(L) Last Exile -Fam, The Silver Wing-

[Myssa Rei]

Spoiler for Implications:

There's an interesting implication about Tatiana's 'request' to Fam to steal ships for her. Now why would Tatiana need ships?

If one thinks about how the expatriates from Anatoray and Disith likely immigrated with just (figuratively) the clothes on their backs, it's likely that they have little to no industrial capability to create skyships on their own, or at the very least in the amounts they need to defend their new territories. So if they can't make their own ships for the time being, why not appropriate ships from the folk who have lots of them?

This serves a dual purpose of increasing their military power, as well as giving the Anatoray/Disith engineers something to sink their teeth into.

[Mirrinus]

That...was just a great episode, as far as what actually happened. I am totally pumped to see the old crew of the Silvana back again, and Dio is only making me like him more and more (he's already one of my favorites since the previous series). I especially liked how I got vibes of episode 5 of the first series, where Claus and Lavie also tried to take on the Silvana (except I'd say they were a little more successful than Fam and Giselle). Either way, welcome aboard to the most awesome ship in your show!

Although, I do have some gripes about the animation in this episode. Some of the faces looked off, and I was especially bugged by the angle of the cup by the window at 10:41. I mean, I couldn't pay attention to a single word Fam or Millia were saying because the mouth of the cup was just...ugh...physics does not work that way.

[Myssa Rei]

Ahaha, someone noticed the cup! Yeah, that bugged me too, especially since it seemed to be rendered on top of having an incorrect angle. It's a minor quibble though in an otherwise good episode.

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by azarhal

Much better with subtitles and funnier.

Spoiler for ep4 quotes:

Tatiana telling Fam she barely get a passing mark for her flying skill and being unimpressed by the "Skyfish hunt".

Dio: See, she's having so much fun. I don't think he was talking about Fam.

Now, I just want Fam and friends to learn that Dio knows Tatiana.

Yeah both those moments were quite amusing and even moreso knowing Tatiana Dio's line was great.

This, the look on her face should be great, I loved the way he slipped in bits of his knowledge about the ship to point them in the right direction about certain things about it in a way that old viewers could pick up on while perhaps perking up the ears of new viewers (Giselle was great in this scene too). The part where they were talking about him and about when he showed up made me think of this too heh. This should be a great moment, next episode I imagine given that the Silvius unsurprisingly resurfaced for Dio to land and come aboard.

Originally Posted by Mirrinus

That...was just a great episode, as far as what actually happened. I am totally pumped to see the old crew of the Silvana back again, and Dio is only making me like him more and more (he's already one of my favorites since the previous series). I especially liked how I got vibes of episode 5 of the first series, where Claus and Lavie also tried to take on the Silvana (except I'd say they were a little more successful than Fam and Giselle). Either way, welcome aboard to the most awesome ship in your show!

Although, I do have some gripes about the animation in this episode. Some of the faces looked off, and I was especially bugged by the angle of the cup by the window at 10:41. I mean, I couldn't pay attention to a single word Fam or Millia were saying because the mouth of the cup was just...ugh...physics does not work that way.

Totally agree on the Silvius/Silvana and Dio thoughts, it was great. Heh, yeah Claus and Lavie managed a little more in their attempt

I'll have to look out for the cup when I re-watch, you guys are probably right I thought the faces looked pretty great just like ep 1 and 3, I'm not particularly worried about the production values after 3 out of 4 stunning eps and ep 2 had the tradeoff of some of the best animated aerial action around and tons of stunning CG including the entire interior of the Impetus and the slight drop in 2D still looked better than most stuff out there so the one ep slight hiccup I think hasn't been too bad at all. All things considered I think the visuals are pretty fantastic overall and some of the best taking in all 4 eps. I think it's a good sign that we're now getting into nitpicking or digging into the shots since the show looks so good in my opinion.

Edit: Huh? I think I looked pretty closely but I don't see anything wrong with the glass at 10:41 (Funi stream) in the corner of the screen when they're making the bed, it's sitting straight up on the table Millia put it on in the previous moment, in front of the window... (Edit 2: And you can't see inside the top of it.)
Edit 2: Oh there it is, at 10:57 actually not 10:41 (actually maybe this is just due to stream with Funi and Gonzo bumper vs the tv rip since that was quicker to check), meh, a bit odd given that it's rather nicely colored/shaded and/or rendered to look nicely metallic with even the extra work of the etching on it. But yeah, obviously at that angle and camera height we shouldn't see into the cup unless it's damaged and bent a bit, which obviously isn't the case since other angles earlier in the scene and ep 3 show it to look pristine. As you said Myssa, looks like a slight mix-up between the two departments on what angle was going to be needed since the table was level without any depressions in it when we see it on the table when they are making the bed while in the second shot where we're even with the table height the angle's a bit off and it ends up kind of sunk into it, it was probably caught too late.

