Fractale Episode 3: The Village of Granites

Fractale finally earns its TV-14 rating as the tone of the series shifts dramatically from light hearted adventure to a darker and more serious story in this pivotal episode. Innocence is lost when the truth about the Temple is revealed to Clain in an episode centered around the Granite faction of the terrorist organization Lost Millennium. Fractale: Reiterated continues with updated HD screen captures and text.

I originally avoided Fractale when it started streaming because the promo art looked too “kiddie” to me. It was not until I read posts talking about the dramatic ending to the third episode that I was sufficiently intrigued enough to sample the first episode. If I had not been browsing message boards in search of intelligent anime, I would have never seen what ultimately became my favorite one. The Village of Granites is a game changer in the series, one that shocked quite a few viewers.

Fractale Episode 2: Nessa

A ten year old redheaded girl pops into being and extreme cuteness follows when Clain meets the second girl to invade his solitary life.   A whirlwind of happiness, the girl tests the teen’s ability to cope at every turn. But who, or more importantly what, is Nessa? Fractale: Reiterated continues with updated HD captures and text – July 2012.

The information about day to day life in the world of Fractale continues to be revealed and the plot advances quickly. But it is character development that takes center stage, with much of it being surprisingly emotional. A complicated plot does not a good series make on its own and here we find out if Fractale has more to offer.

You Ever Have One of Those Days?

You know, the ones where absolutely everything goes right?

That was yesterday for me and while grateful for it, I am still confused by it. Such a thing has not happened for me in many years. The only reason I know that has been so long is because I could not remember anything like it at all. It felt surreal, though I did remember to be thankful for the day. Even the little things all went perfectly.

Today should be more normal. It is time to pull books off of a book shelf and move it next to the HDTV, since the video collection has outgrown the built in storage in the living room. I can tell the Lyme Disease is pretty much gone by the fact that such a physical thing is on my to do list.

I also seem to be mentally sharper than recent memory records. Whether it is the NADH kicking in or getting over the Lyme bout, I cannot say. It could be both for all I know. What I do know is that writing and rewriting multiple reviews came easily instead of like pulling teeth, which is the norm for me.

The Black Hole (1979) Review

After Star Wars was a huge success, Disney decided to try to try their hand at a serious science fiction film. The result was a very uneven, but visually impressive movie about explorers finding a derelict spaceship near a black hole. Filled with robots, lasers, and an underlying mystery, it was not a great success. But for those of us who saw it in the theater it was a memorable experience and I have a fondness for this very flawed film.  Come, enter The Black Hole with me…

UPDATED & REVISED July 2012: In memory of Ernest Borgnine

The movie has an overture that plays before it starts, which was a relic of a bygone era even in 1979. John Barry’s brilliant soundtrack is introduced here and can be argued to be the best thing about the entire film. It is grand, dark, and mysterious with stately marches mixing with somber swirling statements. An interesting statement of tone, it sets the mood in a very un-Disney way. This was an announcement that the studio would be branching out from their standard family fare.

Fractale Episode 1: Encounter

An ambitious anime aimed at an older and worldwide audience hints at its many layers in a very Studio Ghibli like first episode.  A remarkable amount of story is presented and set up, but just how much can only be fully appreciated after having watched the entire series.  What appears to be an innocent and light hearted series, Fractale is a much more complicated and multilayered journey into darkness. July 2012 – The Fractale: Reiterated project begins with here with new HD screen captures and revisions.

Having younger friends much into anime and being a Studio Ghibli fan myself, I decided to check out what the state of Japanese cartoons is these days.  I can’t say I’m impressed since most of what I found was childish, sleazy, mindless, or a combination of all three.  But I did unearth a few gems and this recently completed but commercially unsuccessful series is a crown jewel.  It reached for the stars and fell just short, all the while criticizing its own main audience, otaku’s (obsessive anime/manga fans) --  which was ratings and sales suicide. That alone would have made it interesting to me, but the complexity  and depth of emotion contained within Fractale’s storyline pulled me completely in.

