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Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing (TV).


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murph76



Joined: 26 Jul 2006
Posts: 3291
Location: Akron, OH
PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:59 pm Reply with quote
Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing is streaming on NicoNico.

As a fan of the original series, I've been looking forward to catching this sequel. And overall, the first episode didn't disappoint.

I was thrilled to see spoiler[Dio] back, hopefully his role will give him a lot of screen time. He was one of my favorite characters from the first series. I thought seeing the spoiler[Exile], and mentioning spoiler[Sophia] were other nice nods to the original, as well. Which makes me wonder how much time has passed since Last Exile. spoiler[Dio] doesn't seem to have aged, but we have two new countries that didn't exist in the first. Because of how spoiler[Sophia] was mentioned, I wonder if spoiler[she's the princesses' mother or grandmother?]

The redesigned vanships seem small. I was hoping the image on LE: Fam's encyclopedia page was some super-deformed drawing, because it seems like two people can hardly fit in it. But, that's the size. It was fun to seem those tiny things spoiler[capture that first ship.]

The fanservice seemed odd to me. Was it necessary for spoiler[Fam to strip to her undies in the opening scene, even if she was sleepwalking?] I don't mind fanservice in a show, but to be hit with it spoiler[cold, before knowing anything about the character seemed strange].

There are very few shows I try to catch as they are released week to week (I prefer to marathon shows). But this is one of them.
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Raftina



Joined: 15 Mar 2011
Posts: 3282
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:30 am Reply with quote
Hmmm, it wouldn't be too surprising if the Guild members age more slowly than normal humans, which would explain the era change. However, I recall seeing spoiler[Tatiana and Alister] on the character list of the official website, and they certainly do not have the same excuse as Dio.

On a side note, now that I've re-examined the official website, it seems that spoiler[Tatiana and Alister wear the uniform of the Ades Federation,] which would suggest that it is spoiler[the successor state to Anatoray and Disith.] This would make Dio's reference to spoiler[Sophia quite strange, because she would be on the opposite side of Turan. Then again, the Ades ruler listed on the official website doesn't appear to be Sophia.]

First episode impressions:
I'm not sure what the Japanese obsession is with sky pirates. The arrogant Fam is a poor replacement for the earnest courier Claus--not really a good sign to have this kind of impression when switching from a somewhat wimpy boy to a cute girl. The action and Dio more than compensate for this deficiency, and Fam's contrast with her navi Gisei has some interesting potential.
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ManOfRust



Joined: 08 Jan 2006
Posts: 1935
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:50 am Reply with quote
The first episode was enjoyable and quickly sets things up and introduces us to a fair number of characters. The animation looks great, even on the tiny little player NicoNico uses. I can't wait to see this when I finally get it on BluRay.

I almost never watch anything on my computer, but this show may end up being the exception. Like Murph, I generally prefer to marathon shows all the way through, but in this case I think I'll try to follow this one from week to week.

Last Exile is a show that I have watched many times and I still enjoy popping it into the DVD player now and then. I have high expectations for this sequel and I hope the series can keep up the quality we got in the first episode.

I'm as curious about how the world has developed from the end of the first series to the current time as I am about what is going to happen in the sequel's storyline. I hope everything gets tied together well. It's great to have one familiar face in the show right away, and also to get a few tantalizing tidbits dropped about others.

Maybe my one minor disappointment is the music. I'm not too impressed with it so far, although it was nice to hear one of the Dolce Triad tunes from the original series make its way into this first episode. Music is a big deal to me. I own both the original Last Exile soundtracks released in the US, and I'm hoping the music for this series is as memorable as it was in the original.
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Tony K.
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Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 11265
Location: Frisco, TX
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:05 am Reply with quote
It's been years since I've seen the first series, but this was pretty cool. They list Hitomi Kurioshi as doing the music by herself, but I recognize Shuntaro Okino and enough of the background music for this to be the work of Dolce Triade once again, and it sounds glorious. One of the tracks they used has a lot of trumpet and drums to it a la that Final Fantasy Tactics sound that I loved so much about the first series' soundtrack, but I also noticed a newer motif that had a lot of percussion, particularly with a lot of bells and chimes, in it. Overall, I think they're trying to go for a newer sound that resembles enough of the first series but also displays a kind of progression for the Last Exile world. Honestly, I was taken aback to the first series just from the music alone, and the addition of Maaya Sakamoto doing the OP brings a little feeling of that late early 2000s nostalgia as well. The tempo and instrumentation of the song has that "world music" sound to it, which is something I've always loved about her work.

The production values are also through the roof and look very colorful. Nothing like watching Range Murata-influenced designs in HD, and I'm sure the overall color scheme will look even more amazing when they transfer this to Blu-ray. I'm also digging the sound design and really hope they have it within their budget to mix this at 5.1. Specifically, spoiler[ that dogfight with Fam saving the Turan ship was a very cool sequence of naval combat that could make for awesome separation and directionality should they actually create these sound masters in a multi-channel field. Mm, yes, the sub-woofer would get quite the workout from just this first episode alone, and that's just from cannon fire. Heck, those plane engines would make the thing rumble nonstop!]

