ラストエグザイル-銀翼のファム-/Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam
Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing – 03

Ades fleet commander Orang has his ships on the run from an attacking Noto’s fleet, but it is a ruse as fleet commander Solush has his ships on the ready and together, they route the Notos fleet. Child Empress Augusta receives reports from Vasant on Ades successes. When Luscinia and Kayvan arrive to present themselves, Augusta is very happy to see them, forgiving Kayvan for his losses.  Augusta has Kayvan carry her on his shoulders, though Vasant is a bit worried. During the briefing the three commanders give Augusta, efforts to find keys to the other Exile ships are underway and the plan for Turan is to have the lands returned to the Gonia, whom it is said that the Turan stole the land from when they returned to Earth, a planet that can not support all of the returned peoples.

At the Sky Pirate base, Millia is angry with Fam for saving her instead of Liliana. Millia goes off in a huff and is depressed when she sees the once mighty Lasas being turned into scrap for the parts and metal. She also sees a merchant selling items from the ship, including her sister’s cup, but Millia is unable to get there in time to prevent the sale. Meanwhile, Gisey takes Teddy home, where she receives a warm welcome. Elsewhere, Fam is in her room contemplating what Millia said to her when she’s told that Millia is trying to steal her Vespa.  The folks around Millia tell her it is impossible, but she is desperate to save her sister.

Fam agrees to fly Millia around in search of her sister despite the length of time Liliana has been gone. During the flight, Millia laments her useless state. Back at the base, Teddy shows her cooking skills by preparing things for tea and learns that the Sky Pirates have many bases and are a group of people who’ve escaped Ades Federation destruction of their homes. Meanwhile, Millia and Fam have retrieved Liliana’s cup and Fam tells a tale of being rescued as an orphaned infant by the Sky Pirates. The story causes Millia to apologize for only thinking of herself, but Fam isn’t worried since she considers the Sky Pirates to be her family now.

Gisey tells Teddy of Fam’s dream to have the Grand Race brought back and recounts how her father took herself and Fam to see them before they were stopped. Fam also tells Millia this on their flight back while Teddy notices that the winning cup is being displayed in Gisey’s home. As night sets in, Fam and Millia are flying over the Sky Pirate base where the Sky Pirates are paying respects to the falled Turan air crews (Okuribi). The following morning, Millia gets her hair cut by Gisey and praises Teddy for the tea, stating that she too must move forward. Dio tells Fam the news of a sighting of the infamous pirate ship Sylvius, so Fam decides to capture it for Millia.

Wow.  If it has been 118-years since Exile returned, how are characters like Dio around?  I’m missing something mentioned in the first anime, no doubt, but I’ll guess that “Last Exile” was the final Exile ship to return to Earth and that’s what Dio was on. That would explain why Liliana was a key.

Interesting that the Turan Exile ship is still apparently being used against the remaining Turan cities. I guess once they activate one, it keeps going and is somehow under Ades control, at least as a weapon.

Speaking of Ades, boy did their image shift from cliched “evil empire” (or federation) to something a bit more complex by having their ruler be a cute, innocent, young girl who wants to do the right thing.  She’s apparently loved by her people and she was certainly happy to see her military commanders.

Still, a child can easily be swayed one way or another by adults they trust. This “taking back stolen lands” may sound good to Augusta and look good on paper, but I’m not quite buying it as an excuse for Ades military conquests.

Interesting that the Sky Pirates are made up of the displaced people the Ades have made homeless in their military campaigns. I’m surprised Ades doesn’t take a harsher stand against the Sky Pirates to try to wipe them out. Then again, the loss of the occasional capital ship doesn’t mean much when you are trying to purge the world of the returned Exile communities.

Millia appears to have matured somewhat, based on how she treated Teddy kindly, something she didn’t do before. It is somewhat cliched in nature, having the spoiled brat learn some tough lessons and become a better person, but I still like it.

Anyway, a pretty enjoyable episode with some nice shifting on making Ades a pure evil nation and nice maturing by Millia. Looking forward to seeing where the story goes.