History Anime / LastExile

* BizarreWorldShapes [[spoiler: Prester is shaped like an hourglass, which also happens to be the Guild's emblem. It appears that it's also a hollow world and the events take place inside it - presumably "gravity" is produced by the hourglass spinning rapidly.]]

* ShoutOut: The Guild? A powerful, self-indulgent, 'neutral' force with complete control over the main mode of transport? [[Franchise/{{Dune}} I wonder where I've seen that before?]]

A manga on the series was also recently serialized in Newtype Ace. Entitled ''Sunadokei no Tabibito'' (literally ''Travelers from the Hourglass''), it serves as a bridge between LastExile and its [[Anime/LastExileFamTheSilverWing sequel]], explaining what happened to the original cast and how they figure in the conflict engulfing the world in the new series.

!!''LastExile'' provides examples of:

* CaptainErsatz: WordOfGod says that Alex Row is based on CaptainHarlock.

* OutofCharacterMoment: Mullin gets one in "Sunadokei no Tabibito". In the anime, when the crew of Silvana where going on about how "something" must have happened [[spoiler: between Claus and Tatiana while they were stranded in the desert, he tells them to stop making assumptions like that, Since he felt sorry for Lavie,]] this conversation happens in the gym... Yet in the manga, when everyone is wondering why [[spoiler: Claus hasn't come back yet from meeting Tatiana, he says that Claus is such a sly dog and that he doesn't think he will be coming back that night, saying that something must have happened between them in the desert,]] he does this ''in front'' of Lavie, and after she walks away, he thinks he did nothing wrong, since she was "smiling".

* ShoutOut: The Guild? A powerful, self-indulgent, 'neutral' force with complete control over the main mode of transport? [[{{Dune}} I wonder where I've seen that before?]]

A 2003 anime series from {{Gonzo}}.

* AncientConspiracy: The Guild. It was originally an organization entrusted to oversee both the Exile program and an ambition geo-engineering plan to undo the disastrous aftermath of climate change, which also sent some of its members to oversee the colonists. Over the centuries however, they've turned into a secretive order [[MotiveDecay more interested]] in maintaining their power and manipulating the rest of mankind than fulfilling their original objective. In some cases, they seemed to have forgotten why they even came to be in the first place.

** [[WhatCouldHaveBeen The creators missed an opportunity]] to use the "English" and "Dutch" Offenses/Openings as episode titles. Both require uncommon first moves for white (c4 and f4 respectively). Mastering both is a very good way to unsettle superior competition. Chances are, a grandmaster has never faced the Dutch Opening and very rarely faces the English one. Using either as white tells your opponent that you know the Sicilian Defense and all you need to you need to do to give them bad dreams is present them with a defense against d4 strong enough to manage a draw while playing black. Do that, and you've rendered almost everything they are prepared for irrelevant.

* MagneticHero: Claus displays that uncanny ability to win people over to respect him with his sincerity and vanship skills, though falls a bit short on the all-loving personality that would push him over the line to be TheMessiah.

* StraightGay: Dio, one of the mechanics. He eyes Claus appreciatively once or twice, to the amusement of his fellow crew-members, but if not for that you wouldn't realize he swings that way.

* StraightGay: Dio, one of the mechanics. He eyes Claus appreciatively once or twice, to the amusement of his fellow crew-members, but if not for that you wouldn't realize he wings that way.

* MeaningfulName: The eponymous Last Exile, though its significance will only come to the fore in the sequel Anime/LastExileFamTheSilverWing.

* InitiationCeremony: The Rite of Covenant, of the horrific type.

* HeyItsThatVoice: Queen Delphine is [[EurekaSeven Talho]]?!
** And in the English dub: What is [[{{Hellsing}} Alucard]] doing on the ''Silvanna''?
** [[Creator/CrispinFreeman Alex Row]] has [[CodeGeass EXTREME LOYALTY]] to his crew and [[spoiler: his dead copilot.]]
** Listen to Dio and Lucciola, then go back and watch the first season of ''[[DigimonAdventure Digimon]]''. You will never look at Tai and Izzy the same way again.
** There's more than a few rather recognizable voices throughout the series. It does like to flaunt its production value with fancy animation and good voice actors.

* KickTheDog: Delphine recalls the engine of a ship bringing water for some thirsty folks just [[ForTheEvulz fo' funzies.]]

->''What lies beyond the furthest reaches of the sky?''

* TheAbridgedSeries: ''LastExileAbridged''. One by [[http://www.youtube.com/user/Virus465 Virus465]], and by [[http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AD4E73753D5FE46F Unwardil]], the latter of which has recently become one of the few completed abridged series out there.

* GuyInBack: Lavie Head and Alister Agrew

* IdiotBall: A few, but when Mullin starts getting wistful for his "glory days" as a cannon-fodder rifleman, ''every'' viewer is required by law to perform a FacePalm and quietly tell him to take his {{Darwin Award|s}} and get out of here...