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This is a list of some of the characters from the 2003 GONZO series Last Exile, as well as its 2011 bridge manga Travelers from the Hourglass/Sunadokei no Tabibito.

With the arrival of its sequel Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing, many of the previously-spoilered entries have been made visible, so for those still going through the series, proceed with caution.

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Main Characters

    Claus 

Claus Valca

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Claus_4262.png

Voiced by: Mayumi Asano (Japanese), Johnny Yong Bosch (English)

A simple (if skilled) vanship pilot and message courier, Claus has a big dream for someone his age: to be able to cross the Grand Stream using just his vanship. However after accepting a delivery from another dying courier, he and his close friend Lavie are soon drawn into the middle of a conflict that might determine the fate of his homeworld.


  • Ace Pilot: Is likely the only pilot in Prester who has a chance of outflying Dio. Showcased in the Travelers manga, where Uroctea mentions that he only won against Claus in their second encounter only because he had the element of surprise.
  • Blue Blood: While he might not look like much, Claus is actually the son of a minor noble. With the death of his parents though, he literally has nothing left to him but his family name, and even then many people have forgotten that it was even associated to nobility by the time the series begins, his father's fame as a vanship pilot and his Heroic Sacrifice having overshadowed his personal history.
  • I Gave My Word: To deliver Alvis safely. If that means accompanying her through an entire war, so be it.
  • Memetic Badass: As the Travelers manga reveals, in-universe, some of the soldiers and nobility of Anatore and Dissith view him as this, resulting in some comically radical shifts in demeanor when they suddenly realize that the lowly vanship pilot they're sneering at is THE Claus Valca. Claus himself has no idea this is happening beyond noticing that some nobles suddenly act less snobbish than usual.
  • Oblivious to Love: Let's just say that romance is the furthest from Claus' mind at the time of the series. Or in the Travelers from the Hourglass manga for that matter.
  • Parental Abandonment: Both of his parents are long dead.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Gets chewed out by Holly, of all people, for not being on hand when the Earth Guild kidnaps Alvis and Lavie.

    Lavie 

Lavie Head

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Lavie_4728.png

Voiced by: Chiwa Saitō (Japanese), Kari Wahlgren (English)

Claus' friend since childhood, Lavie is both the navigator of their vanship as well as its mechanic. Very brusque and blunt, Lavie is a tomboy through and through, but she's more sensitive than she first seems. She shares in Claus' dream to cross the Grand Stream just using their vanship.


  • Achilles in His Tent: Lavie's fear of combat keeps her out of the fray until the heroes are forced to go all in.
  • Action Survivor: Lavie is an excellent vanship navigator but she's so terrified of combat she passes out during their first battle, leading her to join the mechanics where she can contribute without endangering Claus.
  • Catchphrase: Whenever Claus drags her into dangerous situations, she's fond of screaming, "My short, sweet life is over!"
  • Clingy Jealous Girl: While she's subtle about it and it doesn't last very long, she's not too happy to see Tatiana wearing the overalls that she repaired for Claus after they return to the Silvana, and refuses to talk to him for a while as well.
  • Courier with Claus. The difference being she's nothing more than a courier and she knows it. But when the situation calls for a heroic courier, Lavie's your girl.
  • Damsel in Distress: Becomes this when she and Al are captured by the Earth Guild.
  • Demoted to Extra: While a significant character at the beginning, she spends the middle of the series not doing anything important.
  • I Gave My Word: To a lesser extent than Claus, but she will deliver Alvis safely. To the end of the world, if necessary.
  • Like Brother and Sister: with Claus, though she seems to sense (or wish) more romantic ambiguity in their relationship.
  • The Navigator: Part of her responsibility as Klaus' backseat.
  • Parental Abandonment: Like Claus, both of Lavie's parents are dead — her mother during childbirth, and her father during the ill-fated expedition across the Grand Stream that claimed the life of Claus' father as well.
  • Team Mom: Becomes this to both Alvis and Holly, judging from the Travelers from the Hourglass manga.
  • Tom Boy: Usually dressed in pilot's or mechanics coveralls.
  • Wrench Wench: Vanship backseaters are called navigators in the script, but their actual duties more closely resemble flight engineers

    Alvis 

Alvis "Al" E. Hamilton

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/alvis_hamilton.jpg

Voiced by: Anna Shiraki (Japanese), Kana Hanazawa (Japanese, Fam the Silver Wing), Michelle Ruff (English)

A quiet little girl with pale blue eyes, Alvis is Claus and Lavie's first major 'delivery', and the main reason why the two friends are drawn into the conflict between Anatoray and the Guild. As a scion of House Hamilton, she is the key to activating the Exile, which both Anatoray and the Guild seek to control.


