Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing at Amazon
There’s no doubt that Last Exile is stunning. The only doubt I have, as I start to form notes for this review, is how to describe it. There’s quirky sky machines that look awfully mechanical but let’s not use steampunk – there’s no steam, after all. Skypunk? Art nouveau sky pirates? That might work.
Let’s start with a bit of background first. I certainly enjoyed Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing (part 1) more once I’d put the pieces together. This is a post-apocalyptic anime. I’m not yet entirely sure what happened to the planet (which may be Earth) but whatever happened left it with very little land. As a result a lot of the action takes place in the air. Sure, there’s water but there’s an almost religious like respect for it.
Most of humanity abandoned Earth. Generations later their descendants came back, found there was very little land for them, tried to resettle anyway and that gives us factions and empires we see today. Not all of humanity left though – the Ades Federation stayed behind. They’ve not taken too kindly to the return of the others are now waging war against everyone else.
The action starts and the main character Fam Fan Fan (silly name; the anime pokes fun at it too) with sky pirates. These are swashbuckling types that hunt “skyfish” aka other ships for profit and parts.
The anime gets going when Fam and co happen on to The Ades Federation pulling a dirty move and attacking a kindly empire while supposedly signing a peace treaty.
One of the reasons, I think, it took me a while to put all the pieces together was because I sat through the first episode thinking . o O (Ooo! Pretty!).
In my defence, the anime doesn’t take the time to spell any of the background out to you until nearly towards the end of the first box set. You’ll have put it together by then unless you’re still distracted by the animation.
You may also be distracted by the plot. It works rather well – there’s a good reason why the pirates, or Fam at least, stay involved in the empire battles the Ades Federation bring to the world. There are even some interesting Jedi like characters that I’d like to know a lot more about. See; the plot is teasing me. This is a good sign. The other important point about the “Jedi like characters” is that you sometime forget they’re there. That’s incredibly good storytelling since they’re not the main focus of this series.
It’s easy to recommend Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing. There’s a slight caveat though and I’ve already hinted at it. This can be anime that demands your attention while distracting you with some fantastic views. It’s too easy to miss something important. I can be a little hard to get into too. In my Irregular Reconnaissance: Anime column I point out titles like One Piece that are fun to have playing on the TV while you’re eating, gaming or chatting. The Last Exile is not such an anime. You need to settle down, get comfortable and give it the attention it demands.
Whether the Last Exile is an anime that deserves the attention it demands will be a matter of personal opinion. I think it is. I’m now looking forward to part 2 which was released at the start of the month by Manga UK.
My copy of Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing was provided for review. Released 2nd December 2013; DVD £29.99 & Blu-Ray £34.99.