[encia]

Originally Posted by Myssa Rei

Spoiler for Implications:

There's an interesting implication about Tatiana's 'request' to Fam to steal ships for her. Now why would Tatiana need ships?

If one thinks about how the expatriates from Anatoray and Disith likely immigrated with just (figuratively) the clothes on their backs, it's likely that they have little to no industrial capability to create skyships on their own, or at the very least in the amounts they need to defend their new territories. So if they can't make their own ships for the time being, why not appropriate ships from the folk who have lots of them?

This serves a dual purpose of increasing their military power, as well as giving the Anatoray/Disith engineers something to sink their teeth into.

Unlike the Turan Exile group, the "Last Exile" group is most likely still has access/control to "Last Exile" starship/spaceship i.e. Alvis "Last Exile" key.

The "Last Exile" group better protect thier Alvis "Last Exile" key...

[Mirrinus]

At this point, wouldn't Alvis still be living with Claus, Lavie, Mullen, and Dunya (and Dunya's siblings), blissfully unaware (or at least not involved in) the whole big war?

Regardless, who in the world actually knows the question passwords to activate Exile with Alvis? Claus definitely does, and Lavie probably does too. Is that it? Will the antagonist have to find some way to get the password from them, or does he have some other way of knowing?

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Mirrinus

At this point, wouldn't Alvis still be living with Claus, Lavie, Mullen, and Dunya (and Dunya's siblings), blissfully unaware (or at least not involved in) the whole big war?

From the new manga (not the "Fam" manga, the "Travelers from the Hourglass" one) it seems Alvis got involved in this mess not long after they got to Earth.

[stormwaltzing]

Dio telling the girls it was a secret as to where he got the picture of the Silvius was cool, but I did scratch my head at why they didn't think to really ask him how he seemed to know so much about the ship itself when he was giving them the hints. They're clearly unaware that he knows the people aboard the ship (otherwise they wouldn't have asked him where he got the photo), but even knowing from a viewer's POV that Dio knows more than he let on during that scene, it was still sort of the obvious that he did. (it may be a sub thing as well, I watched the Funi subs where he says "That would have been neat" instead of a more subtle "That would BE neat" in regards to talking about the ship having a big secret weapon. The former implies a lot more. But again, there might be TL differences for that)

Though I'm sure regardless of that the girls are finding out about Dio's ties next episode anyway, so. XD

It does make me wonder, though. Dio appeared at Kartoffel half a year prior, meaning for a year and a half he was derping about elsewhere. Tatiana's right to the point attitude about what she wants from Fam almost seems like it was all one big long elaborate plan (Dio keeping in touch, letting the Sky Pirates know the Silvius was near knowing they'd go after it, etc.). Can't wait for the next episode so I can stop this speculation. XD

Regardless, who in the world actually knows the question passwords to activate Exile with Alvis?

This is probably a long-shot, but when the Exiles were originally sent to Prester, didn't they have it originally set up for the Presters to get signals when it was time to return? The people who stayed behind on Earth must have regulated things before the Exiles set out, so were obviously the ones set with the task to call them to return when it was time. It might be that there are groups from those that stayed on Earth who have that information passed down the same way the Mysteria were for the Presters. When the Exiles originally left, they have to have probably discussed things between each other, including the Mysteria to return.

[Panzerklein]

Originally Posted by azarhal

Much better with subtitles and funnier.

Spoiler for ep4 quotes:

Tatiana telling Fam she barely get a passing mark for her flying skill and being unimpressed by the "Skyfish hunt".

Dio: See, she's having so much fun. I don't think he was talking about Fam.

Now, I just want Fam and friends to learn that Dio knows Tatiana.

Maybe, Millia know it when Dio landing to Silvius, and she can run to the bridge with Dio without any problems.

[germanturkey]

ah, great episode. i'm liking all the little tie ins to the previous series. I'm still waiting for Claus and crew to show up again.

