Alternative TitlesJapanese: フラクタル
Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 11
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Jan 14, 2011 to Apr 1, 2011
Duration:
23 min. per episode Rating:
PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 7.161 (scored by 16707 users)
Ranked: #23662
Popularity: #548
Members: 32,224
Favorites: 89 1 indicates a weighted score
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SynopsisThe story takes place on an island, where a "Fractale System" is beginning to collapse. One day, Clain finds an injured girl called Phryne under a cliff. She disappears leaving a pendant. Clain sets out for a journey with the girl-shaped avatar Nessa to look for Phryne and discovers the secret of the Fractale System. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Fractale
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
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du5k
64 of 104 people found this review helpful
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11 of 11 episodes seen
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
4 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
3 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
I'm gonna come out and say that Fractale isn't that bad... and all the hate people have for it is kinda unjustified. The problem is that the show didn't manage to become the kind of masterpiece Yamakan wanted it to be, and that failed promise put the show in a very negative light. At least he's a man of his word, and "retired for the time being". It's a pity if he actually goes away for good because I still think he's still someone with plenty of talent, and even some of that does show in the flop that is Fractale.
I've said this on more than one occasion, that I'd like to compare this series with Last Exile or Allison to Lillia, because I strongly feel that that is Yamakan's vision for Fractale. It isn't so much about the story, but it's about the fabulous combo of pre-industrial age technology meets young man's (or girl's) adventure. Series like these usually focus a lot more of the setting of the story, like the common people's way of life, community relationships, the environment, the history than most other shows do. This is probably Yamakan's take on the cincept, with a little furturistic element to it. And I really like that. Fractale shows the fun in a frugal and simple way of living, clean and honest community life, its conflict with furturistic technology, and a young man's adventure in his role and approach towards this conflict.
Whereas the show fails hard on its execution and characters. First of all, there is too little revealed about the Fractale system itself, and we the audience are left with too many questions about practically everything that is going on. That won't be a problem if the characters are interesting enough to drive the show along, but they aren't. Clain is constantly being led by the nose by everyone around him, and his actions are always a result of how the story drives him, when it should be the other way around. Phyrne and Nessa are as mysterious as the Fractale system itself, and everyone else is there just to fill up the screen time. In the ending, there's wasn't a resolution or anything. It feels like it all happened as a matter of course. I'll keep this spoiler-free, but it's a happy, but really dumb ending.
Another thing that's sorely missing from Fractale is satisfying animation, which is something I'm expecting to see from an anime using this concept. I'm totally expecting spectacular backgrounds, detailed characters or equipment, or at least smooth animating, but Fractale delivered none. I can't explain how disappointed I was.
So in all, Fractale is okay. If you understand and love the concept of animes I was talking about, you'll enjoy Fractale to a certain extent. Otherwise, it probably isn't something for you.
Plot/Concept: Great
Story Style: Miserable
Audio/Visual: Fair
Value: 6 read more
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i_c___c_i
37 of 76 people found this review helpful
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11 of 11 episodes seen
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| Overall |
6 |
| Story |
5 |
| Animation |
7 |
| Sound |
7 |
| Character |
6 |
| Enjoyment |
7 |
Not one of the more original anime in the last few years. Fractale is still, pretty unique. It has an interesting fantasy sci-fi setting, a world that held a lot of potential - a far future Earth, where technology has evolved to a point where it's starting to somewhat resemble magic. Even if it could have been more Fractale is still pretty good, and I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.
To first get rid of the skin. I liked the animation style. The backgrounds look, for the most part, pretty nice. You'll see a lot of wide, open, green fields, but also a few towns, "nomad" camps and even a very colourful metropolis. The anime manages to construct a convincing world visually. I also liked the character designs for most of the main ones. However, while this series does pretty well when it comes to style, some of the technical aspects of the animation aren't that impressive. The animation isn't that fluid during certain segments (something you'll notice even during the first episode) and there are several frames in which the characters (especially their faces) not in focus or farther in the background are poorly drawn. Those, while in my opinion somewhat acceptable during the show's airing, have no place in a disc release, and yet they were not fixed for the blu-ray version. There is also a lot of CG animation in the show. It's not bad actually, but it does stand out. In episode 10 in particular, there are a lot of scenes like this and... let's just say they're not my favourite scenes from Fractale.
The soundtrack was good, especially the opening song and the two versions of "Down by the Salley Gardens" - one with the usual English lyrics and another with different, Japanese lyrics - that play during the ending credits of each episode. The anime's score was pretty good too, but two or three songs... reminded?... me of certain pieces from older Final Fantasy games. By the way, since I'm talking about this, Fractale has elements that make its world reminiscent of those from Final Fantasy games and especially Ghibli films. The protagonists travel in a dirigible-like airship for most of the series. Does that ring a bell? Not that it's a bad thing though, I for one, didn't mind this tributary similarity... and surprisingly enough, I enjoyed this more than most of the films Ghibli released recently.
Back to the sound-work in Fractale. The voice acting is very good; good enough that it rounded the rough and lacking corners of some of the characters. Enri for example, wasn't that appealing a character to me (part of that is that she and her two sidekicks have a very idiotic and underwhelming introduction in the series) but as the series progressed I began to like her a little, in part due to Iguchi Yuka's acting.
