So, imagine that you’re a general of an army. There is one particularly nasty country who keeps attacking others and killing your own people. At this point you’ve finally managed to find the opportunity to form an alliance with other parties who were in the same situation as you. You’re in a meeting between all kinds of leaders in order to complete this alliance, and suddenly some random girl starts yelling things about love and peace and how you should not attack each other.
This episode showed that the final third of this show will very likely be its worst part. This is simply because the story of this show is pretty much its weakest aspect. Last Exile is about world building. Show us more of that! The big problem with this episode was that Fam wanted to bring peace to the world by bringing the grand race back. That’s nice and all, but that’s not exactly the right way to stop an evil psycho with a misguided cause of trying to get revenge for some leader who was killed. Fam just fails to see the core problem of what’s going on here.
The core problem here is that we have some guy exploiting the fact that there is a country that’s being run by a six-year-old. And the annoying part is that a lot of other characters DID figure this out. Focus on them! The part where they have to guide this young of an empress into getting control of her subordinates: that’s an interesting storyline. This show was actually well on its way to do that, until Fam stepped in and started to distract her with that Grand Race.
Children being stuffed into an adult setting. It’s not like that can’t work. However, they need to know their place and what they can do. The big problem is that Fam can’t do anything aside from piloting a vanship really well, and skill has been completely pointless for the past months. Heck, my favorite series, Mahou Shoujotai, is about something very similar: a girl of Fam’s age with very big pacifist ideals. The thing is, that Arusu actually tried her hardest to stop the conflicts, and she actually did stuff that mattered, not to mention that she was in a position and a world where she actually could.
The more I think about it… what has Fam actually done in this series? Um… she stole a bunch of ships, I guess. She saved this princess. In terms of politics however, she has been completely useless, and yet the creators keep shoving her in that role. And I think that that’s the thing with the production of this series: Koichi Chigira is a very good director, and you can really see how he breathes life to this setting and scenario despite the limitations. Kiyoko Yoshimura however just isn’t cut out to write original stories. You can really see that she just isn’t a good writer. The producers at Gonzo were most likely responsible for putting Fam into the position of the main character. It was her job of fitting a good conflict for her and making her a likable character. Instead, this feels like a story where she was just pasted into, without really considering whether or not she really fit. And it just feels like a very sloppy job at that.
Rating: (Enjoyable)
Well, at least we have some idea now what Luscinia is trying to find and… it’s not good, really. The laugh he gave was part born out of triumph, part out of madness, in my opinion. Why Liliana is still supporting him just boggles the mind. Will the peace Luscinia brings be worth it, after everything is dust and rubble? He ALREADY has an Exile, giving him yet another ultimate weapon really stacks the odds against ANY party going against his ‘justice’.
Heck, even Sorush is worried right now if they’re doing the right thing in supporting Luscinia.
Lastly, yeah, Fam is definitely out of her depth in the meeting between the adults. Too bad they let her be alone with the empress afterwards, giving her the opportunity to brainwash… er, ‘convince’ Augusta Sara of how great the Grand Race is.
It was the first time we saw Augusta Sara honestly childishly happy. She’s 6, not 16. Last Exile isn’t the kind of dark series that would have properly shown the mental trauma putting all this responsibility without proper relief on such a young child would have caused. What Fam did was likely a good thing, grand race or not.
at this point I’m hoping an errand meteorite would just land on Fam to put us out of our misery of having to watch her continuing to ruin the show.
Agree completely. There is an interesting story here and an interesting world, but Fam as main character is a colossal mistake. Would have been far better to give her a simple mission of delivery girl while the story plays out around her, or just cut her completely.
I would not mind if they let’s Milia solo the story. Let’s she develop her story with the whole side-cast, anything.
In fact, Fam has been just her annoying chauffeur.
I feel like I’m the only one liking Fam at this point. Her character archetype is my favorite for female characters, and I’m fond of her naivite and inner strength. Millia is indeed more useful and Giselle fits her setting better, but as characters I like them a lot less – I honestly wouldn’t enjoy this anime told from one of their viewpoints. Millia, for instance, is only ever interesting when there’s plot flying around her, her lighthearted scenes were all abysmal.
