List of Last Exile episodes
Last Exile is an animated television series created by Gonzo in celebration of the company's 10th anniversary.[1] The steampunk fantasy series was directed by Koichi Chigira, and character designs were created by Range Murata.[2] The story is set on a fictional world divided in eternal conflict between the nations of Anatoray and Disith, and sky couriers Claus Valca and Lavie Head must deliver a girl who holds the key to uniting the two factions. Last Exile aired in Japan on TV Tokyo from April 7, 2003 to September 29, 2003.
The series was previously licensed for English-language broadcast and distribution in North America by Geneon Entertainment (then Pioneer Entertainment) in June 2003. Currently, the series North America license is now owned by Funimation Entertainment. Geneon premiered its dubbed version of the series in TechTV's Anime Unleashed programming block on March 8, 2004. The first 13 episodes aired nightly until March 14, 2004. The remaining 13 episodes premiered on December 6, 2004, with new episodes airing each weeknight until the series concluded on December 22, 2004.
ADV Films previously owned the license for the series' English release in the United Kingdom before the company's demise and is now licensed by Manga Entertainment as of January 2013, and distribution rights in Australia and New Zealand are owned by Madman Entertainment. Last Exile was licensed for regional language release in France,[3] Germany,[4] and Sweden.[5] On December 26, 2008, American production house Funimation Entertainment announced it was taking over production and distribution of the show from Geneon.[6] Last Exile has also been hosted at the streaming media website Crunchyroll.[7]
Two pieces of theme music were used for the series. "Cloud Age Symphony", performed by Shuntaro Okino, was used as the opening theme for all 26 episodes, and Hitomi Kuroishi's "Over The Sky" was used as the ending theme.[8]
A sequel, Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing, began a simulcast broadcast in both Japan and Asia on the same day on October 15, 2011 by TV Tokyo and Animax Asia respectively with the Animax airing broadcast with English subtitles and other local languages subtitles in each market area of Asia. Taking place two years after the events of Last Exile, the new series is set on Earth where there is a war with the powerful Ades Federation conquering the other nations. The titular protagonist Fam Fan Fan and her friend Giselle Collette are Sky Pirates who get involved in the war when they rescue Princess Millia of Kingdom of Turan.
Two theme songs were used for Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing. The opening theme song is "Buddy" by Maaya Sakamoto while the ending theme song is "Starboard" by Hitomi Kuroishi. Four special ending theme songs were used in certain episodes; "Starboard [Silky Wind ver.]", sung by Hitomi Kuroishi in another language, was used in episodes 8 and 20, "Innocent Eyes" was used in episode 17, "Sorrows of Life" was used in episode 18 and "Grand Exile" was used in episode 19. The original opening and ending theme songs from Last Exile, "Cloud Age Symphony" by Shuntaro Okino and "Over The Sky" by Hitomi Kuroishi respectively, was used in episode 15.5.
Episode list
Last Exile's episode titles were originally given in English, as displayed at the beginning of each episode, and use terms from chess.
Last Exile (2003)
| Episode # | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Original airdate[9] | English airdate[10][11] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "First move" "Fāsuto mūvu" (ファースト·ムーヴ) | Daisuke Chiba | Koichi Chigira | April 7, 2003 | March 8, 2004 |
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"First move" is the opening move in chess.[12] The lone battleship Silvana locates a Disith fleet crossing the Grand Stream and destroys several ships in a surprise attack. After the remaining Disith ships escape, the Silvana withdraws from the Grand Stream. In the frontier town of Norkia, 15-year-old pilot Claus Valca and navigator Lavie Head prepare their vanship for the Norkia Cup race. On their next job call as sky couriers, Claus and Lavie accept a mission to deliver two letters to Duke David Mad-thane from his family. Mad-thane, an officer in the Anatoray navy, is leading a battle against a Disith fleet at Minagith under the supervision of the Guild. After a victory in the opening engagement using musketeers, Mad-thane's fleet continues to battle the Disith in artillery combat. However, the Anatoray fleet meets a surprise attack from a new Disith fleet as Claus and Lavie arrive on the flagship Claimh Solais to deliver the letters. | |||||
| 2 | "Luft Vanship" "Rufuto Vanshippu" (ルフト·ヴァンシップ) | Asumi Matsumura | Koichi Chigira | April 14, 2003 | March 8, 2004 |
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"Luft" is the German word for "air". In chess, a luft allows the king to escape from a back rank mate, a move usually made by a pawn. The episode title carries a dual meaning of a vanship acting as a decoy or a vanship in the sky.[13] In the surprise attack by Disith, several Anatoray ships are destroyed in the opening engagement. As Guild members continue to watch the engagement from above the battlefield, they note that Minagith will fall to Disith forces. Word arrives at the Anatoray capital that Duke Mad-thane's fleet is losing the battle, prompting the Emperor to order an unknown asset sent to a safe place away from the Guild. As the Disith attack continues, Claus and Lavie are forced to leave the bridge, unable to deliver the message tube to Mad-thane directly. They realize that the second message tube from Mad-thane's daughter, Holly, was not delivered. While Mad-thane gives the order to fight to the last ship, Claus interrupts over the speaker system to read the message written by Holly expressing her wishes that her father returns home. Anatoray soldiers attempt to stop Claus and Lavie but are held back by musketeer Mullin Shetland. After hearing the message and ridding himself of feeling ashamed, Mad-thane orders his fleet to withdraw. Claus and Lavie create a smoke screen for the retreat with their vanship but are told by a red vanship that they are in the line of fire. At the same time, the Silvana appears and fires at the pursuing Disith. Given this chance, the Anatoray fleet escapes, and the Silvana and the red vanship disappear under the clouds. Claus and Lavie return to the Mad-thane residence to bring news of the Duke's safety. They also find out that they will be starting at last position in the Norkia Cup race after missing the time attack. | |||||
| 3 | "Transpose" "Toransupōzu" (トランスポーズ) | Hiroyuki Tsuchiya | Shūichi Kamiyama | April 21, 2003 | March 9, 2004 |
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Transposition in chess employs a switch in tactics. In the episode, Claus switches from the race to his work as a courier, and Alvis is handed over from Ralph to Claus.[14] On the day of the 75th Norkia Cup race, vanship courier Ralph Wednesday is being pursued by several star-shaped fighters and is wounded. Meanwhile, Claus and Lavie pull ahead to challenge defending champion Hurricane Hawk towards the final stage of the race. However, as Claus takes over the lead from Hawk, Ralph's vanship crosses their path. Hawk's and Ralph's vanships crash into the trees, and Claus decides to pull away from the race despite being in the lead. Claus and Lavie find the dying Ralph, who is on a mission to deliver a girl named Al. The two decide to take over Ralph's job, but are discovered by one of the fighters. To allow Claus and Lavie to escape, Ralph acts as a decoy and sacrifices himself by detonating a bomb near the fighter. Claus and Lavie escape by the river and discover that the girl must be transported to the Silvana into the custody of Alex Row. | |||||
| 4 | "Zugzwang" "Tsūku tsuwangu" (ツーク·ツワング) | Daisuke Chiba | Tomohiro Yamashita | April 28, 2003 | March 9, 2004 |
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A chess player is said to be in zugzwang when he or she is forced to make a bad move.[15] Claus and Lavie take the unconscious Al back to their residence. While Claus plans an escape route through underground water canals to avoid detection by the star-shaped fighter, Lavie attempts to talk him out of the mission and reports rumors about the mysterious Silvana. When Al wakes up, they hide the fact that her caretaker Guita had died with Ralph Wednesday. Later that night, the fighter discovers their location and wrecks the house. The three escape through the canals in the vanship, and Al finally realizes that Guita has already died. The fighter discovers them near the end of the canal and damages the vanship, forcing an emergency landing in the temple ruins outside Norkia. It captures Al and is about to kill Claus when a gunshot causes the fighter to collapse. | |||||
| 5 | "Positional play" "Pojishonaru purei" (ポジショナル·プレイ) | Tōru Yoshida | Atsuhiro Tomioka | May 5, 2003 | March 10, 2004 |
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By making a positional play, a chess player maneuvers his or her pieces in the long term to gain advantage against the opponent.[16] Alex Row takes the unconscious Al into custody and leaves with the Silvana. Not wanting to leave Al alone, Claus quickly repairs his damaged vanship and drains fuel from the downed fighter, but Lavie is hesitant about the decision. While in pursuit, they discover that the fuel composition was more pure than what they have used before and suspect that the fighter belongs to the Guild. When Al awakens, the Silvana's executive officer, Sophia Forrester, greets her as Alvis Hamilton. Claus and Lavie catch up to the Silvana, but it opens fire on their vanship as they attempt to board. Short on fuel, Claus is forced to make an emergency landing on the lower deck of the ship as it stops firing. Claus and Lavie make their way to the hangar and find the red vanship they encountered at Minagith. They get into a fight with the flight deck crew, but are stopped by Tatiana Wisla, the vanship's pilot. | |||||
| 6 | "Arbiter attack" "Ābitā atakku" (アービター·アタック) | Hirotaka Endō | Atsuhiro Tomioka | May 12, 2003 | March 10, 2004 |
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An arbiter acts as a referee in chess. In this episode, the Guild, which mediates the conflict between Anatoray and Disith, is the one who conducts the attack.[17] Guild members Dio Eraclea and Lucciola discover the downed fighter and its dead pilot in the temple ruins. When reviewing the fighter's video records, Dio takes an interest in Claus. At the Anatoray capital, Tatiana reports to the Emperor that Alvis has been safely delivered. Aboard the Silvana, Alvis is reunited with Claus and Lavie. Claus is taken to meet Alex, who asks him why he wants to protect Alvis and why he flies as a pilot. Before Claus can answer, they are interrupted by approaching Guild fighters. The Silvana, unable to effectively defend itself, is boarded by several fighters. Lavie questions the Silvana's reputation as the safest place in the world. Unable to escape on their damaged vanship, Claus asks that he and Lavie be allowed to join the fight on a spare fighter vanship. | |||||
| 7 | "Interesting Claus" "Intaresutingu Kurausu" (インタレスティング·クラウス) | Daiki Nishimura | Shūichi Kamiyama | May 19, 2003 | March 11, 2004 |
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The episode title points to Claus as the center of interest, just as a unique chess move that generates particular interest.[18] The Silvana is under attack by Guild fighters and must defend herself until the Guild are forced to withdraw due to limited fuel. Claus and Lavie enter the battle in a spare fighter vanship; however, Claus experiences some difficulty in maneuvering the craft. Dio takes interest in Claus as he begins to have a better grasp of the vanship. After observing Claus complete a Scissors and an Immelmann turn, Dio dubs him "Immelmann" and decides to enter the battle, as does Lucciola. However, instead of shooting down Claus and Lavie, Dio toys with them to the point at which he achieves a lock on them before disengaging, and repeats the process several times. Lavie does not handle combat well and forgets to reload the guns and eventually suffers a redout when Claus attempts to escape from Dio's fighter. Midway through the battle, Tatiana returns to find the Silvana under attack and also engages Dio's fighter. Lucciola disconnects his fighter from Dio's and begins to engage Tatiana. Dio decides to stop playing with Claus, but all Guild forces are recalled before he is able to fire on the next target lock. Back aboard the Silvana, Tatiana is angry that Claus was given permission to fly a fighter vanship and criticizes Lavie as a poor navigator. | |||||
