Last Exile: Volume 1

Review Date: 2005 April 17 17:01

Reviewed by: Spike

Released by: ADV Films UK

Age Rating: PG

Region: 2 - UK

Volume 1 of 7

Length: 100 minutes

Subtitles: English

Audio: English 5.1 Surround

Affilate Links:
 

Summary

Claus and Lavie are freelance pilots, delivering messages and cargo to anyone who will pay the price. Instructed by the Vanship Union, a coalition of pilots, they perform a service, in between racing their Vanship for cash on the side. However, around them a war is rageing, a war that has been fought for decades between two countries, Dysith and Anantory, a war fought between huge airships using cannons and musketeers regulated by the mysterious Guild, a technologically superior and aloof race that mediates battles and keeps the status quo. But now Claus and Lavie have been entrused with a human cargo, and a mysterious force seeks to upset the equilibrium between the two warring nations, and threatens to destroy both civilisations entirely.

Review

Last Exile exists in a strange and almost alien world that is not entirely dissimilar from our own, resembling in it's own way some of the worlds created by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki in such works as Kiki's Delivery Service or Castle in the Sky, creating a beautiful world of intricate architecture that resembles some of the more impressive works of many European cities. While visually stunning and well paced, Last Exile leaves the viewer begging for more, leaving many mysteries unsolved and creating a sense of an overall conspiracy waiting in the wings for Claus and Lavie to uncover.

The characters themselves are entirely believable, and at many points in the series it can be difficult to tell weather they regard themselves as partners, a couple, or siblings, only leading to a air of uneasiness in their relationship when they become close. Other characters come across, mostly in passing, as normal people making the best of their situation, and come across as human despite their rank or position.