…and oh my, that scriptwriter really has some series under her belt.
Though I don’t get why you have to fit characters to a plot. Isn’t the whole enjoyment of it watching the characters grow to adapt to a plot, struggling all the way? I watch anime for the characters, tbh. (maybe that’s why I enjoy long running shonen and series like Guilty Crown more than others do?)
problem is that Fam HASN’T grown, at all, in any way shape or form. She’s just as much of an naive airhead now as she was at the beginning of the series.
The series doesn’t exactly pretend otherwise, people keep chastising Fam all over the place. So there’s that.
I actually like Fam, but her lack of any visible growth can’t be ignored. The Fam we have right now is the same Fam we’ve had ever since Turan got destroyed.
I’m dropping this. I hate to drop this late into a series but too much is too much. Fam get on nerve every time she speaks.
Looks like we’re going to see Claus, Lavi, and company in the next episode. At least in flashbacks.
And yeah, Fam is annoying. She just sticks out like a sore thumb, as if some character from K-On was suddenly transported to the world of Last Exile.
As for going up against Luscinia’s latest Exile, I would imagine that Alvis and her Exile would be involved one way or another.
“Kiyoko Yoshimura however just isn’t cut out to write original stories. You can really see that she just isn’t a good writer. The producers at Gonzo were most likely responsible for putting Fam into the position of the main character. It was her job of fitting a good conflict for her and making her a likable character. Instead, this feels like a story where she was just pasted into, without really considering whether or not she really fit. And it just feels like a very sloppy job at that.”
This is SPOT on psgels. I have face-palmed so many times during this show from the bad writing its just ridiculous, any person above 5 years old can pretty much tell exactly what is going to happen in the story as its just based on so many worn out and tired cliches that are executed poorly one thing I DID like about this episode was the numerous times fam was told to “STFU” but yeah, I’m dropping this series as well, I already know whats going to happen from episode 16-the end. to the ONE person who likes fam much (most likely because she’s a female protagonist) if you want to check out some great female protagonists characters, go watch Moretsu pirates, holy f**k the main character(s) are good, I don’t know how you could watch her(Marika) then still see fam in the same light of awesomeness unless you are just being stubborn for the sake of attention whoring.
this show really just makes women into some perverted objectification (they call it “moe sells” in Japan) instead of just women being as strong, capable, and great as anyone else. which is why many people like Millia and view HER as the main character and cringe when this caricature of a girl(fam) is shoved down our throats every episode. Its offensive and Infuriating.
I, um, I don’t like Fam because she’s female. I like her I guess because she’s a great contrast to her setting without being grating (well, to me).
Going to break this up into two posts since it’s going to be too long. 🙂
“I feel like I’m the only one liking Fam at this point. Her character archetype is my favorite for female characters, and I’m fond of her naivite and inner strength.”
I’m with you Anca, while she’s not perfect and could have used more growth I’ve liked Fam and she gets way less of a pass than much worse offenders as main characters let alone whiny, preachy, or emo leads in war-based shows or ones who stubbornly don’t even admit when they mess up or don’t try to make up for it, both things that Fam does when she messes up.
“This episode showed that the final third of this show will very likely be its worst part. This is simply because the story of this show is pretty much its weakest aspect.
Koichi Chigira is a very good director, and you can really see how he breathes life to this setting and scenario despite the limitations.”
I actually disagree with this. Not only do I think that the final third will be it’s best part since this show is at it’s best during it’s epic parts, as in my opinion the show has been on a high ever since ep 7-8 not to mention especially with all the escalating conflict ever since Luscinia and Liliana’s power play interrupting Millia’s alliance (and 1-3 was another exceptional arc). The story itself with all the different characters on both sides and the conflict of the nations and fleet actions and Guild mysteries has been great and characters on both sides have been really likeable and they’ve done a superb job with even the enemy generals where most of them have actually been quite likeable or honorable for most of the show and way more so than I was expecting.