[Stevie_Nix]

Just finished watching episode 04 for the second time. I'm honestly loving everything about this episode! Hell right now this is honestly one of the best series I have watched in quite a while.

Spoiler for Thoughts on Episode 04:

Loved the dinner scene. (I kind of want potato pancakes now.)
Absolutely Loved Millia and Fam's pillow talk!
This episode was an excellent introduction of Tatiana Wisla and Alister Agrew.
Loved how Tatiana schooled Fam in air to air combat.
Loved how the episode acknowledged Dio is still not over Lucciola's death.
Still a little confused though how Dio basically managed to walk straight to the Silvius's bridge.

Originally Posted by DangerMouse

Damn ep 4 sounds sooo good!

If the Silvius is as important as expected that moment is happening now, you're watching that progress happen in real-time, similar to the first series one aspect of this is seemingly depicting the moment for this world when aerial combat changes due to those new ideas. Ades is just not the first to get there, likely for multiple reasons. In this world the Sky Pirates are the first to make the half-jump out of necessity and a potentially migrated Anatoray is too new for Ades to have completely overhauled their combat tactics and existing fleet let alone seemingly even know much about them yet which seems to be confirmed in how they are treating the Silvius and sending their most experienced commander after it and even their military refer to it as the reaper ship themselves.

We are up to what, 60-70 hours in real time after the series started?
Too bad my thought that it had radar didn't pan out yet, but of course I did not suspect that it was going to turn out to be a Submersible Flying Aircraft Carrier! Honestly I at this point I would not be surprised if Silvius ends up being being able to operate in Space by the end of the series!

Originally Posted by Myssa Rei

Oh this episode, I don't even have to wear fangirl goggles anymore; the series does it for me.

Spoiler for So EASILY can be taken out of context:

Barely had to turn my Yuri goggles on in episode 03, basically discarded them this episode. Honestly if they keep ramping up at this rate not only will Millia x Fam be cannon, the whole "Fam is a princess" theory will become true simply because they are married at the end!

Originally Posted by Myssa Rei

There's an interesting implication about Tatiana's 'request' to Fam to steal ships for her. Now why would Tatiana need ships?

I honestly think is partly because Tatiana wants to see if this 15 year old girl who though she could steal the Silvius can!

And of course Fam being Fam is going to do it for Millia.

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by encia

Unlike the Turan Exile group, the "Last Exile" group is most likely still has access/control to "Last Exile" starship/spaceship i.e. Alvis "Last Exile" key.

The "Last Exile" group better protect thier Alvis "Last Exile" key...

So true, they better

Originally Posted by stormwaltzing

Dio telling the girls it was a secret as to where he got the picture of the Silvius was cool, but I did scratch my head at why they didn't think to really ask him how he seemed to know so much about the ship itself when he was giving them the hints. They're clearly unaware that he knows the people aboard the ship (otherwise they wouldn't have asked him where he got the photo), but even knowing from a viewer's POV that Dio knows more than he let on during that scene, it was still sort of the obvious that he did. (it may be a sub thing as well, I watched the Funi subs where he says "That would have been neat" instead of a more subtle "That would BE neat" in regards to talking about the ship having a big secret weapon. The former implies a lot more. But again, there might be TL differences for that)

Though I'm sure regardless of that the girls are finding out about Dio's ties next episode anyway, so. XD

Haha yeah, I so totally called the "It's a secret." line as he was about to say it.

Yeah they could have played with it a little more, and actually until we get Funimations's real BD/DVD translation for the sub and dub which they'll probably have more time to really discuss with the creators at Gonzo/have more context knowing the events of ep 5, the real translation in terms of emphasizing words like you say that can change the subtlety here might be played with a bit.

Still, at the same time I could see this as a way of juggling the difficulty of letting at least some astute new viewers start to pick up on that something is up as foreshadowing for ep 5 the same way that old viewers picked up on it

Originally Posted by stormwaltzing

It does make me wonder, though. Dio appeared at Kartoffel half a year prior, meaning for a year and a half he was derping about elsewhere. Tatiana's right to the point attitude about what she wants from Fam almost seems like it was all one big long elaborate plan (Dio keeping in touch, letting the Sky Pirates know the Silvius was near knowing they'd go after it, etc.). Can't wait for the next episode so I can stop this speculation. XD

Same here, Dio's line to Fam in episode 1 about being busy despite them not having anything on the schedule like he was getting outside intel and the way he was the one to bring up the spotting of the ship out of everyone knowing what her reaction would be after spending 6 months with them, has kept me theorizing that he's totally been working on establishing this alliance. Same here I can't wait till the next ep to find out the details hehe.

