Last Exile
Tags: sci-fi

Plot synopsis:
=== Last Exile ===
The story revolves around fifteen-year-old pilot Claus Valca and navigator Lavie Head, who fly their vanship as sky couriers in the nation of Anatoray. Although they usually take up missions of relatively low difficulty, they are one day asked to complete the mission of a dying courier. The mission, rated seven stars out of ten, is to deliver a young girl named Alvis Hamilton to the mysterious battleship Silvana. Despite their fears, Claus and Lavie deliver Alvis to the battleship but decide to remain aboard to keep her safe.
Claus and Lavie are initially treated as intruders but eventually befriend the crew of the Silvana. They learn that the Guild intends to capture Alvis for reasons unknown to them. In the first battle between the Silvana and Guild forces, Guild member Dio Eraclea takes an interest in Claus's flying skills and his signature move, the Immelmann turn. Wanting to learn more about Claus, Dio willingly allows himself to be captured. He reveals to the Silvana's captain, Alex Row, the existence of one of four Mysteria which act as a key to something known as Exile.
When the Silvana's executive officer, Sophia Forrester, is revealed to be the Emperor's daughter and heir, she returns to Anatoray at the request of the prime minister. Sophia assumes the throne after the Emperor is killed during a surprise attack at the capital by the Disith nation and pleads for an alliance with Disith in order to capture Exile and end the Guild's control. Sophia reveals to Claus that Alvis is linked to the Mysteria, but as preparations for the assault are made, Alvis is captured by the Guild.
Delphine Eraclea, the Maestro of the Guild, reveals that Exile is a colony ship used by those who first settled their world, and she intends to use Alvis and the Mysteria to take control of it. However, Claus and Alvis escape the Guild stronghold and are reunited with Lavie when the alliance fleet attacks. As the fleet follows Exile past the Grand Stream and enters Disith, it is able to destroy Delphine's forces. After Claus and Alvis recite the four Mysteria, Exile reveals itself as a starship that will carry people back to their old home world.
=== Last Exile: Travelers from the Hourglass ===
A manga set right after the events of Last Exile and before Fam, The Silver Wing, Travelers from the Hourglass continues the story of Claus, Lavie, Alvis, and the others who left Prester and settled on Earth, their ancestors' home world. As they get used to their new home, Al is pursued by the Earth Guild.
=== Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing ===
Taking place 10 years after the events of Last Exile, Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing is set on Earth, the original home world of the colonists of Prester. The new story focuses on Fam Fan Fan and Giselle Collette, two vespa vanship pilots who work as Sky Pirates, capturing and selling battleships for a living.
Fam and Giselle get into an adventure when they and the Sky Pirates rescue Liliana il Grazioso Merlo Turan and her younger sister, Millia Il Velch Cutrettola Turan, Princesses of the Turan Kingdom, from the clutches of the mighty Ades Federation. The Federation, led by Empress Sārā Augusta and Premier Luscinia Hāfez, is on an all out war against nations who descended from immigrants who came back to Earth by Exile ships. As Ades was the only nation to stay on Earth when it was in a state of chaos and ruin, Luscinia believes that the Exile immigrants have no right to return to Earth since their ancestors abandoned Earth when it was in chaos only to return when Earth was viable to live on again and force the original inhabitants of Earth off their lands to form their own nations. To return these lands to their original inhabitants, Luscinia leads the Ades Federation to conquer the immigrant nations and destroy their armies, with Turan being one of them.
After Luscinia kidnaps Liliana, who has the ability to control an Exile, Luscinia summons an Exile to destroy Iglasia, the capital of Turan, killing its soldiers and the King of Turan, leading to the surrender of Turan to Ades. With everything she cared for lost, Millia is given refuge by the Sky Pirates, where Fam promises to help Millia regain her kingdom.

Review: The first thing that strikes you when watching this anime series is that the world of "Last Exile" is much like ours  yet very, very different.
That, in essence, is the magic and appeal of the story.Imagine this world structured like a chess game: two diametrically opposite races  each with its own territory separated by a gulf, both engaged in mortal combat overseen by a race of neutral arbitrators dictating the rules of the game.Next throw in two teenage orphans, Claus and Lavie, who own a bi-plane sort of rickety flying contraption called a Vanship, and who run a courier service delivering mail.