I totally agree on Koichi Chigira being an excellent director, I think he’s done a great job with the pieces he’s been given, the way he’s directed everything from the setting and scenario, to how things are shot, to the action and flight scenes and breathed life into everything and used everything from the animation to the fantastic soundtrack has been great.
And I agree that a better scriptwriter could have really worked some more development out of Fam herself even within the same screentime and events (Millia’s growth has been great so I’m not sure why they didn’t have Fam change much too), however I also think that despite Fam getting to talk about her goal of reviving the “symbol of the Grand Race” (the nations gathering in one place as well as pilots from around the world without the intentions of killing each other) some are harping on that a little too much since her actions and the events that follow her voicing that are rarely allowed to go that smoothly and in fact as expected her wish is usually just treated as a long-term goal and her way of giving the other character the chance to make their choice with a more level head, which still usually leads to them having to fight if she’d like to see that day come some day.
“The big problem is that Fam can’t do anything aside from piloting a vanship really well, and skill has been completely pointless for the past months. Heck, my favorite series, Mahou Shoujotai, is about something very similar: a girl of Fam’s age with very big pacifist ideals. The thing is, that Arusu actually tried her hardest to stop the conflicts, and she actually did stuff that mattered, not to mention that she was in a position and a world where she actually could.”
I kind of like that Fam, Millia and Giselle have their roles in the world and occupations and need assistance outside of what they are good at and/or familiar with rather than do-it-all protagonists.
Loved that show and Alice.
I think that works really well sometimes in more personal battles where characters can fight directly but personally in this show’s world with combat being mainly between fleets and looking at some of the complaints about Fam I think many would hate her more if she had actually been the type who tried to preach her idealistic views directly in the middle of a battle or directly tried to stop conflicts through it mid-battle like that in such an adult world (something tons of other protags get away with), instead while she has idealistic hopes and she shares them in non-combat and planning sessions, especially when other people are facing moments of despair probably in order to get them to make their big decision in a better state of mind, she also is the type to take action in the middle of the war and help those in need as we’ve seen and not just be a whiny, preachy, emo protagonist, she actually goes out there and takes action. And even if she believes in peace she’s still a fighter, she’s proven that when she needs to fight and also if her allies choose to fight she will be there to support them and fight willingly without needing to be coaxed into it which is quite refreshing.
“The more I think about it… what has Fam actually done in this series? Um… she stole a bunch of ships, I guess. She saved this princess. In terms of politics however, she has been completely useless, and yet the creators keep shoving her in that role.”
In terms of politics, she’s actually the one who’s made potential alliances possible through intoductions, first by saving Liliana and Millia facilitating Turan’s alliance with the Sky Pirates, even if Liliana’s plan failed thanks to Alauda, and being their for Millia after the fall of her nation and almost getting the remains of Turan on Anatoray’s side crewing those captured ships (if only Liliana hadn’t ultimately put a stop to that Fam would have probably gotten more credit if they’d at least gotten to use them for at least one battle, but I’ve noticed some people not giving her credit for it just because Luscinia managed to outmaneuver them before they could really use them, though you did mention it so you did give her credit for it) and Fam’s choice to save the unknown Glacies pilot opened the door to them returning the favor. I think one issue for personal victories for Fam is that combat is on too big of a scale for anyone outside of a captain (Tatiana, the enemy generals) to get many personal victories to get credit for, but she did get one, and the inherent lack of opportunity as she hasn’t had any enemy fighters to dogfight with like Claus and Tatiana had to do with the Guild Starfish (or Dio and Alauda’s hand-to-hand combat).
She and Giselle also got the other pirates out of the trap back in ep 7 when Orang tested out the new anti-vanship/anti-Glacies weapons on them and bravely risked trying to rescue Liliana again in the opening arc. So I disagree that she hasn’t contributed much but I agree that she hasn’t yet been given that “big contribution” moment.
I don’t really hate fam that much. To me, she is just one part of the terrible things the anime does
I think the show’s been really good myself outside of one or two episodes and the first series is probably my all-time favorite show.
