jeriendhal | Review: Last Exile, Disc Seven (spoilers)

And lo, the sh*t doth hit the fan! Not to mention the exposition!

When last we left our heroes, Klaus and his Elfboi stalker Lord Dio were winging their way back to the Sylvana, which was just about ready to get blasted by the Guild. Meanwhile, preperations continued to attack the Guild, first by securing the Claudia units aboard the combined Anatoray and Disith fleets, and then go after the seemingly impenetrable Exile.

So what happens?

Klaus, Dio, Alex Roy, and little Alvis find themselves the guest of Queen Delphine, who proves to be a true noblewoman. Assuming your idea of noblewomen includes that Dutchess that liked to keep her skin young by bathing in the blood of virgins. Alex is tortured for the pieces of poetry that will unlock the power of Exile (and why that vital information was scattered to four winds is never properly explained), and Dio undergoes the Rite of the Covenant, wand we find out just why he was so darned scared of his sister. We also finally get a semi-coherent explanation of just what exactly the Guild is, and why it's tech is so far ahead of the ground dwellers.

I was expecting this to be the final disc for Last Exile, as it contained only three episodes, but apparently there has to be at least one more disc to come, since the plot is left at a terrible point to drop off. While we do get explanations in this ep, and a good amount of characterization (especially about the relationship between Dio and his manservant Lucciola), the action and drama never flag. Major secondary characters die, and the stakes as presented are very high. I never felt so sorry for Dio, that's for certain, and I have doubts he's going to last until the end of the series.

There were a couple of "Huh" points, I'll admit. Apparently the Claudia units that the Guild provides for the various battlewagons of all nations are actually manned by Guild techs, hence the need for armed action to capture them. Which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, unless you can believe they stay in those things for years at a time with no contact with the outside world. But overall these were minor points.