「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. It’s a refreshing change from the stereotypical “guy falls into girl’s chest and is perceived as a pervert”, since Clain is simply strung along by Phyrne and her impulsive easygoing ways. I’d definitely like to see more strong-willed characters like her in the future, who don’t get flustered by the teenage boys around her.

It almost seemed a bit too early for Phryne to reconcile with Nessa, though I guess it was more of a subplot that was never intended to be dragged out. The introduction of the Kilda-based Alabaster group whom there was no mention of on the official site seemed to suggest as much, in conjunction with their leader Dias’ (Maeno Tomoaki) radical and deceitful ways of achieving Lost Millennium’s goals. I can’t say I’m too surprised they aren’t as righteous as they seemed at first, given all the signs from the “vaccinations” to Phryne’s distrust in them; however, it wasn’t until they gunned down someone in cold blood that it really sunk in. Tricking people into removing their Fractale terminals is one thing and in line with what I’d expect from them, but coercing Fractale-dependent people into joining them is something else altogether.

The real questions this episode were the ones surrounding the man from the antenna tower, who was alluded to being Clain’s father. The photographs that Phryne stole hinted at that possibility, so I went back and double-checked the seiyuu who plays him. Lo and behold, it’s Kimura Masafumi in both roles, albeit with a bit of a typo in the credits of the first episode (木村雅文 instead of 木村雅史). I wouldn’t say that confirms it, but it doesn’t seem too far-fetched for Clain to not recognize him after living apart all these years. There were other signs as well, such as the common interest in antique technology despite how much Clain’s father had deemed that stuff as junk, and how they’re both mistaken as perverts. I’d like to believe the latter wasn’t merely a coincidence, even though the whole idea raises questions about why Clain’s father would keep this from him and why he’d lie about living a carefree life in Luimnigh after quitting the trading business five years ago. Anyway, it’s something that I’m keeping at the back of mind, which had me wondering if the man was going to curl over and die once Clain and the others left on their Danan airship.

Interestingly enough, Clain’s mother and Tsunami Granites (far right) are played by the same person too, namely Yoshida Ayuko, though I’m less inclined to believe those two are the same person since she also played a nameless priestess. I did dwell on the possibility for a bit, since it would change my perception of the series if Clain’s parents were secretly involved with all the stuff he’s been dragged into. I may be reading into it all a bit much, but I’m giving the series the benefit of the doubt in that it’s not as straightforward as it’s trying to come off.

 

42 Comments

    1. I was wondering the same thing
      Is there a reason why parents live apart from their children? The doppel is controlled by Clain’s dad or it’s just something created to take the role of his father?

      What exactly is the fractale system? Why are some people abandoned by the system?
      So many questions and there’s only 5 episodes left… wonder how many of them will be explained?

      Phryne
      1. Actually if you watched Caprica it is pretty much close to that. People with terminals supposedly uploads data to the Fractale system with Doppels taking their roles. Not everybody that has a terminal chooses to have a Doppel like Clain. If he is the father then this suggest a form of transhuman immortality as well in the form of Doppels in the Fractale system. Doppels being facsimiles. Given what we saw in episode 1 Doppels having also participating in illegal activity as well as legal they’ve pretty much replaced functioning society. Thus it is odd that the Doppels have free will such the love and concern of Clain’s Doppel parents while there is slight brainwashing for real people. Happy thoughts and such.

        ReddyRedWolf
    2. Doppels are avatars controlled remotely by real people (like in the case of Clain’s parents). There are also autonomous Doppels such as Nessa (or so it seems at the moment).

      The reason for living apart is freedom of lifestyle, even when raising a family. The Fractale System is like a super computer network that people interface with via terminals installed into their body (nanomachines), which can monitor their health and administrate vaccines and such too. For the most part, it allows people to live in a holographic paradise.

      People like Lost Millennium are abandoning the system because they feel it’s turned mankind into a bunch of lazy mindless drones who don’t know how to do anything for themselves.

      All of this has been already explained (or at least heavily alluded to) if you pay close attention to the story.

      1. Yeah, I already understood most of that, I just wasn’t sure if there were two types of doppels (like Nessa and Clain’s parents) or if they were all the same. That cleared up some confusion, thanks.

        Bossun
      2. Thank you Sir
        So is there a reason why the doppels looks like a “doppel” instead of the person himself? (think StarWars’s hologram?)
        Wouldn’t that be a more effective way of communication or at the very least ensure that Clain would remember how his dad looks like?
        Doesn’t seem like the most effective way to achieve “freedom of lifestyle”

        I’m still not quite sure what exactly is the direction of this series, but it continues to stay interesting enough for me to tune in every week and Phryne’s tendency to strip certainly helps 🙂

        Phryne
      3. The whole idea behind Fractale is freedom. If the people don’t want their doppels to look exactly like themselves, they have the freedom to change their appearance. Think of it like those Miis on the Wii. Some people make theirs look like themselves while others just want them to look cool.