So I haven’t really seen anything terrible, I just think that Fam herself could have been quite a bit better and less safe if they’d made her grow through some of those earlier events like all the other characters did and I expected, though I still like her.
Personally outside of her not being given the opportunity to reach her potential by the writer playing it oddly safe with her, I think the anime has done a lot of great things in pretty much all of the other aspects and areas involving the story, characters, and fleet conflicts.
“this show really just makes women into some perverted objectification (they call it “moe sells” in Japan) instead of just women being as strong, capable, and great as anyone else. which is why many people like Millia and view HER as the main character and cringe when this caricature of a girl(fam) is shoved down our throats every episode. Its offensive and Infuriating.”
I can understand not liking some of the writing or Fam’s character’s views but WTF are you talking about…maybe you really should drop it and not see the end.
All of the prominent female characters in this show have been strong characters fighting for what they believe in. None of the female characters in this show have been objectified nor are they used for tons of fanservice, pandering, or the perverted stuff that so many other shows get away with doing tons more of without facing posts like this.
Fam’s character and actions whether you like them or not could relatively easily have been male as there have been many male protagonists like her and she’s as good and skilled as most male protagonists despite her preference for a peaceful world she’s still a fighter and way more willing to get into the action than a lot of pacifistic wussy leads out there, she’s certainly no “moe lead”.
You’ve already admitted Millia’s been well handled, and Giselle is a caring young lady and an ace tech head and navigator who could even disect most of the Silvius’ functions from a recon image, and Liliana as we knew her at the beginning was a very competent and compassionate leader, and Vasant is another prominent female character who’s been very well portrayed both in politics as a general and taking over as Sara’s caretaker ever since Farahnaz’s assassination, and Tatiana is a strong highly skilled commander of one of the strongest vessels in the skies with a woman as her second in command and a female extremely skilled acoustics officer, and Dian is an ace combat pilot who leads her own squadron, and Giselle’s mother has been portrayed really nicely in her brief screentime as a loving mother, yeah the female characters have been shortchanged as just “perverted objectification”.
Dangermouse: For all your defense of Last Exile: Fam, it always seems that you’re trying too hard. Yes, every thing so far has been handled great, but the fact is we keep on coming back to the titular character, which is to say Fam. It’s her point of view that we’re seeing the conflict through, but it’s not one that many people think fits the feel of Last Exile.
I admit that much. Heck, I think I’ve pretty much uploaded 60 to 80% of ALL Last Exile: Fam content on Danbooru (no, really), and I still think that Fam needs a dose of reality.
What ought to be the feel of Last Exile? It’s not supposed to be dark, it’s not supposed to portray despair. And although politics are a necessary element, it’s also not the main theme. If it were from Millia’s POV then the story would have been less action and worldbuilding and more coming of age. Whatever her flaws, Fam excels in pointing out just how beautiful and grand that world is.
Last Exile has been an adventure series, true, but for all the highflying idealism and joy shown it was also always grounded in some measure of realism. See Claus and Lavie: they always wanted to cross the Grand Stream, but even they had to put that dream aside as the conflict between Disith and Anatoray, and eventually the Guild, took precedence.
Indeed it’s easy to forget that Claus actually became a fighter pilot. His dream to cross the Grand Stream remained intact, but he had to FIGHT to make sure it happened, because as long as Delphine ruled Prester there was no way it was going to happen.
Compare that with Fam. Fam so far has been all talk, which makes her sound preachy and whiny instead of convincing. She wants to restore the Grand Race, fine, but she needs to DO something about it. As it is, she’s just a bystander, a helpless observer in events way over her level of understanding.
In turn, I never liked Claus. I don’t really remember the details of the first season, just that he got on my nerves a lot.
Opinions, I guess. Last Exile 2 without Fam would be too dreary.
Like the scene with the council: it was obvious that the empress was highly uncomfortable and that even Millia would have raised her voice if Fam wasn’t there (and she’d have been put down just the same). I cheered a bit inside that Fam spoke just then. Calling for a massacre out of revenge wouldn’t lend itself to peace, her idealist conclusion was even rationally obvious. And having Millia put down there would have undermined her authority something fierce, Fam saved her there.
