Favourite Quote- None
What I Like- Unique setting/Story twists
What I dislike-Too short/not much character development
Other information- I recommend Sword art Online for Online story type similarities or Ghibli movies for art style and story.
Fractale is a 2011, 11 episode anime based in what appears to be a 22nd century Ireland. It centres in around the young protagonist Clain and his adventures following his chance meeting with a mysterious purple haired girl who left him with an amulet. The world is now contained within a type of virtual reality known as Fractale, similar to the world of or the Virtual world in Psycho-pass (without the fighting). However the story does have certain dark undertones as well as tragedy even though it focuses on sci-fi, action and comedy.
Art/Animation: The art style of Fractale is reminiscent of a more refined Ghibli movie. This reflects the shows general atmosphere too. It’s not something that is overly dramatic or thrilling, rather it’s aimed at a younger audience but can also appeal to others too with its darker undertones. The colours are bright and happy, very diverse and in general just good. As it is based in what appears to be Galway in Ireland the Landscapes are almost all country side but this allows backdrops to be done gorgeously as there’s no complex cityscapes to draw/animate. The animation itself isn’t quite stellar. It doesn’t quite live up to the Standards of other A-1 Picture works like Sora no Woto or Blue exorcist. This is disappointing as its only 11 episodes so most would expect good animation. That said it’s not particularly bad, just, average (a little slow seeming but explosions are pretty).
Sound/Voices: The Ost of Fractale is in a way linked to the animation, just average. This includes the opening (though the opening LOOKS beautiful). There’s no standout theme of the anime, nor is there anything really memorable. The ending is the only exception-At a stretch. Down by the Sally Gardens is a poem originally created by William Butler Yates, and although fitting, Hitomi Azuma’s rendition of it in song was far from brilliant. The voice acting overall was quite good. Personally I disliked Clain but that’s opinion rather than the VA was actually bad. Nessa (who’s in the Amulet given to Clain) is done superbly, it almost seems as if the voice actress herself was genuinely happy during recordings. The other notable voice actor was Tomoaki Moaeno who voiced Dias (A character from a bit into the Story). He captures Dias’ carefree yet intimidating persona perfectly and really brings the character to life.
Characters: Given that the anime was only 11 episodes, I knew from the start Character development would be limited at best. However I was pleasantly surprised at just how much they got done with the time constraints. Side characters were even developed modestly with their goals given reason and a small amount of background too. Such as Dias, Enri and Sunda (they oppose Fractale and it is sufficiently explained why later on well further expanding upon their past. The protagonist Clain Necran starts off as a plain, boring child, a typical protagonist but becomes a believable human by the end, with the struggles he faces. Phryne (the Mysterious purple haired girl) also receives considerable plot and in fact becomes one of the leading reasons you should watch this anime. Nessa is a sort of anchor though, a way to remember throughout where you started off, a good detail in my opinion.
Conclusion: This is not for everyone, but it’s a nice escape from the more mainstream anime. You could finish it in a night too. It leaves a bit to be desired but the ending is nicely rounded off and most things are explained enough. For its unique basis alone it’s worth the watch, but it’d be best to watch it without stopping (don’t watch other anime in between episodes). So altogether Fractale is good, not great 7.4/10
