Last Exile starts on Tech TV on March 8

[Last Exile]

Just a reminder for everyone. Starts in a few days, so hope you all try it and let me know what you think of it once it starts. Yeah, I'll make this as a topic for US people who'll be watching it on Tech TV to post comments and reviews on.

[Dark-San]

Last Exile is shown in Singapore on Cable TV last year. Too bad I missed it since I dun hav any Cable TV. Besides I got to watch Last Exile through VCD. A friend bought it and lended it to me. Hey gotta thank him ;P

Neat anime. Interesting story about war and how peace has finally settled between those countries. The minus sign of this anime would be the lack of love development between Rafy and Kolus. They could hav done better in that part!

[Razola]

Crush: We get the idea. It's a really good show. No need to make an entirely new thread to tells us that. Just do what I did with Witch Hunter Robin (which is getting better, by the way) and bump the old one. Hell, you can even use your mod-like powers to edit the title of the thread to remind us better.

I will be watching it. It's spring break, and I'll be alone at night when my parents and brother go to sleep.

[Last Exile]

Hey, just a reminder, man. And for anyone who didn't see the first time. Since many people can't remember anything from the day before, I thought I'd provide a friendly reminder, is all.

And okay, I admit I want more people to discuss it with.

Darky, the names were actually Claus and Lavie. No biggie.

Actually the series is a lot deeper in that, but I'd be spoiling the series any more if I said anything.

[Last Exile]

Well it's March 8 in australia right now, so it would be March 8 tomorrow for the US, right?

Well, hope you guys enjoy Last Exile's debut. look forward to hearing your comments in the next few days.

[Razola]

So far, so good. The animation is beautiful (though the CGI effects seem a bit out of place) and the voice actors are possibly the best TechTV has.

Also glad TechTV gave it a bit more respect than other animes. A solid time slot (10pm EST instead of 1am) and it used the Last Exile opening, close, and even commerical breaks screens as opposed to their very dorky "Anime Unleashed" opening, closing, etc. which they have used with nearly every other anime.

Is this a 10-episode series? I was pleased with what I saw, and look forward to tomorrow night.

[Last Exile]

Heh heh! Now you see why i built it up, Raz! Glad you like it! Now I'll have someone else to dicuss it with!

It's actually a 26 episode series. You guys should be getting 13 episodes over 6 days and then a full repeat of 1-13 on the day after.

I haven't heard the dub version, but apparently they went all out on this one according to a DVD review I saw online. Apparently they picked a Dutch guy to voice Claus and a French woman to voice Lavie, so they got authenticity. And yes, GONZO really went all out on the animation quality. Last Exile was their 10th anniversary special, so they let the budget go as far as was needed to make it.

I presume you saw Episodes 1-2 last night, right? They would have been First Move and Luft Vanship if I remember correctly. I think the ones tonight are Transpose and Zugzwang (N.B. Zugzwang is a German term for 'forced move'. It is commonly used in chess but also in war. It is a situation where one player has forced the other to make one certain move. Once you see the two tonight, you'll understand why they chose those titles. That's another thing I like about the series. How they choose clever, original and appropriate titles for the episodes, and how they have them imprinted on that book. It's really nice.

You got to hear both the opening and ending themes?! Sweet! What did ya think of them? Cloud Age Symphony, the opener, is a bit weird the first few times you hear it, but once you get used to it, it's very hypnotic and soaring. And over the Sky, the ender, is a gem. So serene, harmonic, breezy and hopeful.

And if you're wondering who the girl in the ending theme is, you meet her in episode 3 tonight! Enjoy, people!

[classy_cat18]

I saw the first two episodes and I loved them! Lavie is one of my favorite female anime characters now! Screw chivalry! Ahahahaha! *blushes at sudden burst of laughter*

[Last Exile]

Originally posted by classy_cat18
I saw the first two episodes and I loved them! Lavie is one of my favorite female anime characters now! Screw chivalry! Ahahahaha! *blushes at sudden burst of laughter*

It is a classic line but they altered it a bit from the Japanese version.

In the Japanese version, Lavie said: Chivalry is bullsh!t!

Such a classic. Lavie was one of a kind.

[Razola]

The one thing I don't get is having the soliders just shoot each other across ships. Old traditions aside, this makes no sense.

You may say, "But Raz! What about the ship battles back in the days of pirates?" Well, there were less people on a ship, and thus you are either firing at A) Someone who is running the ship or B) Someone who is firing a cannon at you.

