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Milkiyo's Last Exile Tv Review

Last Exile

Last Exile tv Review

Story & Characters

I am no fan of any anime which main focus is on machines (gundams, aircrafts, spaceships etc) but Last Exile is an anime featuring fights between airships that grabbed my attention until the end. This series is directed by Koichi Chigira, with character designs by Range Murata and production design by Mahiro Maeda.

It all began with the introduction of the two main characters; Claus and childhood friend, Lavi going on about their daily lives as couriers using an old rundown vanship their fathers left them. However, they have more in mind than just being couriers. They have ambitions of flying over The Grand Stream; the place where their fathers lost their lives. Entering an airship race led them nearer towards their goal. The beginning though, was just the icing of the cake and it has little to do with the storyline. The real story began when they crossed paths with a dying man and a little girl, Alvis Hamilton in a broken vanship. Thus, they helped him to finish his mission to deliver the girl to a formidable battleship known as Silvana. Many of the crew of Silvana have a very interesting background especially the captain Alex Rowe. Unknowing to them the significance of the little girl, Claus and Lavi found their destinies entwined with the Silvana.

All of this took place in a world that is divided into several kingdoms and there are frequent wars among them but they still abide the laws of chivalry. Well, most of them anyway.

Through this war, the Guild was introduced. The Guild had authority over the kingdoms as their technology is in its most advanced form compared to others. A character from the Guild which I find really interesting is the leader of the Guild, Maestro Delphine Eraclea. She is not your typical antagonist as something about her is very bewitching although there is a sense of great evil, power and sickness surrounding her. Her younger brother, Dio Eraclea is also a very interesting character as he is neither good nor bad. What happened to him was really unnerving though. Unfortunately this part contains a spoiler.

Most of the interesting parts contain spoilers anyway....which is good since this shows that the anime is not predictable. In fact, one of the main features of this anime is its unpredictability.

Rating: 9

Art

Gonzo is known for production high quality art and Last Exile is no exception. The buildings, airships and even the scenery are all bursting with creativity. The art style may not be my cup of tea but it is nevertheless very impressive. All structures are well defined and the characters' proportions are balanced. I noticed that the females of this anime are drawn with a lack of feminine touch which suits this anime's theme of violence and raging wars.

It seems like Gonzo did his work well; the world of Last Exile is carefully planned out and beautifully drawn.
I do not really have much to comment here as I could not find a single flaw in the art.

Rating: 9

Sound

I watched Last Exile in English dub and it was surprisingly good considering most of the English dubs are terrible. However, I find Dio's voice rather unfitting for his gender. I had problems in the beginning regarding his gender (could not determine if he was male or female). However, his voice suits him character wise as all Guild members are portrayed to be very elegant and civilized.

For Claus and Lavi's voice, they are given childlike voices yet the voices gave off a sense of maturity. Alex Rowe's voice suited him as well since his voice gave a very commanding presence befitting of a captain.

As for the opening song "Cloud Age Symphony" by Shuntaro Okino, I find it really catchy though somewhat long winded towards the end. You would have thought that the recorder got broken while recording it halfway. The ending song, "Over the Sky" by Hitomi Kuroishi creates a very dreamy atmosphere which leaves you feeling very relaxed.

Overall, the theme songs are absolutely impressive and I find myself watching the opening and ending over and over again just to listen to the songs which is unusual since I always fast forward towards the story. A must-listen for all classical music fans.

Rating: 8

Presentation

Fun? This is why I watched Last Exile until the end in the first place. Every moment has a great amount of suspense and drama not to mention a sense of grandeur. You can practically feel all kinds of emotions in this anime (except humor); despair, happiness, sadness or just plain frustration.

Last Exile also gives you the feeling that you are altogether in a new world where flight plays a major role in our lives. I would recommend this anime to you since it has left me feeling glad that I completed this anime (I have a habit of stopping halfway through animes I do not like).

Last Exile however, is a rather complex anime and some of you might find it confusing at first. I had to pay real attention to the anime to understand what it is all about but that is not a big deal since Last Exile can be quite addictive.

One thing that brings this whole anime down is its ending. I do not mean that it is not good but I felt that there is a loose end especially where a main character is concerned. It is like after all the character had done for them, they seemed to have forgotten the character. Sadly, I could not dwell in this further due to spoilers again.

Overall, Last Exile is a very satisfying anime that challenges your imagination. A true masterpiece if it wasn't for the last bit.

Rating: 7

Final Verdict

8.1667 (good)

Reviewed by Milkiyo, May 05, 2008

Comments

  1. shoujoboy May 06, 2008

    Two things rub me the wrong way about your review: the first being that you have a few too many line breaks. It really seems to me that one or two sentences doesn't really qualify as a paragraph and could probably be tied in with lines near it, particularly in the Presentation section. The other thing is a few of your word choices don't match your scores, a big no-no. Your final line is "A true masterpiece." followed by a score of a '7'. Now if a '7' is what you consider a masterpiece, what word would you use to describe a '9' or a '10'? And just as you said "I could not find a single flaw in the art." and gave it an 8. There had to be some reason you docked it two points, what were they? I know you said it wasn't your cup of tea, but to then say you found no flaws kind of confuses me.

    Probably just me being picky.

  2. Hasaki-Keissi May 06, 2008

    Although I agree with shoujoboy on the differences in our "grading," it doesn't stick me. Okay, I lie. "A true Masterpiece" comment followed by a "7," kinda seems awkward.

    And yes, I can understand the anime centricity on scifi mecha as being a little annoying. Though, shows that lack those often lack in other areas, such as eye captivity and tension. Honestly, Last Exile didn't keep my attention. But, perhaps I'll give it another shot from what I've read.

    Nice review.

  3. Milkiyo May 06, 2008

    eeps..I was hoping you wouldn't notice >:D now I'll have to explain why I gave it less..which is really hard to explain lols. thinking...thinking...

  4. BossMac May 07, 2008

    Lots of conflicting stuff here and there... you should really try avoiding superlatives unless you'd give it a 9 or 10.

    I still see lots of things to improve on but you should start with determining how you will describe and score each segment. Your review gave me the feeling that you really liked it yet you gave it a particularly lower score. Things like these usually happen until you can determine for yourself what is your own personal gauge for ranking and rating the story, art, sound and presentation of a title.

  5. Milkiyo May 07, 2008

    ok, I already explained why I gave it a 7 for the presentation but for the art I changed the rating since I find it rather hard to explain why I gave it a 8. There is a reason (I do not blindly rate the animes lol) but I can't seem to form it out in words -_-

  6. mistergua May 08, 2008

    I love this series. Easily on my top ten favorites list. Those airship battles were cool.

  7. vinzard Mute Member Oct 31, 2008

    i just like the graphix

  8. SpaceFrog23 Dec 07, 2008

    I thought it was great and the character designs were amazing. The animation was nice and the story was interesting. However, it wasn't something that I would personally re-watch again.

  9. beryl0402 Mar 15, 2009

    i love the art

  10. CeZed75 May 07, 2009

    Great chara-designer involve great anime, nothing else to add.

  11. lordryo Jul 28, 2009

    Good review1

  12. SchRita Aug 23, 2009

    Thanks for the review!

    merged: 10-31-2009 ~ 09:04pm
    Thanks for the review!

  13. Baraka-Senpai Jul 05, 2011

    Nice anime!
    Thanks for review!

    Range Murata BANZAI!

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