And really, what could she possibly do more than she already did? She convinced the Empress that it was a great idea, and while Fam doesn’t hold any power herself the Empress does.
Had the series been titled something like “Last Exiles: The Azure Skies”, there wouldn’t be that much of a problem. But the thing is, it’s not, and instead it features Fam’s name front and center. As a titular character, there’s an expectation that, you know, she’d be the focus of things. The thing is, Fam ISN’T. Okay, she facilitates (literal) movement of Milia, but it’s hardly something you’d expect of someone who’s ON THE SERIES TITLE.
I don’t dislike Fam. Like I mentioned, I’m probably THE uploaded on Danbooru who’s added most to the pictures on Last Exile there. I just want her to do *something* that warrants her being on the title, instead of Milia.
On this I agree that I’d like her to do something more and really strike her name to a big “hero moment” as befitting the title character, however I’ll still defend that she hasn’t been useless either and that her willingness to get out there and help and her willingness to help both Millia and the Glacies pilot opened the door for two of the important potential alliances, and almost no other character has been as willing to put themselves out there for other people, which is clearly supposed to be an important characteristic of hers.
I do think that the one thing she has lacked is something forcing her to grow beyond being a Sky Pirate and ace flyer and into a fighter pilot with more risk and personal combat like Claus had to overcome, due to the lack of Guild Starfish she hasn’t been pushed into having to be able to dog-fight so far which has limited her personal contributions in bigger battles since most of the battles have been on the fleet vs. fleet scale.
And while it’s true that Claus changed, Lavie for the most part was great but did not, in fact she spent most of the war working on their vanship for the day when they could attempt the Grand Stream, she was a lot like Fam is in a number of ways.
I agree with you and Hikari though, that one of the things I’d love to see is them finally deliver something for Fam’s growth here in the second half since I expected her to face something that would make her have to grow, I just don’t think it’s effected my enjoyment of the series as much as some people since I still like her and IMO everything else has really delivered and so many other characters have been handled even better than I’d hoped (even the enemy generals have been way more likeable than I expected) and Fam herself has still contributed and there’s still time for her to face something bigger here in the second half and address one of the only remaining under-delivered things in the show, but I know what you mean with her being the title character it would have been better if she’d faced that growth during some of those first half events as expected.
Also, know this: Claus was pretty much a starchy potato-kun for the first segment of the original Last Exile. However at least there was a clear change to how he was at the beginning, from wide-eyed idealist to the determined war aviator he was in the end. His idealism was tempered by maturity, which is more than what I can say for Fam at this point. She’s a foil for everyone else, but she’s not doing a good job at being a LIKEABLE foil.
Agreed with Myssa Rei in this, I also don’t dislike Fam, I quite like her type of character(which didn’t annoy me so far), but since this is a 24/26 eps anime series not ongoing/long running shonen series, so before the series ending, at least I really want to see her character growth beyond the series as a main lead as it should be deserved anyway.
I could be wrong cos I’ve kinda been watching this off an on on Animax. It’s a tragic war story rather than the cloud adventure set in a war that the first Last Exile was. About Fam….
I think she’s as air-headed as she is because she’s meant to represent innocence, happiness and peace – the happy ending promised at the end of the first Last Exile – the way the world should be, sort of like during the old Grand Race before everything went sideways. Luc could have been a good guy til he lost the person most important to him in the world and his heart along with it and decided to destroy everyone else so nobody could hurt the people he loved anymore. Ordinarily, you’d want to be sympathetic to this guy but he’s done way too much damage. How many kids like Fam and Giselle died in all the cities he demolished, do you think? And everyone he hurts is getting closer to becoming like him. Look at how the kids winced at everyone declaring revenge. How many of you out there would like to see Luc taken prisoner, have that kid Empress from Aden shot in front of him before executing him and his gang, along with Lil for all that they’ve done together? How about blowing up Aden along with it? Just so we’ll be sure no one else from Aden will pull something like this ever again? But then, whoever does it is going to become just like Luc. They should go too, right? And so on.