But while powerful, these lumbering behemoths are no match for the seemingly invincible Guild ships that are light years ahead in technology and whose overt purpose is to ensure that both parties play by the rules  or else.The plot swings into full gear in the second episode when Claus and Lavie, during a Vanship race, pick up a little girl called Alvis from a Vanship crippled by a Guild "star" ship.
These are (almost too) slowly revealed, one cliffhanger episode at a time.Produced by Japan's Gonzo animation studios (www.gonzo.co.jp), famous for such breakthrough anime series as "Hellsing" and "Blue Submarine No. 6", "Last Exile" brings together the best in anime storytelling, traditional as well as computer generated 3-D animation, unpredictable plot twists, likable characters, imaginative soundtrack (by Dolce Triade), comedy and tragedy, hope and despair  all in a symphony of flawless execution.The attention to detail in this series is characteristically Japanese  simply amazing.
One such example is that writers (Kouichi Chigira, Atsuhiro Tomioka, Shuichi Kamiyama and Tomohiro Yamashita) have intricately woven in the chess theme into the story: by naming each episode after a different chess move, scenes of intense discussion over chess matches, and a plot twist featuring the promotion of a pawn to a queen.Like a piece of complex origami that starts out looking like a flower  "Last Exile"  with each plot unfolding reveals its hidden gems and slowly but surely wraps up into a form so unlike its beginning that the viewer is left to marvel at the inventiveness and dedication of its creators  while simply enjoying the ride..
Last Exile has to be one of the best anime series I have ever seen.
Just when it seemed like anime series seemed to be coming from a cookie cutter type mold; Last Exile came and broke it.
Last Exile,is Gonzo Studio's 10 th anniversary Vanity project and their efforts to make it something special shows.Take an epic story,characters you can care about,a fantastic score by Dolce Triad,production design that could teach George Lucas and ILM lessons, and then add some of the finest integration of hand drawn and computer animation through Gonzo's patented Gonzo Digimation that is nothing short of amazing.
This is a TV series with Movie Quality Work.Anime fans and critics have been raving about this series for good reason.
Last Exile is an Action ,Adventure, Romance, Retro Sci-fi, Fantasy Epic that tells the story of Claus Valca and Lavie Head,two couriers, who are swept in events that change the fate of their world,Prestale.Prestale is a world where two great Kingdoms,Disith and Anatoray, are locked in war fought in the skies by the massive air battleships that are fantastic.The battles are supposed be fought by the rule of Chivalry as supervised by the "neutral" Guild.Clause and Lavie while delivering a message to the Flagship of the Commander of the Anatorey are witness to a change that shows something has changed and not for better.Shortly afterwards , they find themselves taking over a mission from a dying Van ship pilot to deliver a little girl,Alvis Hamilton, to the Rogue Battleship Silvana.Who is Alvis Hamilton, and why is it that people will kill to posess her?
"Last Exile" was a series I yearned for for a long time, a story focused on characters and subtly engaged within a profound and fantastical world.
However out of a need to finish the plot, the character development necessary to bring the story full circle falls short.I loved this series for really taking the time to show who the characters are and really let them take hold of the story.
The tone and pacing of most of the episodes reminded me of the HBO series "The Wire" which also let the story fall together one pebble at a time.
The series is brilliant for capturing small moments between characters that hint at their growing bonds and frustrations like a scene in a crowded elevator at a casino, a soldier chanting before a battle and when one character puts on the clothes of another in the desert.
The central bond though lies with Claus and the shy, mysterious girl Alvis who hold and drive the characters and the story together throughout the series."Last Exile" seems quite conventional in terms of plot, but it is only when it supersedes the characters that the series falls flat.
Even briefly seen characters demand our attention, like the musketeer and ship's captain in the first episode.Well, back to watching more of the show.
We were drawn to the compelling story line, Intelligent characters and fantastic visuals.
Strongly recommended to any interested in a good story, strong characters, and inheritable visuals should check this series out..
Last Exile is a masterpiece through and through.The most attention drawing aspect of this series is its incredible animation.
It mixes 2d animation with 3d CGI almost perfectly and delivers an explosive, in-your-face presentation that can only be rivaled by feature anime films like Blood: The Last Vampire.The story behind Last Exile is interesting and emotional.
Fantastic animation held back by spotty plot and story.
It felt like a love letter to the art and culture of air flight, but then that line clashes a bit with the whole sci-fi aspect of the series.
