Last Exile

It's not often that an anime will have me hooked in the first couple episodes. Even my favorite anime took up to five episodes before they really had me intrigued. Last Exile is unusual in that the fantasy world portrayed in the story had me wanting to learn more about it from episode one. The two main characters, Claus and Lavie, are very likable. Immediately, I was interested in their fate and how the story would unfold. The animation is top notch and the supporting cast is fantastic. Toward the end, I was actually more interested in Lord Dio's story than the main characters'. The series has all of the components necessary for an excellent anime.

However, Last Exile is also unusual in that, as hooked as I was, I almost completely lost interest in the show halfway through the story. True, the characters were all likable, including the supporting cast. The story was grand and intriguing. It's odd that a series having so much going for it would be such a flop for me. The chief reason for this is that Last Exile should have been at least a 36 episode anime. With such a large, excellent cast and a deep, epic story Last Exile tried to do way too much in 26 episodes. Thus, I was left feeling like I was robbed of a show that could have been one of my favorites.