Forum - View topicLast Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing (TV).
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dan7el
 Posts: 111 Location: Albany, NY |
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Honestly, I'm perfectly fine with spoiler[Liliana dying. Good riddance, you evil witch.]. They never developed her character to any kind of point where I'd care about her anyway.
Okay, so some guy recognizes spoiler[Fam as the daughter of someone he knew and is surprised her parents are dead.] Very interesting. And I agree, Giselle by far is the most interesting girl of the bunch, however, I'm still intrigued. If we don't see more of Lavi and Claus in this show I will be seriously disappointed. I keep waiting for them to fly in and help out any time. |
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TG72
 Posts: 334 |
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Episode 19
Well...it's definitely endgame now. Poor spoiler[Sara ]is one of the most suffering characters I've seen in any show. I hope she gets a happy ending. spoiler[I'm guessing she and Fam are related somehow. ] Again, the writers were too lenient with Lillia and Luscinia. The spoiler[Grand Exile is everything it appeared to be but has to have some kind of weakness.]
Amen to that. Dropping in for the Grand Race would not be enough. They had better play some part in spoiler[defeating the Grand Exile, even if it's just showing up to stand by Al's side during the final battle.]Could it bespoiler[that one or both of them were in the hangar during Dio's fight with Alaudia and did something to help? Both Dio and Al were a little confused by the way things turned out.] |
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Petrea Mitchell
Posts: 438 Location: Near Portland, OR |
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So let me see if I have this straight: spoiler[the plan is now to take Sara offworld, and nuke everybody, just 'cause another of Luscinia's crushes got shot. Hokay then.]
spoiler[I wonder if Sara is a clone too. Come to think of it we've never heard of Farahnaz having a consort...] spoiler[And if Sara is the key to the Grand Exile, WTF did Lilliana have to go north for? Luscinia just wanted to act out his dream of being a barista???] |
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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No way... The first scene was a bit funny.
So Liliana dspoiler[id not kill Luscinia, as his argument that only he can introduce peace to the world was so very convincing. I would have thought that a person in their right mind would have said "Well, before you came up, we HAD peace", but obviously Liliana thought otherwise. Surprisingly she accepted the new plan- surprisingly, since that the big peace plan involved chaos and countless deaths]. I realise it is not that simple, but I am not really buying why would Liliana be so easily convinced by such an argument. She knew the past of the humankind, but still to believe that the best future is to spoiler[wipe out everything] is a step too far. It is a shame that keys to Exile can be used without their consent. I felt bad for Sara, because I can imagine she is going to feel guilty about spoiler[being used in the way Luscinia used her.] There is something twisted abut serving someone and taking care of them only to cause them so much pain. Last edited by Unicorn_Blade on Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:27 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Gatherum
 Posts: 773 Location: Aurora CO |
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I have been following this since episodes 1 and 2; I simply haven't gotten to this thread yet. My apologies if anything I say has been gone over already.
There have been a lot of complaints from fans and fansubbers alike regarding the quality of the series compared to its predecessor. In some cases, this is true, while in others, it is false. It really depends on what elements do it for you. In my opinion, this season has presented a far more interesting political and geographical landscape than its predecessor because of its focus less on a single prodigious ship in the Silvana/Silvius or the Exile(s) and more on the movements of empires and their conquests. Episodes 1 and 2 were a brilliantly satisfying prologue that reminded me somewhat of the opening movie to Final Fantasy XII in terms of cinematic appeal and the establishment of the central conflict. That and I was overjoyed to see Dio again, because you can never go wrong with the business of how awesome Dio is. Unfortunately, the political landscape and geography really accounted for the majority of what it had going for it since it focused far less on the vanships and the franchise's famous steampunk-inspired lore. That said, the series loses momentum as time goes on and focuses too much on Fam's naïve dreams and monologues in regard to a completely peaceful world where everyone smiles during their attendance at the Grand Race. Not to mention that the CGI used is not a terribly large improvement over what we saw in its predecessor, which is to say that it's not bad; in fact, it's quite good compared to the CGI seen in some anime currently airing (*coughshanacough*). Nevertheless, I'd expect a more noticeable improvement, as well as some quality control when you try to animate characters that way (hint: it looks ridiculous). The cell animation is fine, but could have done well with some high-quality work on the spoiler[melee fight scenes involving Dio and other guild assassins, especially his fight with Alauda, which was appropriately and realistically brief, but disappointingly enough, not much to look at.] The series is a bit bogged down by some awkward pacing and naïve, but