Last Exile

In the world of Prester, flight is the dominant mode of transportation, made possible by Claudia Fluid: a liquidized form of the crystals that are produced on the planet. An organization known solely as "the Guild" has absolute authority over the skies, with a monopoly on the engines that make use of this fluid. Moreover, as ecological disasters destabilize the warring countries of Anatoray and Disith, the Guild also arbitrates in the disputes between the two. Caught in the middle of the conflict are Sky Couriers, piloting small, two-person vanships that fly freely through the sky.

Last Exile follows the adventures of two teenagers who dream of surpassing their parents: Claus Valca, son of a famous vanship pilot, and Lavie Head, Claus' best friend and navigator. Their job as couriers entails passing through an air current called the Grand Stream that separates the hostile nations, which even standard airships struggle to survive. However, when they take on a high-rated delivery to bring an orphan girl named Alvis Hamilton to the battleship Silvana, they get dragged into a much greater conflict that pits them against the might of the Guild.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Last Exile is the 10th anniversary work of animation studio Gonzo. Its episode titles were originally given in English and use terms from chess.

Episode Videos

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Last Exile: Sunadokei no Tabibito
Sequel:	Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam
Summary:	Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam - Adjournment

Neya, Michiko
Japanese

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Staff

Chigira, Kouichi

Director, Series Composition

Tsuruoka, Youta

Sound Director

Aoki, Ei

Episode Director, Storyboard

Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

"Cloud Age Symphony" by Shuntaro Okino

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Ending Theme

"Over The Sky" by Hitomi

Reviews

Dec 8, 2023

MizuhoKamui

Recommended

Although I find the steampunk genre interesting, I haven't had many opportunities to watch or read it. Steampunk anime isn't particularly common either, so I was surprised to find myself liking it.

The story in Last Exile holds up pretty well, in my opinion. It starts off by immersing you in the world with little explanation and gradually reveals more information as the mystery of the Exile unfolds. While I appreciate this method of world-building through "show, don't tell" rather than exposition, I personally had some difficulty following the story at times, especially when I took breaks between episodes. It sets up a great premise and ... world but has flaws. The vast world around us begs for exploration, but the main characters spend too much time sitting on a ship in a fair number of episodes. Although not all of these episodes were poor, many felt like wasted time. This is a significant issue with Last Exile itself. Many things are either under-explained or over-explained, resulting in an unbalanced feel to the show as a whole. For example, we get a pleasant dynamic between Lavie and Claus, and Lavie is hinted to have a lot of depth. However, she is quickly relegated to the role of a super-dependent supporting character. Additionally, their backstory received little coverage, and while they eventually got to it, they took too long to reveal it, and it was a short sequence. If their backstory had been focused on earlier and given more screen time, many moments would have had a lot more impact. I also found it bothersome that the story got sidetracked three-quarters of the way in and turned into a silly Misunderstanding-Romance-Drama anime for a few episodes. Although the time it lasted wasn't particularly long, it felt like an eternity. Despite its flaws, the epic conclusion was handled exceptionally well. There were some loose ends and strange parts that didn't make sense upon further reflection, but ultimately, I was left feeling content, which is the most important thing to me.

I also have issues with the main character, Claus. While he isn't as dull as some other characters, he isn't particularly interesting either. He's your typical "I want to protect my friends and do the right thing" archetype, somehow better than trained professionals at everything despite being younger than most of them. This isn't to say that every character in the show is similarly meh-worthy. For instance, the entire backstory with Lucciola and Dio was incredibly interesting, and while being somewhat of a stereotype, Alex Row still managed to enthrall me. Delphine was chillingly creepy and eccentric, capturing every scene she was in, and I couldn't help but smile at the interactions of the Silvana mechanics crew despite their dark introduction that was strangely kind of quickly glossed over and forgotten about. While many of them are certainly not the most original or unique, I enjoyed watching their interactions and development throughout the series.

The ships' excellent animation makes them feel like they're part of the 2D world. The panning and flowing shots through the vast skies are breathtaking, and the dogfights are a lot of fun. The great aesthetic design adds to the atmosphere, portraying the scale and height of the skies and landscapes below. The animation is fluid and consistent, with unique character designs that perfectly suit their respective characters. My only significant complaint is that when the characters face directly toward the screen, their noses practically disappear, which looks weird.

The OST as a whole is well-executed, providing solid contributions to the atmosphere with some well-crafted themes and instrument choices. Although it never really stood out to me as exceptionally exceptional, it did its job well. The only flaw I noticed was that there were a few instances where the music became too dominant, detracting from the show, but that was a rare occurrence.

Last Exile boasts a large cast, a unique setting, and an intriguing storyline. The only downside is that the slower portions of the show prevented me from giving it a higher score.

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Dec 29, 2022

DameKiss

Mixed Feelings

Without a doubt, the strong point of this series is the construction of its universe. While the character development isn't bad, it's not really a standout point either. That's why some people might find it boring.
But I still enjoyed it quite a bit, even though, as I mentioned, it can get boring at times. But what it does have, it does well.
I think this series never really reached its full potential, which is a shame. Either way, I recommend that everyone should give this series a chance, especially people who are a bit older. I wouldn't recommend it to very young people due to the ...

