「Weak square」

It’s funny, but the one character in this series that still does absolutely nothing for me is the one whose name is in the title.

I enjoyed this episode quite a bit – in fact I’d rank it as the second best after episode three (which for me stands far above any other so far). The two episodes have some distinct commonalities, but the most important for me is that both have a weightiness and dignity that have otherwise been more lacking than my tastes would prefer. Too often, “Fam” has undercut the interesting and complex plot it’s laid out with a somewhat flippant and too buoyant (ironic, that one) tone. Series where the characters smile non-stop are never better for it, but it’s especially a problem when they ask you to take them seriously. Eden of the East is another show that suffered from this, to some extent.

It’s for those reasons among others that I enjoy episodes where Fam’s plucky cheerfulness is mercifully muted, and the characters are reminded of the life-and-death nature of the game they’ve chosen to play. As we continue to see Nazi allusions in the Ades Federation – Gloria Augusta! – this time the government stealing confiscating the valuables and treasures from all those nasty traitors who aren’t pure Ades by blood – little Augusta Sara is realizing that having people killed on your watch weighs heavily on the conscience. With things on the South shore of the Grand Lake under control, Luscinia and his team are setting their sights on the North Shore and the mysterious and notoriously reclusive nation of Glacies – a country I suspect we’ll be hearing much, much more about in coming weeks.

Speaking of Glacies, LE fans everywhere felt their pulse quicken when Tatiana mentioned “Vincent”. That can only be Vincent Alzey, captain of Urbanus, overall badass, and friend to Alex Row (Alex, why did you have to die? Why???) and Sophia, who’s apparently been dispatched on some sort of negotiation with the Glacies government, if such a thing is even possible given that nation’s hostility to outsiders. As The Silvius turns for Glacies to see how things are going, Fam and Gisey are off to finish out their contract with a bang, planning to steal eight Ades ships instead of just the one they need to make their quota. This segment was an improvement, too, as it served as a reminder that not everyone in the Ades Fleet is an idiot and sometimes caution is better than genki enthusiasm.

This time it was Gisey – who was also homesick and worried about her family – who felt something was wrong with Fam’s plan to steal the eight ships confiscated from conquered nations being transported to Ades. It seems too easy – though Fam has no hesitations, and neither do Atamora and the rest of the air pirates, independently having decided to target the same ships. Everyone is walking (well, flying) into a trap (if only they’d had Admiral Ackbar on their side), with the Ades Third Fleet waiting for them. These are real Ades ships under a real commander, too, and not the rubes and simpletons Fam has been picking off ships from. It’s good to see Gisey’s caution proved right, and Fam’s thoughtless enthusiasm shown to be reckless and dangerous for a change – frankly, she’s been getting off a little too easy as her skills and strategic ability are no match for her eagerness. And it’s also nice to see a focus on a character who’s actually feeling a sense of responsibility to their family and not just a lust for adventure. But there’s one last reminder that even Gisey may be in over her head, as the careless girls are followed all the way back to The Silvius by the Ades First Fleet (also a part of Luscinia’s plan from the start, no doubt) which puts Tatiana in an extremely difficult and perilous position given that they’re hosting the Turan “Government in Exile”.

 

Preview

61 Comments

      1. Yeah… But Fam the Silver Wing says this is Fam’s story too, mostly Fam and her harem and how they go about in a world full of people who live in exile, people who exile others, people who returned from exile and being on exile from home themselves.

        Exile, exile, exile. Three bucks nobody getting home anytime soon. XD

        The Moondoggie
    1. Why are people so hellbent on wanting to see Claus and the gang.
      Is this show not interesting enough? Altough it is not as good as the first series, it still does not change the fact that this show is interesting — Atleast that is what I think.

      I wouldn’t be surprised too If Claus & Lavie shows up — But it’s obvious — atleast to me it is — that they will have no important screentime. We are probably just gonna see them walking among other people on the background, or just like Myssa said: during a grand race.

      Alec
    2. Safe answer: probably not.

      Why? Because this ain’t their show, it’s Fam’s. There are only two ways to have Claus on the show:

      1. He’s still flies around doing deliveries(shouldn’t he be married and have settled down by now?).
      2. The gang visits Anatoray(hardly possible).

      The Moondoggie
      1. I think you’re mixing Claus with Mullin. It’s Mullin who’s likely married by this point (to Dunya). Claus is still just 17 by this point, and even by the end of Last Exile still hasn’t even CONSIDERED any kind of romance with anyone yet (see Sunadokei no Tabibito).

