The story takes place on an island resembling a 22nd-century Republic of Ireland, in a world ruled by "Fractale", a satellite-based virtual reality and content delivery system which ensures mankind's stability and prosperity. One day, Clain meets a fleeing girl called Phryne, who disappears during the night leaving a pendant. When he is able to activate the pendant, Clain sets out on a journey with the girl-shaped avatar Nessa to look for Phryne and discovers the secret behind the Fractale System.
Characters
Main characters
Supporting characters
Antagonists
Media
Manga
A manga adaptation illustrated by Mutsumi Akasaki was serialized in Square Enix's Gangan Online magazine between September 30, 2010 and November 17, 2011. Three tankōbon volumes were published.
Anime
The 11-episode Fractale anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures in cooperation with Ordet, aired in Japan between January 13 and March 31, 2011 on Fuji TV's Noitamina programming block. The anime aired on Kansai TV and Tokai TV at later dates. The anime is directed by Yutaka Yamamoto, the story was developed by Hiroki Azuma, and the screenplay was written by Mari Okada. Chief animator Masako Tashiro based the character design used in the anime on the illustrator Hidari's original concept. The music was produced by Sōhei Shikano and the sound director is Yōta Tsuruoka. The anime's opening theme song is "Harinezumi", and the ending themes are English and Japanese versions of "Down by the Salley Gardens" that was written in 1889 by William Butler Yeats; both songs are sung by Hitomi Azuma. The single containing the opening theme and the English version of the ending theme was released on March 9, 2011 by Epic/Sony Records. The series was released on four DVD and Blu-ray compilation volumes between April 22 and July 22, 2011. North American anime distributor Funimation Entertainment streamed the series one hour after the premiere on their video portal and other sites after a brief interruption by the Fractale Production Committee that lasted until Funimation started taking legal action against illegally released episodes of the anime. Funimation released the series in 2012 on DVD and Blu-ray.
Episode list
Novel
A serial novel written by Hiroki Azuma based on Fractale titled Fractale/Reloaded was serialized between the February and May 2011 issues of Media Factory's Da Vinci magazine. The novel features a different story in the Fractale universe than the manga and anime, which follow the same story.
