blackmamba99971 For some time now, this series which has led to a second season has been nothing more than grand. A girl named Fam, who loves to race, as well as scavenge for battle ships using what is known as Vanships. During an early part of the world's history, a weapon was used to stop a war on earth which then made it a one sided victory. A small land called Turan is on the brink of war between fascists and Turan itself. But in between is Fam, who along side her is a long standing best friend who is her navigator during race time, or pirate time. Yet both work in such Synchro,that it seems nothing can touch them both. In the second season, an episode which leads the viewer to war is episode 12. Where Fam is still seven years old with her best friend. The race is supposed to unite all on the world leading to peace, but in the dark corners of revenge, assassins carry out their plot and wipe out Queen Augusta, leader of all who in the back of her mind is uneasy by this new peace treaty. With her death, a new page of history is written and a full scale war is in the mold for first strike. This series, is a fresh look on family, friends, foes, and whoever else might be in the way of dreams. It captivates, keeps you sitting on the edge of your seat, brilliant music, and breathtaking flight scenes. It's a story of hope, despair, sadness, laughing, crying, and an idea to break free from the horrors of war. Fam is the light to all, and those who know her, only her abilities can bring back the hope people have lost. Especially when a deadly weapon is used once again on Turan. Wiping it clean off of the map. A must see series, highly recommended to this show and the second season, The Last Exile - Fam - The Silver Wing.

trcky1 This is a frustrating series because it had so much promise. The artwork and animation are superbly detailed. I couldn't believe I was watching an anime produced 8-9 years ago. The premise and story are pretty interesting as well, though somewhat disjointed. It felt like a love letter to the art and culture of air flight, but then that line clashes a bit with the whole sci-fi aspect of the series. The ending also feels abrupt and rushed. It felt like the story took an abrupt turn, the way that James Cameron's "The Abyss" did. But the ending wasn't built up the same way, leading to the rushed feeling at the end.On the bright side, not only does the artwork shine, but there are a few bright dramatic moments where the director builds the scene to an impressive crescendo. And on the dark side, the dialogue also suffers from the same disjointedness that the plot does.

Tweekums I bought this knowing little about it, I just liked the look of the artwork and the price. When I started to watch the first disc I knew that I'd made a good purchase. One is immediately thrown into the action as we see the Silvana, a giant aerial battleship engaging a fleet of enemy ships. The next scene introduces the two main characters; young pilot Claus and his Navigator Lavie who are working on their aircraft. The planes in the world of Last Exile aren't like ours, they lack wings but gain lift from a chemical called claudia. Thankfully the series doesn't dwell on the technology the viewer just has to accept that this is how things are in this world.Initially Claus and Lavie fly as couriers, this all changes when they see another vanship crash and agree to complete the dying pilot's mission. This is to deliver a young girl called Alvis to the Silvana. While on board the ship is engaged in battle and they end up staying on board. From then on they get into adventures with the Silvana and her crew as they confront various opponents and find out what makes Alvis so special and why the mysterious Guild is so keen to get their hands on her.There are three main groups in this series; the nations of Anatoray (where our heroes come from) and Disith seem to be in perpetual battle using ships which use technology provided by the Guild. The ships themselves look more like early battleships than aircraft as they lumber through the sky engaging each other with cannons and soldiers armed with muskets.While the series looks great its real strength lies in its large cast of interesting characters, not all of whom are quite what they seem at first and some of whom won't survive till the end. Everybody will have they own favourite characters, after Claus and Lavie my favourite was Lord Dio, a young Guild pilot who befriends our two heroes after being impressed by Claus's flying.These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

[email protected] My girlfriend and I caught this series on 'Tech TV' during a Sunday marathon. We were drawn to the compelling story line, Intelligent characters and fantastic visuals. We were so drawn that we went out and found it on DVD at a good video store so we could watch it again.It does bear a passing resemblance to "Castle in the Clouds", but with a more 'grown-up' sensibility. It's a shame episodes 14 through 26 will not be available to be shown on TV until next year, it's going to be a long wait.Tech TV has previews of the various episodes if you want to take a closer look.Update: Saw the last 13 episodes, and the pace of the series grows more relentless until the tension is almost unbearable for the last four episodes. Excellent story arc, and some very affecting tragedy at the end. Strongly recommended to any interested in a good story, strong characters, and inheritable visuals should check this series out.