Last Exile

LAST EXILE

General
I recently purchased “Last Exile” complete DVD set for Christmas and seeing Range Murata’s DVD beautiful covers and a chance to watch another steam punk, I knew I wanted this in my anime collection.

Content


Story and subplots:

The Last Exile’ story is focused on Claus Valca and Lavie Head, respectively pilot and navigator of a small but maneuverable ship also known as a vanguard ship. The two young characters embark in a couple of missions and a race before accepting to escort a mysterious little girl named Alvis Hamilton to the mysterious Alex Row, captain of the legendary ship: The Silvana.

In the Silvana, Claus and Lavie will discover that the ship’s captain has not only a blood feud against the Guild and is adamant to retrieve all of the Exile items but he is also linked to their past.

The two characters eventually entangle themselves in relationships with the ship’s crew, eventually even imprisoning two Guild members: Dio and his bodyguard/servant Lucciola. A talented pilot himself, Dio is seen as intrigued and exalted by Claus’ piloting skills and accepts willingly to stay onboard along with his servant.

Together, they plan into finding a mysterious behemoth ship: The Exile…A ship that seems to be the most powerful Guild weapon. In order to do so and thanks to the diplomatic talent of the first officer turned Empress: Sophia, the two warring countries ally together to fight the powerful Guild and support the Silvana in its quest to capture the Exile ship.

And the cost of this mission takes a great toll…

Important facts:

Last Exile’s world evolves within a war between two countries: Anatole and Dysis. Overseen by The Guild, their slow paced but thankfully short air battles are ruled by an idea of chivalry and regulations. The beginning of the series shows Dysith forces turning treacherous and inflicting heavy losses to the Anatolian force. The Anatolian fleet is saved in extremis by the appearance of The Silvana instead of an intervention from The Guild which has supervised past battles.

Another important fact is the value placed on water. Water is of value in the series and the characters have the chance to drink different quality. The first water seems almost as exhilarating as alcohol for all inhabitants and food as a result is also expensive. Anatolians give the impression that their water reserves are much more extensive than their Dysith counterparts.

Dysith, as shown later in the series, is a desolated ice and snow covered land. Not much survives there and hence the possible reason for the war. The Dysith are not the real antagonists in this series, they are much like Anatolians, pawns to a Guild twisted game of chess.

The Guild’s Claudia unit, a technological unit fueling all the air battleships, makes for the last of the two important resources in Last Exile. Given to both warring factions, they are protected and controlled by The Guild. This resource can be removed from a ship and returned to its owner, resulting then into the crash of the ship it was attached to. The vanguard ships are the only one excluded from such a technology and hence become a factor and one of the reasons of success at the end of the series.


Personal opinion

- Some of the characters are not fleshed out enough and brought me to question a few of their actions. Alvie, as an example, is not given a back story and we have no real idea where she came even if she is an important part of the story. Where was the rest of the Silvana’s crew? We see mostly the mechanics doing most of the tasks and only a nod here and there to other crewmembers.
- A couple of oddities and questions from the storyline and subplots that could have been patched up or adjusted. Can someone tell me where the heck did The Silvana come from? Was it made by Alex? If so where did he get so much money?
- Graphic and animation is 2D with some 3D added (much like Samurai 7 and Blue Submarine #6) and do a somewhat constant job but thankfully is still quite enjoyable. Yet, I still wish (or pray) Range Murata would become an animator one day. The covers are beautiful pieces of manga/anime art.
- The music is wonderful and the two songs (beginning and end credits) are memorable enough to hum with a smile.

Nonetheless, Last Exile is a fun ride if you overlook the different holes in storyline and characters. It’s a great effort from Gonzo and in my opinion, better than Samurai 7.

I’d give this show a C+