Fam, rather unrealistically, has gotten through this whole mess amazingly unscathed. Almost everyone she cares about is still alive and kicking, even her flight buddies. I was kinda expecting that whole pirate nest to have been wiped clean of life but AFAIK practically everyone got away. (I wonder where that pirate captain with the beard went? Probably on the new Silvanus somewhere.) I’d like to see how far Fam’s happy-go-luckiness will last if someone from Aden were to kill someone close to her, like Giselle, right in front of her eyes. But then, it’s no use for her to get broken like Luc too. I think the point of having her around is to remind everyone of what they would have liked the world to be like before everything went sideways and to keep moving towards that, even after this whole mess is over. She saved Millia from losing her heart to her determination to kill her own sister. Something like that.
Well, japanese series have been known to go sideways and throw gut punches so maybe things could go sideways again. Honestly I do not want to see Luc or Lil or that Aden crew to get away with what they did. I loved Lil in the first Last Exile but….the weight of all she’s responsible for will get her in the end. Lil is cooperating with Luc in return for his promise not to sic his Guild assassins on Millia, isn’t she? I’m expecting Luc to use this new superweapon to try to cow the world into submission but Millia resisting so Luc will try to use it on her. Lil, to save her, will probably kill herself, passing on the power of Exile to Millia, which she’ll use to stop Luc. Something like that. Tears and apologies just won’t make the weight of all the lives lost to Exile in Gracies and who knows where else go away.
Sigh..why am I still watching this show, anyway? I hate tragedies. 🙁
As someone in the “Please get rid of Fam” camp. There is no way in bloody hell that her appearances in the 1st half added ANY value…… Granted it was in character, but as most other people have pointed out, it’s the same damned bimbotic character. There’s no breadth or width to her character, and it’s painful to watch.
One fact, IMHO :
Last Exile was written for teenagers, young adults and eventually adults. Here we have a show for a teenage audience with some adults elements whithin…
Sorry for my english.
Hm. But for something aimed at teenagers, the content seems very heavy. The good guys seem to be losing badly and the bad guys are doing some really terrible things. It’s quite a sad story. It’s past the halfway point and I still don’t see how Fam will be able to do anything to help. Her heart is in the right place but she’s an idiot. She seems to be only good at running away from the enemy and saving just a handful of people. What ships they’ve captured will be no match for even a single one of the Aden fleets, not even including Exile or that new superweapon that Luc has captured. And she seems so vulnerable. Her heart and idealism seem to be her strongest points. I don’t know what would happen to her or the story if someone close to her, like Giselle or Millia, were to die but the situations they get into make it only too easily possible, to the point that it seems odd that nothing that bad has happened to her yet. It’s like she’s sheltered by Fate itself.
I watched the original Last Exile a long time ago but I think I enjoyed it more somehow. It felt lighter, with a more focused scale and path. A grand adventure set in the middle of a major war. It was easier to tell who the good guys and bad guys were and there was good progress on both sides. There were disturbing elements of course, like the creepy Queen of the Guild, and a fair amount of tragedy, but this new Last Exile seems to have it a lot worse. Here, there’s betrayal and the destruction of an entire capital city from the first episode, and by the ship that was humanity’s salvation before. Great impact but also great sadness. That cute little girl from the original Last Exile has fallen so far – is Liliana really supposed to be a grown up Alvin? It’s so sad. Now she’s one of the villains. And even the once invincible Silvanus seems helpless. Claus, Lavie and Alex are gone. And Fam…she’s innocent and daring but….ineffective. It seems like pure luck that she and most of the people she cares about have made it this far. Most of the time she’s escaping from the enemy. She’s very good at capturing ships, making friends and escaping, and she saved some of the Gracies pilots from Aden’s fleet but I don’t know how she can stop Luc at this rate. It almost seems like the best way to save lives is just to surrender to Luc and end the bloodshed. Or resort to some elaborate deus ex machina.
“but this new Last Exile seems to have it a lot worse.”