| 8 | "Takeback" "Tēkubakku" (テークバック) | Sumio Watanabe | Tomohiro Yamashita | May 26, 2003 | March 11, 2004 |
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A takeback allows a chess player to undo his or her moves, something that is usually discouraged.[19] The Silvana arrives at the station Casino Royale for repairs, and its crew is given temporary shore leave. Lavie again meets Mullin Shetland, who resigned his commission on the Claimh Solais after the battle at Minagith and intends on joining the battleship Goliath, also docked at the station. While Alvis is asleep, Claus also decides to look around the station and meets Tatiana's navigator, Alister Agrew. Mullin introduces himself to Count Knowles, commanding officer of the Goliath, who ridicules Mullin for wearing his survival medals. In the final bird race of the evening, the Goliath crew manipulates the field to allow its favored bird to win. On seeing this, Lavie becomes angry and accuses them of cheating. The Silvana crew uses this as an excuse to fight with the Goliath crew. Meanwhile, station owner Walker informs Alex Row that an object related to Exile will be auctioned in the black market under the guise of a vanship race. Mullin reveals that the Goliath escaped from the battle at Minagith without putting a fight, to which Knowles takes offense and threatens to kill him. Walker breaks up the fight, but Knowles challenges Alex to a ship-to-ship duel. When both ships leave the dock, Knowles realizes that he has challenged the invincible Silvana and orders his ship to begin firing before the duel commences. Unscathed, the Silvana returns fire with its newly installed weapon and sinks the Goliath in one volley. Lavie gives Mullin a self-made survival medal. | |||||
| 9 | "Calculate Alex" "Karikyureito Arekkusu" (カリキュレイト·アレックス) | Yasunori Urata | Atsuhiro Tomioka | June 2, 2003 | March 12, 2004 |
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In this episode, Alex Row brings several strategies into play, just as a chess player calculates his or her moves in anticipation of the opponent's future move.[20] When Mullin offers to help Claus and Lavie repair their vanship, he is recruited to join the Silvana flight deck crew as a mechanic. Hearing from Sophia that the Silvana is en route to Horizon Cave, Claus and Lavie decide to take a rare opportunity to participate in its famous eight-hour endurance race. Participants are assigned vanships by lottery and must make them airworthy in time for the race. Tatiana, who also joins the race with Alister, objects to working with Claus and Lavie, but Alex ignores her protests. As the race is about to begin, Sophia briefs Tatiana and Alister on their true objective in the race. Dio introduces himself and Lucciola as a race challenger to Claus and Lavie, who do not welcome their presence. At the start of the race, Claus's and Lavie's vanship refuses to start, and they are forced to join several seconds late. Dio provokes Tatiana into a head-to-head race despite Alister's attempts to remind her of their mission. As the black market auction begins, Duke Henry Knowles joins Alex and notices his disinterest towards the initial items up for bid. However, as the final item of the auction, an artifact believed to be a gateway to the legendary Exile, is introduced, Alex opens the bid with a surprising 10 million Claudia.[Note 1] | |||||
| 10 | "Swindle" "Suindoru" (スウィンドル) | Shinichirō Aoki | Atsuhiro Tomioka | June 9, 2003 | March 12, 2004 |
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When a chess player finds him or herself in a disadvantageous position, he or she can make a swindle to trick the opponent and achieve a win.[21] Claus and Lavie progress in the endurance race, but Dio and Lucciola continue to challenge them. Duke Henry Knowles raises the bid price on the Exile artifact, spurring interest among the other auction participants. As Alex attempts to outbid the others, Guild Maestro Delphine Eraclea challenges him and finally raises the bid price to 50 billion Claudia, at which point one of Knowles's men puts a gun at the back of Alex's head, threatening him not to continue bidding. On their final pit stop, Tatiana and Alister pick up a cargo of explosive charges for their mission. When the auction ends, Duke Knowles takes Alex outside and reveals that he wants to avenge the death of his son, captain of the Goliath. Claus and Lavie pull ahead of Dio and Lucciola in the final lap after only filling part of their fuel tank at the last pit stop to lighten the vanship and win the race. At precisely midnight, the explosive charges dropped by Tatiana and Alister destroy Horizon Cave's power generators, leaving it in darkness. Seizing the opportunity, Alex kills Knowles's men and escapes. When the artifact is taken to Delphine, it is discovered to be fake. The true artifact of Exile is revealed to be a Mysterion, one of four phrases with corresponding answers that will reveal the secret of Exile. Graf, the butler of House Hamilton, entrusts Alvis and the Mysterion to Alex. After the race, Lavie tells Claus that she does not want to fly in a fighter vanship but will continue to serve as his mechanic. Claus understands her decision and makes a promise that they will fly together again to cross the Grand Stream. Dio and Lucciola, who are able to see in the darkness, offer to tow Claus and Lavie out of Horizon Cave to the Silvana. | |||||
| 11 | "Develop" "Diberoppu" (ディベロップ) | Katsuhito Akiyama | Shūichi Kamiyama | June 16, 2003 | March 13, 2004 |
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By developing his or her pieces, a chess player makes them more active, as in deploying pawns into a more optimum position. The characters are revealed to build on their swindles in the previous episode.[22] Following Claus and Lavie aboard the Silvana, Dio and Lucciola allow themselves to be captured. At the Anatoray capital, the Emperor begins to distrust Alex's actions and sends the Urbanus to retrieve Alvis. Alex interrogates Dio, who tries to gain his trust by telling him that the Mysterion passed by House Eraclea. He also reveals that the three Guild houses holding the remaining Mysteria have been purged by Delphine. Vincent Alzey, captain of the Urbanus, requests to meet with Alex. Alex asks Claus to fly escort for his flight to the meeting, to which Tatiana objects. Alister defies Tatiana and offers to be Claus's navigator. Alex informs Vincent that he will not hand over Alvis and will fight to keep her aboard. Dio and Lucciola meet Lescius, the Silvana's chief engineer and a former member of the Guild. Dio then finds Alvis by herself elsewhere and reads her one of the Mysteria, after which she falls into a trance and wreaks havoc on the ship's systems. | |||||
| 12 | "Discovered attack" "Disukabādo atakku" (ディスカバード·アタック) | Tōru Yoshida | Atsuhiro Tomioka Takaaki Suzuki | June 23, 2003 | March 13, 2004 |
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In chess, a discovered attack is made by a queen, rook, or bishop when another piece shielding it moves out of the way. The episode title describes the ways in which Alex and Vincent anticipate traps to outmaneuver each other.[23] Alvis awakens, and the Silvana's systems return to normal, but she does not remember anything that happened. Alex, who has returned from his meeting with Vincent, orders the Silvana to intercept the Urbanus at a region of sunken reefs called the Dragon's Fangs. For the upcoming battle, Tatiana appoints Claus over Alister as her navigator, causing Dio to suspect that she is picking on Claus. As the Silvana enters the reefs guided by its fighter vanships, the pursuing Urbanus and two sister ships seal the escape route behind them. Continuing through the reefs, the Silvana is surprised by two more battleships ahead of them. While pinned by one battleship, Alex orders the Silvana to quickly ascend. Vincent, waiting above the clouds, orders one of his ships to ram the Silvana, but it accidentally rams the friendly ship attached to her and they destroy each other. Vincent orders the other two battleships to anchor tethers to the Silvana and sends the Urbanus on a ramming attack. However, Alex orders the Silvana to fire on the surrounding rock formations, causing them to collapse and pull down the two battleships. The Urbanus is forced to withdraw, but the Silvana cannot detach its tethers. Tatiana and Claus watch as the Silvana sinks below the clouds. | |||||
| 13 | "Isolated pawn" "Aisoreiteddo pōn" (アイソレイテッド·ポーン) | Hirotaka Endō | Koichi Chigira | June 30, 2003 | March 14, 2004 |
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An isolated pawn in chess has no pawn of the same color on an adjacent tile and is cut off from support.[24] Tatiana and Claus are forced to make an emergency landing after their vanship hits the Urbanus. Claus, who remains optimistic that the Silvana and its crew are intact, attempts to repair the vanship but cannot bring its engine to generate enough power. Tatiana, despairing the loss of her best friend Alister, cannot feel the same way as him about their circumstances. Meanwhile, an evacuation is underway in Disith, but ships experience difficulty in generating enough lift and are destroyed when they crash back to the ground. Tatiana reveals to Claus that she comes from a noble family abandoned by the Anatoray government because they are too poor to move into new urban areas. Although once reaching the top of her class in the military academy, she was eventually forced to discontinue her studies. Tatiana realizes that Claus and Lavie are the children of Hamilcar Valca and Georges Head, respectively, the vanship courier duo who attempted to cross the Grand Stream to deliver a peace proposal to Disith ten years earlier. Claus is finally able to give the vanship enough lift to glide across the desert, and the two head to one of the Silvana's secret shelters. When they arrive, Claus and Tatiana are captured by Disith soldiers. They escape when the female soldier guarding them rushes to the arriving Disith migration capsules. However, the soldier finds that none of the capsules carrying civilians made the journey. | |||||
| 14 | "Étude Lavie" "Eteyūdo Ravi" (エテュード·ラヴィ) | Makoto Sokuza | Tomohiro Yamashita | July 7, 2003 | December 6, 2004 |
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An étude is a musical composition created for practicing a skill. This is applicable to chess in the form of a practice match.[25] While Lavie recovers from her injuries on the crashed Silvana, she dreams of her childhood with Claus, whose family moved to Norkia and became neighbors with Lavie's. Their fathers, Hamilcar Valca and Georges Head, immediately became best friends and teamed up as a vanship pilot and navigator. Claus's mother, Justina, took care of Lavie as if she was her own daughter. Valca and Head taught their children to fly a vanship and assigned them mock courier missions. Lavie recalls her father's two friends, a male vanship pilot and a female navigator, but cannot remember their names. One day, Valca and Head received an assignment to cross the Grand Stream to deliver a peace proposal to Disith and left with their two friends. However, Valca and Head lost their lives in the attempt, and Justina died not long after. In a separate dream, Alex Row sees the two vanships in the Grand Stream. After they were orphaned, Claus and Lavie began training to fly a vanship. They were eventually forced to sell their house to save the vanship and began training for courier missions. When Lavie finally awakens, she finds herself crying from the memories. Dio and Alister finally locate Claus and Tatiana near the field of Disith migration capsules. Claus is reunited with Lavie and informs her that their hometown of Norkia has fallen to Disith. | |||||
| 15 | "Fairy chess" "Fearī chesu" (フェアリー·チェス) | Asumi Matsumura | Atsuhiro Tomioka | July 14, 2003 | December 7, 2004 |