It felt like the story took an abrupt turn, the way that James Cameron's "The Abyss" did.
But the ending wasn't built up the same way, leading to the rushed feeling at the end.On the bright side, not only does the artwork shine, but there are a few bright dramatic moments where the director builds the scene to an impressive crescendo.
I am not an expert in animation, nor do I let it get in the way if the story is good.
What pushed my buttons is the way the series constructs a world, adds interesting lead characters and then ends the story.
Yes, this is not one of those animes that drag the story, no matter how nice, and then end the series with no closure because the ran out of steam before finishing the plot.
This is a good all fashioned circular story with build-up and release.Then there is the world, reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Pandora mixed with a little Dune, both in storyline and socio-ecological meaning.
All the goals set in the beginning are met in the end, either in success or disaster.It is a nice anime series.
It is a rare anime series that requires 26 episodes to tell its story well.
However, Last Exile is one of the few, if one of the only, series I have watched that merits more than the allotted number.
However, all of this fails to noticeably detract from GONZO's masterpiece.As with the majority of anime series, the plot line of Last Exile is simple and, to say the least, predictable.
What separates anime from traditional American shows is the level of emphasis put on characters and the emotional connections between them.
From the strength of deep ties of friendship to the incredible power of revenge, Last Exile presents the emotions of each character so powerfully it compels the viewer to understand and accept them.
These characters are what will, someday when the animation is dated and the audio considered choppy, tie to the viewer to the series and draw them back for more..
Overall I'd say this is a great series, a solid 8 out of 10.The biggest strength for the series is by far the amazing artwork and animation.
The art and animation is incredible and the story is well above most others, give it a watch..
I'm an animator and I was initially drawn to the series after seeing the artwork, which by the way is beautiful.
For a series, I was rather impressed as I am choosy about what I watch, some series have such terrible animation that not even a good story can redeem it.
There needs to be a fairly strong marriage between animation and story for it to be a success, and Last Exile has it.
I'd have to say that it looked as though GONZO was pushing to show off the use of new 3D technology with this one and at times the 3D and 2D elements collided in odd ways.
As is sometimes problematic with series (deadlines deadlines deadline!!!) some of the animation looked a little stiff, but hey, you clearly get the idea of what is going on and it's the story that really gets you.The plot, which everyone else has kindly outlined, is rather intriguing.
Whether you listen to the Japanese or English audio, both versions use good vocal dynamics (re: none of that monotone "I'm just reading the lines off a paper" stuff) The voice acting gave you a sense of each character's personality (although Lavie's English voice acting got irritating at times).Overall, if steam-punk is your genre you will enjoy this series.
The story is exciting and interesting, and you really get attached to the characters.
I was really sad when it ended, I wish it could keep going.I would highly recommend this to anybody, even if you're not an anime fan..
Regardless of the TV/Video set that you'll use to go through the 26 episodes of "Last Exile" series, you ought to be amazed with the excellent quality of the graphic design, the advanced & thoughtful choices of the universe that has been created here.
Honestly, it is worth watching that series just for the graphic sake of it.Besides, the story, though it might be a bit "already seen before" is pretty easy to follow and won't let you down.
It depicts a war times between 2 conflicting races that are indeed both under the control of a 3rd species called "The Guild".Though the characters are a bit "simples" in their definition (this is where you realized that this series was aimed at young people), it is a 8 out 10 animated series that you want to watch..
I truly care about each of the characters and most of them are fairly multi- dimensional (at least as far as Anime standards go.)I highly recommend this.
On the down side I think there were way too many female characters, which is about standard for this kind of Anime.
Also, there are a few CGI scenes that I don't think look good enough for a series of this high quality.
The music was also great so as the animation, and the story couldn't be better.
The director of one of my favorite movie's, "Akira"."Last Exile": The anime show that I will be reviewing.The story is about two kids named, Lavi and Claus, one day they find a guy that tell's them to take a little girl named, Al, to take her to a battleship being controlled by the captain of the ship, Alex Row. They soon find themselves in a battle between Alex and The Guild and learn about a ship known as, Exile.This is one of my favorite anime show's.
The story is interesting, the character's were likable, and the animation was incredible.
It's just like the animation in, "Titan A.E." and "Treasure Planet".The only problem I have with this show is that sometime's it can be very boring at time's.But overall, "Last Exile", is an anime show worth watching if you're into the Steampunk genre or someone looking for a good anime show to watch..