Originally Posted by stormwaltzing

This is probably a long-shot, but when the Exiles were originally sent to Prester, didn't they have it originally set up for the Presters to get signals when it was time to return? The people who stayed behind on Earth must have regulated things before the Exiles set out, so were obviously the ones set with the task to call them to return when it was time. It might be that there are groups from those that stayed on Earth who have that information passed down the same way the Mysteria were for the Presters. When the Exiles originally left, they have to have probably discussed things between each other, including the Mysteria to return.

That's a good point. To add to it it's interesting that it seems there's some level of disconnect between Ades and Guild-level info as the rest of the commanders didn't know how they found out the identity of the proper bloodline for the Turan Exile. I wonder what extent of the Exile info Luscinia or whoever has that info actually has. Also, I'm still highly curious if Luscinia has more than just the first Mysteria for the Turan Exile since he only used one and it remained in it's auto-defense mode and likely followed Luscinia's ship back since Liliana's on board, though at the same time it's auto-defensive power is what he really needed so it's hard to say.

Spoiler for Thoughts on Episode 04:

Originally Posted by Stevie_Nix

Just finished watching episode 04 for the second time. I'm honestly loving everything about this episode! Hell right now this is honestly one of the best series I have watched in quite a while.

Loved the dinner scene. (I kind of want potato pancakes now.)
Absolutely Loved Millia and Fam's pillow talk!
This episode was an excellent introduction of Tatiana Wisla and Alister Agrew.
Loved how Tatiana schooled Fam in air to air combat.
Loved how the episode acknowledged Dio is still not over Lucciola's death.
Still a little confused though how Dio basically managed to walk straight to the Silvius's bridge.

Yeah
Hmm...if you re-watch, the way I saw it, while they didn't show them actually walk up, Dio was likely able to walk straight to the Silvius bridge because they showed the Silvius re-surface to allow him to land. And ofcourse given that this is a sequel we know Tatiana knows him (and likely her crew too) despite her non-reaction to him (lol) so it's likely the crew allowed him and the others to go up to the bridge.

Originally Posted by stormwaltzing

We are up to what, 60-70 hours in real time after the series started?
Too bad my thought that it had radar didn't pan out yet, but of course I did not suspect that it was going to turn out to be a Submersible Flying Aircraft Carrier! Honestly I at this point I would not be surprised if Silvius ends up being being able to operate in Space by the end of the series!

Hehe, I know damn! That was badass.

Originally Posted by stormwaltzing

Barely had to turn my Yuri goggles on in episode 03, basically discarded them this episode. Honestly if they keep ramping up at this rate not only will Millia x Fam be cannon, the whole "Fam is a princess" theory will become true simply because they are married at the end!

LOL, they had some fun with it this ep.

Originally Posted by stormwaltzing

I honestly think is partly because Tatiana wants to see if this 15 year old girl who though she could steal the Silvius can!

Yeah lol. Maybe a bit of both, since she's the totally serious type and probably even more-so now that she's in command, so I'd imagine there's probably a key reason too? Heh.

Avatar of the same picture is from Last Exile LJ community.
Dammit, I still can't decide which character to use...guess I'll start with this since Al always ruled. Will always remember the scene where she ventures out into the Silvana's corridors for the first time with that music playing.

[stormwaltzing]

That's a good point. To add to it it's interesting that it seems there's some level of disconnect between Ades and Guild-level info as the rest of the commanders didn't know how they found out the identity of the proper bloodline for the Turan Exile. I wonder what extent of the Exile info Luscinia or whoever has that info actually has. Also, I'm still highly curious if Luscinia has more than just the first Mysteria for the Turan Exile since he only used one and it remained in it's auto-defense mode and likely followed Luscinia's ship back since Liliana's on board, though at the same time it's auto-defensive power is what he really needed so it's hard to say.