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Fairy chess is a variant of the game that employs unconventional rules and variant pieces. In this episode, character development occurs without regard of previous arrangements and shifts towards a different objective.[26] Claus reports to Alex that Disith has become uninhabitable and that he and Lavie can no longer return home to Norkia. Rumors circulate throughout the ship about Claus and Tatiana, making Lavie upset and unwilling to speak to Claus. However, Claus does not seem to understand her actions and wants her to come to better terms with Tatiana. Alister warns Tatiana not to read too much into Claus's care for her when they were in the desert. Meanwhile, Vincent is stripped of his command of the Urbanus after losing four battleships against the Silvana and is assigned to the fleet defending Norkia. The Emperor of Anatoray decides to take advantage of Disith's collapse and plans on escalating the war, to Prime Minister Marius's objections. When Marius learns that the Silvana has completed its repairs, he decides to keep the news from the Emperor. Dio reveals a photo of Claus's and Lavie's fathers in Alex's possession, prompting Claus to confront the captain. Alex confesses that he is the surviving pilot from the mission to deliver the peace proposal to Disith and the former owner of the vanship Claus and Lavie are flying. He recounts how his fiancée, Euris, and Claus's and Lavie's fathers died and the memory of seeing Delphine smiling when he flew away from the Grand Stream. Alex tells Claus that he is fighting to destroy Exile, which reinforces the Guild's authority in the world. After receiving a pigeon post from Marius warning of the Emperor's actions, Sophia reveals herself as the Princess of Anatoray. Conflicted between her responsibility to the throne and her desire to stay aboard the Silvana, Sophia is comforted by Claus. She suddenly kisses Claus as gratitude. | |||||
| 16 | "Breakthrough" "Burēku surū" (ブレーク·スルー) | Hiroyuki Ochi | Shūichi Kamiyama | July 21, 2003 | December 8, 2004 |
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A breakthrough occurs in chess when breaching the opponent's defense, often through sacrifice. In the episode, Sophia, the Emperor, Prime Minister Marius, and Disith forces attempt to break free of their respective situations.[27] Sophia leaves the Silvana to return to the Anatoray capital. When General Vitellius informs the Emperor that Duke Mad-thane has engaged the Disith fleet in Norkia, Prime Minister Marius pleads with him to spare the Disith, who have recently lost their homes. However, the Emperor has already put the Disith envoy to death and places Marius under house arrest. Mullin begins to question why he remains on the Silvana, and reminisces his days as a musketeer. Alex finally considers launching a strike at the Guild, and Claus reveals to Lavie that their vanship belonged to Alex. When Sophia arrives at the capital, she also pleads with the Emperor to set aside differences with Disith and face their challenges together, but he declines and imprisons her in the tower. Sophia is visited by Marius, who raised her after his daughter Euris died in the Grand Stream, and is asked to remain in the tower until after his plans for her to become Empress is completed. That evening, Disith forces make a surprise attack on the Anatoray capital, whose defense fleet is stretched thin. In the confusion, Marius assassinates the Emperor but is fatally wounded himself. As Disith forces enter the capital, Vincent heads to the tower to prevent the Emperor's men from killing Sophia and takes her to safety on board the Urbanus, taking command of the ship again. | |||||
| 17 | "Making material" "Meikingu materiaru" (メイキング·マテリアル) | Tōru Yoshida | Atsuhiro Tomioka | July 28, 2003 | December 9, 2004 |
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A chess player is said to be "making material" when he or she owns more pieces of greater value than the opponent.[28] In the Emperor's absence, Sophia orders the Urbanus to stop General Vitellius from attacking Disith in compliance with a ceasefire. The arrival of Duke Mad-thane's fleet forces Disith to withdraw. The following day, a vanship courier arrives with a message from Walker, who invites the Silvana to Horizon Cave for repairs and resupply. Lescius reveals himself as a member of the purged House Dagobert and entrusts Alex with the third Mysterion. Prime Minister Marius, a member of the purged House Bassianus, also sent the final Mysterion to Alex before his death. The Silvana finally arrives at Horizon Cave, currently used as a training base for an assault against the Guild. Although the Guild suspects of a rebellion, Delphine decides not to take immediate action. At the base, Claus meets Mikhail Wednesday, elder brother to the late Ralph Wednesday from whom Claus took over the duty of delivering Alvis. Claus and Lavie are also reunited with fellow vanship pilots from Norkia after Duke Mad-thane, who was inspired by Claus's and Lavie's actions at Minagith, called for all pilots to fly as fighter support. | |||||
| 18 | "Promotion Sophia" "Puromōshon Sofia" (プロモーション·ソフィア) | Hiroyuki Tsuchiya | Atsuhiro Tomioka | August 4, 2003 | December 10, 2004 |
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In chess, a promotion is the conversion of a pawn to a queen, rook, bishop, or knight. This corresponds Sophia's elevation to Empress and taking a greater role in the conflict against Guild.[29] Sophia arrives at Norkia to parley with Disith commander Nestor Messina and reveals to him a copy of the peace offer lost in the Grand Stream ten years earlier. As a gesture of goodwill, Disith supplies Anatoray with a map of the Grand Stream's air currents and a recording of Exile's acoustic signature. Mullin decides to rejoin the musketeer squad and meets the female Disith musketeer, who introduces herself as Dunya Scheer. They are informed that the capture attempt of battleship Claudia units will occur on the Guild's Covenant Day,[Note 1] when 17-year-old youths pledge their allegiance to the Maestro. Before the Silvana leaves dock, Claus, Lavie, and Alvis say goodbye to Mullin. The formal alliance between Anatoray and Disith is signed at Sophia's coronation as Empress. Claus, Tatiana, Dio, and Lucciola arrive ahead of the Silvana to send congratulations, but Delphine's ship appears from the clouds above and rains down rose petals as a declaration of war. Dio, realizing that he has been found by his sister, panics and flies his vanship erratically. When Alex sees Delphine's ship above the site of the coronation ceremony, he immediately orders that it be destroyed, but his crew refuses to comply for fear of killing Sophia. | |||||
| 19 | "Sicilian Defence" "Shishirian Difensu" (シシリアン·ディフェンス) | Kanji Wakabayashi | Tomohiro Yamashita | August 11, 2003 | December 13, 2004 |
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The Sicilian Defence is a popular opening move in chess, allowing a player to counter the opponent's initial advantage.[30] After Delphine's ship leaves the coronation ceremony, the Silvana heads to the Dragon's Fangs, where it finds the Urbanus flying under the imperial banner. Sophia proposes that, using the chart provided by Disith, the two ships search for Exile six days ahead of Covenant Day in the Grand Stream. Using acoustic torpedoes and echolocation, the Silvana's listening officer Wina Lightning will match Exile to its acoustic signature. Sophia reveals to Claus that Alvis is the key to turning Exile against the Guild, but vows to keep her safe. Alvis finds out about the Guild's upcoming Birth Week and plans a birthday party for Dio, who does not wish to return to the Guild. At Norkia, Duke Mad-thane witnesses a Disith ship fall from the sky while delivering water to drought-stricken regions when Delphine recalls its Claudia unit. Meanwhile, Dunya and Mullin continue their training at Horizon Cave. As the Silvana and the Urbanus enter the Grand Stream, the first acoustic torpedo is launched. | |||||
| 20 | "Grand Stream" "Gurandosutorīmu" (グランドストリーム) | Yasunori Urata | Koichi Chigira | August 18, 2003 | December 14, 2004 |
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"Grand Stream" is an anagram of Grandmaster, the highest title a chess player can attain.[31] As the Silvana and the Urbanus continue their search for Exile, Sophia briefs the vanship pilots on their strategy to capture it. Sophia asks Dio to fly as Claus's navigator, but he refuses from fear of being found again by Delphine. At Horizon Cave, Nestor proposes that the Claudia unit capture plan be accelerated after the Guild recalls several units, but Duke Mad-thane appeases him to wait for the scheduled operation on Covenant Day. On the final day of the Guild's Birth Week, Alvis surprises Dio with a birthday party, much to his delight. After days of searching, the Silvana and the Urbanus locate Exile, and Dio agrees to fly as Claus's navigator to assist in its capture. The Guild locates Dio on board the Silvana, and Delphine orders Lucciola's brother Cicada to retrieve him at all costs. As the vanship squadron attempts to anchor cables onto Exile, the ship's defense system activates, but it is able to complete their objective after identifying an unprotected section of the hull, with Dio's help. Alex hands Marius's Mysterion to Sophia and tells her to return to the Urbanus. Just before Claus and Dio return to the Silvana, Guild fighters land on the flight deck. | |||||
| 21 | "Rook Dio" "Rūku Dīo" (ルーク·ディーオ) | Yasunori Urata Tōru Yoshida | Koichi Chigira | August 25, 2003 | December 15, 2004 |
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The rook piece in chess symbolizes a castle, and it can be implied that Dio has returned to the Guild stronghold, where he will take part in the Rite of the Covenant.[32] When Claus and Dio return to the Silvana, the crew is missing. When they go to search the bridge, they find that Delphine has captured Alvis and the ship. Tatiana and Alister sneak a transport carrying Sophia back to the Urbanus. Alex comes out of hiding to attack Delphine but is defeated by Cicada. Delphine takes Dio back to the Guild along with Claus, Alvis, and Alex, and orders that Exile be secured before they leave. On the Urbanus, Vincent promises Sophia that he will recapture the Silvana. When they return to the Guild, Dio is taken to prepare for the Rite of the Covenant. Delphine indulges in the world's rarest delicacies at dinner, causing Claus to become upset about her disregard of the hardships of the people of Anatoray and Disith. Dio is reunited with Claus and Alvis, but they find that his personality has changed and he no longer recognizes them as friends. | |||||
| 22 | "Queen Delphine" "Kuīn Derufīne" (クイーン·デルフィーネ) | Katsuhito Akiyama Yoshihiko Iwata | Atsuhiro Tomioka | September 1, 2003 | December 16, 2004 |
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The queen is the most powerful piece in chess.[33] After the Urbanus locates the Silvana and ensures its safety, Sophia returns and is surprised that Claus has been taken. Covenant Day arrives, and Dio takes part in the Trial of Agoon to claim inheritance of the Maestro's position by participating in mortal combat against other Guild members. Claus, who cannot bear to see Dio fight, worries that he may die. At the same time, the operation to capture Guild Claudia units commences at Horizon Cave. On the Silvana, Lavie finally completes the repairs of her and Claus's vanship. Delphine takes Alvis and Claus to the location of Exile, where they find its defense system has begun attacking Guild ships as well. Exile attacks Delphine's ship but stops when it senses Alvis's presence. Delphine reveals that Exile is a colony ship used by those who first settled on their world. Alex, who has been injected with a truth serum, recites the Mysteria, and Alvis responds to each one. However, he reveals that he has not read the final Mysterion before entrusting it to Sophia. Delphine then receives word that Dio is the Trial's victor. | |||||
| 23 | "Castling Lucciola" "Kyasuringu Rushiora" (キャスリング·ルシオラ) | Asumi Matsumura | Koichi Chigira | September 8, 2003 | December 17, 2004 |
