Last Exile

10 out of 10 highly recommended, this is a masterpiece you won’t regret giving this anime a chance! I don’t want to spoil this classic so go in watching it with fresh unbiased eyes!

That was a surprisingly good ending. Despite my little confusion over the Exile, but overall, I enjoy the ending. We see these characters having to push themselves to their limit and pick the difficult choice to secure the win, making you root for them more, from Claus to Sophia, even Alex and Vincent. And to see them at the end, finally having peace after seeing their journey is something that is deserved for them.

This episode felt like a love letter to the previous ones as we get to see every navigators that Claus had before, it's really sweet. Even the little call out, such as Al thinking Tatiana as scary lol. But what blew my mind was that when Claus was back with Lavie and the orchestra started, it almost made me tear up, this is THE duo we've all been waiting for, props to everyone that worked on that scene. And another surprise at the end too, which made me pump in going to the last episode!

We continued from the previous episode where Claus and Al escaped. I was happy to see familiar faces in this episode, with the olive flowers and all, but it's a nice moment. But the highlight of the episode is definitely the battle, as it really felt like a 'David vs Goliath' moment, I can't help but salute every pilot on screen, not only for their bravery but just the fact they're taking back what was theirs, the sky. We're entering the last episode too, I'm hoping for more adrenaline rush!

As from the title, we know this episode will mostly focus on Lucciola, but I wasn't prepared on how beautiful this would be. Props to the director for the latter half of the episode where Lucciola was fighting, the choreography feels like he was dancing, no wonder The Maestro said fighting was beautiful. The OST was great too, with the calming harp melodies. On the other side of the spectrum, the war was waging and tension was high. What happened to Mullin was beyond shocking, and now I'm scared for our other characters as well.

We continued with Claus and Al still with The Maestro, which is bad. I really like how the animators subtly included how Lucciola really felt through his expression despite his action saying otherwise, it's a great touch. The overall writing of this episode is really great, the feeling of helplessness that Claus must've felt coveyed really well. And I like how we finally have Lavie and Tatiana talk. Overall a great, but tense episode. I hope Dio is okay!

This is definitely an eerie episode, as we continue after the mission and Claus finally back in Silvana. I genuinely like how subtle the sinister vibe that The Maestro gave away. She feels as jovial as Dio is, but have this malicious tone to her words, it's great. Dio's VA is also brilliant (I use Eng Dub for this anime), his cries are haunting. That ending makes me think of how in the world will the protagonists, or the good guys in general will do now?

That's an evil place to stop the episode, I do think this anime is slowly getting better at making the viewer curious about the next episode! We're continuing from the previous episode where Silvana finally reached the Grand Stream, but what I wanted to highlight was the sweet moment of Claus, Lavie, Al and the crew with Dio and Lucciola. This moment feels grounded Dio in a way, which made what happen next possible. And Al's also very caring to people around her, something I really like about her character. Other than that, the animation and VFX are really great in this episode, especially during the flight scene.

I wanted to give 5/5 on the writing, but that unneccecary scene between Claus and Sophia (Again) deserve a deduction in point. But beside that, I really like how different Sophia feels when she's being a royal and when she's the vice captain of the Silvana, which indicates a really good writing. The other notable character are Al and Dio, I really like their interaction and what Al took away from it, as if she's learning too. I also like how this episode ended right before the operation started, which makes the anticipation builds for the next episode too!

Everyone slowly makes up their choices in this epiosde, after Claus did from the previous one. We get to see Mullin and Sophia doing what their hearts was telling them to do. The subtle hesitation from Claus at Sophia's celebration made me internally groan a bit, but that can be ignored. What can't be ignored was that war declaration though, so beautiful but eerie at the same time, I love it. And Dio's reaction made me wonder what's going to happen after this.

