Last Exile 3 – Discovered Attack (Anime TV)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C- Episodes: C+
The third
set of episodes from the problematic Last
Exile series moves more away from would-be hero Alex Row, and more towards
the child characters. Discovered Attack even is offering a
limited edition paper vanship model you can assemble like Claus and Lavie ride
around in. That is a nice novelty, but
the episodes have barely improved from the last set. They are:
9) Calculate Alex
10) Swindle
11) Develop
12) Discovered Attack
With what
would have worked better being ditched for a show centered on Claus and Lavie,
the show carries on in the world now built.
Ironically, the shows are not quite as derivative and childish as the
last set, but that is no improvement from the last episodes for me. The same awkward combination of hand-drawn
and computer animation continues, but they have tried to meld it a bit better,
if in vain. At this point, the show is
going to work for fans and viewers that would have had to be won over by the
previous episodes. Those who are not in
the know really need to start with those to see if they’ll like the show, but
then there are the technical specs.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is again purposely plagued by the soft
white look, which is a pretension for fans only. Color quality again varies from the original
source, so the transfer is actually better than the result would let you
see. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo has
Pro Logic type surrounds in both the Japanese and English versions. Not only do the Japanese tracks once again
offer better fidelity, but the voice of the young girl in the English version
is obnoxious and shrill beyond belief, making you not care what evil forces are
out to get her, because the whining is too painful and overacted. Extras include 25 art frames of the shows and
four previews for other Geneon Anime DVD titles, which is less than the last
DVD.
This must
be a hit with someone, but not me. I was
curious just to see where the show would go, as I did not like the last set
much at all. Though there is no
improvement, it is at least somehow consistent in the logic of its own world,
so anyone who lands up liking the show should be happy.
- Nicholas Sheffo
