Rating: 
Summary: Amazing! Stunning! It will linger in your mind...
Review: I just realized that my top 3 favorite animes weren't based on a manga. Strange, isn't it? Last Exile is one of these. It has a grand, sweeping world complete with strange details and curious characters. The protagonists are the kind you find yourself rooting for but they have depth - they aren't just stereotypes or tired cliches.
This first volume sets up the world and introduces the characters and, of course, presents us with a variety of intriguing mysteries.
I purchased this with the box, and I have to say, the box is quite nice. It is an open-front box (which isn't quite as cool as the slanted-open of the Rayearth season 2 box) and has some nice images on it.
I bought this series sight-unseen, though I had been to the website. Their website definitely gives a feel for the series. www.lastexiledvd.com
Just as a note: There isn't really a lot of blood, though some death occurs and there are quite tense/emotional moments, so it isn't for the young kids.
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible, Incredible, Incredible!!!!!
Review: I love this series. I saw it on Tech tv once and instantly bought it through this site. Granted the first volume is the worst, but still great. I usually hate most animes. But this one was awesome! Almost everyone i have shown this dvd to has not told me otherwise. If you buy this dvd, i highly recomend watching it with subtitles in japanese. This is where this dvd only got 4 stars. The American voice acting is suprisingly worse than usual. And the original japanese script is much less corny. The visuals are great too. most of the action sequences involve gorgeous computer generated visulas that blend almost perfectly with the actual animation. This anime is also actually funy! Yes, I said funny! It isnt constant hilarity, but you will laugh at least once or thrice. This dvd is gorgeous, funny, suspenseful, and it only gets better as the series continues. Buy now!
Rating:
Summary: Immelman!!
Review: I loved this series I have all the fansub and cant wait to own it on DVD as all my fansub are (am also dying for Gundam Seed in america but another story).Ok childhood friends whose parents basically died triing to carry out a (thinks) ten star mission, the most dangerous. They make a promise to cross the "Grand Stream" together one day. They are Vanship couriers and deliever messages to various people and earn money one of the first missions they take on is to deliever a message to a battle and from this point on you are offically hooked from Alvis to the Exile Claus's and Ravis's adventures will have you on the edge waiting to know whats next the pacing is great and never is their a dull or recap moment and it was just great beyond all words. Deeo is also a character that you'll enjoy throughout the series. I highly recommend it and Im trying not to spoil anything so um ill just stop it there and let everyone here decide and find out for themsleves when the DVD is released
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Animation...
Review: I saw Last Exile at a recent Anime convention and immediately fell in love with the animation. Since I already own Vandread, I was familiar with the work of Gonzo, but I didn't realize how much they'd matured as a studio. The visuals are stunning.
As for the story, I'm only familiar with the first few episodes. The setting is a nice mixture of Napoleonic war and early industrial age science, with soldier in neat lines shooting each other to bits with steam powered weapons. The early episode don't cover much background information. They introduce the main characters and start to build on the story which seems to center around a major shift in power. Who's behind it? What actions will the main characters take to affect the outcome? I must admit, after viewing the first episodes, I want to know how it all turns out. It doesn't appear to be a story line that rapidly explains itself, so if you don't like anime that makes you think, you might want to skip this one. Especially when you consider that you'll be investing over $100. You'll also need patience cause it'll be 2 years for the complete the series to be released in the US (1 disc every 3 months, 8 discs total from what I understand).
Of course, if you love stunning visuals and can wait to see the story unfold, this appears to be a series well worth it.
Rating:
Summary: A great new show
Review: I saw the first couple of episodes of Last Exile at Animazement in May of 2003 and was totally blown off my feet. To quote the program from that convention, "Stunning new adventure series from Gonzo about a steampunk world obsessed with flying machines." Since then I've enjoyed the series from start to finish and so has practically everyone else I know who has seen it. Last Exile blends wonderfuly done CG flawlessly with more traditional animation, it features a great soundtrack and awesome characters and plot. All of the characters are enjoyable and interesting, from the young messangers Claus and Lavie who are drawn into a war they have no understanding of, the taciturn mercenary captain Alex Rowe, the creepy Guildsmen, the mysteries of Exile, and the girl Alvis Hamilton who is the key to it all. The plot moves at a great pace and serves to develope all of the characters very well and tell a great story. Bottomline is that any one looking for an excellent new anime I'd say that Last Exile is a great choice.