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Castling is a special move in chess that allows for the king's defense by sending a rook into battle. As the title suggests, Lucciola acts as a rook to protect Dio, who has become the king after completing the Trial of Agoon.[34] In a flashback, Delphine introduces a younger Dio to his new servant, whom he names Lucciola. At the Guild stronghold, Delphine greets Dio as the new Maestro. Using the Urbanus as shield, the Silvana heads into Guild territory to recapture Exile. Meanwhile, Anatoray and Disith soldiers seize the Guild's Claudia units. In the ensuing fight aboard one of the battleships, Mullin is seriously wounded. Delphine learns of the uprising and recalls the units. Lucciola, who can no longer bear to see Dio's condition, tells Claus to leave with Alvis and Dio while he covers for their escape. Before they leave, Lucciola gives Alvis a device allowing them to communicate with the Silvana. Lucciola goes to face Delphine and defeats her guards, including his brother. Before Delphine kills him, Lucciola remembers that Dio has accepted him as more than a servant in their childhood. | |||||
| 24 | "Sealed move" "Shīrudo mūbu" (シールド·ムーブ) | Shin Matsuo | Koichi Chigira | September 15, 2003 | December 20, 2004 |
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Sealed moves force chess players to guarantee their next move before adjourning a lengthy game to prevent an unfair advantage. In this sense, it carries the nuance of a fixed or predetermined destiny.[35] A portion of the Guild fortress breaks apart and falls away from the Grand Stream into Anatoray. Claus escapes in the vanship that was brought with them to the Guild stronghold and takes Alvis and Dio to Norkia. Dio is then left in the care of the Mad-thane residence, which has been converted into a makeshift hospital. Claus takes Alvis back to his wrecked house, where they stay overnight. The combined Anatoray and Disith alliance fleet launches a surprise attack on the Guild fleet and, helped by the vanship squadrons, emerges victorious. It continues to pursue the withdrawing Guild ships into the Grand Stream. When Claus and Alvis are finally able to contact Lavie and the Silvana with Lucciola's communicator, they are told to make a rendezvous at the Dragon's Fangs. | |||||
| 25 | "Quiet move" "Kuwaietto mūbu" (クワイエット·ムーブ) | Ei Aoki | Atsuhiro Tomioka | September 22, 2003 | December 21, 2004 |
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Quiet moves in chess threaten the opponent's position but do not involve capturing pieces.[36] Exile indiscriminately attacks both the alliance and Guild as they approach the ship, forcing the alliance fleet to fall back so that they do not lose more ships. Claus rendezvous at a fueling station in the Dragon's Fangs and makes the journey to the Grand Stream, switching vanships and navigators after each leg until he is reunited with Lavie. On the way, Claus dogfights with two Guild fighters, destroying them with Tatiana as his navigator. When Exile receives a pulse signal, it begins to retreat from the Grand Stream towards Disith, followed by both fleets. At the Casino Royale, the last checkpoint before the Grand Stream, Claus and Alvis reunite with Lavie, who holds the message tube containing the final Mysterion. They fly together in Claus's and Lavie's vanship, whose body has been reinforced for the journey in the Grand Stream, but are intercepted by Dio, who has run away from the Mad-thane residence in a separate vanship. | |||||
| 26 | "Resign" "Rizain" (リザイン) | Kanji Wakabayashi | Koichi Chigira | September 29, 2003 | December 22, 2004 |
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A chess player can resign to concede loss of a match in anticipation of a checkmate.[37] Exile enters Disith territory, followed by the Guild and alliance fleets. The alliance fleet loses one-quarter of its ships after Exile continues its indiscriminate attack, but Sophia orders it to continue at all costs to defeat the Guild. In the Grand Stream, Dio pursues Claus's vanship and relives their race at Horizon Cave. However, when he realizes Lucciola is not with him, Dio falls into despair and is thrown off his vanship by a gust of wind. Just as the alliance fleet falters in its attack, the Urbanus leads the remaining ships in protecting the Silvana as she makes a final attack at Delphine's ship. Alex, still a prisoner of Delphine, catches her off-guard and strangles her before breaking her neck. As the Silvana destroys Delphine's ship, Wina hears Alex's final words at her listening post. Claus and Lavie finally cross the Grand Stream into Disith, completing the feat that their fathers could not achieve. There, they find the remaining alliance fleet and bring Alvis to Exile. Claus recites all four Mysteria, to which Alvis responds, and Exile sheds its defensive cocoon to reveal a starship. Inside it, Claus and Lavie find their fathers' vanship and remains. The world they have been living on is revealed to be in the shape of an hourglass, and Exile takes Claus, Lavie, and many others back to the original home world of all those living there. Claus and Lavie are reunited with Dunya and Mullin, the latter of whom has recovered from his injuries. They are joined by Alvis, Tatiana, Alister, Holly Mad-thane, and several children. | |||||
Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing (2011)
A special episode featuring an extended preview of the main series was aired on October 7, 2011, one week prior to the sequel anime's airing.[38] It was broken into four parts: File: 001 -New Story-, File: 002 -Characters-, File: 003 -Production Staff-, and a special message from each of the three main characters to the viewers. The special ends with a TV size preview of the opening theme "Buddy" sung by Maaya Sakamoto.
| Episode # | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Original airdate | English airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Open file" | Yukio Takahashi | Kiyoko Yoshimura | October 14, 2011[39] | — |
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Open file in chess is a file with no pawns of either color on it. An open file can provide a line of attack for rooks or a queen, just like the sky pirates and the Royal flagship's joint effort to deceive the Ades Fleet. Fam Fan Fan and Giselle Collette are Sky Pirates who ride smaller vanships called Vespas with which they capture battleships with other Sky pirates led by Giselle's father, Atamora, with Dio also a member as well. Meanwhile at the Grand Lake, the Princesses of the Kingdom of Turan, Liliana il Grazioso Merlo Turan and her younger sister, Millia il Velch Cutrettola Turan, are preparing for a peace treaty with the powerful Ades Federation led by Premier Luscinia Hāfez, Liliana's childhood friend. However, the peace treaty is a ruse to capture the princesses while the larger Ades fleet attacks the unprepared Turan fleet. The Sky Pirates learn of the attack and head to the Grand Lake. Fam offers to rescue the Princesses in exchange for surrendering the flagship Lasas to them, which Liliana agrees to, much to Millia's shock. Thanks to Fam and the Sky Pirates, the Ades fleet is tricked into shooting each other due to smokescreens and faked light signals, and the fleet is fooled into believing the Lasas has sunk. Now under the safety of the Sky Pirates, Liliana orders to head back to the Turin capital Iglasia to prepare for Luscinia's next attack. | |||||
| 2 | "Fool's mate" | Junichi Takaoka | Shūichi Kamiyama | October 21, 2011 | — |
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Fool's mate in chess also known as the Two-Move Checkmate, is the quickest possible checkmate, like Liliana's foiled plan to break through the enemy fleet and sink its commander ship. Liliana forms an alliance with Atamora's Sky Pirates, who will help the Turan fleet against the invading Ades fleet. She has Fam and Giselle escort Millia back to Iglasia, who is holding battle plans for their father, the King of Turan. Liliana intends to use the Lasas in a surprise attack to scuttle Luscinia's flagship, the Impetus, which will cause disarray within the Ades fleet. With the civilians fleeing Iglasia, the King asks Fam and Giselle to send Millia to the Imperial villa in the East for her safety. As the Ades and Turan fleets battle, Liliana acts out her plan, but it fails when Luscinia's assistant Alauda boards the Lasas, kills the crew, and kidnaps Liliana. Learning of her sister's abduction from Dio, Millia begs Fam to go to the Impetus and rescue Liliana. With Dio acting as a decoy, Fam, Giselle, and Millia sneak inside the Impetus and confront Luscinia in the command center. Luscinia haughtily tells them the history of their planet Earth, the Exile ships, and the people who boarded them. Liliana begs Luscinia to stop the war, as she's willing to surrender, but Luscinia will not change his mind for his vision of peace. Luscinia recites a Mysteria which sends Liliana into a trance, surrounded by light, and Fam, Giselle, and Millia escape. When a beam of light from Liliana hits one of the planet's moons, it drops down to Iglasia to reveal it is an Exile ship which destroys Iglasia, killing everyone there including the King. By the time Fam and Giselle wake up after crashing their Vespa, Fam finds Millia mortified seeing Iglasia destroyed and blood flowing from the capital into the sea. | |||||
| 3 | "Light square" | Hiroyuki Okuno | Kiyoko Yoshimura | October 28, 2011 | — |
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Light squares are the light-coloured squares on the chessboard, in an allusion to the white balloons released during the “Okuribi” ritual. At the Sky Pirates' fortress, Kortoffel, Millia blames Fam for not rescuing Liliana and is upset in seeing Lasas sold and turned into scrap metal. When Millia causes a commotion trying to ride Fam's Vespa to regain her sister's chalice that was bought a Sky Pirate, Fam, feeling sorry for her, helps Millia get back the chalice. Meanwhile, Millia's butler Teddy is invited into Giselle's family home, where she explains the Sky Pirates are refugees who were forced off their lands by Ades because they were descendents of Exile immigrants. Having retrieved the chalice, Fam tells Millia her past, revealing she was an orphan adopted by Atamora after surviving a vanship crash when she was a baby, and shares her dream to see the return of, and win in, the Grand Race of vanships, a contest regularly held when the world was still at peace. Arriving at Kortoffel, the residents perform “Okuribi”, a candlelight ritual to honor those who died in battle and to return their souls to the skies. Watching this, Millia apologizes to Fam and vows to change herself. After Millia gets a haircut by Giselle, Dio informs everyone that the mysterious battleship Silvius has been spotted, and Fam plans to steal it. | |||||
| 4 | "Dubious move" | November 4, 2011 | — | ||
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In chess a Dubious Move is a move that may be considered a mistake, like Fam's plan to hijack the Sylvius. Fam plans to steal the infamous ghost battleship, the Silvius, for Millia to regain her kingdom. After Fam, Dio and Giselle debate what type of ship the Silvius is, they conclude the ship is a hit-and-run aircraft carrier. On the day of the operation, Fam, Giselle, and several Vespa pilots ride off to the Silvius. Millia and Teddy tag along on Dio's vanship. After tricking the Silvius to head into a valley, Fam gives a message to the crew of the Silvius to surrender. But the Silvius, commanded by Tatiana and her executive officer Alister, ignores Fam's message. Fam and the Sky Pirates try to stop the ship using various tricks, but none of them work; and at one point Tatiana herself chases off Fam and Giselle with her red vanship while her vanship pilots capture Fam's allies. With the Silvius escaping to the Grand Lake, Fam and Giselle take a desperate gamble by sneaking into the Silvius but realize too late to learn that they have flown into a waterlock, indicating that the Silvius is also submersible. Fam and Giselle are brought to the bridge to meet Alister and Tatiana, who ridicules Fam for trying to steal the Silvius. Nevertheless, Tatiana offers to free Fam and Giselle if they help the Silvius steal 15 Ades battleships intact. Fam accepts her offer for the sake of helping Millia regain her authority as an exiled princess. | |||||
| 5 | "Touch and move" | November 11, 2011 | — | ||