Supporting Characters

    Alex 

Alex Rowe

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/AlexRowe_7130.png

Voiced by: Toshiyuki Morikawa (Japanese), Crispin Freeman (English)

The dark and brooding captain of the Silvana, Alex Rowe is focused on the utter destruction of the Guild's current Maestro, Delphine Eralcea, for reasons only known to himself. Although he ostensibly serves Anatoray, he is given much more leeway and is considered a dangerous rogue by the rest of the Anatoray military.


  • Badass Cape that frequently performs a dramatic Cape Swish.
  • Berserk Button: When the Guild ship appears over Sophia's coronation ceremony, and Delphine's mocking laughter is heard, Alex orders all the Silvana's weapons fired, despite the mass of humanity gathered below. Fortunately, My Master, Right or Wrong gets averted:
    Second Officer: Belay that order! The captain is not in his right frame of mind!
  • Best Served Cold: Alex's motivation for stealing the Silvana, gathering the components necessary to activate Last Exile and conquering the Grand Stream, essentially revenge on the guild, and Maestro Delphine in particular.
  • Byronic Hero: Broods on personal failings, dark, attractive, mysterious, flawed, broken, classy, isolated, intense drive for revenge, no romance, rebelling against authority...need we go on?
  • Captain Ersatz: Word of God states he was based on Captain Harlock.
  • The Captain: Of the Kill-Em-All Silvana
  • The Quiet One: There are probably background characters who have more lines than him. Sophia comments that he seems strangely talkative after he utters a single sentence that is not an order.
  • The Stoic: He has one expression, maybe two.

    Sophia 

Sophia Forrester

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SophiaForrester_43.png

Voiced by: Wakana Yamazaki (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English)

Alex's loyal second-in-command, she has apparently known him since military academy. She is also the heir to the throne of Anatoray.


  • All Love Is Unrequited: It's obvious that Sophia is infatuated with Alex, but the latter is either too caught up with his mission of revenge to notice, or just doesn't care... or maybe he keeps her at a distance, knowing how his quest must inevitably end.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Four times: First when she leaves the Sylvana to take the throne. Second when she leads the Alliance into battle against the Guild despite knowing they will suffer heavy casualties against nearly hopeless odds. Third when she orders the Sylvana's cannons to blow the mired Urbanus out of the way during the last desperate charge, and finally when she orders Sylvana's special ship-killing cannon to fire at Delphine's flagship despite knowing Alex is aboard. Is it any wonder she needs a moment to compose herself before she issues the final order to abandon ship?
  • Ignored Enamored Underling: to Alex.
  • The Mole: According to Word of God, Sophia was originally planted in the Silvana's crew to serve as a mole for Anatore. But she's also serving as a Mole for Prime Minister Malthius and as well as one for Alex. And she somehow manages to do all of this without compromising any of her loyalties while keeping her honor intact.

    Vincent 

Vincent Alzey

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/VincentAlzey_9696.png

Voiced by: Hozumi Gôda (Japanese), Steve Blum (English)

An old friend of both Alex and Sophia, Vincent is the captain of the Anatoray battleship Urbanus. More straight-laced than Alex, Vincent is nevertheless a very competent (and dangerous) skyship captain.


    Tatiana 

Tatiana Wisla

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tatiana_8206.png

Voiced by: Eri Kitamura (Japanese), Michelle Ruff (English)

Leader of the Silvana's vanship corps, and nicknamed 'Princess' by its gaggle of hangar mechanics, Tatiana is humorless and all-business, which tends to rub people the wrong way. She starts to lighten up later in the series however, after crashing with Claus and spending a few days thinking the Sylvana has been sunk. She pilots a modified red vanship with her friend and navigator Alister.