The battles in Last Exile are almost like the ones in the US Civil War: Modern War Machines that are being used with the old tactics and strategems. But even the Union and South didn't just lne up soliders to just kill each other for no real tactical reason. It's not like these soldiers are there to run the airships: clearly they are just waiting to die. I think the most meaningful scene was when the ramp where soldiers fired from rose up to let dead bodies slide down. It's as if they weren't expecting survivors.

The whole letter-reading scene was a letdown. What would have worked was the reaction of the ship's captain to the letter along with occasional shots of the soldiers waiting for their impending doom. Instead we get the silly and too-soon arrival and stand-off of the guards. This would have been fine after the letter was read, but it cut off what could have been a very dramatic and emotional scene. A lack of music also hurt it.

The only other complaint I had was the "Screw chilvary!" line. A fine line, but used at the wrong time. It's episode two: the viewers are only getting familiar with this concept, and we have little idea of how far etched into society it is. Is this purely a code of honor for those in war? Or is it some sort of government code of law? The gravity of this line is wasted since we are simply not familar enough with it, especially in that setting of being surrounded by soldiers. Maybe if the army was doing a bone-headed maneuever that would surely kill them, then the line would be better timed. Because it's clear by episode 2 that this code of ethics applies to warriors.

Two more episodes tonight. I really love the setting and enviroments of the series. I'm looking forward to seeing the inner workings or this deliver service the two are part of.

[Last Exile]

Well, a couple of things in response.

The first two episodes are basically fought off in conventional naval warfare tactics from before the 1800s., accordgint o an interview. Then after that, you can expect more World War II tactics in the episodes after.

Now there is a point to the whole all those guys dying and Lavie's line, Raz. And admittedly, unless I'd read certain things when I was young, I would've found it all weird too. But I what a learnt a few years back was that 300 years ago, all the leaders believed in honour and facing off with one's enemy in a traditional way. They thought guile, sneak tactics and breaking rules was completely wrong and worse than death. Irrational thoughts, yes, but that was how they lived back then. You don't have to agree with it, but it's better to understand that's how they lived back then. Honour and chivalry were seen as more important than life or death and that it was the way of nobility.

You don't know this much yet, unless you saw the little snippets in Episode 1, and Claus's and Lavie's childhoods won't be revealed until Episode 14, but they had a very harsh upbringing. Nobility, chivalry and the easy life was something they never had. Then when they're simply doing their job and being dismissed as nothing by the second in command jsut because they're young and 'commoners', that's what sets Lavie off. Couple that with Moran's horror of being the ONLY person on either side that wasn't shot in the face-off, and that rams a message home.

What good is chivalry if you're dead and everyone with you is as well? You can't behind a notion if it refuses to face reality. This is a desperate situation, and when they Anatoray were attacked in a sneaky way by Disith and simply complained about it being dishonourable, this reinforces the point. Chivalry is a notion. It's not something you can cling to forever. Humanity's greatest instinct is to survive and to dow hatever it takes to live on. Hence why Disith broke the rules.

And then there's the fact Claus and Lavie were raised in a non-noble fashion. They're following their own honour and work ethic to the letter, yet the vice-captain dismissed them like insects and countered with chivalry even though they knew they were going to be blown to pieces. That's why Lavie went beserk. She had had enough and refused to be smothered in the hypocritical side of chivalry while everyone fell. That and because she's the fiery and action type, while Claus is a bit light-headed and fixed in expressions normally yet focused and passionate while he flies. They compliment each other. You can expect Lavie to be the one to pick a fight, serve it up or to speak her mind while Claus will stand back a bit, and occasionally be taken advantage of.

Personally I thought it was a classic line. But hey, each to their own. I will agree that the first few episodes are confusing to an extent. I found it very weird watching the first few and I wondered "Where the hell is this going?!" But after you pass the first five, the picture is clearer and more engaing. Remember, you're seeing this war from the point of view of Claus and Lavie. They know nothing about it. You know what they know. You see what they see. You feel what they feel. This is how it works in Last Exile.

Now, as I said before, if you have any points you need to discuss or want to clarify, I'm ready to reply. And if any Newtype issues are available to you, December 2003, January 2004 and June 2003 will help you a lot in explaining things involving nations, the way the world is set. For example, did you know that the world of Last Exile is actually a figure-8 shape rather than a sphere?! That fact isn't apparent until the 2nd half of the series, but Newtype makes it clear in their early-on analysis.

One more thing; Make sure you understand the significance of the Silvana in Episode 2. Note how EVERYONE fled once the Silvana appeared. The Silvana has NO allegiance and does as it wants. The Guild may rule the sky, but the Silvana answer to no one, not even the Guild. The Silvana are on the good side but they are their own force. More on them will appear very soon.


