Last Exile

My girlfriend and I caught this series on 'Tech TV' during a Sunday marathon. We were drawn to the compelling story line, Intelligent characters and fantastic visuals. We were so drawn that we went out and found it on DVD at a good video store so we could watch it again.

It does bear a passing resemblance to "Castle in the Clouds", but with a more 'grown-up' sensibility. It's a shame episodes 14 through 26 will not be available to be shown on TV until next year, it's going to be a long wait.

Tech TV has previews of the various episodes if you want to take a closer look.

Update: Saw the last 13 episodes, and the pace of the series grows more relentless until the tension is almost unbearable for the last four episodes. Excellent story arc, and some very affecting tragedy at the end. Strongly recommended to any interested in a good story, strong characters, and inheritable visuals should check this series out.

It is a rare anime series that requires 26 episodes to tell its story well. Most could do with half that number, as much of the time directors and writers stray too far from the plot line itself into meaningless subplots. However, Last Exile is one of the few, if one of the only, series I have watched that merits more than the allotted number. Last Exile does not find itself bogged down in side-stories - there are no side stories in Last Exile - everything matters, down to the very last second of the show. In a way, this is why the show needed 30 episodes rather the allotted 26. The last episode especially shows that the creative team had so much more to tell, but just didn't have the space. Because of this, the ending may seem rushed and unfulfilling, which it is. 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. With its fair share of tragedy, the characters in Last Exile do not disappoint, right down to the very last moment. 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.

I recently finished watching this 26 episode TV series,twice,and I will be watching it again soon. 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? What is the Significance of the Interferrance of the Guild in the struggle between Disith and Anatoray? Why is Prestale Dying? Well,you'll just have to watch and find out by yourself.Take it from me this is a journey worth taking.

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. The characters are lovable and their interactions are genuinely enjoyable and surprisingly human. The setting is steampunk inspired and meticulously detailed.

Overall, one hell of a ride, and easily the best anime I have ever had the pleasure of viewing. This is a must see for not just fans of anime, but fans of excellent storytelling and entertainment in general.

"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 two leads Claus and Lavie's relationship portrays itself as a chameleon jumping from comrades to partners, childhood friends, surrogate siblings and repressed lovers. 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. For most of the show's running time that does not happen though. It bears a unique sense of drama that I find hard to see in other forms. Nowhere but in anime or Greek tragedy could you a see a person fall in love and heart break in the same moment.