On the first episode of this series' review, I said that Claus isn't the type of protagonist I usually like, and this episode (And that weird harem miscommunication one) proof me why. I hate how wishy washy his character feels, yes he can change his perspective, but for others to remember what he's built on was a bit unsatisfying, and I guess that ending was supposed to be the nail that drives this to the coffin, but I, personally, don't like where his growth is going. But I hope we'll see what happened with Dio, because that made me curious. Ps. the visual look good, but there's so scene that's seemed to not be completely done yet, like the man with blue sky/transparant mouth.

The calm before the storm,. We can see that tension is rising everywhere, and everyone is getting ready to make important decisions, from Claus and Lavie to Vincent. This is definitely a great episode to start the last ten episode of this series, with the build up feels natural and people that actually thinks about their decision, the writing really is great. I do want to give props to the animator and director for making the scene bathed in darker color than the usual, which makes the atmosphere feels somber, especially the scene with Claus and Lavie. I hope we'll get a great climax for the next episodes!

Oof this was a hard watch. Despite the lore drop and revelation, having to sit down and see our character having miscommunication is the worst. This is one of the trope I have beef with, since it usually doesn't add anything to the plot. Even though it is justified here, but it can be solved so easily if Lavie and Claus just talk it out. And I just know it'll get worse, especially after what happened at the end of this episode. I really hope this plotline will finish quicker, please.

This was a beautiful episode, from the writing, the animation and the OST. We get to see Lavie, and by proxy also Claus's backstory, which is bittersweet. We already know what happened to their parents, but to see and feel what the characters are feeling is different than just telling it outright, which makes it feels more tragic. I like how Lavie and Claus stays by each other side, as I said, two side of the same coin. But what shock me was the news at right at the end of the episode, that shook even Lavie too.

This episode didn't go the way I thought it would, which is great. I really like we get a time to get to know another character, which is Tatiana. Her background matched why she broke down, in a sense. I really like how Claus also react to all of it, having high emphaty to her. But that other scene with the masked people made my eyebrows raised, as more mystery piled up that hopefully will be cracked sooner than later.

Another really fun episode. We get to see why Alex and Silvana airship is infamous, with his battle smart and proficiency at navigating through the air. Beside this, we also get another glimpse at Tatiana and her feelings that slowly felt more genuine and real, like she's done holding back. Her conversation with Claus really does show how different the two are, emphasizing why Alister said what she say in previous episode. Overall a very exciting episode, I do wonder what will the fallout will be?

A calmer but definitely serious episode, where we continue from when Claus and Lavie came back to Silvana. I like that we spent more time with Dio, even got a scene of him and Alex, which is as hard to break as I thought he is. But what heartwrenching was seeing Tatiana like what happened in this episode, especially those words that Alister said. But all of that was pushed aside when the scene at the end started. It was jaw dropping and shocking. I can't wait to watch more!

That made me gasp, I did not think that the little duel in prior episode would have such effect to the plot. But here we are, finishing both plotline, Alex's mission and Claus's race. I really like how the two are intertwined, but not really at the same time. Other than that, I feel like the enemy, Dio, is slowly warming up for me., he's funny and charming in his own way, I hope him and Claus will have more interaction together. What I didn't expect was what Lavie did right at the end, because it got my jaw on the floor. No, best girl, I'm going to cry!

The way I gasped when the episode ended, because they stopped at such a tense moment. It's a great hook for the next episode though. I really like that we get to see other characters in this episode, we get glimpse of Mullin and how he's faring in the Silvana airship, and also some bits of Tatiana character too, not to mention a familiar, but maybe unwelcomed faces. Seeing Al cheering for Claus and Lavie is too cute! But I do wonder what will happen, because both Claus's and Alex's plot aren't concluded yet.

If I could add more to the writing category to 11+, I would, because the world building here is insane. We get to see why Lavie kept saying water is important, we get to see what the crew does in downtime, and even see how a duel can start. Best girl Lavie also shows why she's definitely best girl, again. And we see some familiar faces, some good some bad. This episode, despite the lack of aircraft action, definitely shine in its own way.