Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing parts 1 & 2

U. S. Release Date: Sept. 10th, 2013

Director: Koichi Chigira

Studio: Gonzo

U. S. Distributor: FUNimation

Format: Blu-ray / DVD / 575 minutes / 21 episodes

Age Rating: TV 14

Personal Grade: A-

Synopsis:

Years ago, humanity abandoned the ruined Earth. Generations later, with the planet again capable of sustaining life, mankind returned. In the skies above the reborn world, rebellious young Fam and her best friend Giselle make their living as Sky Pirates. Atop sleek Vespa Vanships, the girls dart fearlessly through the clouds, capturing and selling airborne battleships for profit. It’s a life of care-free swashbuckling – until the Ades Federation attacks.

The only nation to remain on Earth during humanity’s exile, The Ades Federation wages war against those who returned only after the planet’s darkest days had passed. When Fam and Giselle rescue a princess from the clutches of the rampaging Ades armada, they join the young royal’s battle to save her Kingdom from destruction – and undertake the impossible mission of uniting humanity in peace.

Commentary:

I have been waiting for almost two years for this series to have its full release because Last Exile is one of my favorite series of all time. Not only is the original beautiful it is also well written, well acted and well developed. Of course my expectation for Fam, the Silver Wing are very high indeed. By the end of the first episode I gave a great sigh of relief, I was not going to be disappointed or at least I thought so. The opening salvo was strong and wonderfully conceived. We are treated to a reunion with a character whom I thought was dead and very happy to see him back in his usual form. We are also given a glimpse of the ship that everyone left on for the return to Earth. It wasn’t long before even more of the original cast started showing up and this helped the plot become even more interesting and somewhat baffling. None the less, I was still very happy with what I saw.

As the series develops it slightly looses its way and I gets a little convoluted, but it doesn’t take too much time for it to right itself and get back on track. As it concludes the story it does become a little heavy handed and somewhat overly sympathetic toward the main characters I still thought it managed to close itself out rather nicely. I still wanted to understand what happened to some of the more beloved characters from the first series. I guess that I will just need to read the manga to get the full story.

One aspect of Fam, the Silver Wing that I did really enjoy was the bright colors that were present though out the series. In the original Last Exile the color pallet was more muted and stayed in a much more monotoned or even a somewhat antiqued look. For Fam, the Silver Wing the color were much more vibrant from the very beginning. It may have to do with them being back on Earth or possibly it was deemed necessary to set the two series apart. The simple truth is that the series maintained the beautiful edge that the original had plus a punch of color to top it off.

Overall Grade: A-

Most of Last Exile; Fam, the Silver Wing was a pleasure to watch and I had even more fun being re-united with many of the old favorites. If there wasn’t a tendency to get a bit melodramatic and off track in the middle of the series, I think Fam, the Silver Wing would have joined the original series as a classic. Unfortunately I think it felt a bit short, but none the less it is still a fun series that has plenty to offer.

Review By Andy