free humanity isn't representing very well here.

I was pretty surprised at the slaughter too. Too many civilians caught in the crossfire for what, just to stop an update? Isn't there another time that's good for killing priestesses without so many people around?

[Ryllharu]

Fractale-free humanity isn't representing very well here.This is one of the aspects of Fractale that I'm really starting to like. There isn't one "right" faction yet. Clain obviously knows of many faults in the system (an emotional distance between people being the most notable), but the absence of the system isn't shown to be all that much better.

The Lost Millennium folks have a lot to admire, they don't depend on the system to live, they can stand on their own feet and are a very sociable and close-knit community. On the other hand, they let their young and old suffer by having to rely on a clearly inadequate and overtaxed hospital. They also end up removing themselves from the greater group, since the people don't have a choice to learn or interact with others. Sure, they think for themselves, but they also isolate themselves as a whole. It isn't that much different from those they oppose.

Perhaps Clain won't restore or destroy the system, but change it in order to strike a balance.

[Buffalobiian]

I was pretty surprised at the slaughter too. Too many civilians caught in the crossfire for what, just to stop an update? Isn't there another time that's good for killing priestesses without so many people around?

What surprised me was the turnout of the masses. It sounded like one huge gathering, but seemed more like a small classroom-scale one (and by extention, would suggest that there are many many other such "insignificant" meetings happening elsewhere). We haven't yet encountered a real person other than Clain who was still hooked up to the Fractale system, so perhaps population density is much lower than our world's, making this ritual's scale one of significance after all.

[KitKat]

What about the gypsy caravan that Nessa ruined? But likely one of the functions of Fractale is population control. There were a lot of children in Lost Millenium, but Clain seems to be the only boy in his area. One of the only people in his area, when it comes down to that. Even in the gypsy caravan I only counted 3 children. The towns must feel more populous due to the ability to project one's doppel anywhere in the world.

And speaking of the gypsy caravan, I noticed that Nessa had absolutely no inadvertent effect on the Lost Millenium's technology. She could transfer into their systems, but she didn't cause it to go on the fritz like what happened with the Fractale technology.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - Episode 04 (http://www.nyaatorrents.org/?page=download&tid=191476)

[Kraco]

Quite a dilemma for Clain with those two girls hating each other. Of course fundamentally Clain's main problem was his decision to label both sides crazy and refuse to take a stand, even with the world crumbling around him. Traditionally I suppose it would be his place to find the middle road, but who knows with this series.

At least I'm getting used to his voice. The level of violence pleases me as well. Despite the grand warrior's funeral it feels a bit unreal, though. Like Clain said, it feels strangely plasticky.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - Episode 05 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=194623)



-----------------------




I dunno guys, I thought those legs + t-bag was pretty girlish myself. Whatever pleases those crazy ladies though. I'd much more welcome their form of harassment than the freckle girl's. (though it's scary how they can't get enough of his "manliness" and decided to change his underwear for him as well.)

It's as if Phryne has an on/off switch or something. She's likable sometimes, and a complete shut-out at others.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - Episode 06 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=196085)



------------------

Ecchi radar - wouldn't it be nice.

[RyougaZell]

So the old man was Clain's father? Does this mean the Doppel's of his parents are bogus?

[Buffalobiian]

So the old man was Clain's father? Does this mean the Doppel's of his parents are bogus?

It would seem so. That old guy's as hung up on being grounded to his house as Clain is.

[Kraco]

How about his mother? Since freedom is in such high demand in that world, it would seem likely lifelong marriages could be unusual. Having a stepfather or stepmother would seem more than a common occurrence. Maybe his mom moved on to an active zone, leaving the antenna building dad behind.

[KitKat]

I tend to agree that it's his father as well. Maybe Fractale has AI for the doppels that keeps them animated once the human controllers lose contact or die. It would keep up the illusion that everything is fine while in reality balloons are dropping everywhere and dead zones are spreading.