  • The Ace: Mentioned to have been an over-achieving straight-A honor student when she was studying at Anatoray's Military Academy, can outfly anyone in Prester who isn't Claus or Dio and, as the Hourglass manga reveals, can cook a mean full-course feast.
  • Ace Pilot: Is probably the best vanship pilot on the Alliance's roster after Claus, and is certainly a better fighter pilot, since his gunnery is awful.
  • Always Someone Better: Certainly feels this way when compared to Lavie, especially after Claus calls her using Lavie's name in chapter 7 of the Travelers manga. On the piloting front, she feels this way about Dio.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: Has an interest in Claus, but sadly the feeling isn't mutual. Made even clearer in the Sunadokei no Tabibito manga.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Alister.
  • Important Haircut: The Travelers manga shows that she had one of this as a child (she used to have long braided hair).
  • Impoverished Patrician: Not really mentioned much in-series (at least, not until her Uncle Hendrick was introduced in Hourglass), but Tatiana comes from a noble family that's fallen on hard times. In fact almost all of her pay goes back to her parents, but it's barely enough to maintain their family estate.
  • Not So Above It All: irritates everyone with her take-no-prisoners attitude until she suffers a Heroic BSoD in combat and realizes that everyone has limits
  • Rousing Speech: Gives a very good one as she leads the remaining (and damaged) Anatoray battleship against the Earth Guild's base.

    Alister 

Alister Agrew

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Alister_7483.png

Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani (Japanese), Philece Sampler (English)

Tatiana's classmate from the military academy, as well as her current navigator. She is more understanding of Tatiana's cold attitude, but there are limits to even what she can take.


  • Cat Smile: Not so much in the series, but does this a lot in the Travelers from the Hourglass manga. Mostly whenever the topic of Tatiana's love life comes up.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Tatiana.
  • Hidden Depths: Would you believe that Alister is secretly hiding a fun-loving devious side underneath her stoic exterior? Observe [1]!
  • Number Two: Seems to take on this role for Tatiana in the Hourglass manga.
  • Shipper on Deck: In the Travelers from the Hourglass manga, it becomes quickly apparent that Alister likes the idea of Claus and Tatiana together to a frankly ridiculous degree.

    Mullin 

Mullin Shetland

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Mullin_8750.png

Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (Japanese), Dave Wittenberg (English)

A soldier serving in Duke Mad-Thane's fleet, Mullin helps Claus and Lavie in their initial delivery to the Duke. A survivor of twenty fleet battles, this simple fact gives him the right to choose which ship he wants to be reassigned next. Another chance encounter with Lavie robs him of the chance to even do so, though it does land him a spot on the Silvana, where he eventually becomes part of its corps of mechanics. Mullin still experiences some nostalgia for his time as a line musketman.


  • Bling of War: His survivor medals.
  • Butt-Monkey: You'd think that he lucked out after surviving all those battles as a musketman, and finally getting a spot on the Silvana's maintenance crew? You thought wrong.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He may be the biggest Butt-Monkey of the series BUT there is a reason he survive over twenty battles...... As seen in his Dying Moment of Awesomeness in which he charges into a room defended by a stationary gun and takes out the soldier manning it than changing the levers DESPITE receiving a dangerous wound on his abdomen.
  • Henpecked Boyfriend: The Travelers from the Hourglass manga implies that he's not the one wearing the pants in his relationship with Dunya.
  • Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Got an Instant Fan Club among viewers in the second episode when he defies his commanding officer's orders and points his rifle at the head of the guy pointing his rifle at Claus' head.
  • Survival Mantra: Disith bullets will avoid Mullin Shetland's body Disith bullets will avoid Mullin Shetland's body Disith bullets will avoid Mullin Shetland's body Disith bullets will avoid Mullin Shetland's body Disith bullets will avoid Mullin Shetland's body
  • Mook: What he initially started as.
  • Unexplained Recovery: He sure appears to die in the final battle, complete with Dunya weeping in grief. Then the epilogue shows him with Dunya and a kid on his shoulders, with no explanation given. There was quite a bit of debate among viewers whether it was supposed to be literal or a metaphorical vision of the afterlife, until Word of God confirmed him alive.