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Jan 6, 2020

Nocturnia

Not Recommended

Preliminary (17/26 eps)

This is a review of a partial completion (17/26). I usually don't drop anime once I've finished so much of it, but I did in this case, and will try to detail why below.

First of all, I confess to having a certain bias against the aesthetic of Last Exile. It's an older anime, and it feels even older than it is when watching it. I'm also not a huge fan of steampunk. But while that may have influenced my personal enjoyment, I try not to let it affect anything else (for the record, the "Enjoyment" category got a 3/10).

I'll run through each of the ... review categories.

I gave the story a 3/10. This is because, honestly, I never felt I had any idea what was going on. So, our two main protagonists end up on an adventure and get involved in world-altering events. That's a pretty standard story. But that's neither good nor bad. What makes a story great is when there are clear and compelling bases behind not just the characters' actions, but behind the world. While the characters get a little bit of clear but not compelling support, the world gets next to nothing. I felt like I understood what was going on with at least Claus, Lavie, and perhaps Alex, but I was blank as to what was going on in the world. Locations feel similarly drawn out of thin air. Of the various locations we are taken to, none of them feel developed. And some of them simply aren't; I don't even know what the Grand Stream is by episode 17. That's an issue.

I gave the art a 7/10. I'm honestly not one to criticize art that much anyways. It has an old aesthetic. I don't think that aesthetic can really be judged. If poor art actually starts to affect my ability to comprehend what's going on, then I'll rate it lower (for example, the anime movie Hells has a very interesting art style, but it actually has a negative effect on being able to tell what's going on). Last Exile does not have this issue.

I gave the sound a 5/10. I didn't feel anything from the soundtrack. The music is appropriate for the scenes, as are the sound effects, but they don't really enhance it in any way either. Similar to art, however, sound is a very subjective category that is hard to rate.

I gave the characters a 4/10. As mentioned when I was covering story, the characters get some clear, but not compelling bases for their actions. Or at least, the major characters do. However, I felt the antagonists were one of the weakest aspects of the show, and were in large part the reason I felt compelled to stop watching. I have little patience these days for antagonists that speak or act in a meme-worthy "evil" manner. The best antagonists are the ones whose actions are justifiable from a certain perspective. Characters need to be believable. Even if we assume that such ridiculous antagonists are simply extreme narcissists, it still doesn't feel real without giving them counterbalancing traits that real narcissists have. Narcissism alone can't make a believable person.

Besides the poor character development, I also feel the need to mention the appalling state of the female cast. I don't intend to make this a feminist review, but I do feel that the way that Last Exile handles female characters is an issue. The show has an old aesthetic. Lots of shows may use an old aesthetic and therefore portray female characters in an older, more conservative sense. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Nor, for that matter, do I necessarily take issue with ecchi or harem shows that objectify women. Those shows are designed to cater to a particular audience, and generally don't feel like they're validating a view. They're made to be entertainment, not to explicitly validate what they are showing. Last Exile, on the other hand, gave off the impression that it was, because it felt like it was an honest portrayal of how the creators felt. The world of Last Exile isn't a historical period recreation. It's certainly not an ecchi or harem. It does have a somewhat historical feel from the steampunk aesthetic, but it doesn't authentically recreate 19th century society, and several female characters are placed in strong, commanding positions, with matching personalities to boot. Despite this, these characters are consistently portrayed as emotionally weak, having breakdowns from which they must be rescued by associated male characters. The male characters, meanwhile, never have breakdowns of their own. In this way, the anime gives off a rather sexist impression. In any case, if that kind of thing bothers you in anime, I strongly recommend not watching Last Exile.

Overall, I give Last Exile a 4/10. It has a world that I really did feel inspired by at first. I really wanted to get to know this world and the characters in it, and discover what fates awaited them. Unfortunately, Studio Gonzo fails to deliver a strong basis for these things, and the imaginative world they came up with drops like a Vanship with low Claudia pressure.

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'Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam' Movie Listed by Japan Film Committee

Eirin, the Film Classification and Rating Committee of Japan, has added a movie of the 2011 TV series Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam to the list of works it has evaluate...read more

Oct 17, 2015 1:18 AM by arsonal | Discuss (25 comments)

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Poll: Last Exile Episode 26 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) jacobpaige - Jul 12, 2008	104 replies	by Stormy_77 »» Jan 19, 9:53 PM
Poll: Last Exile Episode 23 Discussion jacobpaige - Jul 11, 2008	37 replies	by Stormy_77 »» Jan 19, 9:04 PM
Poll: Last Exile Episode 19 Discussion jacobpaige - Jul 11, 2008	19 replies	by MagicPolly »» Jan 16, 11:50 PM
Poll: Last Exile Episode 16 Discussion jacobpaige - Jul 11, 2008	18 replies	by Stormy_77 »» Jan 15, 3:55 PM
Poll: Last Exile Episode 14 Discussion jacobpaige - Jul 11, 2008	29 replies	by Stormy_77 »» Jan 14, 6:43 PM

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Eraclea, Dio

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