Now this is a quiet episode that I can get behind. It had some flaws, but overall it was very heart-warming. Also, another old face appears!
The characters in this series may not be as well portrayed as with the first season of Last Exile, but this episode showed that they’re still really good when it comes to the light-hearted scenes as well. Giselda’s arc of the past number of episodes concludes here, with some very neat shots about how the two of them grew up. It worked. The team building hockey match? It worked. The birthday subplot? It worked.
Now though, this still is Gonzo. And this episode unfortunately got the short stick of the animation budget. The backgrounds still looked fantastic (Seriously, nine episodes and these still are consistently gorgeous), but there were more still frames in this episode than you can shake a stick at. The hockey match was a bit over the top, but that was to be expected, though I feel that this especially does disservice to the crew members of the Silbius: these guys both do not have good animators behind them, and their voice actors are also pretty bad. Only the superiors do not suffer from this and they indeed were great (I loved the head mechanic as he wondered where everyone went). This was actually something that the first Last Exile was very good at: even the random soldiers were very well acted.
Also, regarding the plot, I still don’t really get it: last episode, the enemy massively abandoned a sinking ship. They withdrew everyone from it… and just left it there without actually blowing it up, or making sure that it didn’t fall into the hands of the enemies. Why? I get that they can’t salvage the remains due to the proximity to the border of Gracies, but they pretty much handed the enemy a really good warship there.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
Been thinking about the whole Ansher thing as well and I suspect Ades abandoned the Ansher is because they did not know how to repair its claudia unit. I know that GONZO said that people on Earth knew everything about claudia units but that may not be the case. In the first chapter of the Fam manga Dio said something like no one knows as much about claudia units as the sky pirates. That indicates that not everyone knows everything about claudia units. Its possible that the claudia units Ades uses (and possible Turan also) are supplied/built and maintained by ex guild people. And while Ades military personnel know how to operate claudia units, they do not know how to repair them. It was easier for them to abandon their ship this close to the Glacies boarder than to wait for ex guild people from the capital to come to repair it. It could also explain why they where so easily fooled by Lasses supposed demise in the first episode. Sky pirates who know how claudia units work, know how to fool others (Ades) who no not know how they work.
Indeed , aside from the flaws, it was really a warmfelt episode.
The Luciolla reference was so heart wrenching! T_T
I was still thinking though that there should be a flashback episode like episode 12 of the first Last Exile… Well at least, they’ve shown some flashbacks of Fam and Gisey’s childhood, which is really cute to me!
Somehow though, I still wanted the reconciliation part of Fam and Gisey to get a bit longer. It was a bit too fast for my taste. Still, we do need to move on to more pressing matters right?
As for the flaws, some were pretty bit obvious. I guess Gonzo’s really stretching their budgets here… But I guess I’ll let it slide…
As for the plot flaws(or not), it seems that you really need at least 4 people to move a ship the size of Anshar. I was thinking at least more than 10 right? I do find Drask’s comments plausible, though I wonder how Sky Pirates know the intricacies of Claudia Units? Through Dio I guess? Also, the Guild seems to be still influential even on Earth. Even the Travellers of the Hourglass manga affirms that.
I also observed that the Silvius seems to be really lax this episode. But I guess it’s due to being near the Gracies border, and that as of the moment, Gracies doesn’t seem to mind them…
On the plus side, the Dio screentime, the Luciolla and Allister reference, the cuteness of Fam and Gisey in their younger years, the birthday song and Vincent’s return made me happy! Also, I didn’t know that Dio is actually the captain of the Silvius vanship squad! Talk about an ace pilot and spu at the same time!
In the end, it’s a nice episode!
Vincent’s appearance was lame xD
this an episode I can’t hate, not love. But is good.
It’s not complex though, o I don’t have to watch the subs anymore
Well, it’s nice to have a warmfelt, slice of life ep like this one as an intermission before the main plot start to kick gear again in the next ep. Especially, that parts with dio talking about luciolla & the bits of fam&gisey past, they’re a nice touch to once again re-affirming & streghten the bonds between fam & gisey in a subtle way.
There were only two aspects of this episode that I liked.
1. Childhood flashbacks
2. Every scene with Dio in it.
I think I like Dio here more than I did in the first Last Exile, and I wonder if it is because it feels like his character has more depth.
Character design wise, both Millia and Fam look like they have bad haircuts (although Millia’s was deliberately so I suppose?), and maybe I’m just shallow and that’s why I can’t get behind these two characters at all.
Lovely episodes so far. Worthy of Last Exile name.
anyway, that fallen ship thingie: yes, probably no one knows how to fix big claudia engine. Also: Ades might want to avoid more unnecessary conflict with Glacies for now so they kinda gift the ship to Glacies.