      2. Nope. I was thinking that with their society less complicated than ours, Claus can have the luxury of marrying young, he should be 19 right now. Remember how some grandfathers and great grandfathers would say they married 18 or 20 years old?

        The Moondoggie
    1. Ultimately this is subjective. I think that the baseline of the series is ‘good’ — not amazing, but very enjoyable even with just the world-building involved. I think I’ll echo some of Enzo’s sentiments this time though: Fam has to change. Everyone else around her is, yet she’s essentially the same genki numbskull she was in the first episode. If Gisey does an Alister on her, well, then maybe things will start moving for her as well.

  1. I have full confidence in Tatiana and the Sylvius. While they may not be able to take out the entire Ades fleet by themselves, the ship isn’t built for speed for nothing. I do expect a good battle though.

    Gisey’s worried about more than just “family”, she’s also definitely feeling like Milia’s taking Fam from her. See her reaction when Fam says they’ll be back to Milia soon. Gisey is jealous, and she knows it. She’s not happy about that either.

    BTW, whats the name of Augusta Sara’s attendant lady? I’m very curious to see what they do with her, she’s the only person Sara seems capable of dropping her guard around.

    Fencedude
    1. I think you mean Vasant? The lady general? It was mentioned last episode.

      Keios is trying to overtake Ades from within, seriously. Last episode Vasant was shifting her eyes at the mention of the name and now it’s coming up again.

      KJacket
  2. This show is my favorite show of the season. Despite its flaws it’s not as bad as other shows I was excited about like super hyped Guilty Crown. (Shooting Surface to air missiles on their sides to hit a cruise boat…)

    esk
  3. I am happy that what looks like a guild subplot is starting to develop this episode. It is very interesting they made it a point to have Alauda run into a Guild cave, with lots of dead Guild members. Also interesting that the cave has the same decor as the old Guild Arbiters. I wonder what he was referring to when he mentioned the “White Legacy”.

    Best episode we have had in a few weeks. Looking forward to how they resolve the situation they are in. The preview seems to hint we will get to see the old Anatoray fighter vanships in action, wonder how they will stand up to Ades battleships. I have a feeling we might get to see Vincent and Alvis in the episode after next.

    I am also starting to think Millia might be an Exile key after all. You would think that the Ades fleet would have just destroyed the Sylvius if they didn’t need her alive.

    Interesting
      1. Millia is definitely not an Exile’s key cause she didn’t react to the poem read by Lusciana. And I think each Exile have only one key, making Millia to be Exile’s key is cliché.

        black_cat1
    1. Also – Ades is the west with most of the map, Anatoray is to the east, somewhat southern, and an isolated nation that fires missiles at you if you fly into their territory is to the north.

      really.

      KJacket
    2. Nice ONE!

      My guess is that they choose an isolated area to keep being anonymous. Ades, being assholes ruled by a loli queen, would have put them in the to-attack list as soon as they found them.

      The Moondoggie
  4. Now this is more like it. The Ades federation finally shows they have competent soldiers who don’t keep losing their ships to some half baked plans cooked up by two little girls. The “battle”(if you can call it that) was definitely the highlight this episode. The Sky Pirates were really trapped like rats eyeing the cheese in a mousetrap with how they boldly yet unwisely charged in to capture the 8 seemingly “easy prey” Ades ships. The Ades 3rd fleet had prepared the perfect cage for the trapped mice in that valley. Fortunately, Giselle manages to think up a plan for their getaway and the Sky Pirates manage to scamper away to safety, albeit with some heavy losses.

    Giselle finally grows into a much better character in this episode. It was sad watching her feeling torn between wanting to go back to her family, or keep following Fam on her mission to help Millia. I also detect hints of jealousy in her with how Fam seems to be focusing all her attention towards Millia, and am feeling concerned if its just a matter of time before she breaks down. I definitely see parallels in her relationship with Fam and Tatiana with Alister in LE.

    And it looks like we will finally see the Sylvius in action next week. We all know Tatiana told Millia that numbers are usually the deciding factor in battle, but I think the Sylvius is excluded from that universal truth. Really looking forward to seeing what sort of tactics our young captain will employ and what sort of powerful armaments Sylvius “the Reaper ship” has up its sleeves.

    gandalf8
    1. This segment was an improvement, too, as it served as a reminder that not everyone in the Ades Fleet is an idiot and sometimes caution is better than genki enthusiasm.