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The touch-move rule in chess specifies that, if a player intentionally touches a piece on the board when it is his turn to move, then he must move or capture that piece if it is legal to do so, like Fam's determination to keep her promise to help Millia rebuild her kingdom. Millia learns from Tatiana and Alister about the deal Fam made with them, much to her anger over how reckless she is. Because they are still "prisoners" of the Silvius, Fam and Giselle are not allowed to contact the Sky Pirates but are allowed to use anything aboard the Silvius to help them fulfill their deal with Tatiana to steal the Ades battleships. As Fam and Giselle plan their first mission with the help of the crew of the Silvius, Dio admits to Fam that he's actually a scout for the Silvius. Upon learning the Ades Federation will officially annex Turan, Millia is disheartened on losing her homeland, but Fam reminds her that home is anywhere she is with those who care for her. In their first mission to steal two Ades battleships at an outpost, Fam, Giselle, and Olaf, the Silvius' chief mechanic, disguise themselves as Ades couriers and trick the nobleman in charge of the outpost to leave, allowing them and their crew to steal the two ships without bloodshed. Meanwhile at the Silvius, Millia, encouraged by Fam's words, temporarily takes over the ship's kitchen with Teddy and announces on the loudspeaker to the crew that she is forming the Turan Government-in-Exile by taking over several rooms in the Silvius, which Tatiana allows. As Fam and the rest celebrate their first successful mission, at the capital of Ades, Morvarid, Sara Augusta officially announces Ades' annexation of Turan. Later, Luscinia visits Liliana at her bedside. | |||||
| 6 | "Over step" | November 18, 2011 | — | ||
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To "over-step" in a game of chess, the player runs out of time for remaining moves in a time-controlled game. This usually results in the forfeiture of the game since the player no longer has time to move. Fam and Gisele's maneuver to make a last-second comeback in the race prevents such an outcome. Fam and Giselle have captured eight Ades battleships with seven more ships to go. Fam and Dio have dropped flyers announcing the Turan Government-in-Exile. As more nations form alliances with the Ades Federation, Sara organizes her generals to rule the conquered Exile nations. Meanwhile, Fam, Giselle, and Millia, who dresses as a boy, head to the city of Elidarada to participate in an underground vanship race. Fam makes a bet with an Ades noblewoman named Roshanak Babar by which, if she beats Babar's vanship pilot in the race, Fam gets Babar's battleship Nāhīd. Roshanak agrees but on the condition that if her pilot wins, she gets the boy (who is actually Millia). Unfortunately for Fam, Babar's pilot is a former Grand Race competitor. In retaliation for the announcement of the Turan government-in-exile, Luscinia accuses a group of Ades nobles of treason, claiming their ships, stolen by Fam, were in fact given to the Turan government-in-exile, and orders his assassins to purge them. During the underground vanship race, Fam and Giselle are unable to overtake Babar's pilot till the final lap, when they make a dangerous gamble by jettisoning fuel from their vespa to lose weight, and fling themselves round a dangerous sharp turn by hooking to a pillar. They overtake Babar's pilot and win the race. As Fam, Giselle, and Millia celebrate, Roshanak takes the loss of the bet, and her pilot's contrition, with dignity. Fam, Giselle, and Millia take the Nāhīd back to the Silvius and Fam scolds the Silvius mechanics for not betting on her. | |||||
| 7 | "Weak square" | November 25, 2011 | — | ||
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In chess, weak squares are squares which cannot be defended by a pawn, thus open to occupation by an enemy piece, like Fam and Giselle's plan to make an opening and break from the Ades forces' ambush. Sara announces to her subjects in Morvarid about the arrest and purge against the nobles who were working against Ades and plans to attack the nations North of the Grand Lake. Despite showing a strong face to the crowd, Sara secretly confides to General Vasant that she is sad for people who die in her name. Meanwhile, Tatiana and Alister learn that the first nation that Ades will be attacking North of the Grand Lake will be Glacies, a nation with an isolationist policy that would attack anyone who enters their country. They hope Vincent can convince them otherwise, to join their side while the Silvius heads to their border. Elsewhere, Giselle is starting to doubt her confidence in Fam as the latter increasingly supports Millia and appears overconfident about capturing 8 battleships to transfer to Ades instead of capturing one ship to finish their deal with the Silvius. As Fam and Giselle head to the harbor where the Ades ships are, they are join by Atamora and his Sky Pirates who are heading to same area as well. However, they realize too late that they went straight into a trap when the Third Ades Fleet, led by General Ōrang, appears from the sky and bombards them with their new auto-cannons. As they try to find a way to escape, Fam and Giselle signal the Sky Pirates to lure Ōrang's fleet into a valley. They shoot a glacier, dropping it and creating a strong shock wave of wind. This sends a giant flock of Grand birds to blind the fleet, allowing Fam, Giselle and the Sky Pirates to escape. As everyone laments their lost, Atamora's Sky Pirates head home while Fam and Giselle, who wish to go home too, return to the Silvius. Unfortunately, Fam and Giselle are followed by the First Ades Fleet, led by General Sadri, who issues an ultimatum to the Silvius: surrender Millia to them or be destroyed. | |||||
| 8 | "Distraction" | December 2, 2011 | — | ||
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In chess, distractions are moves performed to conceal a player's real strategy. The Silvius uses this tactic heavily in order to escape the Ades fleet. With the First Ades Fleet and Silvius engaged in battle near their border, Glacies launch rocket vanships towards the combat zone. Meanwhile, despite Sadri's message to the crew of the Silvius to surrender Millia and themselves in exchange for their safety, Tatiana orders her crew to prepare for battle. They attempt to break through the Ades Fleet formation with skilled use of vanships and a smokescreen. The Silvius seemingly escapes the fray only to encounter Sadri's flagship, the Anshar. Under heavy attack, Tatiana orders the Silvius to the mountain range near the Glacies border. Feeling responsible for the current situation, Fam asks Tatiana to allow her to help, and she immediately sets out to do so by capturing one final battleship to fulfill their agreement. Unable to convince Giselle to go, she takes Millia as her Navi. With the Silvius suffering damage from the Ades Fleet's depth charges and hiding in the clouds, Tatiana directs the ship towards the weakest point of the mountain side. They blast it with their weapons to clear passage for the ship. At the same time, the rocket vanships arrive and begin their assault on the Ades Fleet. Sadri orders most of the fleet to leave the Glacies border, with only the Anshar and three other battleships to continue the pursuit of the Silvius. One of the Glacies rocket vanships attaches a cable on the Silvius and orders the crew to surrender. A massive chunk of debris ejected by the earlier mountain blast suddenly hits the Silvius, forcing the ship under the clouds. The attached rocket vanship is dragged under and their crew is knocked unconscious. As the rocket vanship swings helplessly, Fam and Millia rush to its aid, supporting it by hand to avoid damage and injury until the crew regain consciousness. Another Glacies vanship destroys the cable and escorts their colleagues away from the Silvius. Once the Silvius skilfully avoids a crash into the Grand Lake, Fam flies around to the underside of the Anshar. With one shot Millia disables the Anshar's Claudia engine, forcing the crew to abandon ship. With the resulting capture of their 15th and final battleship, Fam and Millia return to the Silvius and a heroes' welcome. Sadly Giselle congratulates Fam on having found a new navigator in Millia. As the credits roll with the theme song "Starboard [Silky Wind ver.]" by Hitomi Kuroishi playing, pictures of the first fourteen battleships Fam and her friends captured are shown. | |||||
| 9 | "Connected passed pawn" | December 9, 2011 | — | ||
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Connected passed pawns are pawn pieces of the same color that are both in adjacent files and do not have opposing pawns in front of them. This refers to Fam and Giselle's friendship with each other. Dio returns to the Silvius to give flowers for Fam for her birthday but can't find her. Meanwhile, Giselle has a fight with Fam, saying she feels Fam takes her for granted as her Navi, and says is going back to Kortoffel. Without her, Fam joins Dio leading an extraction crew to retrieve the Anshar. Fam admits to Dio that she has been so reliant on Giselle that she never consider her feelings. Dio advises her to apologize to Giselle or she will regret it like how he never got the chance to apologize to his late Navi, Lucciola. Feeling responsible for the animosity between Fam and Giselle, Millia tries to help fix it and accompanies Giselle to a market. As she discusses with Millia the childhood she shared with Fam, Giselle realizes Fam will always be like a sister to her and she returns to the Silvius. Remembering Dio's advice, Fam joins the Silvius crew cleaning the ship's deck and starts to play hockey with them. Giselle makes up with Fam, Millia does too and both of them join the hockey the game with Tatiana and Alister taking up on the other side. As the crew of the Silvius celebrate Fam's birthday and officially accept Fam, Giselle, Millia, and Teddy as part of their crew, they receive a surprise visitor: the Commander of the United Anatoray-Disith Forces, Vincent Alzey. | |||||
| 9.5 | "First adjournment" | December 16, 2011 | — | ||
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An adjournment is when a chess game is temporarily suspended so it can be continued at a later time. A recap episode told by Giselle and Millia, both of whom are writing a letter to Atamora at Kortoffel. | |||||
| 10 | "Illegal move" | December 23, 2011 | — | ||
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An illegal move is a move that is not permitted by the normal rules of chess. Luscinia tricks the crew of the Silvius by using a peaceful negotiation as a means to ambush them. At the Grand Lake, Atamora presides in a ceremony to commemorate the alliance between Anatoray and Turan. Thanks to the battleships Fam and Giselle captured, Millia now has a new Turan fleet to battle Ades. As everyone on the Silvius celebrates, and the Sky Pirates sends flyers asking the other nations join the Anatoray/Turan alliance against Ades, Vincent asks Atamora if there is any nation powerful enough to join them which the latter suggest the isolationist Glacies. Meanwhile, Dio introduces Fam, Giselle, and Millia to Alvis Hamilton, who has the ability to control Prester's Exile. Dio and Al explain to them how females in the Turan Royal family can control an Exile, an ability passed down from daughter or sister if the current one dies. Since Millia has not gained have this ability, this confirms her sister Liliana is still alive. The Impetus, flying the Turan flag, makes a rendezvous with the Silvius and much to everyone's surprise, Liliana is on board. She thanks Millia for gathering the new Turan fleet and Anatoray for protecting Millia. But Liliana surprised them by announcing, as the Queen of Turan, she has made peace with Ades and joined their alliance. The Turan forces are joyous, expecting this means peace, but Millia, Vincent, and Tatiana are aware of what Giselle mentions: that the Ades Federation has merely annexed Liliana's Turan by force or by influence. Luscinia steps forward and gives the Silvius ten minutes to surrender and join them or be attack. Millia refuses to accept the Turan/Ades alliance but Liliana warns if she doesn't join her, she will no longer recognize Millia as her sister, nor as a Princess of Turan, but as an enemy. As the crew on bridge discuss whether to accept Luscinia's offer since the Turan Forces are more loyal to Liliana than Millia, Fam thinks Luscinia is controlling Liliana but Millia concludes that her sister is doing this willingly. With their time limit up, Liliana orders the Turan fleet to attack the Silvius, in spite of Millia remaining on board. At the same time, the Ades Third Fleet attacks Kortoffel. As Vincent escapes with Al on the Urbanus with the Silvius covering them, Alauda and his assassins board the Silvius. Fam, Giselle, and Millia are forced to escape and despite Dio and the Silvius crew's efforts to stop them, Alauda's assassins manage to shut down the Silvius's engine, sinking the ship in the Grand Lake. As Fam's vespa is chased by three Ades vanships, a patrol of Glacies rocket vanships spots them. | |||||
