August 20, 2004

Last Exile Episode 1

Last Exile

"First Move"

Another day, another Gonzo show. Last Exile is steampunk, which in my book means airships and brown, and in many other people's books means cool. For anyone uninitiated on the concept, it's generally a fantastical look at the progression of the Victorian age with technology that involves the use of steam engines.

This was a fast-moving first episode, which made me happy, providing a quick, action-packed introduction to the world of Last Exile and the main characters, Claus and Lavie, two pilots who deliver messages via their vanships.

The animation is top notch, as you'd expect from a Gonzo production, but is slightly heavier on the CG than usual (and that's quite a bit, for Gonzo). While the CG generally works, it isn't a good integration. Whenever a CG sequence (or CG object) appears, it moves unnaturally in the environment, and breaks the immersion of the otherwise gorgeous visuals of the show.

The setpiece of this episode is a huge airship battle that Claus and Lavie find themselves in the middle of. This first episode was light on plot details (other than the details about the setting), and exactly what fate has in store for Claus and Lavie, but given the quality of the animation and the world concept, I definitely want to see more.

Rating: A-

Posted by Kei at August 20, 2004 11:05 PM
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