(no subject)
Okay, the first line of events I wanted to clear up if I got in is as such: the end of the series, and what three canon sources tell us DIDN'T really happen.
Apparently, Dio didn't die in the last episode. His mind somehow reverted back to the race with Claus, only Luciola was dead now, so after it all Dio sort of flipped out, and fell off of his Vanship in the middle of the Grand Stream, and that was that for him. It was a pretty lame and "... what D:" death for him, seemingly out of the blue.
1) Later in the episode, his voice is clearly heard when everybody is cheering "Ascending!" This isn't as much strong on its own, but...
2) The Last Exile Aerial Log artbook has an interview by the creators in which it's stated that after he took his fall off of the Vanship, he was rescued by a Guild ship that was passing by.
3) That goes hand in hand with a piece of official art, post-series, of the cast as they are in the end, being pleasantly surprised by a "mysterious someone" walking into the scene. The Guild uniform and their reactions pretty much says it's Dio. Picture here.
Of course those leave for a lot of speculation. Are Dio's memories back? He seemed to be getting some semblance of them back at the very end if he was speaking and remembered Claus, although what he remembered at the time was something that happened pretty early on in the series, and if you look at the image, he's waving at them so it's possible?
Does he remember the Trial of Agoon, and the things that happened after it? That Claus and Al were there in the Guild with him, that Luciola helped them escape and then went back? If he didn't would Claus and the others have told him about what happened? He would have asked about Luciola if he didn't remember. That there's no more Guild, that Delphine is dead, etc. If Dio is surprising them at the end like in the image, he would know that they're no longer on Prester, but Earth, so that all points to him being aware of most of this.
Not to mention that in the series he sincerely says that he liked being with everyone and didn't want to leave, so with nowhere else to go it would be most likely that he stayed with them there.
See this is why some kind of longer epilogue would have been swell. :P
Apparently, Dio didn't die in the last episode. His mind somehow reverted back to the race with Claus, only Luciola was dead now, so after it all Dio sort of flipped out, and fell off of his Vanship in the middle of the Grand Stream, and that was that for him. It was a pretty lame and "... what D:" death for him, seemingly out of the blue.
1) Later in the episode, his voice is clearly heard when everybody is cheering "Ascending!" This isn't as much strong on its own, but...
2) The Last Exile Aerial Log artbook has an interview by the creators in which it's stated that after he took his fall off of the Vanship, he was rescued by a Guild ship that was passing by.
3) That goes hand in hand with a piece of official art, post-series, of the cast as they are in the end, being pleasantly surprised by a "mysterious someone" walking into the scene. The Guild uniform and their reactions pretty much says it's Dio. Picture here.
Of course those leave for a lot of speculation. Are Dio's memories back? He seemed to be getting some semblance of them back at the very end if he was speaking and remembered Claus, although what he remembered at the time was something that happened pretty early on in the series, and if you look at the image, he's waving at them so it's possible?
Does he remember the Trial of Agoon, and the things that happened after it? That Claus and Al were there in the Guild with him, that Luciola helped them escape and then went back? If he didn't would Claus and the others have told him about what happened? He would have asked about Luciola if he didn't remember. That there's no more Guild, that Delphine is dead, etc. If Dio is surprising them at the end like in the image, he would know that they're no longer on Prester, but Earth, so that all points to him being aware of most of this.
Not to mention that in the series he sincerely says that he liked being with everyone and didn't want to leave, so with nowhere else to go it would be most likely that he stayed with them there.
See this is why some kind of longer epilogue would have been swell. :P