In this anime, the titular “Fractale” system is beginning to die, which is a
bit of a problem since it runs basically everything.
With Fractale, people can move around wherever they want, do whatever they
want, and still “eat” dinner with their family far away by taking the shape of
a Doppel...which is kinda like a copy, but they don't even look human in most
cases.
The main character, Clain finds a girl named Phryne under a cliff, injured, so
he takes her home to help. Well, she ends up vanishing after leaving him with a pendant. When he tries to figure the pendant out, a girl pops out. Totally normal,
right?
They end up in trouble with some other people, and then involved with a group
called Millennium Snow, which is people who are fighting against the Fractale
System.
Eventually they find Phyrne again and well...the plot thickens. No spoilers
from moi, thank you very much.
The Characters: Fractale
You know, this cast might be sliding into my top ten casts. I
really loved them. Why? Because they were people.
Hell, Phryne said it herself: “Before I'm a girl, I'm a person named Phryne”
(Not the exact line, I don't think). But you have Clain, who is a kid who
lives on his own because his parents are off travelling, and he's obsessed
with old technology, takes care of himself and is
in general a good kid...even if he is a moron.
Nessa can be summed up in the words “Nessa loves love”. She's a sweet girl who
wants everyone to be happy. Phryne is...well, Phryne.
A determined, headstrong
young woman who does what she wants. Except when she doesn't, when she lets
herself be controlled. Then there are the members of Millennium Snow, who are their own little
family.
One of my favorite characters was Sunda, the leader of the group Clain found
himself with. He's young, but does his best to be a strong leader for his
group and for his little sister a strong character in her own right.
All of these characters make mistakes, but they're doing what they think is
right. They're acting like human beings. And that's what I look for in my anime
characters.
The Fractale System: So what exactly is the Fractale System? It's like a
fantasy world. As I said, you can do what you want. There are cities built on the illusions of the Fractale System.
There's a man who dies because Fractale is temporarily lit up in a ruined
area, making it look safe, but when he runs forward he falls into a hole.
It's the ruin of humanity. It cuts off real ties, because no one has to
maintain obligations. You can leave when you want. Do anything. It's what makes people stop being people.
When I said the cast was acting like human beings? I was not referring to the
people under the spell of Fractale. Because those people aren't people.
They're husks.
They're what you get when Kyubey turns you into a magical girl and then your
Soul Gem ends up too far away wait, wrong series. But that's kind of a good comparison still.
Conclusion?
Fractale anime was made of many awesome things. The story could have been better. A lot better. I mean, it was satisfactory, but without the cast I liked so much to back it
up, it definitely would have fallen flat.
(As I typed that, I mentally transplanted the cast of Kore wa Zombie desu ka
into Fractale...it did not work. Ayumu would make a terrible Clain. Though the
thought of Haruna as Nessa does amuse me.)
Other than the characters, the setting was also a strength. It doesn't attempt
to span over too much, so the worldbuilding was incredibly well-done.
I had a very clear image of what was going on in this world, and not just
based on the art, I could see how people lived, how people “lived”, how people
“loved” and really...I think it built a wonderful picture of what would happen
in the future if we ended up with something like Fractale in this world.
And if anyone has read the Pendragon series, it also reminded me a lot of
LifeLight (or whatever it was called) from The Reality Bug.
On the whole, I would recommend the hell out of Fractale. It managed to bring
me to tears and make me laugh and then have me laughing and crying at the same
time. Not a lot of series pull that off. This might be one of three, at least that I
can think of.
My rating: 8/10
Like I said, it was flawed, especially in terms of the story. But I still love
it.
Fan Art: Fractale
Fractale | |
| Episodes | 11 |
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi |
| Aired | January 14, 2011 to April 1, 2011 |
| Directed by | Yutaka Yamamoto |
| Producers | A-1 Pictures, Ordet |
| Opening Theme | Harinezumi by Hitomi Azuma |
| Closing Theme | Down By the Salley Gardens by Hitomi Azuma |
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