MAJOR EDIT: Slight update on how Last Exile is being shown.

From March 8-13, it's 2 eps a day at 10-11pm

On March 14 (and make sure you get this into your head or write it down), eps 1-12 will be replayed from 4pm-10pm and episode 13 will screen as a premiere from 10pm-10:30pm.

Unfortunately you guys don't get to see ep14 for a while. That sucks, because that while the episode is mainly retrospective, it's one of the most cruical to the whole series. It explains how Claus and Lavie became who they are right from when they were about three years old up to the present. And at the end of that episode, there was a little surprise that changed everything. Followed up by an absolute bombshell in episode 15! Everything in that episode was beserk!

PS. Has Dio appeared in the series yet in the eps you've seen? If he hasn't, wait until he does! You're not gonna know what hit you once this guy enters the scene! He is an absoltue riot!

[classy_cat18]

Can I ask a question, O Last Exile Fanatic (CCC)? One of those guys sounds like Jet Black from Cowboy Bebop (I hope you've watched it). Am I right for thinking that?

[Razola]

Originally posted by Citrus Crush Chikorita
Well, a couple of things in response.

The first two episodes are basically fought off in conventional naval warfare tactics from before the 1800s., accordgint o an interview. Then after that, you can expect more World War II tactics in the episodes after.

I gathered that much, but I still found that one tactic to have no point. Even the boneheaded tactics in the Civil War had some goal.

Now there is a point to the whole all those guys dying and Lavie's line, Raz.

But it was in context to them being surrounded and at gunpoint. It was a good line, but not at the ideal time.

And admittedly, unless I'd read certain things when I was young, I would've found it all weird too. But I what a learnt a few years back was that 300 years ago, all the leaders believed in honour and facing off with one's enemy in a traditional way. They thought guile, sneak tactics and breaking rules was completely wrong and worse than death. Irrational thoughts, yes, but that was how they lived back then. You don't have to agree with it, but it's better to understand that's how they lived back then. Honour and chivalry were seen as more important than life or death and that it was the way of nobility.

Having guys just SHOOT each other, for no reason, is stupid. In the Civil War you had to kill the enemy soldiers. That was the focus. In Last Exile, guns are no effective. They cannot take down an Airship (unless the armor is very weak, but why would you fly in it, then?) and it's impossible to shoot down the crew, which should be in the ship's bowels. They were also not firing at those operating large weaponry (that would have made sense). This was shooting just to shoot. Having the soldiers on ship makes sense (ground invasion force), but I have never seen a tactice that dumb. Even the chilvary in our past doesn't just expose troops for no real reason.

You don't know this much yet, unless you saw the little snippets in Episode 1, and Claus's and Lavie's childhoods won't be revealed until Episode 14, but they had a very harsh upbringing. Nobility, chivalry and the easy life was something they never had. Then when they're simply doing their job and being dismissed as nothing by the second in command jsut because they're young and 'commoners', that's what sets Lavie off. Couple that with Moran's horror of being the ONLY person on either side that wasn't shot in the face-off, and that rams a message home.

You can't apply things in a future episode to what was said in episode 1 or 2. Yes, I feel the line was understandible, but we needed a bit more time to understand their concept of chilvary.

And then there's the fact Claus and Lavie were raised in a non-noble fashion.

We are not sure of that when Lavie says that line. If we knew that, then it would have more impact to us.

They're following their own honour and work ethic to the letter, yet the vice-captain dismissed them like insects and countered with chivalry even though they knew they were going to be blown to pieces. That's why Lavie went beserk. She had had enough and refused to be smothered in the hypocritical side of chivalry while everyone fell.

Episode 7 & 8 demonstrated the hypocritical side of Chilvary and the Nobles very well. I did not have a good idea of the notion on Monday. Lavie really went beserk this time, and it was better felt. Her previous outburst was not so much emotional to me as it was foreshadowing, showing the underlying anger she has.

Personally I thought it was a classic line. But hey, each to their own.

Not a bad line, but I think it served a different purpose than what was intended. I wasn't shocked or felt moved, but instead got an idea of what people think of cholvary.

I will agree that the first few episodes are confusing to an extent. I found it very weird watching the first few and I wondered "Where the hell is this going?!" But after you pass the first five, the picture is clearer and more engaing. Remember, you're seeing this war from the point of view of Claus and Lavie. They know nothing about it. You know what they know. You see what they see. You feel what they feel. This is how it works in Last Exile.