Edit: Comparing the photo with the projector feed from ep 1 definitely seems to confirm that it's his father. Taken on the same day even, with the same outfits and the same grandfather clock in the background. Which seems to confirm also that 'doppel father' is a fake.

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/engphysgirl/Clainfamily.jpg

[Buffalobiian]

I wonder of Doppels appear as random shapes to the inhabitants of that universe, or if they appear as whoever they're intended to appear as. Nessa's the only one that looks real, and no one seems to be surprised about it.

[Ryllharu]

As I recall, everyone is surprised at, "how detailed," Nessa is, many of them mentioned they've never seen one like her before. She is abnormal a doppel as they come.

Is it weird that the first thing I thought about when Clain was given the camera was, "how is he going to print those out?"

I think the point was made about the Lost Millennium folks. They may do a lot of good things, be self-reliant, and even may be good people, but they take away choice as just as easily as the Fractale system enforces its own order. Alabaster steals it from people and then conscripts them, Granitz takes it away from their own. One is certainly better than the other, but neither could ever be described as "good."

edit: Now that I think about it, there is a large possibility that doppels are designed to be simplistic. It helps Fractale users disengage from their respective "hosts." Clain barely had any attachment to his "parents'" doppels, and dismissed them frequently. Nessa on the other hand, being so detailed and emotive, causes a lot of people to get attached to her quite quickly. She makes friends very easily and people enjoy her company, even the more militant of the Granite family.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - Episode 07 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=197665)



----------------

Ah.. so much that I enjoyed this episode, from how Doppels and Fractale are supposed to function (Doppels were indeed meant to look like real people, with the funky shapes being results of the breakdown - that makes so much more sense), to the two inhabitants. The vast difference between the real and virtual selves are really explored here - much of which I would say us forum members could very well relate to. I know I could.

What I thought was weird was how you can "have a Doppel work for you". That meant:

1) Fractale wasn't "free" like what we thought. At least not in that city
2) One can detach themselves from their operating Doppel.

That makes it less of a virtual representation of yourself, and more like your character in WoW that you can either manually control or monitor with a bot.

[MasterOfMoogles]

I'm still trying to figure out how he got shot by a virtual gun.

I suppose there are a couple obvious options:
1) He was virtually cloaking it, and had it the whole time.
2) Something similar to the virtual virus, though it certainly looked a whole lot more real.

[Buffalobiian]

I'm still trying to figure out how he got shot by a virtual gun.

I suppose there are a couple obvious options:
1) He was virtually cloaking it, and had it the whole time.
2) Something similar to the virtual virus, though it certainly looked a whole lot more real.

It was a real gun, as far as I was concerned. Nessa could stuff up anything that runs or requires the Fractale system (such as those electronics that she touched back in episode 2 or 3), but since this robot ran on a standalone system, she could do nothing but watch as Clain got shot.

[Ryllharu]

So Nessa is root. She can't touch isolated stand-alone systems (not being root within them, maybe his system was like a VM), but she maintains complete dominance over the Fractale system. I wonder how that would really "fix" the Fractale system where it doesn't work properly. I was under the impression it was less of a bug/virus/fragmentation issue, and more of a signal issue. The balloons being too far out, falling from the sky, etc. Places with weak signal can't handle the load. We saw how Nessa can remote wipe everything, but I'm not seeing how she is meant to fix the system where it isn't fully functional.

It didn't have to be a real gun, it could have been dolled-up equipment like a rivet gun or some other kind of pneumatic tool.



What I thought was weird was how you can "have a Doppel work for you". That meant:

1) Fractale wasn't "free" like what we thought. At least not in that city
2) One can detach themselves from their operating Doppel.

That makes it less of a virtual representation of yourself, and more like your character in WoW that you can either manually control or monitor with a bot.
It sounded like the inhabitants of Xanadu were paying Monay for premium access. They need to pay for better connection, higher bandwidth, or lower pings. They probably can't maintain that high level of detail comparable to Nessa without it. Perhaps there is too much lag in the system like the rest of the world. I can't help but wonder if the residents of Xanadu were traveling to pick up fallen balloons and refurbish and install them into the city to maintain that level of detail. That would take a lot of effort, so that may be why the members need to pay for premium access. They're free to flit around nonchalantly and earn their Monay the artist's way, while the scavengers get to get paid for doing the grunt work.