But that’s not really well shown. 3/4 of the pirate’s fleet sunk, and survivors just don’t seem to care. Kingdoms fall, but where are the refugees collumn ? Also, that “to the point that it seems odd that nothing that bad has happened to her yet.” It’s something I can’t stand in a book/movie/anime. Showing war as something we can pass through like nothing – apart for a younger audience – which lead me to say that some elements are just really exagerated, like stealling 15 ships(! 2-3 would have been more “realist” for instance), large as flying destroyers like we steal a car ? By a 15yo ?? Or that 6yo Empress, the fact that 8/10 of the main characters are 15yo girls, etc etc
It’s a pity since the background is really rich, like a good SF book…
“Ceci dit”, the relation between Liliana and her sister reminds me a lot that of Van and his brother from Escaflown. No ?
“That cute little girl from the original Last Exile has fallen so far – is Liliana really supposed to be a grown up Alvin?”
No, fortunately she’s not, they’re two different people, Alvis hasn’t fallen from her old self, we’ve already seen more grown up Alvis and she’s just as loveable as ever. 🙂
“But that’s not really well shown. 3/4 of the pirate’s fleet sunk, and survivors just don’t seem to care. Kingdoms fall, but where are the refugees collumn ?”
Hmmm, episode 3 spent most of an episode on it in relation to Turan’s fall and the pirates and the customs of the pirates. Also, the pirates themselves are actually the refugees from most of the other kingdoms that have fallen in the past to Ades. Sure they could keep showing it each time but I think the mood has been appropriately heavy.
“Also, that “to the point that it seems odd that nothing that bad has happened to her yet.””
This I can agree with, I thought by now she’d have her own “defeated” -> “recovery” arc.
“which lead me to say that some elements are just really exagerated, like stealling 15 ships(! 2-3 would have been more “realist” for instance), large as flying destroyers like we steal a car ? By a 15yo ??”
Their age isn’t so bad, 15-16 isn’t really a problem since they are long-time Sky Pirates and by trade know exactly which isolated vessels and pathetic nobles to target that can put up the least resistance and fewest troops (perhaps they really should have driven home why Fam and Giselle picked their specific targets since while I think they made it clear with Giselle’s words there does seem to be some confusion over this, this is also why the gray military Ades uniform worked so well, the outlying nobles probably even from annexed countries are basically expected to comply and follow people wearing those real Ades military uniforms, though Luscinia did mention such nobles’ lower status when he eventually purged them on charges of aiding the enemy), it’s how the Sky Pirates and Fam and Gisey have always chosen their prey, they rarely go after the real nobles or the real military ships. Most of the ships they stole are old and some are clearly essentially trophy ships (though they’re probably still better than Turan’s ships that got annihilated). Plus, as in the first capture, they also likely took along some of the Silvius crew for backup.
Fam’s idealistic behavior this week may have somewhat annoyingly flown in the face of sense and logic – Luscinia must be stopped, and force is pretty much the only way – but I can’t fault her for being the product of her upbringing, just as MIllia is a product of hers. This is a girl whose life has been defined by three major truths:
[A] She’s an orphan who was taken in and raised by a generous, loving family in the egalitarian sky pirate colony of Kartoffel;
[B] She has a preternatural talent for flying (a skill she offers to Millia not long after they meet);
[C] She watched the Grand Race as a youngster (an event that to her represents the best achievement of humanity; the ultimate key to global peace).
Being raised among sky pirates [A], she’s going to talk out of turn, even if she’s out of her element (she doesn’t believe she is, because of [C]). Aside from wanting to restart a new Grand Race, Fam wants to use [B] to help people, not hurt them. So she becomes Millia’s wings, and Millia would not have gotten far in this series without those wings.
In short, I like Fam, and I’m neither surprised nor disappointed that she hasn’t changed much since our first glimpse of her sleepwalking with a bungie cord tied to her leg. I’m just wondering how she’ll actually get this New Grand Race off the ground, and most importantly, what she would do differently so that it doesn’t end up like the last one – in bloodshed.