(L) Fractale (TV)

[Funkatron]

My theory on doppels:

Spoiler:

I'm thinking that doppels are hard light constructs that people use to communicate from afar, ala avatars. Most likely people in this future are such hermits that they use them to interact with the outside world. Either that or everything is set in a computer ala the matrix

So far so good. The world is interesting enough that my interest is piqued. Lets hope there is more creativity to come.

[FlareKnight]

Spoiler for Ep1:

Really a nice first episode. Something just felt fresh about this series which made it easy to keep watching until the end of the episode. Clain is a good guy that has an understandable level of embarrassment, but reliable in dressing Phryne after she fell asleep. Can understand him losing the brightness in his smile with his parents no longer living with him and interacting with those funky doppels has to be odd.

You have the goofy trio that really were more menacing when shooting than when they tried to convince Clain to let them inside. Really just something about this show makes it interesting and I want to find out more.

[Guardian Enzo]

Review:

Noitamina, how boring - you might just have the two best shows of the season again.

Spoiler for 1:

This wasn't a revelation like Hourou Musuko, a life-changer - but still exceptionally interesting and as you would expect from Yamakan and A-1 Pictures, lavishly produced. The Ghibli look and feel are obvious - Clain and Phryne looked like they were straight out of "Castle in the Sky". I loved the Celtic setting and the lovely version of "Down by the Salley Gardens" ED. The story is still a bit of a cipher, but conceptually interesting - elements of "Dennou Coil" for me, set in a more distant future where humanity is even more removed from actual contact.

I'm not crazy about Kobayashi Yuu as Clain. After Hourou Musuko it's especially obvious that this is a woman playing a boy, and there are women far more convincing at doing it. Yuu-chan's boy voice is fine in a comedy like "Higepiyo" but not so much in a relatively serious story-driven series like this one. But that's not a deal-breaker for me - this is still an excellent beginning and I'm looking forward to more.

[MeoTwister5]

Just like everyone else, one look at the animation and you already know the obvious just how influenced the show is. From the laid back setting to the character designs the Ghibli style seems to radiate in all directions. For all of Yamakan's drama he's still a kid at heart it seems.

I agree with Enzo though. 2 of my 3 favorite shows this season is on NoitaminA, almost unsurprisingly. I seriously should pick up where I left off on the manga.

Blog post and comments later.

[MushroomSamba]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Spoiler for Ep1:

Really a nice first episode. Something just felt fresh about this series which made it easy to keep watching until the end of the episode. Clain is a good guy that has an understandable level of embarrassment, but reliable in dressing Phryne after she fell asleep. Can understand him losing the brightness in his smile with his parents no longer living with him and interacting with those funky doppels has to be odd.

You have the goofy trio that really were more menacing when shooting than when they tried to convince Clain to let them inside. Really just something about this show makes it interesting and I want to find out more.

Yeah, it really did feel effortless to watch, which is a lot more than I can say for other anime I've seen this season. I gotta say, I was pretty charmed by the interactions between Clain and Phryne so far...even the more awkward situations didn't send me off into a murderous rage, which again is a lot more than I can say for other shows.

[technomo12]

god i feel somewhat an aria vibe from this but most of all im STOKED i wanna watch it till the end

[J1m of the n00b]

I almost feel like I watched Aria, it gives the same feeling. Maybe with a touch of Hayao Miyazaki as well.
Looking forward to seeing more of this series.

[cyth]

Yamakan mentioned on Nico broadcast that his biggest inspirations indeed were Nadia and Laputa, so...

[silverwolf0]

This is like Dennou Coil, but so far without the mature themes, the suspense, the right pacing, or the unique premise. Seems to be a show targeting kids without any pretensions of a deeper show underneath and is fine remaining relatively shallow. The pacing is very Ghibli-esque in that it has that quiet and lukewarm style akin to elevator music. The art is very generic and simplistic looking, even more so than its influences. I thought it would be different, but they still manage to shove in a hackneyed staple of mainstream ero anime everywhere, the boy being embarrassed at seeing a naked girl and acting like a complete fool. I've just watched at least two anime shows newly aired with the same freakin scene. The fall season was exceptional in its lack of non-dumb anime. The winter one seems to prolong that trend, with zombies, harem mecha high school dramas, bouncing boob and panty shots, and main male characters completely devoid of personality except for their allergic reaction to women and their good-boy naivety.