I think we always knew that a doppel could earn currency if left on autopilot (Clain mentioned it early on), but what confuses me is why the "nomad" Xanadu real-life people would want to walk around like that, and not spend most of the time in Xanadu as the guy who shot Clain does (while hooked up to life support). With terminals, can the body run on autopilot while the "ghost" controls the doppel? It doesn't seem that way, so what would be the benefit of having a doppel you would never gain any escapist enjoyment out of? Perhaps the memories and experiences are returned, like two personalities that share a unified set of memories. A split consciousness.

note: Was a bit disappointed that we did not see Meegan's real body. Maybe next time?

[Buffalobiian]

note: Was a bit disappointed that we did not see Meegan's real body. Maybe next time?

Meegan? The artist? She was the old guy who tried to rape Phryne.

[animus]

Meegan? The artist? She was the old guy who tried to rape Phryne.

Really? I figured there was just a lot of those artist types living in Xanadu, and they were separate people. You might be right as they were both air sculptors or whatever, but a bit weird nonetheless.


Anyways, who carried Clain's unconscious body to that bed when he finally woke up to Meegan's doppel. The doppel couldn't touch him, and basically no one in Xanadu had a real body and were all doppels. The guy with the stand-alone robot didn't even know Clain was in the city until Meegan brought him to his place.

[shinta|hikari]

I thought Meegan was the old guy as well.

[Buffalobiian]

Really? I figured there was just a lot of those artist types living in Xanadu, and they were separate people. You might be right as they were both air sculptors or whatever, but a bit weird nonetheless.

The guy woke up to check on Clain/Nessa's status and found an empty couch - immediately following, Meegan also discovered (without needing to look) that the two had escaped.



Anyways, who carried Clain's unconscious body to that bed when he finally woke up to Meegan's doppel. The old guy did. aka Meegan. The guy from Lost Millennium said Gale (the old guy beyondpervert) found a boy.


I thought Meegan was the old guy as well.

I liked the contrast between the old guy and the life support fellow. Fractale makes sense for those that are physically stuck and provides a means to a second life, but in the case of Meegan it becomes less tolerable.

/eyes all the girl-avatar GWers with suspicion

[shinta|hikari]

What if it's a two-girl avatar?

[Buffalobiian]

What if it's a two-girl avatar?

Then you've got taste, and even more suspicion. ;)

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - Episode 08 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=199211)

[Buffalobiian]

[Shin-S] Fractale OP & ED Single - Harinezumi [Azuma Hitomi].zip (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=199585)

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - Episode 09 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=200582)

[shinta|hikari]

Phryne is starting to piss me off, while Nessa just keeps winning points despite her crybaby antics.

[Buffalobiian]

They've both been earning points so far for me, but exactly what can Phryne do about all this by going back? The only way any convincing will work on the Fractale people is to tell them to abandon it and let Lost Millennium destroy it - fat chance that will happen as they probably rely on it more than even the citizens do.

She tried running from it to get away from all this, and now she wants to go back? Hmm. :S

If the two keys are needed to reboot Fractale, what they should have done is attack with Nessa and protect Phryne at home. As long as Clain wants her to, she will just appear there and fry the place apart without so much as even try to make her way past its physical defences.

[shinta|hikari]

They probably didn't want to use such a cute kid as a weapon. I know I wouldn't. I'd keep both Phryne and Nessa at home, and you know, make use of them some other way. I'm sure I can think of something ;)

[Buffalobiian]

They probably didn't want to use such a cute kid as a weapon. I know I wouldn't. I'd keep both Phryne and Nessa at home, and you know, make use of them some other way. I'm sure I can think of something ;)
Yeah, they did say they didn't want to drag any non-Lost Millennium people into this.