      The Ades Federation were never idiots in the first place. Fam, Giselle and the crew of the Silvius were stealing privately-owned ships from a bunch of nobles, not the military. The Ades Federation Navy was never even a victim during these heists. The ships that were stolen were crewed and commanded by Ades-aligned aristocrats and their underlings, which is why they automatically decided to relinquish their ships when they saw people in military uniform showing up at their doorstep.

      If Luscinia’s purge is any indication, the consequences for disobeying Ades Federation military personnel can be most dire, even if you’re nobility. Fam & Company simply took advantage of that latent fear. Besides, the ships that Fam stole had no military purpose whatsoever. Those ship classes were long obsolete and had been either decommissioned and sold off as surplus, or given as gifts/status symbols. When they were used at all, they were used solely for ferrying nobles around in relative safety.

      Allanx
      1. Interesting. But I think Fam and the gang didn’t think that far ahead.
        You make it seem that Fam and the gang have ‘Yang Wen-li’ blood in them xD

        “If Luscinia’s purge is any indication, the consequences for disobeying Ades Federation military personnel can be most dire, even if you’re nobility.”

        I do not think that was the case at the beginning — it is now though

        Alec
      2. Those ship classes were long obsolete and had been either decommissioned and sold off as surplus, or given as gifts/status symbols. When they were used at all, they were used solely for ferrying nobles around in relative safety.

        But if they’re useless, why steal them? Spare parts?

        The Moondoggie
      3. @The Moondoggie

        Obsolete yes, but those ships are still armed warships(The ship in episode 1 did open fire at the duo). In large number they can still be a viable threat to Ades Federation.

        But the question is how can they find that many crews to man all those ships…

        Silent Minstrel
  5. Giselle….

    Yup, she finally snapped. Given how Fam is all over Millia for the past 6 episodes, I’m not surprised that Giselle started to get frustrated on Fam and her antics. Sure they get all the ships, but Fam has just taken her partnership with Giselle for granted. I have never seen Fam think of how Giselle feels: concerned that all of Fam’s plans gets more dangerous, that Giselle misses her home, and that she’s jealous on how Fam fawns over Millia.

    I was thinking as I watch this show: The only needed now to make her rage is Fam declaing her love for Millia. XD

    Now about Ades: They’re smart after all. Double ambush? You’re joking right? If I were in Fam’s shoes, I’d start panicking.

    Next week, we’ll see Silvius and Fam into more action. How this will turn out is uncertain, but one thing’s for sure: it WILL BE AWESOME.

    The Moondoggie
  6. Good plot so far (with this episode being one of the best, in my opinion). The problem are the characters… I mean, the only character that I care about is Millia, because she has a nice and somewhat realistic personality. All the others, however, are pretty generic (even the characters from the original are kind of meh now).

    But, overall, it’s a good show so far. I mean, it’s entertaining, I can watch the episodes without getting bored and thinking “should I stop watching it or not?” like a usually do when an anime is not really good. But with this Last Exile I just watch from beginning to end without even noticing, so I guess I’m enjoying it.

    I’m not the kind of viewer who analyzes everything. If it can keep me interested, then it’s good enough.

    André
  7. Me think, that there will not be a fight. I think the Reaper will retreat with Full Speed. Seriously, an “Light Frigate” Ship against Battleships this Caliber.. Dream On. Or they have a “Secret Guild Member Deus Ex” member on Board

    Germanguy
    1. The Silvius is very, very well-armed. It has a pair of hidden Schwerer Gustav-sized guns that are bigger than anything on those Ades Federation ships. They can be seen (or one of them, since it’s in profile) in a blueprint on the wall just after the commercial break in Episode 5. If Tatiana maneuvered the Silvius out of the range of the First Fleet’s guns (easy to do, considering how fast the Silvius is), she could easily sink a dozen ships.

      Allanx
  8. If you guys saw the map from episode 3, you’ll noticed that Anatoray is not listed on that exact spot. The Ades Federation are most likely unaware of their territory yet. I’m surprised that nobody else caught that. I’m obsessed with this series, so I like to pay attention to every detail presented.

    Julio
    1. So my theory of them trying to be anonymous might be correct. If Ades, who is trying to take over the world, hasn’t even ventured to that part of the map yet, it seems likely everybody else hasn’t found out about Anatoray, except Turan.

      The Moondoggie
      1. Yeah, it’s true that Turan only knows about Anatoray since Sophia was mentioned in episode 1 by Dio when he took over Turan’s flagship.