[Jehuty]

I almost didn't watch this show -- I hadn't read anything about it, and reading the short synapse about it wasn't all that intriguing, but I decided to give it a shot anyway.

SO GLAD I DID.

Spoiler:

The characters all felt refreshing -- the "Team Rocket" trio really do know how to get down to business when they need to (the chase scene, barging into Clain's home), while still being pretty dumb and somewhat silly.

Clain seems like a good guy -- definitely bored with his life, but still seemingly satisfied, or at least content, with the life he led until he met Phryne.

The Doppels I think, as the "textbook" that Clain read from the memory card, are people who died, but had their personalities, or their 'soul' as it may be into the system, which is why Clain can interact with them. So, it's as though they never left.

However, the Doppels seem capable of human interaction, effectively making them as human as can be, until some sort of short-circuit makes them disappear. Note that Phyrne actually said "So you can make them disappear on your own.." or something to that effect -- I believe this will play an important part in his learning about the system.

It's too early for me to say anything (even though I just did), but I really like the premise shown thus far. I really think I will enjoy this series to the fullest. I will say though, the ED moved me. It was beautiful, warm, and touching.

This series is definitely a keeper.

[edit] I'm also genuinely interested in seeing the reactions of those that criticized the anime before it was ever even released. Some of the criticism seemed to be based on some pretty silly bias, but I think it's an undeniable fact that this turned out much, much better than a lot of the people anticipated.

[edit 2] am I the only one that felt Phryne's outfit was totally taken from Ragnarok Online? As soon as I saw her, before I even knew anything about her, I was like "eeeeee RO priestess!", and...!

Spoiler:

Clain seemed to refer to her outfit as that being worn by a priestess in a temple. The part about "this era" made me incredibly curious about her, too.

[lightbringer]

This is going to be good. Given all the hype around Fractale, I had somewhat high expectations going in, and so far they are being met.

[MartianMage]

Originally Posted by Master Anime

You forgot Marie = Nessa

It's not like I forgot about Nessa/Marie but I just can't come up with a proper comparison asides that they're both little girls. :P

[MeoTwister5]

Nessa voiced by Hanazawa Kana? Yes please.

[OceanBlue]

Well...

Spoiler for Episode 1:

Clain was really my favorite part about this. Kobayashi Yuu did a good job as him, I think. The world is interesting, but we've yet to see how Fractale and doppels have to do with what the potential conflict will be.

I don't like how fast-paced everyone's dialogue was aside from Clain's though. The braids girl obviously had the perverted joke going along, but it all went really fast. The costume gag was definitely better. Almost all of Phryne's dialogue feels like it went too quickly and was missing some things between. None of it connected properly, especially in the scene where she sees his baby portrait.

It was an interesting first episode, aside from those. I want to see what they do with all of the things they presented. This seems like Yumekui Merry in that the world will play a very important part in what's going on.

[Shiroth]

I quite like it, especially for the Ghibli feel it has going for it. This could totally work as a series from the 80s, though it's a shame the trends we're used to seeing in shows this days are all over the first episode. Hopefully they won't take complete control over the series, as we begin to learn more about the setting and plot.

Totally loving that score. Out of all the Winter season shows, it easily has my favourite one.

[MartianMage]

Oh and I guess the ship the trio are riding on = Gratan

It's kinda amusing how the henchmen kinda resembles sanson and hanson...
Fractale Trio

Hanson

Sanson(with Marie)


and like I said earlier the piano score reminded me of this particular Nadia BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xogffEJzUiI

I just finished the episode(yeah I only watched half of it earlier) and I can see some differences in the manga. Nothing drastic I just wonder why they made Phryne took out the part from the trio's ship instead of Clain.

Overall I liked the first episode and I'll prolly finish this cause of the nostalgia caused by many similarities to Blue Water. I just hope it turns out really good like Nadia.

[Mizuno]

^ I think Pheyne's dream/nightmare was a really important scene and might suggest something in the manga.

[MartianMage]

Originally Posted by Mizuno

^ I think Pheyne's dream/nightmare was a really important scene and might suggest something in the manga.

I kinda forgot that there was such a scene.

[ars89]

I feel like an idiot for not knowing this sooner. The animation in the OP makes perfect sense now.

Fractal - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal

[orion]

I've watched 7 titles so far and this is the most boring of them. Maybe ep 2 will be better now that the redhead has arrived.