The series is only 11 episodes long so not all the characters get enough attention but the main characters are rounded enough to feel a little alive. Clain of course, is the one you get to see most sides of, and I think he worked as the protagonist. The characters aren't that original but they do have their distinct uniqueness, enough that I liked them for what they were instead of being annoyed that they're copies of copies. For example, Phryne reminded me in some ways of Ayanami Rei. A lot of her lines and the attitude behind them are extremely similar, as are their backgrounds and... nature. So much so actually, that this might count as a light spoiler to other Eva fans. She is saved from becoming just another one of the dozens of Rei clones from the last 16 years because their personalities are different and Phryne develops in a very different way at the end of the anime.
Fractale's plot was a little lacking though. As I said, this world the anime constructed had a lot of potential... and I feel that it didn't end up making the best of that potential. I would've liked it if they explored a few more concepts and themes relevant to this world. The story itself is nothing special or too original but it was decent enough to keep me interested and the pacing was pretty good. Even if there are moments in the show that left me scratching my head or made me sigh with disappointment, the series has enough going for it as a whole that I could go past them pretty fast.
Fractale isn't really great at anything it attempts but it isn't really bad at doing its thing either - whenever it seemed like taking a nose dive, it managed to correct itself. It was good enough at most things it tried to construct and a pretty good anime series as a whole. read more
Recommendations
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The stories are based around a future with high level technollogy that allows a select group of huimans to live in peace. Yet there is a dark secret behind the societies that they are living in. Both happen to feature young males whose perspective of the world is naive, not to mention innocent of the way the world looks. But when someone suddenly shows up, a person very mysterious, suddenly, their lives end up being turned upside down.
Stories set in a possible future that deal with the gradually revealed Orwellian control exercized over the people by government institutions and involve advanced technology for everyday use.
Both are about a world that is ideal in some way, and both of these ideal worlds have a dark secret behind. In no.6 a chosen ignorant group of people can live in bliss, and everyone who dares to have a different opinion are eliminated, reminds me of communism a bit. In Fractale everyone lives in a so called free world and receive a brainwashing frequently, so that no one would have doubts or questions.
I think no.6 is deeper, darker and I personally liked it more. Fractale is a lot more light and childish, but enjoyable nevertheless.
Both anime present a technologically advanced, seemingly utopical world, with a lot more going on behind the curtain. The main characters are teens who accidentally find out about these secrets and oppose the authorities.
Both are noitaminA shows with a "social sci-fi" feel, with some similar themes. The difference is that No. 6 is a more blatant dystopia from the beginning while Fractale makes a point of showing both the good and the bad of the society it depicts. Also No. 6 has more yaoi.
The plot revolves around some kind of ideal city and the main character founds out about it's secrets.
The story focus on characters fighting against a utopian city that once they thought it was a safe and normal place. Both main characters slowly discover the secrets of the city they live in and stop being ignorant after finding someone who teach more about the world to them.
If you've seen Fractale you will agree that they give off a really similar feeling, and are surrounded by technology, and don't need to worry about safety because they are protected by the system. Even the art style is somewhat similar. Later on when the story progresses, it reveals the flaws in the cities "perfect" system. These series even have the same number of episodes.
Both series are rife with inconsistancies and plotholes which are never fully explained. they start out great presenting this idea of a utopian world, but soon shows that all is not as it seems. the worlds and styles are very similar, but could have benefited from a longer run time and more character development
- Idea of utopia world/city.
- Character development in both anime.
Both Series are based on some really high tech that allows most people live the way they wanted, both series has amazing plot and character design if you like the one you'll like the other
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A youthful romance develops on a rebel airship with an eccentric crew and a charismatic captain. Although similar, they are not "alike." Still, if you enjoy one, you are likely to enjoy the other.
The main protagonist joining the 'terrorists' and later finding out that they are actually the good guys etc etc and many more similar things. Both shows just give the same feeling, you'll know when you whatch ;D
Both TV shows main character relationships progress is similar and some parts of the show was of the same kind.
The protagonist of both these shows is a young boy. They're introduced to a rebel group, a group seeking to oppose the government/system controlling them. There is also a similar art style as well as setting with the plains being the large surrounding setting.
Rebels and Terrorists are a main point in both of these anime's. Both have rebellious youth males and females.
Fractale has a striking similarity to Eureka Seven in many ways.
The first big thing I noted, was the world in which both anime took place, had a similar, peaceful, post apocalyptic feel to them. Although in E7, the world seems to be more vibrant and technology driven, as there is no mecha in this anime. The people of the world of Fractale are nomads, which is the main difference.
Another big resemblance is the plot. It runs around the same lines, although much shorter, it still feels very similar.
Finally, the romance between the two main characters, while it was way stronger between Renton and Eureka, is still there, and in the end, is heart warming.
Do not watch this if you are looking for something as good as E7, as there isn't really anything out there that is as good. Do watch this if you enjoyed E7, and want something that isn't as serious, or just want something that will help you "get over" E7 in a short amount of time.
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Opening Theme"Harinezumi (ハリネズミ)" by Azuma Hitomi
Ending Theme#1: "Down By The Salley Gardens" by Azuma Hitomi (eps 1-4, 9-11)
#2: "Salley Garden "(サリーガーデン)" by Azuma Hitomi (eps 5-8)
Fansubbing Groups
Which fansubbers do you like the best? Click + to approve of their subs for this show. Click - if you don't think they did such a great job.
Related ClubsFractale FanClub, Manga Anime League (MAL), noitaminA, Hanazawa Kana's Fans!, English Dub Fanclub, Nessa fanclub, Kamiya Hiroshi fanclub
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