major players in characters like Fam and Sārā, the latter of whom really should not have as much influence as she does in any given moment. I will, however, give the other characters credit where credit is due and appreciate the fact that the spoiler[peace they established lasted less than an episode. On the other hand, both Liliana and Millia have been rather annoying, the former for being entirely too opaque and not having any veritable justification for her actions, and the latter for being far too easily swayed by Turanian sleeper cells, said traitorous sister, and even Luscinia, whom we have long established as being personally responsible for the destruction of her family and kingdom, not to mention quite a few others by proxy. As part of a royal line and representing the entirety of the resistance forces pertaining to Turan who has come so far in establishing ties with and rallying other movements in nations that have fallen under similar circumstances, one would think that she would be more certainly set in her goals by now and would at least be willing to put emotion aside and support Vasant's logical proposal for Liliana's imprisonment, which is punishing, but still much lighter than what the Gracians have in mind. On the other hand, other characters are showing some greater development and/or integrity. Fam herself is willing to admit that she has been acting the fool and I am happy that Dian and the other Glacians, at least, are concrete enough to attempt an assassination of Luscinia and, while failing, still manage to off Liliana in a nice mirror image of what occurred on the last Grand Race years ago, something that Millia was unable to accomplish (though I don't necessarily think that Millia should have been the one to do it, what with it being rather out of character for her). I was seriously afraid that they would attempt to make Luscinia out to be some kind of godsend for a minute there, but I am happy to see that he is, indeed, the ruthless tyrannical villain that he is supposed to be, willing to take the lives of even those aligned with him.] Overall, the series produced mixed feelings for me. Is it as good as its predecessor? Questionable. While I found this one more interesting because I tend to be a sucker for political thrillers, there was also very little overall criticism to level at the first series: for its time, the animation was quite sound, few of its characters failed to interest, entertain, or make sense (save, perhaps, Claus, who felt too neutral and like a go-through-the-motions kinda guy), and the plot was really quite solid, where this one's overall integrity is questionable (someone asked spoiler[what the point of Luscinia and Liliana sitting up north drinking coffee for like four or five episodes was when the former could have simply tapped into Sārā in order to activate the Grand Exile. Indeed, how could Liliana have been so easily swayed by him and his genocidal plan for the world in order to make it "peaceful?" Doesn't really hold up.]). Is it good on its own? Absolutely, especially given the state of the medium at large these days. I just hope the endgame somehow manages to tie up all of these awkward loose ends. |
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dirkusbirkus
 Posts: 699 Location: Manchester, UK |
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I tried to hold off comparing it to the original series for as lengthy a period as possible. It worked for a time, since LE2 started quite strongly in my eyes. When it became apparent the focus would be on politics, that was another reason to judge it as a standalone, as the first installment was more 'adventure' based.
The point at which I succumbed to the inevitable came around because of the characters. To be more precise, one character. I won't go into too much detail because there are countless articles and posts expressing the same sentiment: Fam is a weak protagonist. I think the vast majority of viewers, regardless of their level of enjoyment with the series, have been annoyed with Fam at one point or another. For me, once that flaw became more and more evident each episode, that's when I became more objective and that's when I started direct comparisons with the first series. There are aspects of this season I have enjoyed greatly. I actually like the way Sara has been portrayed, and whilst I can certainly understand people having reservations over the amount of influence she holds, I didn't find it too much of a stretch to accept. Within this universe it seemed feasible to me. I enjoy the battleship fights and the tactics involved in such (though I seem to recall tactics playing a heavy role in LE1 also). I like a lot of the characters, to the point I feel they are underused (Giselle being a point in case here). But now everything's coming to a conclusion, threads are being tied up in such a way as to ask a lot of patience from the viewer. When you've had to put up with Fam's peace and love meanderings for the past few months, most viewers are finding their reserves of patience running a little low. |
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dirkusbirkus
Posts: 699 Location: Manchester, UK |
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For all the disillusionment thus far, I really really enjoyed episode 20. I love grandstand finishes.
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Yttrbio
 Posts: 3653 |
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I dunno. It feels like the writers are just throwing everyone in for a final family photo or something, despite them having nothing to do. spoiler[Why is Sorush alive? Not in a plot sense, but what were the creators thinking bringing him back, aside from "we don't have the balls to kill our characters"?]
