Fractale – 03

A girl so in love with the wrong world

I’ve been spending the past few days either on my couch with my friends playing video games, or trying to catch up on the work I didn’t because of said gaming sessions. You don’t know how much I want to head downstairs and play more Sengoku Basara. You don’t. even. know. Not that blogging isn’t fun. I like that too. Anything but homework, right guys?

The catch of the day is Nessa and Clain, soon to be served at a Red Lobster near you. Clain laments his imminent death, which doesn’t seem all too imminent and Nessa plays with toys. This is the most lackadaisical kidnapping ever, they don’t even tie them up when they land. In fact, the two of them actually run off to take in the beautiful scenery, as the kidnappers are held captive by their captivated captives.

Clain has a nerdgasm of the vintage city he’s stumbled upon, while Nessa sees a pretty butterfly. It’s enough to keep the both of them so pumped with endorphins that they don’t even CARE about a man pointing a gun at them from a rooftop! The only way I could feel even less threatened by the kidnappers was if a small child ran up to one of them and hugged them. Oh wait, that happened. Then they put on glasses so they can see Nessa and give her a super friendly welcome.

It’s quite clear by the time that they go to visit Enri’s brother and he gives them a warm welcome that they’re not going to have their arms and legs bound and mouths taped any time soon. Although, interestingly enough, he appears to not like Nessa despite the fact she’s his main hostage. Anyone who can’t touch Nessa hates her, hence her hesitancy to touch people and outright joy whenever someone actually can. She runs off with Enri (i.e. runs away and orces Enri to follow) while Clain has a wee chat with Enri’s onee-san.

Enri’s brother explains a lot of things to Clain. 1) This city, Granitz, is run entirely off of the Fractale system. They make their own food, run their own schools and live their own lives. 2) Phryne is the key to the world who took the trouble to steal a doppel before escaping, and that doppel must hold really important information. Hence, Clain is stuck amidst a crazy terrorist organization that wants Nessa’s data. Hey, at least they’re nice.

Meanwhile, Nessa follow Enri to her airship, but is locked out. Using her data-based body, she just pops up on screens throughout the ship. Yes, even there. She meets up again with Clain afterwards, who is grumbling about some old man who criticized his definition of true freedom. Also, panties.

Okay, time to throw a party for our HOSTAGES. And give them real food for the very first time so that they never want to leave. Also, a posh little house of their own to relax in and do whatever kinky things they want. GUYS, UR DOING IT WRONG. Oh well, they’re practically teamed up at this point. Here, have some Clain dancing for Nessa like the crazy white boy he is.

The next day, Clain is immediately taken onto the airship the try to make it to the Star Festival. Basically, it’s where everyone goes to get an update so that their doppel works, but it’s done in a religious ceremony fashion. Clain doesn’t think much of it, but the gang of non-Fractales is ready to reveal the truth to him. Nessa wasn’t upposed to come but she’s just so cute, how could you leave her behind? Awwww~ …Also, she forcefully teleports to you if you leave her behind for too long, so you have no choice.

Ignoring him really is the best option when he’s that…ahem…worked up.

They sneak in to crash the party, watching from afar. It seems like a bunch of people just praying to giant snowflake as nuns shuffle about and say weird things. That is, until 3 stars in the sky start to spin and people start convulsing. Thanks to the power of sunglasses (high tech, I know), they aren’t affected by the system update. Enri’s brother reveals to Clain that this update is just to erase any thoughts people might have of abandoning the Fractale system. It erases any doubts or concerns about their way of living. In other words: BRAINWASHING.

You will visit Metanorn everyday….You will visit Metanorn everyday…

This is where all hell breaks loose. They jump out from hiding and start firing away at the priestesses. They fire back with LASER BEAMS in an all-out brawl. One of the priestesses has her hood shot off, revealing herself as…Nessa? Nesa sees, er, herself and runs towards…herself. While doing this, she sees one of Enri’s goonies get shot and…die. Yes, people are dying. The brutality is stopped by a familair voice. Phryne steps in amongst the corpses, re-reciting the lines for the prayers and approaching the priestess Nessa. She calls Phryne her sister and the episode just ends there.

Bonus Screenshots:

Step 1: slip some alcohol into his soup. Everyone loves alcohol bean soup.

Step 2: Ignore his “BUT I DON’T WANT TO HAVE A SEXILICIOUS BOOM BOOM LOVE NEST” complaints

Step 3: “Oh crap, what happened last night?”