        So far this series has been delivering for me, and its the best series this season for me. I came to watch this sequel expecting something different from the original and not expecting Claus and Lavie or some of the other main characters to show up at all.

        What pisses me off is people that are expecting Claus and Lavie to appear on the show when Gonzo made it clear right before the show premiere that it will not focus on them at all but rather on Fam and Giselle.

        Julio
    1. IMHO, if you watch this series expecting it to be – or live up to – LE, you’ll be disappointed. The more you can accept it on its own terms, the better – for me, it has little of the gravitas and mystery of the original show. The characters are much more stock and the dialogue isn’t as well-written.

      “Fam” is definitely an updating. It has an interesting premise, and the cinematography is once again superb. The devil is in the details, and that’s where “Fam” falls short of the first series. It relies much more on cliché and breaks much less new ground. That said, it’s worthwhile for the larger story, the look and there’s some spark in the supporting cast. Just don’t expect it to live up to its predecessor.

  9. I finally realized something watching this episode. I like Giselle, she actually thinks about things that mean something, she has some depth to her, seeing her conflicted with going back with her family or staying with Fam actually made me care about her, which is completely different from Fam, whom I want to see fail, simply because of her carelessness in going gung-ho all the time. Fam never seems to understand that her bold actions could cause a lot of grief for those around her.

    Even the whole idea of helping Milia seems to me more about Fam getting to do what she loves: being a pirate and plundering ships. She gets off on the high of the hunt, the feeling of superiority in commandeering a ship by force, or by being clever. It’s not that I think Fam’s feelings for others are not sincere, but a large amount of her actions seem to be about doing things that she loves without any concern for what her actions might cause.

    bluth
  10. Gisey being worried about what Fam is getting herself into =/= her being jealous of the attention Millie is getting, time to take the shipper glasses off.

    Also you got a glimpse of where Anatoray is on earth, just match up the glimpses of maps you have seen so far.

    Longhaul
    1. It’s very clear that it’s not Disith at all for various reasons. One, the Ades Federation are very aware of them. Two, Vincent is trying to negotiate with them since they don’t understand the concept of “the enemy of an enemy is an ally” just what Tatiana said, thus showing that it can’t be Disith at all since they are not that hostile. I don’t know how you got the idea that Glacies is Disith when it’s clearly not.

      Julio
  11. Enjoying the series so far, meaning that I look forward to each new episode and like the general direction the plot has taken. For me at least the main problem isn’t that the series doesn’t have enough interesting supporting characters. The problem is that all those interesting supporting characters are antagonists. Tatiana and Alister aside, Luscinia and his gang of Ades commanders have received the most attention so far, to the point that were this a different series I’d be wishing they and little Augusta were the protagonists (an antihero Luscinia and his interactions with the purer Augusta would be very interesting, seeing as they seem to want the same thing but use different methods to obtain it). Teddy has risen in my estimation ever since he and Millia staged their little coup inside the Sylvia, and I always liked Tatiana, but so far I haven’t seen much in the way of interesting character design or development outside the three female protagonists.

    The next episode should be good; perhaps we’ll finally get to see how Tatiana compares to Alex as a warship commander. One thing that interested me in the episode tease at the end was a shot of five or so vanships flying in formation during combat. I’m really hoping Tatiana and the other Prester immigrants have brought Mad-Thane’s ideas about vanship’s usefulness in ship-to-ship combat with them into this new series. The lack of practical application for vanships aside from scouting and message delivery was always bothering me in the first series, especially when it was made plain pretty quickly that they were more than capable of doing some damage to the ships of the line. Since the newer, smaller vanships clearly excel at incapacitating skyfish, here’s hoping that Red Baroness Tatiana knows how to use the larger combat models for more destructive purposes.

    Actene
  12. I really loved this episode…
    Somehow, the gravity is picking up with this episode…
    Also, that battle was intense! At least the might of the main Ades fleet is shown… The Sky Pirates barely managed out of that one!

    I also love the gravity of the events such as Augusta’s anguish, the upcoming invasion of the lands north of the Grand Lake, and the predicament of the Sylvius!

    Awesome episode to say at the least!
    Hope Gonzo keeps this up!

  13. I like the green haired girl’s “You just don’t get it yet do you?” face that she showed to Fam. Greasy is her name I think?

    Anyway I starting to think we’re supposed to be annoyed by this girl and there is going to be a lesson in this whole situation. That or she’s modeled after the main guy in uncharged and is just a huge adventure loving douche bag forever more.

    The Game

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