Category: Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam

Haha, Tatiana actually returned here. It’s great to see small hints of how the different members of the original cast of Last Exile have ended up, while at the same time this doesn’t detract new viewers from the experience. This episode perhaps wasn’t as serious as the previous two, it still really showed that this show knows what it’s doing. This episode showed the characters from their lighter side. The first half was all about fleshing them out, and it did that really well. It showed the characters having a random meal, or making a bed, or doing maintenance work. All those details contribute to making this setting come more alive. Also, this episode explained to me why they chose Fam as the main character: she’s very energetic and positive, and this transfers to the people around her. My big fear was that Gonzo would turn this into some sort of weird copy of the cast of Sky Girls, but thankfully these characters have a lot of personality, and despite the childishness, it makes them fun to watch. I like how even the people on the ship she tried to attack didn’t act like random goons, but were actually interested in her. Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>

Now that every show has put out three episodes, I think I’ve found my three favorites of the season so far: Un-Go, Chihayafuru and Last Exile. Un-Go for its storytelling, Chihayafuru for its characters, and this series for its setting. Because seriously man, is there any limit to the creativity here? Compared to this show, Un-Go seems like a collection of cliches. The background art isn’t just gorgeous here, it’s full of all kinds of original ideas and the architecture in this series is some of the best I’ve seen in years. What’s most important though: the setting here feels alive. This episode really convinced me that the creators know what they’re doing. On top of showing the main characters mourn about what happened, they also show how the people who live in the same city deal with the recent attacks. The ritual of letting balloons fly upward with candles underneath it was also a really nice touch, but also the way in which the debris of last episode was salvaged was a great addition. I also have to say kudos to the characters for bringing this all out. This episode showed that the creators know when to be serious and when to be light-hearted. There was not a hint of the creators wanting to downplay the loss of Turan’s family, while at the same time they also didn’t try to make it melodramatic or way too angsty for its own sake. Good Gonzo, it’s great to see you back again! Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>

You know, I was about to put up this story of how this show may be more childish than the first season and how this was a bummer, but not necessarily a bad thing as long as it was handled well and all. And then this episode aired. I’ll repeat myself here, but the key here to these shows that try to aim at a younger audience is whether or not the creators believe that kids are idiots. This episode showed that the creators understood that, and it was much better than the opening episode. It packed some gorgeous visuals, and the acting was also surprisingly solid. Even Fam showed that she can be serious when she needs to, which was really needed after the previous episode. This show still uses the fact that she’s an incredible pilot to put her in the spotlights, but for now, it’s believable enough (only just, though). In any case though, this episode surprisingly made the plot a lot more intriguing when suddenly the princess got kidnapped and called down this gigantic moon thing that was supposed to be another Exile down to earth in order to blow everything up. The relationship between the two sisters was surprisingly genuine and well portrayed. Not to mention the girl suddenly losing her father. This really was the sign that this isn’t necessarily just a lighter version of Last Exile. Also, the graphics. Before the start of this show, I knew that a lot of people had left Gonzo. The CG team however stayed, and it really shows in this series. Gonzo has always been un-rivalled in terms of CG. Not with combining CG with traditional 2D drawings, but in terms of CG foreground animation they were consistently putting out the best of the best in all sorts of innovative ways. Just look at the first Last Exile, Gankutsuou, Bokura no, Blassreiter and Shangri La. And they really plan to show that they still got it here. While it’s impossible to beat Guilty Crown in terms of sheer animation power this season, this series still looks gorgeous, and I’m actually willing to say that it has the most creative visuals of the entire season. The ship designs are all full of imagination, but also the way they’re used, the dogfights, the camera angles and the huge fleet battles. There’s a lot of stuff to see here to marvel at. On top of that the soundtrack also arrived and did a great job in creating its atmosphere. Rating: ** (Excellent)]]>