End Thoughts: I’ve always liked the peaceful atmosphere of Fractale and how they made even dangerous situations seem like “ahhh, don’t worry, don’t worry” types of things. None of the character’s ever seemed to be particularly stressed, no matter the conflict, so I figured this show would take a neutral approach to everything. Even the bad guys were nonthreatening. That is, until they had a GUNS VS LASER BEAMS BATTLE AGAINST CRAZY OLD LADIES. I know this is captain obvious but…PEOPLE DIED. In the show where kidnappers treat their hostages to food and their own little room, there was actual conflict!

This is a good thing. While the show is still overall very laid-back, this dash of actual tension really adds a new flavour to the show. It was totally unexpected to have something so violent occur all of a sudden, after being lulled into a false sense of “oh, this is a nice, flowing show~”. I’m not sure how emotional these “serious” moments will be amongst the easy-going parts though. As much as I loved it, it felt out of place. If they can blend the two together more smoothly, it would be REALLY impressive. It’s already gotten better at blending some genuine humour in there (I actually laughed), so I have high hopes.

The whole revelation about what the Fractale system really is…is quite astounding. Yeah, it boils down to the typical Matrix fare, but it feels oddly original. I think Clain and Nessa will end up siding with their kidnappers and fighting the system…somehow. There’s still no name and face to the one person behind all of this, aside from the priestesses they just slaughtered. I’m all too eager to learn more about this world and how Clain and Nessa are going to change it. :3

Tags:

About

A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
Blinklist BlogMarks Delicious Digg Diigo FaceBook Google MySpace Netvibes Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Twitter

19 Responses to “Fractale – 03”

  1. foshizzel says:

    Great episode! Nessa was cute but annoying halfway through so hyper and crazy! Was great seeing the real nessa show I wonder what happens next since there are two…

  2. Junko says:

    Holy unexpected sudden bloodshed batman! The relealistic terrorist like acts where pretty unexpected for me, considering I had just been watching the adorable girl and beautiful anime up until BANG BANG BANG. However it wasn’t out of place. Kudos Fractale, you continue to be great

    • Overcooled says:

      It really was a change of pace. o_o Unexpected but oh so good. If this show manages to juggle the two until the end then it’s going to get reaallllly good!

  3. TJ says:

    The ending was a big change of pace and atmosphere… and I liked it. It really seems to be building up to something.

  4. Vivi says:

    I wonder how their magic worked! Was it real magic or technology?

    Also, I agree about not being sure about how emotional these serious parts could be, I was more like, “Oh, people died, huh.” lol

    This reminded me of Madoka Magica ep 3 lulz

    • Overcooled says:

      Maybe they just have laser beams installed into their staffs. I really don’t know if it’s magic or technology…probably more technology than magic though XD

      LULZ Madoka 3, indeed. Except everyone’s head stayed on their shoulders. I really liked the sudden shift to a serious scene, and it’s great…but it certainly doesn’t make me feel anything like sadness. Fractale is a lot better at making me feel happy than shocked. XD

  5. Aro says:

    I think the pace might pick up from here. Action wise I mean. These doppels, they can go anywhere, how are they connected to their original forms…. virtual email I guess.

    • Overcooled says:

      Considering a bunch of old ladies just got gunned down…I would say so too. I think Nessa is a bit of a special case in that she might be her own person, but the that does raise questions about how the heck the world can be run with doppels teleporting everywhere. <_< They probably have limits, but it must be neat to control a character and just sort of...teleport wherever XD

  6. Namika says:

    I’m really glad, that I listened to Kyokai and watched this!! *0*
    Starting from this episode, I think that the plot will start to get more dark and mature(or at least, I hope so. But I liked how they jumped from one to another, actually.

    • Overcooled says:

      Hehe, you like it? It’s a nice little bundle of dark and fluffy moments, although so far there’s only a little bit of darkness. We’ll see how they deal with that ratio form now on :3

  7. Hato-kun says:

    *Decides Enri is my favorite character*
    *Goes to MAL Character page*
    *Sees she’s 13*

    Feels bad, man.

  8. Welcome to our chanel wallets discount online store.Owing [b]chanel wallet[/b] is often a sign that a woman has excellent taste of fashion and knows the latest fashion trends.We offer Many kinds of chanel wallets for up to 60% off discount.All [u][b]chanel wallets[/b][/u] sell at a reasonable price,so you can buy the cheapest [url=http://chanelwallets.info]chanel wallet[/url] with high quality.

Leave a Reply to Overcooled