Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam hasn't been very exciting lately. The charm that came with the famous title wore off long ago, and I find myself lacking the enthusiasm to follow up on the latest episodes. But just as I was anticipating another mildly depressing 23 mins, Cloud Age Symphony played as the OP of that episode. Immediately, my eyes lit up. For the unenlightened, Cloud Age Symphony is the signature opening theme for the original Last Exile. That's Claus in the screenshot above all right, yet the title reads Ginyoku no Fam. What the hell?
It turns out to be a recap of the first season. Of course, what did I expect? It should have been really obvious, but the part of me that longs for the glory of the original Last Exile made me wanted something more.
I usually find recap episodes, like the shitty Gundam ones, a waste of time and a lousy way to sell off an episode. But this was not the case. I found this recap episode way more interesting than every episode after the trio left the Sylvius. It reminds me, with a touch of nostalgia, of how awesome the original Last Exile was. Now that I look back, I think I never fully understood how good it was when I watched it many years ago, but this episode made me see all that so much better.
They reused the ED Over the Sky to end the episode too. It sure brings back memories... shit, I think I'm crying.
The recent events of Last Exile: Fam really pales in what the original has to offer. It so happens that the story is moving along rather quickly, but why is so much of it happening off screen? The betrayal against Luscinia, the joined forces from many countries, the fall of Glacies, liberation of the Turan people, and Millia regaining her position as head of the Turan people... all of these happened off screen! All of these event "happened" because someone talks about it! What the hell? It might have been a good idea to tell the story from the important characters' perspective, but all of these huge event that could have been used to create many exciting scenes was reduced to mere talk. All of a sudden, the storytelling went all the way to hell.
And focusing the screen time on the main three girls turned out to be a pretty bad idea. While I've always been fond of "genki" girls and Fam was one of the reasons I liked Last Exile: Fam in the early episodes, she's really getting on my nerves now. Being energetic and cheerful is one thing; but there's nothing I hate more than her senseless and inappropriate actions that led to huge awkward moments, and blind optimism that somehow manages to affect people around her. It not only makes her look dumb (which is kinda true, anyway), but it also paints her as a very shallow character (which is kinda true, if you think about it).
Finally, what we've all been waiting for; Claus and Lavie to enter the story. Hopefully, things would get a lot more interesting around here. I'm not too optimistic, but getting these two in the story is a good start.
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| Her eyes have gotten much bigger, no? |
