Last Exile "Simulwatch"

ilmaestro

ilmaestro

State Alchemist
Hello, and welcome to a simulwatch of Last Exile, inspired (as you might guess) by the currently airing sequel Ginyoku no Fam.

I realized that since I was struggling not to compare the new series to the impressions of the old one that I have in my head, I should probably go back and rewatch the original to make sure any comparisons are fair, and to see how one of the first series that I bought as art box + singles from the US holds up today - more than eight years after it first aired in Japan.

Early warning: I am a bit of a Gonzo fanboy/apologist, so... yeah.
 
Was thinking about starting episode posts tomorrow, but I might as well leave one here for now...

Episode 1 - First Move

White to play...

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We're initially thrown into the middle of swirling winds and cannon fire, with nought but an iconic red flying machine to focus on. It's a stirring opening, for sure.

After the opening vignette, with the series starting in the middle of something resembling a war, you would expect it to be a pretty thrilling ep 1... but war is a strange kind of beast in this world, almost more like a polite scrimmage, but with actual death.

There is an odd sterility to the battle that the episode closes on, more like they are playing to show who is probably stronger, rather than trying to win at all costs. This is pretty much confirmed with the emphasis on "chivalry"... but not everyone is prepared to play by those rules. The episode ends in the same sort of confusion as it began, quite a nice piece of plotting.

In between the potentially confusing sections of battle, we get to meet the main characters of the show, Lavie and Claus. Taking on a courier job to deliver a letter aboard the airship which ends the show in trouble, their proficiency in the skies seems like it might lead them into more trouble than, at the very least, Lavie would like to bargain for.

This episode is "typically Gonzo" in its whirlwind, production value heavy nature, but the world is presented starkly, and allows for immediate recognition of a depth behind the events that we are seeing. Almost impossible not to want to watch on, imo.

Also, the CG is incredible considering how old the show is now.
 
Gah! REALLY wish I could join in with this - sadly, circumstances don't allow me to.

Really hope to see some conversation develop in this thread. Last Exile is an UNMISSABLE show. It really deserves a second lease of life in the West.
 
Episode 2 - Luft Vanship

Claus and Lavie are given good opportunity to show their determination to get a job done, and cut through the deepening horror of the battle they have become involved in thanks to some slightly cliched imagery to do with Olive trees.

There is more general background to the make-up of the country, too, with the tension between classes brought into some focus on board the ship. We are also given our first real introduction to the mysterious "Guild" - some sort of overseers who we can assume have the power to stop the fighting if they wanted to, only they don't seem overly inclined to do so.

We also get to find out a little more about the ship and crew we saw at the start of the first episode - from one of the comments by the cabin crew, the Silvana appears to be a neutral agent before choosing one side of the battle to support, although it isn't clear yet why it would involve itself at all.

Successfully clearing their mission seems to have left the leads in a bind regarding the air ship race they have coming up in the next episode - Lavie certainly doesn't seem overly thrilled by their chances.

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Before I start with my impressions I'd just like to ask folks who have seen this to just be careful with spoiler tags for future events. As weird as this is going to sound, I've never actually watched Last Exile despite owning it since ADV brought out the collection over here! My disc one lock was smashed in transit and the first dvd was scratched so much that it wouldn't play. In the time it took to get a replacement disc 1 (for the grand old price of 99p! :D) my interest for watching the show disapeared. But now this simulwatch is giving me a great excuse to finally watching it! I'm looking forward to it only knowing it for being praised as one of Gonzo's best. And without further ado!

Episode 1 - First Move

One of the first things I'm noting is that despite being a few years old it looks gorgeous even upscaled on my HD. A lovely air battle in the midst of this "Grand Stream" which looked like it was some kind of...void in the sky.

The land itself seems kind of...Barren with buildings almost under the ground and in cliff faces. We're introduced to Lavie and Claus trying to cut back because of a war. It's interesting looking at the technology behind the ship too. The way jobs are handed out is an interesting one too. It gives a real scope to the world and how it operates. And it seems that Claus is a really good pilot. The part around the water also helped to deepen the world and sort of show how much of a struggle it must be for people living normal lives having to boil water beforehand.

Lavie and Claus relationship seems interesting as well with Lavie being the confident one, sometimes mocking this fact, and Claus being sort of wimpish but not when in the air. And yet those roles reversed when seeing the aftermath of the air battle. It's interesting seeing that there are sort of rules and regulations to the battle. The episode ended almost abruptly as they were being rained fire upon...

Overall I enjoyed this first ep. We got a nice look at the state of affairs of the world as well as a nice introduction to Claus and Lavie. I'm looking forward to see where they're going to take this.

ilmaestro said:
Also, the CG is incredible considering how old the show is now.
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Mmm yes! Even going by just the first episode it felt like this is the kind of show that stood out when it aired. To me it feels incredibly confident and that the producers know what story they're trying to tell and the direction it's going to take. Looking forward to episode 2, with my post hopefully up later today and if not it'll be tomorrow alongside episode 3.
 
Glad you've enjoyed the first ep! I will indeed be careful with spoilers, should the need arise.