It's been a fairly easy-to-follow series. A bit of pacing problems here and there, but things are starting to really come together. It does focus on the duo (obviously) and the war slowly moves from a part of the news to the focus of their lives.

One more thing; Make sure you understand the significance of the Silvana in Episode 2. Note how EVERYONE fled once the Silvana appeared. The Silvana has NO allegiance and does as it wants. The Guild may rule the sky, but the Silvana answer to no one, not even the Guild. The Silvana are on the good side but they are their own force. More on them will appear very soon.

I was first thinking the Sylvanna was on the Emporer's force, but just arrogant (when Alex asked which side to fire on) but Lavie's fear of the ship revealed that it's rogue.

And that duel with Goliath...can we say "owned?"
MAJOR EDIT: Slight update on how Last Exile is being shown.

According to TV Tome, the series is about 18 episodes. When do we get the final four or five? It seems odd to just cut the conclusion out.

[Last Exile]

Actually, it's 26 episodes. You're only getting the first half of the series so far. You're waiting until 2005 to get the rest on TV, but the whole series should be out on DVD around October.

And classy, I haven't seen ANY Cowboy Bebop, so I wouldn't know unfortuantely.

[The Muffin Man]

Originally posted by Citrus Crush Chikorita


And classy, I haven't seen ANY Cowboy Bebop, so I wouldn't know unfortuantely.

Ahh. No wonder you hail this as the best anime ever

[Razola]

Originally posted by The Muffin Man
Ahh. No wonder you hail this as the best anime ever

That does, indeed, explain a lot.

I'm also rather angry that TechTV didn't give us the whole series at once. Now I'll have to get enough money for the DVD.

[Last Exile]

Originally posted by Raz
That does, indeed, explain a lot.

I'm also rather angry that TechTV didn't give us the whole series at once. Now I'll have to get enough money for the DVD.

Gee, like that's a surprise!

Yeah, leaving it hanging like that is a bummer. I'd send you the rest if I could, but I'd be lynched for it.

I do wanna see Cowboy Bebop, but I gotta find soemone with the whole series on DVD, find someone else to make CD burn conversions for me, and then I can see it. I have the movie but not the series.

I am curious though. Spike and Faye do ooze coolness and sexuality to no end.

But you've made one assumption: I'm not sure why you think I rate Last Exile as the best. I do so more for the philosophy, the historical refernces, the insatiable games of cat and mouse, the flawless flow of the plot and because the ending is the best of all time. I can udnerstand why some may find better series than Last Exile, but beleive me, you can't find a better ending than the one for Last Exile.

Out of interest, Mike, did you actually watch any of this series, or are you waiting for the 14th when they do the full repeat?

[Razola]

Originally posted by Citrus Crush Chikorita
but beleive me, you can't find a better ending than the one for Last Exile.

Since I haven't seen, I guess I can't argue that...yet.

Due to a bus trip/traveling, I missed the "conclusion" on Sunday. Funny TechTV calls it that even though there's a handful of episodes left afterwards.

When does it repeat? Anyone know? Last Exile is certainly better than the show that was previously in its timeslot. (Robot Wars...)

[Last Exile]

You mean, you missed the full repeat so you missed ep 13? Ah, that not be good. There was no indication whether and when they would repeat the 1st half of Last Exile in any of the press I saw.

Basically, what happened was Claus and tatianna crash-landed in the desert and spent a while trying to get the vanship to work. During that time, Tatiana stopped seeing Claus as a naive little kid and as someone who was resourceful and who never gave up. Basically, this is the episode where Tatiana sheds the 'ice princess tag'. In the final bit, the Disith population shoot their migration capsules towards Anatoray in order for their nation to survive (Disith is frozen through, Anatoray is wilting away). Claus and Tatiana get the ship to work and reach an emergency base, but they get captured by Disith soldiers. They're about to be executed but the shooter (who was alone when told to do the task) fakes killing them with an air shot and runs for it. Claus and Tatiana pursue the person, but when she falls over they realise it's a girl who's in the middle of ehr teens. At the end of the episode, the migration capsules arrive, except there's one problem...

No one survived. And she goes crazy with despair...

From memory that episode was called Isolated Pawn.

The next one is called Etude Lavie, being Episode 14. This is one of the best episodes of the series. It explains Claus's and Lavie's pasts perfectly. And it unveils a REALLY big secret about Alex. This plot twist was very well hidden, and it changed this saga big-time. The fallout from this episode was huge.

Well, hoep you get to see 13 and the rest soon. Anyone else who watched 1-13, please do respond. Classycat18, I know you were watching. And did Mike actually bother to watch any?