| 11 | "Backward pawn" | January 6, 2012 | — | ||
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A Backward pawn is one that is behind a pawn of the same color, blocked from advancing by a member of its own side. This alludes to the historical content of a flashback episode. Ten years ago, Empress Farahanaz of the Ades Federation opens the Grand Race to celebrate the peace treaty between all the countries of Earth including inviting delegates from Glacies. Despite the celebratory atmosphere, there are still tension and hatred between the natives of Earth and immigrants of Exiles. Farahanaz and her Guild bodyguards, Luscinia and Alauda, greet the King of Turan and his daughters, Liliana and Millia. While Millia is intimidated by Luscinia, Liliana develops a crush on him after he helps her up from falling. Meanwhile, 5-year-old Fam and Giselle, with Giselle's mother, have come to see the race to support Atamora, who is competing in the race along with his co-pilot Kaiser. At the same time, Fam wants to find relatives of her late parents. As Farahanaz, Luscinia, and Alauda head to the private booth, they witness Vasant being harassed by other Ades soldiers due to her Exile homeland having been annexed and yet she has been chosen to give flowers to the winners of the race. Farahanaz comforts Vasant and then reveals to Luscinia and Alauda that she regrets that lives were lost in bigotry and the wars and asks them for her help to make the world a peaceful place for children like her baby daughter Sara to live in. Atamora and Kaiser win the Grand Race, and Fam is inspired by the crowd's cheering to hope to join the race one day, while Farahanaz shows Sara the people's joy as an example of what peace can do. But during the award ceremony, a group of Exiles attempt to assassinate Farahanaz to avenge their dead comrades. Luscinia and Alauda step in to stop them, and Kaiser sacrifices his life to protect Farahanaz. In the confusion, one of the assassins attempts to shoot Liliana for getting in his way and the queen sacrifices herself to protect her. Angered and saddened by Farahanaz's death, Luscinia goes on a rampage and kills the assassins, injuring his left eye in the process. Alauda subdues him to stop him from harming Liliana. What Fam had first seen as peace and joy because of the race quickly became grief and horror of everyone over Farahanaz's death. Fam wakes up at the present time, with Giselle, and Millia aboard a snow truck driven by the Glacies pilots who intercepted them, heading towards Glacies. | |||||
| 12 | "Block" | January 13, 2012 | — | ||
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A block refers to when a player uses one of his own pieces to physically block the movement of his opponent's piece. This refers to the Glacian forces moving to intercept the invading Ades fleet. In Anatoray, the Urbanus is attacked by Federation assassins who are attempting to target Alvis. However, Dio manages to kill the assassins and spirits Alvis away in his vanship. Meanwhile, Fam regains consciousness and discovers that she, Giselle, and Millia had crash-landed in Glacies and were rescued by Glacies vanship pilot Dian. Because Fam and Giselle can't speak Glacian (which is spoken in Russian), Millia, who knows and speaks the language, acts a translator between them and Dian. Aware that Fam and Millia saved her pilots lives, Dian provides shelter for the girls as well as the necessary supplies to repair their vespa. In Ades, Luscinia begins planning the invasion of Glacies. To the surprise of some of his commanders, Luscinia decides that the vanguard of the attack will be composed entirely of the fleets from Ades' provincial territories including those from Vasant's homeland. Back in Glacies, Fam determines to befriend Dian despite the language barrier, telling her of her dream to reinstate the Grand Race so that vanship pilots from all nations can fly the same sky in peace. Dian is not convinced, thinking her naive, and sees the aurora borealis, which her culture regards as a grim omen. She explains that the last time it was seen was the eve before the last Grand Race when Farahanaz was assassinated. That event convinced Glacies to become isolationists and they continue to believe that foreign nations cannot be trusted. The next day, Fam and Giselle complete repairs on their vespa. Fam offers Dian, who has been curious about the craft, the opportunity to pilot it, and Dian discovers what it is like to fly in an open-air vanship and is quite impressed. However, with the vespa fixed, Dian prepares to return to her base, predicting that they will never meet again though she does express a hope that she and Fam may again share peaceful skies. Fam, Giselle, and Millia leave Glacies, intending to locate the Silvius. However, they encounter the Ades vanguard fleet and wonder why it is composed entirely of ships from the provincial nations. They then see the Ades main fleet farther back, realizing that the vanguard fleet is merely a decoy, and Fam turns around to warn Dian- her new ally- of an impending Ades attack on Glacies. | |||||
| 13 | "Bad move" | January 20, 2012 | — | ||
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A bad move is when one of the players makes a mistake, such as when most of the Glacian fighters are lured into a trap and destroyed. Fam, Giselle, and Millia fly to Glacies as fast as they can to warn Dian. The Ades provincial fleets begin their attack at Glacies only to be quickly destroyed by Dian and the Glacian rocket-fighter squadron. Fam and Millia manage to warn Dian but it is too late as the Third and Fourth Ades fleet auto-cannons shred the Glacians. With few of the rocket-fighters surviving, Dian thanks Fam and her friends for the information and tells them to leave Glacies while she and the squadron pose another attack. Fam, Giselle, and Millia head back towards Kortoffel, low on fuel. As General Kayvān of the Second Ades fleet heads towards the Glacian capital stronghold, Vasant, back at Morvarid, fears the war will label Sara as a bloodthirsty tyrant just as she learns the provincial fleets, including the immigrant units under her command, died during the Glacian invasion. With the Second and Fourth Ades fleet destroying their ground defenses, the leaders of Glacies activate their final weapon, their Exile ship, which is revealed to be the stronghold itself and decimates the Second and Fourth Ades fleet. Fam, Giselle, and Millia head towards a nearby sky-pirate lair to refuel but find the city bombarded and abandoned. They realize it was the work of the Ades auto-cannons long range and fear Kortoffel is in danger. With the Second and Fourth Ades fleets losing ships, Luscinia summons Liliana to activate her Exile ship to attack Glacies' own. Refueled, on their way out of the sky-pirates' base, Fam, Giselle, and Millia witness the Turan Exile heading towards Glacies, and Millia realizes her sister, apparently now a puppet of Luscinia, has activated it. | |||||
| 14 | "Smothered mate" | January 27, 2012 | — | ||
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A Smothered Mate is when a king is trapped by its own pieces and checkmated by a knight. This refers to Glacies' ultimate destruction by the Turan Exile. With Liliana's Exile ship, the Ades fleet destroys the Glacian Exile and capital, ending the battle. Dian and her surviving fellow pilots are approached by Vasant, who is now firmly opposed Luscinia's callous treatment of her people. She tells Dian that, like her, she is the last of her people and offers to help the remaining Glacians. Luscinia orders Sadri to invade Anatoray in one week and leaves to fulfill a secret mission in Northern Glacies. The Ades generals are concerned about Luscinia's odd behavior, highly uncomfortable about his willingness to use the destructive power of the Exile. Fam, Gisey, and Millia return to find Kartoffel badly damaged from Ades bombardment, but the Sky Pirates themselves are still fine and busy rebuilding their home. They make plans to steal the Anshar and fly to Anatoray to gather more forces. In a moment of determination and courage, Millia declares that she will kill Liliana, much to Fam's shock. Frustrated, Fam challenges her friend Fritz to a vanship race. Seeing Fam fly, Millia remembers that her greatest wish is the same as Fam's: to make everybody happy, and she reconsiders her plans to kill Liliana. After the race, a messenger from Ades arrives to deliver a message to Millia. The message is from Empress Augusta herself, declaring that she has dropped her support for Luscinia, advocating a cease-fire regardless of national allegiance, and asks Millia to join a coalition to defeat Luscinia. Millia surmises that Augusta's decision was spurred by an anti-Luscinia faction in Ades. | |||||
| 15 | "Triangulation" | February 3, 2012 | — | ||
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Triangulation is when a player uses careful movement of his king in order to force his opponent to move an important piece. This alludes to Sadri being forced to send his fleets to Boreas to engage Vasant's forces. Luscinia has been informed of Vasant's rebellion by Sadri but still plans to continue his mission with Liliana and Alauda. The anti-Luscinia alliance develops with Vasant's forces, the Sky Pirates, Glacies, Turan forces loyal to Millia, and other Exile nations. Millia, Fam, and Giselle visit Morvarid on a diplomatic mission to meet Vasant and Sara, who offer encouragement and gratitude for Turan's support of the rebellion. Meanwhile, in Anatoray, Vincent muses how Sara had beaten them to forming an anti-Ades coalition. However, he cannot leave Anatoray to join the coalition until Sophia returns. In Ades, Fam is surprised how young Sara seems (she is 10) but quickly apologizes. During lunch, Vasant justifies her rebellion to realize the late Empress Farahanaz's dreams of a peaceful world with the need to stop Luscinia's tyranny. She also explains to Fam that the food they are eating might not be appetizing since few arable lands remain in Ades. As Fam, Giselle, and Millia head to the meeting with the anti-Luscinia alliance, they encounter Dian and her pilots, who give Millia the cold shoulder, explaining while they appreciate Turan joining the alliance, they do not wish to associate with the sister of the one who destroyed their country's Exile. As Ōrang questions Sorūsh about his opinion of Luscinia's methods, they both receive orders to reclaim Boreas, a fortress outpost between Ades and Glacies, with a large ship dock and Claudia mines, which Luscinia means to use as a supply base for his forces in the north. Vasant explains to the leaders of the anti-Luscinia alliance that they must defend Boreas from Luscinia's forces. While the alliance leaders agree to this plan, Fam and Millia are shocked by the alliance's blood-lust against Luscinia and his men, even calling Millia's sister Liliana a witch. Realizing they are making Millia uncomfortable, Fam accosts them on their desire for revenge, saying they should be focusing on bringing peace back to the world. But Millia diplomatically tells her to drop the matter. Later, Fam and Giselle befriend Sara after the she learns of their desire to bring back the Grand Race. Millia inspects her forces and notices the original natives of Turan preparing optimistically to return to their homeland, but her officers are unmoved which makes Millia wonder if Liliana, under whom they have lately served, saw the same thing. In taking Fam and Giselle to see the portrait of her mother, she admits to them that she doesn't want to see Luscinia and Vasant fighting as she cares about them both and believes that both of them want what's best for her. Even as Sara tells them how Luscinia wants to find an "Ancient Goddess" in Glacies to finally bring peace to the world, Luscinia, Liliana, and Alauda find and activate another great power. | |||||
| 15.5 | "Second adjournment" | February 10, 2012 | — | ||