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dirkusbirkus
Posts: 699 Location: Manchester, UK |
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No, I totally get what you're saying, it was all cheesy as hell.spoiler[ The timing was all too convenient, the Anatoray fleet turning up, Millia's first act as an Exile key being to save Turan, etc. Hell, even Gisey got a chance to shine here, and that happens once in a blue moon.] I'm a huge sucker for large scale action scenes and in that respect, it was a pretty good episode. It was just set piece after set piece. Plotwise it was a travesty, but I've already accepted the fact we're going to get little or no explanation for a good portion of the series. This means that I'm free to enjoy the brainless action scenes with reckless abandon
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Gatherum
Posts: 773 Location: Aurora CO |
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I, too, thoroughly enjoyed this episode, despite quite a few misgivings. spoiler[Sorūsh's re-emergence was entirely unnecessary and cheapens the blistering effects of a war like this and, moreover, Ōrang's conflict(s). They had a good thing going with that and they completely ruined it. It's like they're too afraid to admit that even the morally correct course of action in war can merit drastic consequences and sacrifices. Instead, the idea seems to be that as long as your intentions are well, everything can and will turn out completely fine. Entirely naïve.
Sophia's re-introduction was quite awkward, especially since we haven't seen her this season yet (if she appeared in any of the recaps, I wouldn't know because I skipped those). For her to just randomly turn up, announcing herself as the Empress of the United Kingdom Anatoray-Disith and charging straight into Sadri's formation was also quite cheap and rather unnecessary considering that the Silvius would have been able to charge into the Grand Exile with or without their support. On the subject of Sadri, I am happy, at least, that he and his fleet didn't make some cheap defection after the Grand Exile's first discharge and remained steadfast as Luscinia's sole remaining external defence. Dio's timely activation of Millia's Exile didn't bother me so much, since it was more or less previously established that since Liliana could be used to activate one, then Millia could also, by virtue of bloodlines. I did rather love the re-introduction of the Guild Starfish-class ships within the Grand Exile. I had wondered since the beginning on whether or not they would ever make an appearance beyond Alauda's getaway vehicle seen in like, episode 2. Dian is as badass a pilot as expected, and her role in this battle doesn't seem as far-fetched as it may sound, perhaps because Millia seems to finally have her head on straight in all of this. Why the latter is taking command of the Silvius as, more or less, the Fleet Admiral of the Allied Forces though, is a subject of perplexity to me. As cool as it is to see Tatiana in her original flight suit, it seems odd that she would so willingly relinquish her ship to anyone but her first officer, whoever that is. Whatever though.] In all, this was pretty much an episode of homages, from ships to major figures. Unfortunately, as with the majority of new shows coming out of Japan recently, they just can't seem to get that the runtime they're allotting it is not enough. You need more than 21 episodes to effectively pull off a political war drama like this, at least on the scale that they're going for. The battles are just getting far too rushed, with too much happening in too short a time. But, better that it be rushed than dragged on and nonsensical or largely inconsequential (coughflamehazehippyvanscough). |
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TG72
Posts: 334 |
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Episode 20
It wasn't perfect---but it was sure exciting! I have to agree about spoiler[the return of Sorush. Shouldn't someone have noticed that he and that many ships survived?  ]
I was thrilled to seespoiler[Sophia and the Silvana again ]even though the way they worked that in could have been better. I'm feeling strung along with some of spoiler[the season one stuff...they waited too long to bring Sophia back and it looks like Claus and Lavie are going to be really limited if they appear again at all  ]
Next time...I'm betting the whole Grand Exile storyline will wrap up in the first half, with the Grand Race in the second. They can't hype the race like that and not give it some real minutes... |
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Petrea Mitchell
Posts: 438 Location: Near Portland, OR |
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The feeling over here is exactly the opposite-- spoiler[as long as it's been since the Anatoray-Disithians were introduced into the series, she was way overdue for an appearance. I'm not surprised Claus hasn't turned up sooner, though. He doesn't appear to be fit for combat anymore. I'd expect him to turn up as the starter for the Grand Race or something.] |
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333dulucia
Posts: 9 Location: Netherlands |
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So the show will get 21 episodes? I'm really curious because I stopped following the series before the first recap episode. I prefer to watch the whole thing just in one go (or two  ). I got really tired of waiting a whole week till the next episode.
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Raftina
 Posts: 3282 |
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This series will have:
21 episodes of the series proper, numbered 1-21 2 recap episodes, numbered 9.5 and 15.5 1 prologue episode, probably numbered 0 |
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Gatherum
Posts: 773 Location: Aurora CO |
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I agree--so why didn't they spoiler[introduce her sooner? I wouldn't even have cared if it was nothing more than her saying some words to the effect of, "you have my sword." At least we would have seen something of her before she appears completely out of [expletive] nowhere and starts destroying things. As it stands, it's almost a deus ex machina.] Last edited by Gatherum on Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:10 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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