As for the episode itself, I like it. It just throws you into the battle between the kingdoms, hints at this and that, and kind of makes the overall potential that more intriguing. Fam is a little too spunky at times, but she's good at what she does. And I'm hoping that despite her apparent hubris that the story will unfold in such a way that it either teaches her some kind of humility or that she, at least, evolves over the course of the series into someone that's more multi-dimensional.

Other than that, there's not much else I can say or predict out of just one episode. It definitely has my interest, though, and I'm really looking forward to more.
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
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Location: Melbourne, Oz
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 2:20 am Reply with quote
In Australia Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing is streaming at the Madman Screening Room.

Enjoyed the episode, especially the second half, more than I expected. I'm not sure, though, about the infantilised character designs compared with the original series. The 3D cloud effects aren't as realistic either. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.
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TG72



Joined: 28 Jan 2011
Posts: 334
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 3:09 am Reply with quote
I've got to agree with Murph. The first series didn't have any fanservice, so getting hit with it right off the bat was a surprise.

Anyway, this version has plenty of excitement and the artwork is through the roof. Looking forward to the rest!

I'm not sure that it's a sequel...I seem to remember an interview from a few months ago where it was described as an alternate world.
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Raftina



Joined: 15 Mar 2011
Posts: 3282
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:02 am Reply with quote
No fanservice, huh?

I think the more infantilized look works reasonably well for this series. First, Last Exile itself had rather pudgy young character designs, so the younger look of the young characters in Fam isn't as jarring as, say, the contrast between Suou introduced for Darker Than Black 2. Second, because the returning characters appear to be older in this series, the younger new characters provide a more noticeable contrast to the returning predecessors.
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 4:30 am Reply with quote
The very young look isn't to my taste. I'm not suggesting the characters or plot are juvenile. I can deal with their appearance if the series is good on other, more important levels.
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einhorn303



Joined: 20 Nov 2006
Posts: 1180
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 7:55 am Reply with quote
This first episode was very promising. The pacing was really fast, but it didn't seem rushed. Now they need to develop a characters, and let the main three girls interact.

Raftina wrote:
Hmmm, it wouldn't be too surprising if the Guild members age more slowly than normal humans, which would explain the era change. However, I recall seeing spoiler[Tatiana and Alister] on the character list of the official website, and they certainly do not have the same excuse as Dio...


I think they might look a bit older, but not by much. The time frame of this show also has me wondering a lot.

TG72 wrote:
I'm not sure that it's a sequel...I seem to remember an interview from a few months ago where it was described as an alternate world.


It is a direct sequel, but set on another planet, which they traveled to with Exile.
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murph76



Joined: 26 Jul 2006
Posts: 3291
Location: Akron, OH
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:21 am Reply with quote
einhorn303 wrote:
It is a direct sequel, but set on another planet, which they traveled to with Exile.


That makes sense. It explains the new countries and the six moons in the sky, which I don't recall seeing in Last Exile.
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Eivion



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 569
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:50 am Reply with quote
Anyone how much time has passed since the original show?

Anyways, I was never as big a fan of the orignal show as others, but I did enjoy it a good bit. I thought this first episode was pretty nice. Pacing was good, the fights were good, and I'm already liking Fam a decent amount. I glad she is fairly different from Claus who I was never that fond of. Solid show so far, I think it could turn out to be one of the better ones from this season, if not this year.
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einhorn303



Joined: 20 Nov 2006
Posts: 1180
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 10:52 am Reply with quote
murph76 wrote:
einhorn303 wrote:
It is a direct sequel, but set on another planet, which they traveled to with Exile.


That makes sense. It explains the new countries and the six moons in the sky, which I don't recall seeing in Last Exile.


It still gives me a lot of questions, though. In the first series, it was heavily implied that Exile would lead them back to Earth. Something like "a blue planet, where all life came from and all life will return to." But, the planet they're on now has six moons. Which could mean that:

1. Artificial satellite moons. Hey, humanity's clearly developed some pretty crazy technology.
2. Returning to Earth allowed them access to the entire Exile gate network, which has other non-Earth planets in it.
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MrTerrorist



Joined: 20 Oct 2010
Posts: 1348
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 11:28 am Reply with quote
I'm watching the show from Animax Asia which showing the show the same day as Japan. And here's some minor info.

*Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing takes place 2 years after Last Exile.

*The Vanships Fam and the Sky pirates ride are called Vespas.
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murph76



Joined: 26 Jul 2006
Posts: 3291
Location: Akron, OH
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:09 pm Reply with quote
MrTerrorist wrote:
*Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing takes place 2 years after Last Exile.


Cool, thanks! I found an image of Alvis Hamilton on the official website and she looks about 12 years old, so the timing makes sense.

einhorn303 wrote:
Returning to Earth allowed them access to the entire Exile gate network, which has other non-Earth planets in it.


My speculation: Maybe the Exile colonized other worlds before hibernating on Prester. Now that it's awakened, it's visiting these worlds again.
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Eivion



Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 569
PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 1:25 pm Reply with quote
MrTerrorist wrote:
I'm watching the show from Animax Asia which showing the show the same day as Japan. And here's some minor info.

*Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing takes place 2 years after Last Exile.

*The Vanships Fam and the Sky pirates ride are called Vespas.

Thanks for the info. Explains why Dio still looks so young.
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