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In this second recap episode, Dio and Al narrate the events of Last Exile from their point of view. The duo reminisce about their home world Prester and its two nations, Anatoray and Disith, how they first meet Claus and Lavie, the protagonist of Last Exile, and how they joined Alex Row, captain of the Silvana. They also recalled Maestro Delphine, Dio's older sister and leader of the Guild, who sought Al as the key to activate Exile. Also reintroduced is Dio's best friend Lucciola, who sacrificed himself to save Claus, Alvis, and Dio after Dio was driven insane by Delphine. Anatoray and Disith united against the Guild and defeat Delphine. Al activated Exile and used the ship to transport some of the people of Prester to Earth who would start a new world without conflict. As they finish narrating the story, Alvis laments that, no matter where they go, there is still conflict, but Dio encourages Al to not give up. Dio and Al are on the run again, this time chased by Guild Starfishes, against which Dio declares he will protect Al as he promised Claus, whom he once nicknamed "Immelmann". On a mountainside, in the current time, an older Claus and Lavie appear, with Lavie heading to their vanship to cheerfully collect a sleeping Claus from the cockpit with a wheelchair. | |||||
| 16 | "Automaton" | February 17, 2012 | — | ||
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An Automaton is the common term for a self-operating chess machine. This is most likely an allusion to Ōrang, who is forced to pick a side in the Ades civil war. As Ōrang and Sorūsh prepare their fleets against the rebel alliance at Boreas, Ōrang laments that they will be fighting against their own countrymen while Sorūsh believes the quicker they defeat the rebels and win this war, the quicker peace will finally come. The alliance prepares their forces, offering Fam a fighter vanship for the upcoming battle, but she refuses as she doesn't want to kill people. The opposing Ades forces' leaders hold a meeting on neutral ground. Vasant asks Ōrang and Sorūsh to join them, reminding them that Luscinia's actions are destroying the late Empress Farahanaz's dream. Sorūsh refuses and accuses Vasant of using Empress Sara's name to justify her rebellion. However Ōrang is conflicted between his orders to put down the rebellion and his loyalty to the Empress. Vasant then plans to attack Boreas. Atamora, who has heard Fam refusing to kill, consoles her and tells her to keep her promise to help Millia. Fam decides she won't fight as a soldier, but as a Sky Pirate, and intends to capture Sorūsh's flagship, the Senapati. Sorūsh leads his fleet in an all-out charge at the narrow pass to capture Vasant's flagship, the Anaitis, aboard which is Empress Sara. The Sky Pirates attempt to stop him but fail. Shocked at Sorūsh's willingness to fire on the Anaitis despite Sara being on board, Ōrang recovers his loyalty and orders his fleet to attack Sorūsh's instead, giving them an option to surrender. Realizing Ōrang ordered the attack, Sorūsh praises him for sticking to his beliefs and gives a final order to his fleet: those loyal to the Empress surrender now and those wishing to bring world peace in the name of Luscinia join him in a final charge on the Anaitis. Seeing that Sara Augusta's life is in danger, Ōrang is forced to destroy the Senapati. Sorūsh and his men give a final hail to Sara before their ship crashes into the valley. Witnessing this, Sara weeps over his death. Despite the rebels winning the battle, Sara remains in grief over Sorūsh's death and refuses to see Vasant. Dio and Al finally arrive at Boreas despite the former's injuries. At Northern Glacies, Luscinia tells Alauda they are following the strategy they laide ten years ago. | |||||
| 17 | "Dynamic possibilities" | February 24, 2012 | — | ||
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The episode name is a reference to Dynamism, a style of play in which the activity of pieces is valued over position. Despite holding the strategically-important fortress of Boreas, the Allied Forces nearly lose the battle due to the actions of their individual commanders. Tensions are high among the rebels as the Glacies remnants still hold a grudge against Ōrang's Third Fleet for their role in the destruction of their home. Dio recovers from his injuries and informs Fam that he was protecting Alvis the entire time, since Luscinia fears the power of Anatoray's Exile. He also says that, despite being heavily damaged when they left it, the Silvius managed to escape. Both Sara and Millia are depressed at how the war must continue, meaning more people will die. On a scouting mission, Fam and Giselle spot Sadri's First Fleet preparing to attack. As the Allied forces counterattack, Sadri openly sends a message congratulating Ōrang for fooling the Allied Forces and ordering him to catch them in a pincer attack. Confused, both Ōrang and Dian's forces begin attacking each other. Dian begins to attack Ōrang's flagship, but is stopped when Fam blocks her aim. Fam points out to Dian that Ōrang's ship did not return fire, and Dian redirects her forces to attack Sadri's fleet again. However, Sadri forces the Allied fleet to retreat and is on the verge of destroying them until the timely arrival of the Silvius forces him to retreat instead. As the Allies begin to regroup, Sadri demolishes several of the cliffs surrounding Boreas, filling up some of the crevices and allowing his battleships altitude to cross. Sara, unwilling to see her people kill each other, writes an order for a ceasefire and asks Millia and Fam to deliver the order to Vasant and Sadri respectively. Dian attempts to stop Fam, since she wants to keep fighting, but Fam manages to evade her and delivers the message successfully. Both Vasant and Sadri agree to the ceasefire, and Fam and Giselle celebrate that the fighting has ended Looking at Fam, Sadri notes that she looks almost exactly like a girl he once knew named Laha. | |||||
| 18 | "Transposition" | March 2, 2012 | — | ||
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Transposition refers to the act of moving a piece to a certain location with a certain sequence of moves when there is at least one more sequence of moves that could achieve the same result. It is a references of a mathematical or logical strategy. In this case, Dian had planned to avenge her native Glacies by attempting to kill Luscinia as she knows that he is responsible for it. A conference presided over by Sara is held between the rebel alliance, led by Vasant, Ōrang, and Millia, and the Ades loyalists, led by Luscinia, Sadri, and Liliana, with the aim of discussing a peace treaty between both sides, with representatives of the Sky Pirates (Fam, Giselle, and Atamora), Anatoray (Tatiana and Alister) and Glacies (Dian and Magnolia) in attendance. Luscinia reveals his actions of conquering the other nations was to save Earth, as the Exile nations are depleting the planet's resources too fast. He had to forcefully unite the world under Ades rule to save everyone from themselves, no matter how many might be sacrificed. As each side argues over what the other side did and justify their actions, particularly Vasant and Luscinia, Sara has enough and orders both of them to stop, as she wanted no more fighting, and asks Luscinia to abandon his plans and Vasant to let go of her desire for revenge against him. With Fam, Sadri, Atamora, and Ōrang supporting the notion as well, the other leaders follow suit which convinces both Vasant and Luscinia to make peace, ending the war. As the new peace is celebrated at a party, not everyone is satisfied, particularly Dian. Sadri begs a dance with Fam and asks about her parents and family life, as he has a suspicion that Fam is related to him. Millia is secretly taken by a group of Turanian officers who want her to overthrow Liliana from the throne for betraying Turan, a coup she can legitimize only by killing her own sister. Millia is aghast at the suggestion. The would-be traitors are apprehended by Alauda and his men and defended by Millia, who is brought to meet Luscinia at the White Legacy, the former headquarters of the Guild. Luscinia reveals the history of the Guild over how they were tasked to save and protect the human race before becoming corrupt. Invited to meet with Liliana, Millia demands answers on why her sister help and supported Luscinia's actions. Liliana reveals she has agreed with Luscinia on the necessity of preserving the world, even if certain actions would make people hate her. Millia lets go her anger at her sister, respecting her priorities, and the sisters reconcile. The next day, the signing of the peace ceremony is about to begin. From the crowd Dian attempts to kill Luscinia, but the shot is blocked by Liliana. As she dies in Luscinia's arms who grieves over losing yet another loved one, Millia runs towards her sister. But she faints in shock as the sacred ability to control Turan's Exile transfers to her, as well as a vision, which shows Millia the meaning of her sister's reasons. | |||||
| 19 | "Queening Square" | March 9, 2012 | — | ||
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A Promotion is a chess rule describing the transformation of a pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a queen, knight, rook, or bishop of the same color. Since the most powerful piece in the board is the queen, it is often the piece that is chosen for promotion. This is a reference to Millia's sudden inheritance of the kingdom of Turan after the death of her sister Liliana. In a flashback, Luscinia brings Liliana to Iglasia after its demise. Liliana wants to avenge her father but Luscinia warns her that killing him will only lead to a massive civil war in Ades that decides who will take over as Premier and the Exile nations will use the war to their advantage. Nevertheless, he offers to let her to kill him if she truly believes it will bring peace to the world. Realizing he is right, Liliana joins Luscinia's cause. In the present, both sides' fleets mourn the death of Liliana. From prison, Magnolia assures Dian that the assassination attempt still fulfils their revenge, but Dian still regrets not having killed Luscinia, and both accept that the truce has now ended and wish they were still in the fighting. Upon Liliana's bier, Millia, now with an awareness of the importance of Exile, apologizes for having been naive and for not understanding why she joined Luscinia. Fam also realizes how naive she was in assuming peace could make people forget all hatred. Luscinia and Alauda give their condolences to Liliana as well and Luscinia tells Fam and Giselle to stick to their dreams and to protect Millia, as that was Liliana's last wish. With the peace now a failure, Luscinia and Alauda enact their final plans. The First and Second Fleets suddenly depart, much to the rebels' confusion. Aboard the Silvius, Alauda and his assassins attempt to kidnap Alvis again but Dio kills him. Luscinia arrives to take Sara with him. Vasant tries to stop him, but he blocks her shots and kills her as he takes Sara up in his arm. While he takes Sara to Northern Glacies, Sadri's and Kayvān's fleets prevent Ōrang's Third Fleet from going after him. Now ranking leader of the alliance, Millia moves to reorganize the army. Fam apologizes to Millia for her selfishness and vows that she and Giselle will help her anyway they can. After arriving at the "Ancient Goddess", Luscinia bows to "Maestro" Sara and recites a Mysteria, revealing that Sara also can activate an Exile as hers, the Grand Exile, is buried there. As the Grand Exile takes off, Luscinia activates its powerful beam cannons many miles away from the battle zone, and the Sky Pirates witness the destruction of both the Second and Third fleets. | |||||
| 20 | "Triple Rook" | March 16, 2012 | — | ||