    Wina 

Wina Lightning

Voiced by: Ryōko Nagata (Japanese), Midge Mayes (English)

The Silvana's sonar officer, Wina's extremely sensitive hearing functions as one of Alex's key secret weapons, giving him superior intelligence on the location and intentions of his enemies. Her unique abilities prove key to locating Exile in the Grand Stream, and her hearing is so sensitive she can even identify Alex's voice aboard Dephine's flagship during the final battle. In the end, though she lies to her Empress, telling her that Alex's last word was "Sophia" instead of "Euris"


  • Steel Eardrums: Somehow, her remarkable hearing is not damaged by an entire war's worth of cannon fire.

    Arthur 

Arthur Campbell

Voiced by: Shigeyori Sōya (Japanese), Paul St. Peter (English)

Second Officer aboard the Silvana, Campbell is brave and loyal enough to belay Alex's orders to fire on Delphine's Guild ship as it hovers over Sophia's coronation ceremony, knowing that it would endanger the Empress and everyone else below. Rather than stand by Campbell risks Alex's wrath by ordering the gun crews to stand down


    Duke Mad-Thane 

Duke David Mad-Thane

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/MadThane_6496.png

Voiced by: Yosuke Akimoto (Japanese), Bob Papenbrook (English)

Commander of one of Anatoray's fleets, Duke Mad-Thane is the recipient of the message Claus and Lavie delivers at the start of the series. He initially embodies the Chivalric traditions of Anatoray, which includes among other things giving quarter to defeated enemies and not retreating even when tactically expedient. He eventually gets over the latter though, and goes on to lead the Anatoray segment of the Alliance fleet against the Guild.


  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Is not seen in the epilogue to the series, nor is even mentioned in the Travelers manga, despite the fact that his daughter Holly is living at the Valca homestead in New Anatoray.

Silvana Mechanics Crew

    Godwin 

Godwin Austin


    Kostabi 

Anthony Kostabi


    Gale 

Gale Frank


    Ethan 

Ethan Pelerin


The Guild

    Maestro Delphine 

Delphine Eraclea

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Delphine2_6898.png

Voiced by: Michiko Neya (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

Current leader of the Guild, and main antagonist of the series, Delphine is as ruthless as she is coldly beautiful. She doesn't particularly care about the troubles of the people of Prester, and looks upon their struggles with grim amusement. She seeks control of the Exile, and will do anything to acquire the means to do so.


  • The Baroness: She is a cold and haughty dictator beneath a veneer of beauty and grace.
  • Big Bad: She is the oppressive leader of The Guild who is trying to capture Alvis and have her activate the titular Last Exile, which she intends to use as a weapon to get more power.
  • Brother–Sister Incest: Implied between her and her younger brother Dio.
  • The Caligula: A ruler who actively enjoys the suffering of her people and does anything she can to increase it for her own amusement.
  • Evil Overlord: She rules over Prester and goes out of her way to oppress her people for a power trip. She also uses her organization, The Guild, to pursue Alvis, whom she needs to activate the Last Exile.
  • Faux Affably Evil: Delphine's cruelty is hidden behind a paper-thin facade of civility and regal courtesy.

    Dio 

Dio Eraclea

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DioEraclea_7946.png

Voiced by: Junko Noda (Japanese), Joshua Seth (English)

Whimsical and unpredictable, Dio is a Guild pilot who takes an interest on Claus during the initial chase for Alvis. He later reappears as one of Claus' competitors during the Horizon Cave endurance race, eventually following him back to the Silvana, where he sticks around from that point on. He is also the younger brother of the Guild's leader Delphine, and as such a possible successor to her rule.


  • Ace Pilot: Easily the best pilot there is.
  • Bunny-Ears Lawyer: A complete badass in dogfights and genuinely dangerous, he's also very flighty, friendly and just plain weird.
  • Cloud Cuckoolander: Dio has a... very unique view of the world, to say the least.
  • Friendly Enemy: At first, and even then much more friendly than just plain enemy.
  • Genius Ditz: Despite his usual attitude, he's a very competent pilot.
  • Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Yes, he's technically a villain, but he'd much rather hang out with the heroes and prefers toying with people to killing them. (Not that he's got anything against killing them, it just means he wouldn't get to play with them again later.) And he's genuinely touched when the Silvana's maintenance crew throw him a birthday party.
  • Nightmare Fetishist: Seems to find dead bodies cool.