Rating:
Summary: Probably the best I've ever seen
Review: I watch a lot of anime, and happened to catch this on fansubs. This is probably the BEST series I have ever seen. No question, buy it. The only thing that sucks is that they're choosing to release it Bi-monthly! With 7 volumes in this series, that's over a year to get them all. Come on Pioneer! Release things faster! Do you think you'll sell more if you space them so far apart? Where's the logic in that. I'd think the opposite would be true and people would lose interest. Regardless, get this series. It's amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Gonzo Rules
Review: If you are a fan of Gonzo you should already know how this review will end. Ever since I watched Hellsing in its entirety I remained confident that Gonzo were one of the best production groups in Japan. I have been a fan of anime for years, I have seen Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Perfect Blue to name but a few and consider myself an expert in this genre and Last Exile certainly does not disappoint. After viewing all seven DVDs in the series it is clear to say this is one of the most epic stories I have seen in a long time. It certainly does demand a distinct level of imagination from its viewing audience but once you become emersed in the world of exile you will find it difficult to escape. This is one of the best anime series I have seen and I've seen them all.
Rating:
Summary: An all time great
Review: Ignore that "editorial review." The first two episodes set this series up perfectly. You are dragged in and will never want to leave, right up to the perfect ending episode. Not a single filler or recap here, I don't think I have seen anything this perfectly paced since Escaflowne. You simply must buy this. Or beg, borrow or steal it.
Rating:
Summary: I actually bought this instead of keeping the fansub version
Review: It takes a lot of story, character development and maximum fun to make a cheapskate like me to spend money on anime. I'm mostly happy with the fansub copy (and believe me, the fansub version for this was quite impressive) I couldn't resist buying this. The only problem would be waiting until all 7 disks are released... I'll refrain from making comments about Pioneer.. The storyline is your typical heroic boy+girl pair, doing heroics and fighting for their beliefs, blah blah. But it's the interwoven sub plots and interesting characters like Dio and the pure pure evilness of Maestro Delphine that keeps you in your chair and wanting more. The Alvie figurine is so-so, but the mousepad is awesome.
Rating:
Summary: A Breakthrough Series; Exile Is The Future Of Anime
Review: Japanese animators have come teasingly close to perfecting the integration of computer-generated images into anime as evidenced by their work in such series as "Full Metal Panic" and "Initial D." With "Last Exile," anime has taken the next step into mixing the realistic look that computers have to offer, with the fantastic, energetic images of hand-drawn art.
Welcome to Prester, a planet of two warring kingdoms--Anatory and Disith--separated by the Grand Stream, a violent atmospheric level where airspeeds reach well over 100 knots. Therein lies the Guild, an alien race whose superior technology gives them judge-like authority over the battling Anatory and Disith kingdoms.
This volume opens in Anatory, home to 15-year-olds Claus Valca and Lavie Head, vanship pilots orphaned when their fathers attempted to cross the Grand Stream to deliver a letter of peace to Disith. Think of Anatory, and the general air of "Last Exile," as "Star Wars" meets "Pirates of the Carribean." Rules of Engagement are strictly followed; nobles rule prominently, and shadier characters loom in the background in their own areas. Prester is a desolate land, with houses built into canyons or mountainsides, with water being an extremely important commodity (the purest water is sold at bars like expensive wine).
The main technology can be seen in vanships, World War II-ish hovercraft/planes that one can immediately equate to the pod racers in "Phantom Menace." Claus and Lavie use their working for a courier service; during an important race, however, they come upon a fallen vanship, its dying pilot requesting they take on and finish his mission. The cargo? An 11-year-old named girl Al (Alvis) Hamilton.
The pair develop an emotional attachment to the child; it just happens that the infamous Silvana warship is her destination. The two perform a daredevil maneuver to land their vanship on the Silvana to get her back, eventually impressing the crew. Claus and Lavie are then stuck on the Silvana, and their adventures begin.
The animation in this series is superb. Experienced viewers will be in awe of the way the artists have used CGI to great effect in the littlest of things: billowing smoke, the movement of grass in a field, a giant ship snapping in half and "sinking," or the tracking angles of the camera. It's not overwhelming CGI, it's necessary and well-used. Perhaps the best animation I've seen to date.
Fortunately, the story doesn't fall to the trap of most other series that sacrifice the first few volumes to setting up the rest of the series. The action begins right away in this very first volume, with the story tempered by slower personal moments which add to the tension and atmosphere of the series. It's anime's equivalent to "War and Peace," a long, multi-character war epic, that reduces the idea of massive conflicts to a select few people and events. Relationships are built and characters grow at a satisfying level for a 26-episode series.
Viewers should get the mood and idea of where "Exile" is headed from this initial volume; if you don't like where this is headed, don't buy it, but at least view it for its stunning look. Those who brave the series will feel like they, too, have completed a journey, when the series concludes.
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