Geekatana Anime Review: Solty Rei

I first watched Solty Rei on Animax back in 2007. It's one of those anime that I know very little about back then and it was simply something that was on the channel at that time. I was already hooked on anime since a college friend of mine introduced me to Evangelion so I sort of soak any anime I came across.

Although more story driven the concept of Solty Rei was not new by anime standards. The cyperpunk post apocalypse noir was an overused theme by the early 2000's and it weighed on the series greatly resulting in a dull reception. Most folks dropped the series before giving it much chance. Which I find sad since this series had so much potential.

In a future city recovering from a mysterious disaster called the Blast fall the survivors try to live what was left of their lives and try to rebuild from the ashes. Here the gaps between rich and poor is wide. Many that survived are fitted with cybernetic parts. This is where Roy a bounty hunter/bodyguard meets a mysterious android girl whose lost memory holds the secret of the fate of humanity.

Sure the plot might sound like a rip off of Bladerunner...or maybe battle Angel Alita but the series focus on character development and plot twist does sets it apart differently from others of its genre. This series came a little late in a time where anime of this kind have over saturated the market and has long since tired target audiences. 

The beginning episode of the series goes goes off as and slow. And some of the characters felt unoriginal at the start but both starts to pick up and shine halfway through as the lose ends pieces fall into place. The ending part felt a bit rushed but I guess the studio wanted to end the story on a positive note instead of adding more plot elements that wouldn't pay off at the end and didn't want to leave the series with a cliffhanger ending.

The first few episode felt slow and to some even boring but sticking to them does pays off as the story picks up a few episodes later. This series despite the title doesn't just involve Solty or Roy but it also spins on the other side characters so halfway you find yourself attached to everyone in the series that pays off when the story picks up and things get serious and darker. 

The ending was a bit rushed for me but considering all the stuff all the characters went through I'd say it deserved it. personally I wouldn't mind a second season of this series as it had a lot going for it and things it could explore but bogged down due to the audience getting tired of the theme. 

I'm sci-fi fan so it is just sad it wasn't given enough time to explore its true potentials. Guess folks lost interest after the mind numbing series like Evangelion, Akira and the likes has been a thing for a long while in the late 80's.

The animation sadly isn't mind blowing either. The series does shows its age specially compared to the anime these days but this was done by Gonzo and AIC, with TV Asahi folks who have seen Bubblegum Crisis will mostly make the connection. Solty Rei's specialty and appeal was its story and plot and not its visuals. The music was decent although probably not for everyone but it's decent and the bgm "Pieces" Is still a favorite of mine to this day.

Overall Solty Rei is a cyberpunk sci-fi drama that focuses more of character development. Sure it follows similar beats as battle Angel Alita and some of the others but it eventually turns into its own story at the end as the story get serious and darker. If you are a fan of cyberpunk themed anime you might give this a try as its one of the better anime of said genre.