The character interaction is good old cel looking stuff, which adds a feeling of warmth to it overall.
I simply loved the way characters were introduced and how they all developed over the episodes.
Overall this anime series really goes to show what you can achieve by putting together wonderful characters and story to match with its great, almost epic, animation (which is the best I've seen in any anime to date).
A very good anime series.
"Last Exile" it is a pretty good anime show.
It combines great action sequences with likable characters and a incredible animation, not to mention the pretty good music of it.The plot of "Last Exile", reminds me somewhat "Star Wars" and "Final Fantasy".
Of course, that doesn't mind it is a rip-off, because it manages to create its own mythology and epic.The combination of CGI and traditional animation had a pretty stylish and well made result, and it is one of the most impressive aspect of it.However, it doesn't only delivers great visuals, but also a great, epic storyline as well, with very interesting characters and unpredictable plot twists."Last Exile" is a great show, and I think that even those who aren't anime fans might like this.
A must see series, highly recommended to this show and the second season, The Last Exile - Fam - The Silver Wing..
The next scene introduces the two main characters; young pilot Claus and his Navigator Lavie who are working on their aircraft.
The planes in the world of Last Exile aren't like ours, they lack wings but gain lift from a chemical called claudia.
Thankfully the series doesn't dwell on the technology the viewer just has to accept that this is how things are in this world.Initially Claus and Lavie fly as couriers, this all changes when they see another vanship crash and agree to complete the dying pilot's mission.
From then on they get into adventures with the Silvana and her crew as they confront various opponents and find out what makes Alvis so special and why the mysterious Guild is so keen to get their hands on her.There are three main groups in this series; the nations of Anatoray (where our heroes come from) and Disith seem to be in perpetual battle using ships which use technology provided by the Guild.
The ships themselves look more like early battleships than aircraft as they lumber through the sky engaging each other with cannons and soldiers armed with muskets.While the series looks great its real strength lies in its large cast of interesting characters, not all of whom are quite what they seem at first and some of whom won't survive till the end.
Everybody will have they own favourite characters, after Claus and Lavie my favourite was Lord Dio, a young Guild pilot who befriends our two heroes after being impressed by Claus's flying.These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles..
The whole thing just oozes quality in nearly every aspect.I'm not in any way shape or form an expert in animation, but even so I can say with some confidence that visually this is a masterpiece.
Her Alvis was cute and very Chi-like which was fitting for the character while her Tatiana seemed stilted at first but improved quite a bit as the series went on.
Soon the series was nearly over so now I'm thinking well this must be one of those shows that weaves a story loosely together and then ties it up tight with an episode or two in the end; that's cool.
Then the final episode came and went and still I was left with many important questions unanswered as well as a few new ones.The one other aspect of the story that I didn't particularly care for was the awkward romantic angle that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Mullin, for example, was probably my favorite character in the show and while he didn't get much screen time at all in comparison to other characters he shows a surprising amount of depth and growth.All in all Last Exile was extremely good from beginning to end, although the end did feel a bit rushed.
With spectacular audio and visuals, a story that pulls you in and makes you care about the characters and the world they're in, it seems to have everything a great show needs.
With just a couple more episodes to fill in some fairly important story gaps it could have been truly great..
With just a couple more episodes to fill in some fairly important story gaps it could have been truly great..
Rescent and old.It's timeless animation that I can see in 15 years time still being rather awe inspiring.The music is amazing.
The anime has well thought characters and some good episodes.
If I were to rate the series in three parts and out of 10 -The first few episodes would be - 8/10 | The episodes in the middle - 6/10 | The last few episodes - 4.5/10So basically, the anime has a great start.
It felt to me like the makers were in some kind of an hurry to finish off the story.
As a lover of the art of anime and manga, I found Last Exile beautiful.
The composition of scenes, timing, sound affects and music were pleasing to the eye and ear.However, I found a lot to fault in this beautiful series.From a storytelling point of view, there was some disjointedness, especially in the final episode, which IMHO had three of four episodes compressed into a final five minutes, as if planners had expected to have another half or full season to finish the story.
Since anime has a tradition of letting the viewer fill in plot blanks, however, I'm was little bothered by this, deducting at most 1 point out of 10 for it.What bothered me the most about LE is that, like much anime scifi, it's bad science fiction.