Episode 3 - Transpose

On to the day of the race, and the colorful cast of background characters does a decent job of providing some light entertainment. Claus and Lavie, however, will blow through any obstacles to try to snatch the victory.

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But in the background, the series is waiting to get truly underway. In thrilling super slo-mo, Claus and Lavie nearly crash into Ralph Wednesday and his bust up vanship, and end up dropping out of the race to pursue him after he crashes into the woods.

It's impressive how the series hasn't been going long, but you still get that quick-intake-of-breath feeling from finding out that Ralph is on a Seven Star courier mission, with no less a cargo than a living child. Ralph is clearly tough as nails, but whatever the thing is that makes this mission so tough, it it clearly on the verge of taking his life. His attempts to destroy the alien-like craft pursuing him and provide time for the others to escape are clearly the acts of a desperate man.

Bold and more than a little stupid, Claus has vowed to protect the girl, Al, and deliver her to Alex Row, the enigmatic captain of the Silvana!

The episode quickly establishes some serious narrative momentum, and the scenes from the end of the race to the end of the ep are wonderfully tense. The range of visual design is also being brought more to the fore.
 
Episode 4 - Zugzwang

A cute, ostensibly innocent child as the potential root cause of death and intrigue? Surely not!

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The role reversal that the series has shown glimpses of continues with Claus using the soft-spoken, level-headed approach to dealing with Al, and Lavie being, well, kind of stroppy about the whole thing. Maybe you can't blame her, with the madness that it looks like Claus has got them into.

A bit of peaceful character development doesn't last too long - the alien attacker has found Al suspiciously easily, and it's time to scram.

Not being able to use the engines on their vanship for fear of detection provides the impetus for a truly innovative escape sequence down the underground canals, even if the tranquil atmosphere is again due to be broken.

The quality of the score really shines through in this segment - not least of all in how the show is not overburdened by needless BGM at all times.

The last couple of minutes are back to the action that the show has handled so well so far, and the sudden appearance from Alex Row to save Claus from certain death is hardly original, but no less exciting for it.

The show has been perfectly paced through four episodes, but where does it go now that Claus and Lavie will, presumably, be handing Al over to the Silvana?
 
Wait? What? You guys have shot through the episodes... surroundings blur around him as the thread jets through the skies. I haven't even got the complete collection out of its storage box yet! Bails out of conversation.
 
Holy crap episode 4!? I've got some catching up to do tomorrow!

Episode 2 - Luft Vanship

This was another really good episode, picking up from where the last one left off. I'm somewhat suprised at the direction they took with that soldier. I thought he'd just be an example that the viewer could relate too with the horrors of this war. But coming to Lavie and Claus's aid was a nice touch.

Got a bit more on Lavie and Claus. Claus definately has a good head on him and it feels that whilst a bit brash Lavie is being strong for him. It'll be interesting to see where their relationship goes.

Then we see the Silvana, with it's red Vanship, and the fact that it's a giant battleship that makes easy work of anyone they want! No doubt that's going to come into play at some point.

The episode also makes me wonder who the enemy actually are. The Disith, The Guild or maybe some other factor we've not been introduced to yet. I also finally made the connection i've been wondering since episode one. Lavie is voiced by Chiwa Saito! I'm now hearing her as Aika from Aria.
 
I am actually just posting the episode things now as I will be away over the weekend (I have watched ahead a little further, but won't actually post what I've typed up after each ep), consider it a "started on Thursday November 3rd" series, and I will post my bit for ep 5 on Monday.
 
ilmaestro said:
I am actually just posting the episode things now as I will be away over the weekend (I have watched ahead a little further, but won't actually post what I've typed up after each ep), consider it a "started on Thursday November 3rd" series, and I will post my bit for ep 5 on Monday.
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Right going via this then ep 3 would be tomorrow, which I've watched ahead of time as I won't be able to watch anything tomorrow. I should get time on sunday for ep 4

Episode 3 - Transpose

So we start off with Lavie and Claus having their accelleration booster and being confident despite being in last. It was good development seeing Lavie able to hold her own at the starting grid, whilst the race showed us that Claus is indeed a damn good pilot. It also showed us Claus kind hearted nature. The race itself was animated very well, with lovely cg, which was also exciting to watch.

Making us feel that a seven star mission is important this early on, having not gone into too much depth of the scale of how high or bad the scale goes, was well done. That technological plane was interesting and i'm guessing we'll find out it's origins at some point. And so the mission will take them to the Silvana again. I wonder how much importance that girl will hold!

This show is definitely doing a great job of making me want to watch the next episode. This is one of those shows that, if I still had the time, I'd love to marathon over the course of 2 or 3 days.
 
I've watched up to episode 6. I had typed some thoughts on the first 4 episodes (which was more difficult than I expected as I kept on forgetting what happened in which episode) but a power cut rendered my efforts for naught.