[Kraco]

I hope she has a real plan, but who knows - at least I think she doesn't really plan to return. One of the keys to her behavior could be her firm belief she doesn't deserve to be loved. So, she's actually running away from Clain as much as she's trying to confront her past. Has it actually been explained yet why she thinks she deserves no happiness? I can't remember. Is it because of some past sin she committed, like taking no action before now, or even something worse (or even something silly like thinking her fate is to die unhappy because she was essentially born/created as a part of the Fractale system)?

So, while I disliked immensely her decision to flee from Clain and Nessa in the middle of the night, at least I consider it consistent behavior.

[Ryllharu]

I've got a more positive view of Phryne's behavior. She's always running away because she doesn't want to see others involved and therefore hurt by her pursuers. She really, honestly likes Clain. He does a lot for her...or anyone for that matter, doesn't obsess about his own needs by being a zombie to the Fractale system, and never takes anything at face value. Clain seems to have a knack for finding even deeper worth in many things. She admires him deeply for that, and it is the same way Enri started to like Clain, no matter how much of a pervert Enri thinks he is.

The priests have shown nothing but disdain for anyone who gets in their way. Her "father" quite happily hurts others to keep Phryne docile, compliant, and just because they're in his way.

Phryne knows that Nessa and her being together is part of the master plan, so she does whatever she can to keep her and Nessa apart. She also seems to want Nessa to be happy now that they no longer hate each other, so she leaves Nessa with Clain and then runs off on her own. It's hard not to admire Phryne's self-sacrificial behavior, even if it isn't the best thing for her.

[Buffalobiian]

UTW - Episode 10 (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=202098)

[Kraco]

Episode 11 Final - UTW (http://www.nyaa.eu/?page=download&tid=203164)





- - - - -




One strong indication of the very limited human population was how the Fractale system with all of it satellites, space elevator, and ships and all the other stuff was maintained by such a tiny crew seemingly composed of little more than a bunch of clones, a pedophile commander, and a brainwashed, half-witless company of guards. It's a small miracle in itself that Lost Millennium needed to try to do anything to fight it and not just wait for it to disappear on its own. But I suppose the manufacturing and programming standards must have been pretty good for it to run a thousand years on its own.

One has to wonder, though, how Clain and Phryne/Nessa got down from the orbit with the Earth end of the elevator blown up...

All in all a pleasant series with a pretty strong atmosphere and a funny mix of near-Ghible style and quite ruthless action. I wouldn't have wanted anything but a mushy happy ending like this.

[Buffalobiian]

Quite a little head-scratcher series though. For one, Clain's dog was one of those "incomplete" doppels, which I wasn't expecting since they said Fractale had rebooted. Perhaps it has to do with actual satellites breaking down and limiting the bandwidth and information the doppel can use to take form or something.. who knows.

Somehow they managed to gloss over the whole rape thing without mentioning it at all. While it does keep things a bit tasteful and tame while leaving a reading for the more mature minds, it only adds to the confusion a little - only a little...

I'm never 100% fond of series that introduce weird and interesting systems about the world without every explaining how the whole thing came about. Why was this "god" a girl in the first place, why must they separate her spirit from her body, and why must there be this "god" anyway..

This is another one of those series that go down under the tag of "unique", but perhaps a more accurate description would be that it was strange, I never really understoody what happened, and while it overall leaves an average-to-above-average impression I wish I could like it more than i did (though not to say I didn't like it in the first place).

Two other shows that the above description would also apply to would be Xam'd and Sora no Woto.

[David75]

Xam'd clearly fits

Sora no Woto is different in that the moe and slice of life parts are very entertaining/fun/useful and you can really like it without caring for the background story.

[shinta|hikari]

@Buff - I understand your analysis on this show. It leaves so many mysteries, and never tries to solve any of them. Still, I think that the presentation was quite good. Even in our own history, so many things are unexplained or unknown. It might be even more unnatural for them to suddenly explain everything in their history for the sake of letting the viewers know.

