splavin00 Overall I'd say this is a great series, a solid 8 out of 10.The biggest strength for the series is by far the amazing artwork and animation. Reminiscent of Miyazaki's "Castle in the Sky", the steam punk airship technology are all interestingly designed and are beautifully translated onto the screen. Character animation is very solid, the studio clearly didn't try to cut corners, which provides expression and life to the characters. Top notch stuff all aroundThe first half of the series had me completely hooked, particularly the first two episodes. I totally bought into the steam punk tech especially. The characters that were introduced were likable and their motivations (or lack thereof in some cases) were clear. The scene was set for some epic reveals and an exciting ride. However, I felt that the pacing of the second half of the story was sorely lacking. I found myself begin to lose interest at times, even as things began to unfold. Not to say it wasn't competently done, but from the expectations I had from the first half, it didn't pay off the way I wanted it to. The art and animation is incredible and the story is well above most others, give it a watch.

siderite I will skip the talk about how good the animation is. I am not an expert in animation, nor do I let it get in the way if the story is good. Enough said, it is very good. What pushed my buttons is the way the series constructs a world, adds interesting lead characters and then ends the story. Yes, this is not one of those animes that drag the story, no matter how nice, and then end the series with no closure because the ran out of steam before finishing the plot. This is a good all fashioned circular story with build-up and release.Then there is the world, reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Pandora mixed with a little Dune, both in storyline and socio-ecological meaning. I would say that there are no great surprises in this anime. This is a bad thing, but also a good one. If you build things up too much they quickly become unmanageable. There is hope for a sequel, I guess, but no pressure for it. All the goals set in the beginning are met in the end, either in success or disaster.It is a nice anime series. It is worth watching, but I've seen better. I guess what really is missing is a way to truly connect with the characters. Even in the most tensioned moments, the levels of emotion don't get too high. I would say the starting theme song (complete with worthless karaoke style translation) is also a bad thing. The rest, though, is just visual and comfortable beauty.

slkje22 This show simple as a story goes really does shine against a lot of television from any part of the world. Rescent and old.It's timeless animation that I can see in 15 years time still being rather awe inspiring.The music is amazing. Why do the OST's have to be so hard to get? Dolce TRiade is amazing and for the artist first score I think it's an great achievement.The story is very special. It's full on from the get go and not a second is spared.At first I hesitated to buy this show and got the box on a whim. I was kind of skeptical after the first disc but as I bought them all I was never regretting the purchase.I may be paid to influence people to but but "gto people" buy this because you will not regret it.

Douglas The truly interesting thing with Last Exile is how it has stolen from everything imaginable. So much so that it has to be on purpose. Plot points from Robotech, style from everything by Miyazaki san, ideas coming everywhere from Tenchi Muyo to Speed Racer, and characters from all the venerable old classics. (Could Alex be more Captain Harlock? Could Alvis be more Sasami? I defy you to argue this.) I could go on and on and on about the things this stole. Even a fighter scene right out of Return of the Jedi. Unbelievable!But it does it all so well.I couldn't have enjoyed this more. Most of the CGI animation is very seamlessly integrated with the Cell animation in a way that they seem to get better at every year. Even if stolen the story is interesting and draws you in. I truly care about each of the characters and most of them are fairly multi- dimensional (at least as far as Anime standards go.)I highly recommend this. Particularly if you have an extensive Anime background and can look for all the references. On the down side I think there were way too many female characters, which is about standard for this kind of Anime. Also, there are a few CGI scenes that I don't think look good enough for a series of this high quality. Minor complaints.Don't rent the first DVD if your video rental place doesn't have the complete set. You will be extremely frustrated when you realize that you simply MUST watch the whole series right away!