        Bossun
      4. This is also what I thought from the start: that doppels were indeed controlled by the people they impersonate. Still, how come we saw Clain talking like normal with both his dad and mom together, while we see know that his father lives on his own? Or does this ‘freedom’ of theirs actually included from the very start that his parents weren’t actually at the same place?

        sherry
    3. Doppels are independent AI that make decisions based on how the original person would have made them. Then, they report the data to the person at regular intervals. This would explain how the father doppel could have existed even while his real father was outside an active zone.

      Show Spoiler ▼

      Watcher
      1. Yeah O.O amazing find! I never caught that and would never have even known about it if you hadn’t brought it up so thanks! I’m gonna have to re-watch the other episodes and pay more attention.

        Justa_Dream
  1. +1 to the old man being Clain’s father… or at least that is what the show seems to want us to believe.
    fighting your enemy and killing is one thing, but forcing powerless into fighting and killing the innocent is another thing all together… now I really hate the Dias group.
    and nice job for Phryne striping… a fast strip too XD

    jrj
  2. This episode reaffirms the Fractale system is decaying. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly how far ahead this society is. But what I do know is that Clain seemed VERY excited to find a 21st century phone. This made me LOL.

    Also, naked Phryne is naked. That really caught my attention.

    1. The decay of the system may lead to forced peace between church and LM, as both sides will eed each other to save humanity from collapsing. LM know how to live without Fractale, church has resources and following of the masses.
      I was amazed when I was able to operate old Morse telegraph in tech museum!
      Phryne is great character, not being the usual blushing and kyaaa-ing (followed by fist or stomp) anime girl.

      ewok40k
  3. I think Dias is doing the same thing the fractale system is doing. He is controlling people by giving them things they think they are too lazy to get themselves. I would not be surprised if his real objective is to put up a new system where he is in control.

    mario2man
  4. Strong episode this week. They need to keep this up.

    As for Alabaster, i’m guess those “free” people will soon be toiling as slaves on a farm, to keep the war machine running strong! :p

    Zaku Fan
  5. About the doppels, I think it was explained a few episodes back that doppels AREN’T avatars of people that they use to get around. Rather, they seem to be made from data from the original person but have some sort of AI as well (remember, Clain’s father has lived outside Fractale for awhile now so there’s no way he could’ve updated his doppel).

  6. Why would you point a shotgun at your son? To scare him off? Meh.

    I’m more confused about where Nessa’s brooch went. Last we saw of if was Clain leaving it at a police box. It was something Phyrne gave him too. I would think you would want to keep something that a girl you like gave you even if Nessa is already around.

    xcswmboy
  7. The pervert jokes are still funny for me so I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of them.
    I also think the man was Claine’s father, and they showed it at the episode end, still alive and tweaking his stuff, so maybe he’ll come back. And nice job checking the seiyuus, and even spotting a typo.

    Rockmanshi
  8. I probably had a lot on my mind when I was watching this, but I did not realize that the man could of been Clain’s father judging by the photo at the end :O That explains why the man took photos of Clain when he saw him, but I don’t know why he would point a gun at his son.

    Interesting look at different lost millennium factions, and Phryne being a tomboy really adds to her attractiveness 🙂

    Chocolate
  9. I just noticed that the clock in the old photo is the same as the one in that man’s house. So Clain was born in that house, not the house he’s currently living in. Too bad h can’t remember about that.

    tanukichan
    1. Wow, I didn’t notice that until you said. Nice catch there. Now I really think that man is Clain’s father. The only thing not clear to me is why is that he pointed a gun at him and is that how he should act when he sees his son? Surely, he must have realized that Clain is his son, right.

      Or let’s look at it in another way. Because of the convinience of the Fractale System, and the fact that everybody wants to be “free”, families live apart from each other. And this is what happened, even families couldn’t recognize each other anymore because of they live away from each other. They lost their bond as a real family. They are only family by blood.

      The Story You Don't Know
    1. I do like this series but to be frank…. I was expecting more. I thought it was gonna be much better then the laidback snorefest this has turned out to be. But on the flipside I had no intentions that Madoka would turn out to be the BEST anime of this winter season. Look what happened there.

      Karmafan
    1. recessive genes?

      if dad had black/blonde genes and mom had brown/blonde genes then there is a 25% chance of their child having blonde/blonde genes making him blonde

      more likely scenario… its anime their hair can be whatever color they want

      redlupine
  10. The existence of Phyrne overrides her being a girl WTF!? Oh Phyrne, how I love your unique personality for a female protagonist.How I wish to see the day that you punch Enri in the face and double team her with Nessa, possibly doing some stomps to her stomach.

    anishuma

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