The "why" questions will always exist in any story, especially if it is a thousand years old. I think the teenage girl god also gives a good commentary on how we perceive religion and deities as humans. What if indeed our own gods are nothing grand but something so ordinary? What if the society we have grown accustomed to is nothing but a shackle built upon what we would now consider as insignificant? Do we merely lift up such ideas and images for our own benefit or due to our insecurity? Is this tendency to create grandiose tales of religion and history inescapable? These are the questions that have been presented to me by Fractale, so I am not mindful of a few unanswered mysteries.

...is what I would like to say, but I have to ask this one. When exactly did Phryne get raped by her "father"? Wasn't her "father" checking her virginity when she was placed on that chair?

I think they mentioned that the body and spirit division was for security purposes, but I am not sure. Better to have 2 keys for a lock than one if you want it safe.

I also agree that it feels a lot like Xam'd, but I prefer the ending of Fractale much more.

[Buffalobiian]

Xam'd clearly fits

Sora no Woto is different in that the moe and slice of life parts are very entertaining/fun/useful and you can really like it without caring for the background story.

Yeah, Sora no Woto rates pretty highly. I threw it it there primarily to support the statement that could still love it more if they made the whole thing complete.


...is what I would like to say, but I have to ask this one. When exactly did Phryne get raped by her "father"? Wasn't her "father" checking her virginity when she was placed on that chair?

Yeah.. any takers?

One other major thing that confused me here was Phryne's blank expression. What did that indicate? She also entered into a sort of blank state when the Nomad pervert tried his moves on her - but that one could have also been a blackout.

It's funny how the one thing Clain left the world with after this adventure is his legendary level of pervertedness.

I didn't read as deeply into Fractale as you did Shinta, and I wonder if I would have appreciated it more if I had. I think the whole idea was that you could take it as an easy adventure series, or a deeper-questioning one - and I took the easy way out.

Something like Ergo Proxy pretty much forced me to take the effort into figuring stuff out, for better or worse. (and then i still had to read some guy's analysis of the whole thing after it finished, lol.)

Fractale ending > Xam'd ending for sure.

[shinta|hikari]

Maybe her "father" didn't penetrate, but just did other things? But that doesn't make sense, since it was heavily implied in the guy's speech that the loss of virginity was necessary to complete the body of the key.

I think Phryne has a long history of sexual abuse, so she starts blanking out when she encounters it again. She just blanked out and snapped when she stabbed her "father", probably because Clain was listening to the revelation and she feared his judgment.

[Kraco]

The important thing is that since she's now a Phryne/Nessa hybrid, Clain might have a chance to get a family by not getting stabbed in the middle of making it.

[KitKat]

I agree with shinta's hypothesis that Phryne has a long history of sexual abuse. From the way the 'father' talked, it seemed like this was something that had been going on a while. I'm surprised she's not more messed up, honestly. It explains a lot of her weird irrational behaviour. This series was actually quite dark overall, but the addition of Nessa always lightened it up, keeping the weightiness of the tough issues they addressed from becoming depressing.

For me, I felt like this series was all about identity. The overall theme being the struggle to define ourselves as humans - do we let ourselves be defined by the limits of what society tells us (in this case, the Fractale system) or do we define ourselves by our independence? The doppels added an extra interesting aspect to this. I think the best episode of the series was when they were in Xanadu, and interacted with the two artists. For people with doppels, what is their identity? Is it what they create in Fractale, or is it who they are in the real world? If Fractale is taken away, does that rob people of their identities, or are those identities essentially false and should be stripped away? Even with Phryne and Nessa, Clain was always affirming their identities as individuals, and validating them as unique and valuable, while the Temple kept trying to assign them identities as tools meant to be used or replaced. I think one of the reasons Phryne was able to choose to become the key was because she became secure in her identity as an individual. This series raises so many questions and manages to sidestep answering them. I like that in the end there was no winner, no clear-cut message about what identity is true or which method is better. It is simply each person who must decide for themselves what their identity is.