The Essentials
Name: Last Exile
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Episodes: 26
Released: April 7, 2003 - September 29, 2003
Based On: N/A
Director: Koichi Chigira
Produced By: GONZO
US Distribution By: Pioneer/Geneon
Major Japanese Cast
Claus Valca: Mayumi Asano
Lavie Head: Chiwa Saito
Alvis E. Hamilton: Anna Shiraki
Alex Rowe: Toshiyuki Morikawa
Tatiana Wisla: Eri Kitamura
Dio Eracles: Junko Noda
Mullin Shetland: Shinichiro Miki
Lucciola: Tomoe Hanba
Sophia Forrester: Wakana Yamazaki
Maestro Delphine: Michiko Neya
Major English Cast
Claus Valca: Johnny Yong Bosch
Lavie Head: Kari Wahlgren
Alvis E. Hamilton, Tatiana Wisla: Michelle Ruff
Alex Rowe: Crispin Freeman
Dio Eracles: Joshua Seth
Mullin Shetland: David Lelyveld
Lucciola: Mona Marshall
Sophia Forrester: Julie Anne Taylor
Maestro Delphine: Kirsty Pape
Scores
Animation: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: 9/10 (x 2 = 18 pts)
English Dubs: 9/10 (x 1 = 9 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)
Total: 183/200 (91.5%)
Review
Last Exile is an excellent series about two kingdoms, Anatoray and Disith, who are fighting each other (under the watch of the mysterious Guild) almost literally “in a galaxy far, far away.” It’s a mix of futuristic flying battlewagons with 1930s German technology.
You may have to watch this series twice to fully understand what’s going on, and even then a lot of what’s going on is rather mysterious, but it is still a good story. Alex Rowe, the caption of the neutral battleship Sylvania is on the quest to find Exile, a mysterious ship lost in the grand stream, a swirl of violent winds that seperate the two kingdoms in the hour-glass shaped world of Prester, beliving that finding the ship will bring an end to the rule of the guild.
Part of the key of unlocking the power of Exile is a girl named Alvis. Two vanship pilots - Claus and Lavie - take over a job to deliver Alvis to Alex Rowe after the original pilot given the job was killed by the guild. At first, Claus is determined to stay on the Sylvania to make sure that Alvis is safe, but soon Claus gets interested in Alex’s quest, over the objections of Lavie who believes that they should keep themselves out.
The series progresses as Alex collects the four Mysterion - a question and answer riddle entrusted to the original four noble guild houses in Prester. When the question in each Mysterion is answered by a chosen descendent of one of the four original guild houses in the vicinity of Exile, Exile activates and returns to it’s true form.
Overall, this is an action packed series with very few negatives.
The animation is amazing, even for a GONZO production. I am still not sure if I have seen an anime of any sort which has the overall quality of animation that Last Exile does. The 3D CG on the 2D background sometimes doesn’t look great at the start of the series, but for the most part the integration of 3D and 2D animation is fantastic. All the ships, from the Silvana to the Anatoray and Disith fleets, to the vanships are very detailed, and character designs are fantastic.
The soundtrack is also fantastic with vibrant music which is one of the best I’ve heard in an anime series. The coherence of the series is pretty good, and each episode continues on a single story. As far as the English dubs, everyone’s dubs are great, with the exception of Dio’s, which I didn’t really care for.
If you’re into creative action/fantasy anime, or even if you’re not, you’ll love Last Exile.
First Watched: January, 2006 - February, 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes
One Comment
I saw this too. It’s very good, although I thought the ending could have been done better. Good though somewhat stereotypical characters, great world design, good music, good action sequences, and a good mystery which builds tension. A little bit derivative of Castle in the Sky (Laputa), but I suppose if you’re going to steal a bit, stealing from Hayao Miyazaki is the way to go.