Fractale is a science fiction story set on an unnamed island that appears to be Ireland roughly around the 32nd Century. Society is peaceful and people rarely directly interact with each other since they all have cybernetic terminals that links them through the Fractale system, that era’s version of the Internet. Holographic doppels (doppelgangers) that are the equivalent of current day avatars are the way people socialize, get around, and do everything without having to do anything.

Fractale: The Complete Series DVD and Blu-ray Box Set

Funimation puts out one of the best anime box sets I have seen and gives the Fractale  television series the deluxe treatment it richly deserves. Featuring exceptional packaging, a bevy of extras, and a top notch English dub, it is a fantastic bargain for fans of the science fiction anime.

Fractale tells the story of a young teenage boy living more than one thousand years from now in a world where the Fractale system connects everyone to an augmented and mostly virtual existence. There is no war, no hunger, and no need to work as the system takes care of your every need. Families are a quaint concept of the past and relationships are all remote since you can tailor your entire existence to be whatever you desire.

One day, a girl falls into his life and Clain’s peaceful solitary existence is changed forever. With the Fractale system beginning to fail and an armed terrorist movement rising to finish it off, the boy finds himself caught up in a conflict he does not understand and that will not leave him alone. So begins his journey toward adulthood with the fate of an entire world at stake. It is trip where innocence is lost and the mystery of Fractale is finally revealed at terrible cost.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) in Theater Review

A desperate bid to escape the 100 F weather involved sitting through two showings of the reboot of everyone’s favorite wall crawler. Having been turned off by a clip from the film, I decided to give it a chance after all in 2D and 3D. The audiences at both showings loved the film, from kids to senior citizens.

I did not.

Perhaps my reaction would have been more positive if Sam Raimi’s excellent Spider-Man had never been made ten years before.

On second thought, no.

This simply is not a good film by my standards. It is not even technically proficient in regards to cinematography and direction. The script is melodramatic, overwrought, and full of plot holes while the acting… oh boy.

Official Results: Lyme Disease Verified

So I contracted Lyme Disease according to the Western blot and had it for two to four weeks before the blood sample was pulled. Not shocking news and ameliorated by the success of antibiotics knocking it down. Another course should nuke it for good.

As for the moment, while the symptoms are still mildly there, I am functional enough to resume my normal routine for the weekend. Today was something of a turning point for that, thankfully.

Batman Begins (2005) Review

Bringing indy film style directing to an iconic comic book character, Batman Begins resets the story from the beginning (shocking, I know) and shows how Bruce Wayne became Batman.  But is it more than just another comic book movie adaptation? More importantly, is it more than yet another Batman film?

After the 1990s Batman films devolved from a gothic take on the caped vigilante into a horrible camp fest, there was barely a sliver of hope that a serious version would be attempted again. Taking a calculated risk, Warner Brothers hired Christopher Nolan to write and direct a reboot figuring a back to basics approach could save the franchise.

Known for edgy and complicated films featuring plots bouncing back and forth in settings and time, Nolan was not a big budget director of summer blockbusters. Fortunately for all involved, he had a passion for making the movie – one that was infectious. Make no mistake about it, Batman Begins is a Christopher Nolan film first and foremost – and that is a very good thing.

Independence Day 2012

It is scorching hot and getting worse with a high of 101 F predicted for this afternoon. Being ill and on antibiotics that prevent being in sunlight, I will not be making it to the parade in Eitzen yet again. We may fire off a few fireworks later tonight, though.

I often think of how much was sacrificed to found this country and then maintain its freedoms. Another Pat, but not a Patrick, I know posted about this on her blog today. One has to wonder if anyone is willing to make those kind of sacrifices these days.

Over at the Telegraph, I ran into this column by a Brit writing that the United States was Britain’s greatest gift to the world. I cannot argue with that or his reasoning for why. Too much is taken for granted and modern people have forgotten just how bad it once was – and could be again.