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A triple rook is a chess strategy in which three rooks are placed on the same file, much like tripled pawns. When this happens, only certain pieces can pass their territory without getting captured, similar to how the Allied forces must break through the Grand Exile's defenses. After demonstrating the power of the Grand Exile, Luscinia delivers his ultimatum to the world: surrender to him or be destroyed. The Allied forces quickly regroup and plan their attack. They plan to use their warships to break through Sadri's fleet and then use vanships to infiltrate the Grand Exile and rescue Sara. Millia then asks Dian to participate in the mission by acting as Alvis' pilot, since she can sense Sara's location. With Tatiana and Alister leading the vanship squadrons, Millia takes command of the Silvius. As the Allied forces attack, they meet stiff resistance from both the First Fleet and the Grand Exile itself. However, Sorūsh suddenly reappears with the 4th fleet, revealing that he is still alive and sides with the Allied forces. The Anatoray fleet led by both Vincent and Sophia also arrives. With fresh reinforcements, the battle begins to turn in favor of the Allies. To set an example, Luscinia fires one of the Grand Exile's lasers at Iglasia, forcing Millia to sacrifice the Turan Exile by using it to block the beam. Meanwhile, the vanship squadron, led by Tatiana, Dian, and Fam, manages to infiltrate the Grand Exile after the Silvius manages to break through an opening in the hull. All of the vanships break off to engage Guild fighters while Fam and Giselle continue on to find Sara. Meanwhile, the Urbanus and Silvana manage to enter the Grand Exile as well. Finally, after flying through several areas of the Grand Exile, Fam and Giselle finally meet and confront Luscinia. | |||||
| 21 | "Grand Master" | March 23, 2012 | — | ||
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A Grand Master is an extremely skilled chess player considered to be one of the best in the world, such as how Luscinia carefully planned the events of the entire series. As the Allied Forces battle Sadri and the Grand Exile's automated defenses, Fam and Giselle attempt to convince Luscinia to surrender. However, Luscinia points out that mere ideals won't achieve peace, and that he believes his method is the only solution. He also reveals that the Grand Exile was supposed to carry away the people left behind after the original Exiles left, but the ship was never completed. Fam counters by telling Luscinia that she has learned that simple ideas won't be enough, but it is still important that she can still dream about peace as the first Grand Race inspired her to make the world a more peaceful place, and how similar actions can inspire future generations to do the same. Moved by Fam's speech, Luscinia aborts the firing sequence of the Grand Exile's lasers and returns Sara to Fam and Giselle, telling them to escape the Grand Exile before it crashes. Fam suspects that Luscinia had planned for this to happen all along, and asks him to come with them so Sara won't lose anybody else. Luscinia refuses and stays behind, eventually dying by falling debris. As the Grand Exile begins falling apart, the Allied Forces quickly begin to escape. Sadri orders his remaining forces to surrender to the Allied Forces and escape as well and gives his locket to his first mate, instructing her to deliver it to Fam, who he is certain is his granddaughter. He smiles as he sees Fam escaping the Grand Exile before his ship is destroyed by falling debris. Fam and Giselle manage to escape the Grand Exile before it crashes and return Sara safely. Afterwards, under the leadership of Sara, Millia, and Sophia, the nations of the world declare peace and disarm their forces. Ōrang is made the new premier of Ades, since Sorūsh turned down the offer. Fam receives Sadri's locket and realizes that he was her grandfather, and breaks down in tears over how they will never be able to get to know each other better. Sara and Millia also organize the Second Grand Race, where many pilots, including Fam, Dian, Tatiana, and Dio join to compete. Claus and Lavie also arrive to witness the race and reunite with Alvis. Even though Claus is crippled, his friends reassure him that one day they will able to fly together again. Dio ends up taking first place, with Tatiana in second and Dian in third. However, Dio is disqualified after an inspection, due to the fact he has no copilot, so Fam and Giselle takes third. Everybody celebrates the end of the race, with the final shot showing Fam and Giselle celebrating together. | |||||
Volume DVDs
Japanese releases
Japanese distributor Victor Entertainment released a total of 13 DVD compilations of Last Exile between July 23, 2003, and July 21, 2004. Limited version releases were also available for the first and eighth volumes that included an art poster and an action figure each. A complete seven-disc boxed set was released on November 21, 2004. The deluxe edition of this set included a model of Tatiana's and Alister's red vanship, a short fiction on the Battle of Otranto,[Note 2] unpublished articles on the series, and illustrations by character designer Range Murata.[40] A reprint of the 2004 DVD boxed set is released by Victor Entertainment along with a remastered Blu-ray boxed set. Both boxes are recreated especially for the updated release, which also comes with a reprint of the artbook "Last Exile Chronicle" originally in a 2007 limited edition release.[41]
| Victor Entertainment DVD releases[40] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volume | Released | Discs | Episodes | Volume | Released | Discs | Episodes | |
| 1 | July 23, 2003 | 1 | 2 | 8 | February 21, 2004 | 1 | 2 | |
| 2 | August 21, 2003 | 1 | 2 | 9 | March 24, 2004 | 1 | 2 | |
| 3 | September 21, 2003 | 1 | 2 | 10 | April 21, 2004 | 1 | 2 | |
| 4 | October 22, 2003 | 1 | 2 | 11 | May 21, 2004 | 1 | 2 | |
| 5 | November 21, 2003 | 1 | 2 | 12 | June 23, 2004 | 1 | 2 | |
| 6 | December 17, 2003 | 1 | 2 | 13 | July 21, 2004 | 1 | 2 | |
| 7 | January 21, 2004 | 1 | 2 | |||||
| Box | July 23, 2003[Note 3] | Box | February 21, 2004[Note 3] | |||||
North American releases
Last Exile received a respectable amount of attention in the United States. Pioneer Entertainment (later Geneon Entertainment) licensed the series in June 2003, two months after the first episode aired in Japan,[7] and released the first compilation DVD volume on November 18, 2003.[42] After Geneon ceased distribution of its licensed titles in 2007, the series was licensed to Funimation Entertainment,[7] and a four-disc boxed set was released on May 5, 2009.[43]
| Geneon Entertainment DVD releases | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume | Released | Discs | Episodes |
| 1 | November 18, 2003[42] | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | February 3, 2004[44] | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | April 6, 2004[45] | 1 | 4 |
| 4 | June 8, 2004[46] | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | August 10, 2004[47] | 1 | 4 |
| 6 | October 12, 2004[48] | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | December 14, 2004[49] | 1 | 3 |
| Box set | October 4, 2005[50] | 7 | 26 |
| Funimation Entertainment DVD releases | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume | Released | Discs | Episodes |
| Box set | May 5, 2009 | 4 | 26 |
| Anime Classics set | June 14, 2011 | 4 | 26 |
Other releases
Madman Entertainment, Last Exile's licensor and distributor in Australia and New Zealand, released a seven-disc compilation set on February 15, 2006.[51] The series was also previously licensed by ADV Films for distribution in the United Kingdom before the company's demise.[52] Manga Entertainment currently has the license for UK distribution
Notes
- 1 2 In Last Exile, Claudia is an element used as both currency and a lift-generating fuel additive. It can also refer to engine units aboard aerial battleships, known as "Claudia units". For further information, see its entry in the list of fictional elements, materials, isotopes and atomic particles.
- ↑ In episode 11, Vincent Alzey reveals that he and Alex Row once served together in the Anatoray military during the Battle of Otranto.
- 1 2 In addition to bonus materials, the limited edition first and eighth volume releases also included storage boxes for volumes 1–7 and 8–13, respectively.
References
- General
- Koichi Chigira (director) (2003). Last Exile (DVD) (in Japanese and English). Funimation Entertainment. ISBN 1-4210-1819-5.
- Specific
- ↑ "A-Kon News". Anime News Network. June 1, 2006. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ↑ Arnold, Adam (January 2004). "Last Exile: A Time for War". Anime Fringe. 5 (1): 2. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile" (in French). Déclic-Images. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ Schubert, Karsten (April 2004). "Last Exile – Schlachtschiffe im Wolkenmeer". Funime (in German) (37): 29. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last exile" (in Swedish). TV4 Science fiction. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Funimation Licenses Gonzo's Last Exile Anime". Anime News Network. December 26, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2009.
- 1 2 3 Yadao, Jason (January 25, 2009). "Mysteries multiply in 'Last Exile' anime". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Music" (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ↑ "Story" (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ↑ "Tech TV Updates on Last Exile". Anime News Network. January 29, 2004. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ↑ "Last Exile 14-26 on Anime Unleashed". Anime News Network. November 18, 2004. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
- ↑ "Words 第1話" [Episode 1 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第2話" [Episode 2 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第3話" [Episode 3 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第4話" [Episode 4 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第5話" [Episode 5 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第6話" [Episode 6 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第7話" [Episode 7 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第8話" [Episode 8 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第9話" [Episode 9 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第10話" [Episode 10 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第11話" [Episode 11 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第12話" [Episode 12 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第13話" [Episode 13 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第14話" [Episode 14 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第15話" [Episode 15 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第16話" [Episode 16 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第17話" [Episode 17 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第18話" [Episode 18 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第19話" [Episode 19 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第20話" [Episode 20 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved October 24, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第21話" [Episode 21 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第22話" [Episode 22 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第23話" [Episode 23 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第24話" [Episode 24 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第25話" [Episode 25 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ "Words 第26話" [Episode 26 Words] (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ↑ ラストエグザイル-銀翼のファム- - しょぼいカレンダー (in Japanese). しょぼいカレンダー -番組表-. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- ↑ ラストエグザイル-銀翼のファム- (in Japanese). Web Newtype. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved October 2, 2011.
- 1 2 "DVD & Video" (in Japanese). JVC. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ↑ "DVD&Blu-ray｜ラストエグザイル―銀翼のファム― 公式ホームページ" (in Japanese). Gonzo. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
- 1 2 "Last Exile, Vol. 1: First Move". Borders Group. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile: The Complete Series". Borders Group. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile, Vol. 2: Positional Play". Borders Group. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile, Vol. 3: Discovered Attack". Borders Group. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile, Vol. 4: Breakthrough". Borders Group. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile - Grand Stream (DVD 5)". Right Stuf. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile, Vol. 6: Queen Delphine". Borders Group. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile, Vol. 7: Sealed Move". Borders Group. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile - The Murata Range Complete Set Edition". Amazon.com. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ↑ "Last Exile Collection (Fatpack)". Madman Entertainment. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
- ↑ "ADV Films UK Press Releases for February 2005". Mania. January 7, 2005. Retrieved August 5, 2009.