    Lucciola 

Lucciola

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Luciola_6822.png

Voiced by: Tomoe Hanba (Japanese), Mona Marshall (English)

Dio's companion and bodyguard, Lucciola accompanies Dio wherever he goes, even aboard the Silvana.


  • Theme Naming: Can apply to two cases since while both he and his brother are named after insects he also has a symbolic sounding latin name like Dio, since his name is pronounced like the latin word for light (Luciola) instead of the itallian word for firefly (Lucciola with the "ccio" sounding like "cho").
  • White Hair, Black Heart: Played with but ultimately a subversion.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: As a lower class member of the guild his hair appears more as a very light shade of blonde.

    Cicada 

Cicada

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Cicada_3955.png

Voiced by: Naoki Makishima (Japanese), Dave Mallow (English)

Delphine's loyal servant, Cicada serves in virtually the same capacity as Lucciola to Dio. Fitting, as he is Lucciola's older brother.


  • Dark Is Evil: He wears white like the rest of the Guild, but his Black accents are more noticeable then most. During his fight with Lucciola he wears black to contrast the more heroic white of his foe.
  • Theme Naming: Both he and his brother are named after insects.

Others

    Holly 

Holly Mad-Thane

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Holly_2599.png

Voiced by: Kana Hanazawa (Japanese), Therese Nguyen (English)

Duke Mad-Thane's only daughter. At the beginning of the series she asks Claus and Lavie to deliver a personal message to her father, which influences his decision during that particular encounter. She and her mother later convert their mansion in Norkia into a field hospital once Anatoray and Disith join forces against the Guild.


  • Happily Adopted: Despite her parents being likely still alive on Prester, she has pretty much settled into the role of Alvis' "sister" for the duration of her stay at the Valca homestead.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Although a part of Norkia's nobility, she and her mother willingly have their sprawling home converted into a field hospital, and Holly herself helps nurse the injured soldiers Dunya brought there.

    Dunya 

Dunya Scheer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dunya_1735.png

Voiced by: Yumi Sudou (Japanese), Kate Higgins (English)

A young female musket soldier from Disith, she becomes part of one of the many Anatoray and Disith squads tasked in retaking the Alliance fleet's Claudia units from their Guild Handlers.


    Walker 

Walker

Voiced by: Ken Yamaguchi (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English)

Owner of the massive sky dock the Walker Palace. Walker runs a casino that happily serves both the Anatore soldiers and the Silvana crew during their time off. He has a longstanding friendship with Alex.


  • Eye Patch Of Power: His most distinct feature, how he got it is unknown.
  • Gunship Rescue: When Claus is dog-fighting with two Guild Starfish trying to reach the Walker Palace, he manages to out fly and destroy one but the other flanks him. Before it can act, Walker's ship gets in range and blows it to hell.

Characters introduced in Traveler's from the Hourglass

    Hendrick 

Hendrick Wisla

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HendrickTravelers_206.png

Tatiana's overbearing uncle, who sneaked in secretly on the Exile instead of overseeing an administrative post in old Anatoray. Bombastic and prone to grand overreactions, Hendrick is mostly concerned with rebuilding the family fortune, and seems to see his over-achieving niece as a way to do this... by marrying her off to a family of high standing. Which obviously Tatiana doesn't care much for, but that doesn't stop him from trying.


    Uroctea 

Uroctea

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TravelersUroctea_2424.png

A member of the Guild, Uroctea is the first member of the native Chapter that the characters encounter upon their return to Earth. The supervisor of the Guild stronghold, he is willing to use force when necessary to fulfill his organization's objectives.


  • Theme Naming: Uroctea is named after a genus of spiders found in Africa and Eurasia.

    Aranea 

Aranea

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TravelersAranea_7142.png

Aranea is a Guildsman, and is Uroctea's older brother. His position in the local Guild chapter is as-yet unknown, but given Uroctea's position it is likely an important one as well.


  • Red Baron: The other half of the Twins.
  • Theme Naming: Aranea is named after a genus of spiders which includes garden spiders and barn spiders.


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