Last Exile: Fam, the Silver Wing - Episode 4

No matter what you think of her, there's no faulting Fam's ambition as she proudly announces her plan to take on and capture the so-called "reaper ship", the Sylvius - a hefty goal to concentrate on for Fam, the Silver Wing's fourth instalment.

Of course, before taking on this otherwise unknown ship, Fam and her fellow Sky Pirates need to figure out at least a little of what makes it tick - take centre stage Gise to put her expertise to good use in fathoming what the innards of the Sylvius might hold.  Does it have secret weapons aplenty?  According to her, it's more likely an intelligence vessel with a focus on speed and stealth - not that this will make it easy to capture, mind you...

So, the next day off sets Fam and Gise, while Dio is eventually left in charge of Millia who insists that she should tag along. With the exact capabilities of the Sylvius unknown, Fam takes a decidedly traditional approach to taking on the ship, using everything at her group's disposal to try to bring the craft to a stop.  While she manages to avoid the attentions of the ship's captain as she uses a Vanship for a little one-on-one time with Fam, the rest of the Sylvius' crew seem none too worried about the threat to their vessel - with good reason, as both we and Fam soon learn in a turn in both parties fortunes that sees Fam tasked with an even more grandiose job to save her bacon.

After a first half to this episode which was largely fun and frivolous (and fan service-y... or should that be "Fam service"?), this week's Last Exile felt at its best once we took to the skies in pursuit of our target.  The CG doesn't perhaps feel as seamless now as it did in earlier episodes, but it still works pretty well within the impressive scope of the show and its world.  My biggest worry about Fam, the Silver Wing at the moment is that it's beginning to feel a little disjointed - it was nice to see some more nods to the original series, and the core plot threads are clear and entertainment, but the movement between them feels a little forced and vague at times in a way that bugs me somewhat.  Hopefully this will clear up as the series progresses to make for a more compelling viewing experience, but for now the last couple of episodes of Fam, the Silver Wing are floating in the "entertaining but not quite all there" section of the sky.