The last volume of Last Exile saw the Silvana and Urbanus about to successfully capture Exile, but the arrival of a Guild starfish on the deck of the Silvana indicated that things had not gone quite to plan. Indeed, as this volume opens, Claus and Dio return to the Silvana, only to find it in the hands of Delphine and the Guild. In short order, Delphine captures Claus, Alvis, Alex and Dio and takes them back to the Guild in order take control of Exile herself, and force Dio to participate in a coming of age ritual that will change him forever.

Marking a change in perspective from previous volumes, Last Exile #6 finally offers us some insights into the workings of the Guild, the mysterious ruling class of the planet. Brought to life by the series’ trademark quality of animation, the Guild is different to anything we have seen so far; a technologically advanced sky fortress populated by a pale-skinned, fair-haired race of people. The centre of this world is undoubtedly Delphine, and as the title of this volume (‘Queen Delphine’�) indicates, the Maestro of the Guild gets to take centre stage this time around. From indulging in rare delicacies even as the surface dwellers die of hunger and thirst, to watching fellow Guild ships sacrifice themselves for her, all of Delphine’s are coloured by a callous and selfish cruelty.

It is exactly this quality that makes Delphine so fascinating to watch, however, especially when Alex, Dio and Alvis become the focus of her attentions. As the characters we come to know and like find their very lives twisted by Delphine’s will, a few more of the pieces drop into place story-wise, leaving us eager to see how all the remaining threads will be tied together in the final instalment.

Another character who receives some much needed development in this volume is Dio’s companion Lucciola. Up until now, Lucciola has been little more than a back up for Dio, but the final episode on this disc finally explains how the two came to meet, and explores the depth of the bond that has grown up between them. It may seem odd to include this background so late in the day, but it contrasts perfectly with Dio’s altered personality in this volume- with his spirit somehow broken by returning to the Guild, he is more akin to Delphine than his old self.

Of course, like the game of chess which Last Exile has increasingly come to resemble, there are two sides to the story, and even with so much of the focus on the Guild, there is time to check in on the other characters. Sophia and Vincent are busy planning the rescue of Alex, Alvis and Exile, whilst the raid on the Guild units goes ahead as planned- allowing for some touching character moments for Mullin especially.

One thing that is lacking from this volume is anything significant in the way of ship to ship battles, but to make up for that, the series makes its first real foray into hand to hand combat. Fortunately, there is much to like about these well choreographed battles, with one poignant one-on-one match even resembling a dance right down to being set to classical music.

In Summary

Last Exile #6 is another slice of the top notch quality we’ve come to expect from the series; bringing us a superb villain in the form of Delphine and rounding out plenty of other plot and character elements in preparation for the final volume. Given how much I’ve enjoyed Last Exile so far, I can only hope that the upcoming finale will be a fitting end to such an excellent series.