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.