Last Exile is a Japanese anime television series created by Gonzo. It featured a production team led by director Koichi Chigira, character designer Range Murata, and production designer Mahiro Maeda. The three had previously worked together in '' Bl ...

'' is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

created by

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose stage ...

in celebration of the company's 10th anniversary. The

dieselpunk Dieselpunk is a retrofuturistic subgenre of science fiction similar to steampunk or cyberpunk that combines the aesthetics of the diesel-based technology of the interwar period through to the 1950s with retro-futuristic technology and postmodern ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

series was directed by

Koichi Chigira is a Japanese animator and director who has directed several anime series, usually working with Gonzo and formerly worked at Madhouse. Chigira is best known for directing ''Full Metal Panic!'' and ''Last Exile''. Career Chigira joined Tatsu ...

, and character designs were created by

Range Murata is a Japanese artist and designer (W artist), known for his unique style combining dieselpunk and Japanese anime elements. He is best known for his conceptual design work on anime series ''Last Exile'' and '' Blue Submarine No. 6''. He began ...

. The story is set on a fictional world divided in eternal conflict between the nations of Anatoray and Disith, and sky

courier A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...

s Claus Valca and Lavie Head must deliver a girl named Alvis E. Hamilton, who holds the key to uniting the two factions. ''Last Exile'' aired in Japan on

TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...

from April 8 to September 30, 2003. The series was previously licensed for English-language broadcast and distribution in North America by

Geneon Entertainment (abbreviated as NBCUEJ) is a Japanese music, anime, and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo. It is primarily involved in the production and distribution of anime within Japan. Th ...

(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 TechTV is a defunct 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming. ...

Anime Unleashed This is a list of television programs formerly broadcast by the U.S. cable television channel G4. Second iteration Final programming Original * ''Xplay'' (2004–2013; 2013–2014 (reruns); 2021–2022) * ''Attack of the Show!'' (2005–2013; ...

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 A.D. Vision Holdings, Inc. (known simply as ADV and also referred to as ADV Films) was an American multimedia entertainment distributor headquartered in Houston, Texas, and founded in 1992 by video game fan John Ledford and anime fans Matt Gre ...

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 Manga Entertainment was a producer, licensee, and distributor of anime in the United States and the United Kingdom. Originally founded in the UK in 1987, the UK branch became Funimation UK and Ireland in 2021, also currently known as Crunchyro ...

as of January 2013, and distribution rights in Australia and New Zealand are owned by

Madman Entertainment Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...

. ''Last Exile'' was licensed for regional language release in France, Germany, and Sweden. On December 26, 2008, American production house

Funimation Entertainment Crunchyroll, LLC, previously known as Funimation from 1994 to 2022, is an American entertainment company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony as a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex that specializes ...

announced it was taking over production and distribution of the show from Geneon. ''Last Exile'' has also been hosted at the streaming media website

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...

. 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. 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

and

Animax Asia Animax is the pay television channel in Asia owned by KC Global Media Asia which broadcasts Japanese language anime and Simulcast anime, anime programming through English-language feeds in Southeast Asia (formerly including Brunei), South Asia (ex ...

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 civil war with the powerful Ades Federation conquering the other nations. The titular protagonist Fam Fan Fan and her friend Giselle Collette are

Sky Pirates ''Sky Pirates'' (also known as ''Dakota Harris'') is a 1986 Australian adventure film written and produced by John D. Lamond, and directed by Colin Eggleston. The film was inspired by Steven Spielberg's ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), as we ...

who get involved in the civil war when they rescue Millia il Velch Cutrettola Turan, the younger princess of the Kingdom of Turan. Fam and Giselle must help Millia restore the kingdom after its eventual demise and bring back the days of the Grand Race, an international grand prix which celebrates world peace. Two theme songs were used for ''Last Exile: Fam, The Silver Wing''. The opening theme song is "Buddy" by

Maaya Sakamoto Maaya may refer to: * Maaya (given name), a feminine Japanese given name * ''Maaya'' (1972 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''Maaya'' (2014 film), an Indian Telugu film See also * Maya (disambiguation) Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya ...

while the ending theme song is "Starboard" by Hitomi Kuroishi. Four special ending theme songs were used in certain episodes; "Starboard ilky 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

The episode titles were originally given in English, as displayed at the beginning of each episode, and use terms from chess.

''Last Exile'' (2003)

''Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing'' (2011)

A special episode featuring an extended preview of the main series was aired on October 8, 2011, one week prior to the sequel anime's airing. 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

Home media

Japanese releases

Japanese distributor

Victor Entertainment , also known as in Japan, is a subsidiary of JVCKenwood that produces and distributes music, movies and other entertainment products such as anime and television shows in Japan. It is known as JVC Entertainment in countries where Sony Music Ent ...

released a total of 13

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

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 An action figure is a poseable character (arts), character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are ...

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; In episode 11 of ''Last Exile'', Vincent Alzey reveals that he and Alexander Row once served together in the Anatoray military during the Battle of Otranto. unpublished articles on the series, and illustrations by character designer

. A reprint of the 2004 DVD boxed set is released by Victor Entertainment along with a remastered

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

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.

North American releases

Pioneer Entertainment (later

) licensed the series in June 2003, two months after the first episode aired in Japan; and released the first compilation DVD volume on November 18, 2003. After Geneon ceased distribution of its licensed titles in 2007, the series was licensed to

; and a four-disc boxed set was released on May 5, 2009.

Other releases

, ''Last Exiles licensor and distributor in Australia and New Zealand, released a seven-disc compilation set on February 15, 2006. The series was also previously licensed by

for distribution in the United Kingdom before the company's demise.

currently has the license for UK distribution.

Notes

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

''Last Exile''
at

JVC JVC (short for Japan Victor Company) is a Japanese brand owned by JVCKenwood corporation. Founded in 1927 as the Victor Talking Machine Company of Japan and later as , the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions and for ...

Music official website
''Last Exile''
at

official website
''Last Exile''
at

official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Last Exile episodes

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Gree ...

Lists of anime episodes Lists of Japanese television series episodes