Maybe it is the illness, but I am having trouble feeling positive about the future of the nation. Things are not going well in any facet of our culture and it looks like we will be finding out if any of the strengths that our founders had still remain in us. Hopefully, I will turn out to be wrong about this.

If It Is Tuesday, Why Does It Feel Like Monday?

All day has felt like an extended case of déjà vu, but not in a good sense. Some of the symptoms of the possible case of Lyme Disease have come back and besides that it just feels like a Monday. Tomorrow being Independence Day is not going to help with the weekday confusion, is it?

Maybe it is the headache that is making me feel off, since it certainly messed me up in one of the League of Legends matches I played today. Good thing it was only a bot match.  I had planned to start playing PVP matches this week, but the health has not been up to it so far. My hands were shaking so badly I wondered if I was going to make it through the second match. Getting killed four times while playing Sona against beginner bots was atrocious.

Not that it was a bad day, there were good things including playing the afore mentioned game with real life friends. Also, I got to preorder Fractale on Blu-ray over at RightStuf. Though I could have saved money with free shipping from Amazon, I live close enough to RightStuf to get the set faster. Though Amazon did succeed in luring me into getting some classics on sale that were in my wish list.

A Passage to India on Blu-ray, Bad Day at Black Rock (truly awesome film) and No Time for Sergeants on DVD were too much to pass up. The last selection was inspired by the need to get free shipping and the fact that Andy Griffith died. It was either that or A Face in the Crowd, but it was the very funny No Time that made him a star.

It looks like my big plans to get a pair of reviews up by the 17th may not work out. The pain is making writing with any signs of intelligence very difficult. Oh well, we will see. I may see the new Spiderman, but I have to say I will go into it with some hostility after watching clips from it. That’s a pity since the Lizard was always my favorite foe of Spidey. I even had the Mego action figure of him when I was a kid.

And suddenly I cannot think of anything more to type. With no clue how to even end the post, I will just end it with a period.

Seeking Things of Worth

Please pardon my rambling style today; it is not one of my better days. Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I often marvel at how much misrepresentation of our beliefs is out there. This has always been the case, but this post is not going to be about that. Instead it will be related to one of what we call the Articles of Faith which were written to explain what we believe in to a newspaper back in the 1800s.

In the thirteenth and last article, it says:

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

The italics are mine and the focus of a lot of thought in the last few years by me. Right now it seems like finding things that fit that description is getting harder, but I think it is more of a signal to noise ratio problem. Like an overcrowded radio tuner, so much garbage is put out that the good things get lost in the din.

Health 6-30-2012

First results of the antibody screening for Lyme Disease are back and show significantly elevated levels. Next tests have been ordered to clinch the diagnosis.

Today has been a tough day, pain and headaches are still elevated too. Despite naps, I am woozy and shaking. But it seems trivial after looking at photos of the storm damage around the country. I am more concerned about how people recover from that.

Kimi ni Todoke Volume 3 Special Edition Short Review

Due for release on July 3, the third and final set from NIS America of Kimi ni Todoke arrived unexpectedly on my porch yesterday. Like the previous two sets, it comes in a very fancy cardboard sleeve with two disc cases and a hardcover art book inside. Both DVD and Blu-ray discs are included, so it is quite a deal.

The final volume covers the entire second season along with a couple of exclusive shorts lampooning Cinderella and Snow White, but with the twist of Kurumi starring with Sawako in the secondary roles. They are very silly indeed.

Best of all is the inclusion of Episode 0 of the second season, which is a flashback recounting of the events of the first season. What makes it special is that it is from the point of view of the villainess of the series. Rare is it that a story can turn the trouble maker into a sympathetic character while not whitewashing said character’s actions.

If you have the previous sets, this is a must have. The quality is top notch and I am so grateful to NIS America for putting this out. Amazing since the show had no broadcast or streaming showings in the USA.