Last Order: Final Fantasy VII

Five years after the disaster at Nibelheim, two survivors, both members of SOLDIER escape captivity.  Now wanted fugitives and sought after by both the Military and Shinra’s elite Turks unit, Zack Fair and Cloud Strife are in for the fight of their lives.  Meanwhile, Turk leader Tseng reflects on the Nibelheim incident, where one of SOLDIERs best, Sephiroth, turned his back on Humanity and slaughtered a village.  It was a nightmare that no one could predict and one that is still shaping the future.  Nibelheim was only just the beginning.  The battle for the Planet is about to begin…and one brave soul will not be there to see it.

Last Order: Final Fantasy VII was a released as part of the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII media project in the mid 2000s, alongside Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and video games Dirge of Cerberus, Before Crisis and Crisis Core.  Despite its brevity and oddly structured story, this is actually a very entertaining outing for a Final Fantasy Anime, you know from other reviews they don’t have the best track record in my eyes.  In fact, probably the most disappointing aspect of this OVA is that it has so much promise that could be seen in full with a complete Final Fantasy VII TV Anime or OVA.  Still, what we have is what we have.  So let’s take a quick look.
 
I will preface that this is an OVA meant for Final Fantasy VII fans and newcomers run the risk of being totally lost in Last Order.  The short throws you right into the thick of things for Zack and Cloud before cutting back to Tseng revisiting the Nibelheim report and then glimpsing said incident in a flashback.  There’s no easing into why things are the way they are and no 5-10 minute overview of the world of Final Fantasy VII before or after the events we watch.  The short his also stitched together at times feeling like a shortened Compilation Film than a normal short, bouncing back and forth between past and present pretty rapidly without giving you time to breathe.  You might get a good idea of who Zack is because he has the most character and exposure in the OVA.  Zack is great, an easily likeable protagonist full of charm, wit and bravery.  You can tell how much he cares about Cloud and the village he failed to protect from Sephiroth and it makes you wish that an expanded Last Order Anime could focus on Zack alone (or better yet just do an Anime of the Crisis Core game where he’s the main character).  Sephiroth is Sephiroth, pure dark and brooding and full of badassery that he doesn’t need to say or do much to prove the kind of threat he is.  Poor Cloud gets in some good moments action wise but character wise, we hardly see him in the flashback and he’s catatonic in the present.  Probably the characters who get the worst treatment in this short story are the Turks, who are just mostly teased at more than anything else.

Actually, that’s the best word to describe Last Order, “Tease.”  This OVA has a lot going for it.  It’s based on one of the most iconic JRPG’s of all time, one of the most fondly remembered Final Fantasy entries, and it’s an OVA done by Studio Madhouse, the people who brought us such sword fairing action spectacles as Ninja Scroll and Highlander: The Search for Vengeance.  So yeah, the action is pretty awesome from Zack’s hand to hand beatdown of regular military to his faster paced duel with Sephiroth.  The animation itself isn’t half bad either.  Zack, Cloud, Tifa, Sephiroth and the extended roster of Turks all look incredible for their brief amount of split screen time.  I’m just gonna say it, I want to see more of this-this artstyle, this action, these characters, Last Order just teases them all, knowing it’s a one and done.  You could do an Anime about the Turks or Zack’s earlier adventures or hell, just do a freaking full length Final Fantasy VII Anime project, as a TV Series or preferably an OVA, with Studio Madhouse at the helm.  This OVA has too much potential and yet it feels cruel that its being waved in front of us knowing that if you want more, you’ll just have to go play Final Fantasy VII.
 
Of all the Final Fantasy Anime I’ve reviewed over the years, Last Order: Final Fantasy VII is the second best after Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV.  While the choppy storytelling will throw off those already confused, if theyre not already familiar with the story, and it’s brevity is a little infuriating, this is a good looking short with good action and an interesting take on one of Final Fantasy VII’s most important events.  I cant be the only one disappointed that more didn’t come of this OVA.  Heck Brotherhood was multiple episodes focusing on the history of Noctis and his three besties.  Final Fantasy VII might not be the best of the Final Fantasy series but it is one of the most remembered.  It should have gotten a proper Anime adaptation a very long time ago.  This OVA is just proof that it can work.  I guess at least we’ll always have the classic game at least.
 
7/10