Clain, Phryne, Nessa, Sunda Granitz, Enri Granitz, Dias
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「楽園」 (Rakuen)
“Paradise”
There was definitely no shortage of surprise developments to make this episode befitting of a finale, but I admittedly found the impact of them all much less than it could have been. I attribute that primarily to quickly tying up all the loose ends and leaving little time for anything to sink in, such as the deaths of various characters.
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「僧院へ」 (Souin e)
“To the Monastery”
The hints about Phryne’s traumatic experience back in episode seven came about this week in a way that I honestly could have done without. It was already unsettling to see Barrot press himself up against Phryne while objectifying her body, so this latest endeavor made him out to be an even bigger sick freak.
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「追いつめられて」 (Oitsumerarete)
“Cornered”
First Phryne, now Moeran? I may have gotten the purple hair and eyes look I was hoping for, but she’s 26 years older than Phryne. Try as I might, I can’t say it’s going to have the same appeal on a 40-year-old character.
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「地下の秘密」 (Chika no Himitsu)
“The Underground Secret”
I never noticed Phryne and Nessa had the same eye color, so I didn’t realize it had any significance until it was spelled out for us. In the concept art for their character designs, they both had the same purplish hair too, which I really wish made it into the anime. Not only do they look better with purple hair and eyes, the similarity made it more believable that Nessa was what Phryne looked like when she was younger.
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「虚飾の街」 (Kyoshoku no Machi)
“Superficial Town”
After all the flipping back and forth between lighthearted and serious moods, it was probably only a matter of time before this series pulled out one of its bigger trump cards in an attempt to blow viewers away. This time around, it looks like it’s done just that, going for that “oomph” factor with not one, but two big turn of events in rapid succession.
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「最果ての町」 (Saihate no Machi)
“The Farthest Town”
“Shut up Enri. Phryne can strip all she wants.” That’s admittedly the first (sarcastic) thought that came to mind when Enri started flipping out about our mysterious priestess taking off all her clothes in record time to go skinny dipping. More so than the actual fan-service, that scene showcased the tomboy side of Phryne yet again, and how she’s not shy about being a girl, let alone an attractive one, which is always fun to watch.
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「旅路」 (Tabiji)
“Journey”
This may have been a character-oriented episode, focused on Nessa and her hide and seek pranks on board, but it was made much better with Phryne around. She’s still a marvel to me, given how blunt she was when she asked Clain if he loves her, and this time around she comes off as be a bit of a tomboy who doesn’t seem aware of how attractive she is.
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「出発」 (Shuppatsu)
“Departure”
The fallout from all the bloodshed and moral implications last time wasn’t nearly as thought-provoking, but does raise some new questions on the character side of things. Most pertain to Phryne’s motives after her sudden reappearance, as she seemed to be helping with the Star Festival, only to reveal later on that she wants to see the Fractale System destroyed too.
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「グラニッツの村」 (Guranittsu no Mura)
“Granites Village”
Adventure with bloodshed? Now there’s something I wasn’t expecting, as supposed terrorists used machine guns to mow down old priestesses during the Star Festival. As it happened, I wasn’t sure what was more surprising, the fact that the supporters of the Fractale System were made out to be the “bad guys” or the casualties piling up on both sides.
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「ネッサ」 (Nessa)
“Nessa”
In its second episode, Fractale still hasn’t given off an adventure feel like the series was made out to be, but the sudden appearance of Nessa and her cheerful, innocent, and curious personality made some strides towards it by disrupting Clain’s easygoing lifestyle.