Fractale 07: Perfection or Imperfection?

The perfect city indeed.

Does Clain not look incredibly manly in that picture?

Welcome to Xanadu, the faux-city of a perfected Fractale balloon.

Summary:

Clain awakes in the company of a voluptuous lady. He is in the town of Xanadu, a town where the Fractale System is still in full effect. Recalling how he happened upon this company, Clain remembers that the Danan ship had crashed as a result of malfunctioning equipment. Not only this but Nessa also seemed to have similar problems but she is nowhere to be found.As Clain scrambles to recover his orientation, the Danan ship and those still aboard are welcomed by a strange old man who preaches unity with the planet. A whole load of rubbish.

Meanwhile, Meegan, the seductive lady, has taken Clain on a tour of Xanadu where eventually Nessa sends him an emergency call. She’s under the influence of a virus as Clain is under the influence of manipulative villains who wish to sell them to the church.

Back to the Danan company, the soon find out that the hospitable people of the land aren’t so friendly after all. These people are actually the inhabitants of Xanadu, which is a virtual city and can be visited through Doppels alone. After a lengthy scene where Phyrne is hit with a pot. As this happens, Clain attempts to run from his captors, Nessa explodes. With fury that is.

Even with her new found powers, she cannot protect Clain. He is shot. Literally.

In this episode, they really went above and beyond with the detail. Every surface looks to be meticulously drawn. The city in particular is marvelous. The lights and the splendor and the people! There are Doppels of so many varieties! However, while certain scenes are simply stunning, some parts are lacking in the animation department. There is a scene where Meegan is leaning over (lecherously of course) and her face is simply atrocious. I can forgive this though because I can care less for her one episode appearance.

The background is rendered so well but the models are... simple.

The most interesting thing about this episode is when Nessa explodes in anger. She basically liquidates the city of Xanadu in one fell swoop. This proves how advanced she is. Nessa is a Doppel, don’t forget, and normally Doppels cannot possess such a high degree of sophistication. We begin to see why she is the “key”.

Speaking of Nessa, we cannot forget Phyrne. Although she had limited screen time this episode, and was hit by a pot, there was one important segment. She had said previously that she could no longer be loved and that she did not deserve it. Again, she reiterates this in this episode. This brings a lot of questions to the table. I’m of the understanding that Phyrne knows Clain loves her or at least feels emotions for her. And she obviously likes him to a degree because he was the only one to convince her to remain on the ship and to forgive Nessa for whatever. What’s the problem then? Priestly duties ? Or perhaps something worse.