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.
Peace.
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.Originally Posted by David75
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.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
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 alolianother tangible (human?) being.
Peace.
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?
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
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.
Last edited by shinta|hikari; Fri, 01-21-2011 at 09:30 AM.
Peace.
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.
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.
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.
Peace.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
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.
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.
Peace.
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.
All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or fattening. And then: Golf.
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.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
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?
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.
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.
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).
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?
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.
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.
If it's not Isuzu-chan Mii~
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.
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