Another winter series I was keeping up with. I did fall behind one week, but caught up no problem. Oh, and the reason I didn't do my Wandering Son review yesterday? I can't for the life of me figure out what I think of that series still. And I didn't want the review to turn out as utter shit, so I decided to just wait. It wasn't me slacking off for once. It's legit. The Basics 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 Review The Story: 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: 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 (read: stuff from like now), 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 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.
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