Would it be okay to make my posts about specific DVD volumes rather than individual episodes? I don't pay enough attention to remember the sort of finer details the two of you have observed...
 
ilmaestro said:
I am actually just posting the episode things now as I will be away over the weekend (I have watched ahead a little further, but won't actually post what I've typed up after each ep), consider it a "started on Thursday November 3rd" series, and I will post my bit for ep 5 on Monday.
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Then surely you should've left it for when you came back? Not dissing you or anything, but I just find it hard to write about individual episodes in detail AND in bulk and even harder to keep up
 
fabricatedlunatic said:
I've watched up to episode 6. I had typed some thoughts on the first 4 episodes (which was more difficult than I expected as I kept on forgetting what happened in which episode) but a power cut rendered my efforts for naught.

Would it be okay to make my posts about specific DVD volumes rather than individual episodes? I don't pay enough attention to remember the sort of finer details the two of you have observed...
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That sucks. I really wouldn't mind if you, or anyone else, only wanted to type dvd impressions as a whole rather than individual episodes. I'm likely to continue posting individual myself but I'd really like a lot of discussion about it!


Slightly behind thanks to work and studying so here I am playing catchup. I might miss an episode tomorrow but after that it'll be smooth sailing. I'll try and keep these short as I have 2...

Episode 4 - Zugzwang

Claus determination and dedication showed from the start. My early impressions of him were certainly off the mark. He's showing himself as a very strong person. Quite possibly a future leader...?

So I guess the big mystery is why Al is worthy of a seven star mission. and why those machines are after her. I'm also wondering if she, in some way, is attracting the machines without realising it. They didn't fire up the engine again before it found them near the end of the waterway...

Episode 5 - Positional Play

Alex Row is the man who saved them but him and his mercenaries certainly treated Al like she was nothing more than an object, their "cargo". Not to mention the way they treated Claus later in the episode...

There was something I didn't think about - the machine had a pilot. I just thought they were manless drones but clearly there's more to it then that. Even the fuel seems more advanced then what Claus and Lavie can afford. And with a hint of potential involvement from the guild then there's no way this is done.

Claus's determination at times is a little extreme. The way he talked about his Fathers eyes makes me think he's where it comes from.
 
Episode 6 - Arbiter Attack

Well this episode started off very interestingly. So is Lord Dio going to be the antagonist? He's certainly interested in Claus...And it seems confirmed that he's with The Guild.

Speaking of Claus we got a small bit of backstory for him. He wants something to do with the Grand Stream but we don't know what thanks to the surprise attack. Lavie's almost breakdown in the hanger was interesting and obviously has weight behind it.

The last portion seems to be set up for Claus and Lavie potentially joining the crew of the Silvana to protect Al. And the preview seems to indicate that Dio is going to join the fight...


I think what I'm really enjoying about this right now is that the episodes all feel linked together. Whether it's the short segment before the opening song or the fact that most, if not all, of the episodes just go from where the last one left off. It feels like one story weaved together instead of dozens of singles. I don't mind series that focus on single episodes but I really feel that the continous structure for Last Exile is making me want to come back for more.
 
Episode 7 - Interesting Claus

This has had consistently good animation and cg over all these episodes when it comes to the flying and battles.

Tatiana manages to get back in time and help in the battle. Meanwhile Dio is toying with Claus and Lavie. The starship that Dio is in is very manuverable being able to swerve and dodge like that.

Lavie, at the moment, is not prepared for these battles. I wonder if there's something in her past that we don't know yet. The ending was a nice bit of character building with her acknowledgement that she needs to get stronger.

I guess this episode is bridging the gap to possibly having Claus and Lavie join the forces of the Silvana. It'll be an interesting direction to go in as I guess it'll mean more battles against Dio.
 
I'm a day behind but i'm not sure if I'll catch up or not. It's just me at the moment and maes might need all the opportunity he can get if he comes back! :p

Episode 8 - Takeback

It seems that possibly the 2 most important bits of information in this ep were almost castaway comments. Lavie stating that Claus wants to stay on the Silvana (And so ends that plot thread quickier then I expected!) and the conversation between Alex and Walker. It sounds like the conclusion to Alex and Walkers conversation will be the focus of the next episode anyway.

But to focus on this episode - it was brill! It was great to see Mullin again and from the start of the episode I was rooting for him to join the Silvana. We got another look at the world and the climates between classes. And it was really great to see Lavie let her hair down, so to speak. She could become pretty strong at this rate...

Speaking of there was also a little character development between Alister and Claus. I do wonder if it'll go down that road, but at the same time the impressions that this show has left me so far is that it won't. It has such a rich array of characters to explore that I find myself wanting episodes dedicated to the supporting cast like the Vice Captain Sophia.
 
I have been quite ill since I came back, so dragging myself into work was about all the effort I could make this week. Shall be catching up with my own suggested simulcast at some point~
 
ilmaestro said:
I have been quite ill since I came back, so dragging myself into work was about all the effort I could make this week. Shall be catching up with my own suggested simulcast at some point~
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That's cool. It'll stop making me look like I'm yammering on at myself! :D

I'm also going to help by skipping tonights ep again. I'll definitely watch ep 9 tomorrow though, I've just got carried away wasting time tonight.
 
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