That reminds me of something else I thought of. Since each Prester had a Guild (though others were probably super normal compared to our Guild, and maybe some even ended up destroying their Presters in a worse way our's was heading) and the Guilds themselves were in charge of making sure things stayed in order until the Exile's return, I do wonder if there was any, hmm, pokes at leaders of said Guilds when they returned to Earth (like in Turan's case, but really I'm just thinking of the hilarity since even though the Guild was more or less topped at the end of LE, Dio was technically the Maestro since Delphine kicked after the Trial of Agoon. XD The idea of "let us speak to your Guild leader please" oh. Oh that would be Dio. OH.)

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by stormwaltzing

That reminds me of something else I thought of. Since each Prester had a Guild (though others were probably super normal compared to our Guild, and maybe some even ended up destroying their Presters in a worse way our's was heading) and the Guilds themselves were in charge of making sure things stayed in order until the Exile's return, I do wonder if there was any, hmm, pokes at leaders of said Guilds when they returned to Earth (like in Turan's case, but really I'm just thinking of the hilarity since even though the Guild was more or less topped at the end of LE, Dio was technically the Maestro since Delphine kicked after the Trial of Agoon. XD The idea of "let us speak to your Guild leader please" oh. Oh that would be Dio. OH.)

Yeah.

Oh man, that reminds me, that's right! LOL.

[thundrakkon]

It's so funny how Fan is willing to steal a fleet for Millia. So the next part of the plan is to "build" a fleet, with the Silvius as the flag ship. After said capture, they hopefully will upgrade those ships. Next, the will need to build an army.

Wow, Fan really has her work cut out for her. I bet she can do all this in one week's time.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Have to say that Ep4 is the first episode of Fam that I truly enjoyed, as the plot and continuity from the original series finally begin to gel. Up till now, while the premise and art are pleasing enough, I couldn't make head or tail of what was happening in this "new" world, or what Dio was doing in it. It was frustrating, to say the least, let alone enjoyable. It's hard to be affected by the annihilation of a country when I don't even know enough about it to care.

A story shouldn't have to rely so heavily on external sources — be it novels or manga — to explain its point. Yes, by all means pander to your original fans, but not to the extent of bewildering a fresh audience with references that literally fly over their heads.

I had my doubts about Fam, seeing it as yet another series that tries to milk an earlier hit with more flair but precious little substance. The latest episode is a step in the right direction. I hope I won't be disappointed.

[Archon_Wing]

I seriously want some quiche...

Fam fan fan-- always charging into things like a nut. But it does create quite a scene. I liked how the anime managed to get the daily life part across in an entertaining manner. Typically, these scenes would be plodding and pointless, but I liked seeing how Millia adjusted to this new life.

And man, Fam, trying to cover one thing up with another. Now you have to assemble this air fleet... work's cut out isn't it. And it looks very good, as expected. 8/10

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Kaioshin Sama

So just got to see episode 03. We finally get to meet the real leader of the Ades Federation and of course it's a cute little loli empress with all the naivety you'd expect from such a leader. Why a country that calls itself a Federation would have a child empress as a leader and not an elected president is beyond me, but I guess Luscinia being a Prime Minister hinted at the likelihood of a monarchy already.

On an aside, a federation doesn't necessarily have to be a republic. It just needs to be a coalition of self-governing states that agree to have a central government. And if each of the component states is a monarchy, it is even more likely for the federation to be led by a king or queen. As for prime ministers, the title and role exist in both republics (Russia) and monarchies (Britain), so I don't see how the mere existence of such a politician makes Ades a monarchy.

That's just me rationalising, though. It's far more likely that the writers are completely ignorant about political science and just went with whatever nomenclature they thought would sound cool. That the leader is an empress rather than a queen or princess certainly suggests this to be the case (Ades would more logically be an Empire than a Federation). That said, it could well be a constitutional monarchy, with the empress being no more than a ceremonial head of state. In which case, it wouldn't make a difference whether she's an empress or a princess — she'd be just as powerless, in the executive sense.

An even more interesting discussion, with reference to history and today's reality, would be how we often forget that a truly democratic republic is more often the exception than the rule. The world today is still very, very far from the "End of History" envisioned by Francis Fukuyama.

[lightbringer]

Like in real life, what they call themselves de jure does not have to coincide with what they are de facto, and then there's the possibility of political upheaval without a change of name. My bullshit radar picks up on a lot of things but I think we can give them the benefit of the doubt on this one.

[Om Nerabdator]

Im loving this series so far, ep 4 was the best ep yet.
pity it took so long to sub....did commie drop it?

Anyone else think the eyepatch badguy master plan will be to destroy the world? He feels like that kind of character to me.