Solty Rei: Volume 6

Introduction

Other than the first volume of Fate/Stay Night, MVM seem to have put all their ongoing series on hold for January, opting instead to have a month of final volumes. I've already reviewed the conclusion of Samurai Deeper Kyo, and Slayers Try, and now it is time to polish off Solty Rei. This was something of an unknown quantity for me when I started watching it, a Gonzo action show from something of a low point in their catalogue, the year that saw Black Cat and Trinity Blood released. Both were shows that really disappointed me, and I wasn't exactly expecting good things from Solty Rei either. However, Solty Rei has turned out to be one of their better shows, entertaining and action packed, and five volumes later, I find that this is the January conclusion that I have been looking forward to most. However, Gonzo are notorious for fumbling at the last hurdle. Maybe this time they will buck the trend and offer an ending that lives up to the promise of the series.

The Blast Fall devastated the city, a mysterious event twelve years ago that cost the lives of thousands. It's effects are still visible today, an Aurora Shell that arcs overhead, preventing anyone from leaving the ground or even the building of high-rise towers, interfering with communications, as well as the number of cyborgs known as Resembles roaming the city, survivors who have had their bodies repaired with technology. It's the Reestablishment Universe Committee, the RUC that is at the heart of the city's reconstruction and the proliferation of cyborgs. Roy Revant works in this city as a bounty hunter for the Maverick Hunters Company, although his hard-bitten brutal approach means that he pretty much works alone. He's been hunting ever since the Blast Fall, in which his daughter Rita vanished, an event that eventually claimed the life of his wife. The loss and grief still prey on him; he's still looking for his daughter, or maybe just salvation, when one day it literally falls from the sky.


Volume 6 concludes the story with two episodes, and there are two bonus episodes here to appreciate as well.

23. Farewell Message
Ashley has taken Roy deep underground, so that he can show off during his moment of triumph over the city's computer, Eunomia. Hot on their trail however are Solty and Rose, determined to stop the RUC chief's nefarious plans. But there are truths and destinies yet to be revealed, and just as one confrontation ends, Eunomia throws up a chilling surprise that may just mean the end of everything.

24. The Future
The conclusion.


25. Opportunities Missed
26. Loves Shared
Not long after Rose had first moved in to live with Roy and Solty, the city was preparing to celebrate Appreciation Day, the day when everyone would pause and take stock of those things that mean the most to them, and make them happy. Miranda was preparing a party for everyone, but as usual work and real life continued to throw up obstacles. Roy met a worried mother (who just happened to look like his late wife) who wanted to hire Roy to help with her wayward daughter. Meanwhile, Rose and Solty met a young girl who was worried about her mother, and they offered to help her. At the same time, a lawyer working for her late father's estate approached Miranda's adopted daughter Kasha, with the revelation that her rich uncle and aunt wanted to adopt her. And all the while, Solty pondered on the true meaning of happiness.

Picture

Solty Rei gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer. The image as you would expect is an NTSC-PAL conversion. It's a pretty good one though, not too soft, prone to ghosting, or plagued with excessive judder. It is sharp and well defined, the animation is fluid and clear, and everything is almost as smooth as silk. Solty Rei is a bright colourful anime, plenty of vibrant colours and daytime scenes, although the future world, while distinctive and accomplished, certainly isn't memorable. The character designs are up to Gonzo's usual standards, while CGI is liberally used to enhance the 2D animation. Some of the mundane objects like cars aren't all that impressive, but when it comes to the fantastic, like mecha and robots, Gonzo's traditional design ethic comes through well.

Sound

Sound comes in the form of DD 5.1 English, and DD 2.0 Japanese along with optional translated subtitles and signs. I found no problems with my usual preference of the Japanese track, while the dub is one of the really good ones, well cast and with distinctive characterisations. I was very impressed with the English voice of Roy Revant. The show gets the usual catchy j-pop themes, while the incidental music owes a fair bit to those old US cop dramas, with a noir-ish edge.

Extras

You get the usual textless credit sequences, and this time there are trailers for the Disgaea and Slayers Next.

Conclusion

Given the pace with which the finale was unfolding in the previous volume, I hazarded a guess that there would be bonus episodes at the end of the series, and it's nice to be proved right on this occasion. It's even better to be proved wrong as well, as it has seemed at times to be something of a low key year for MVM, concentrating as they have on back catalogue titles like this, X, Gunparade March, Desert Punk and especially Slayers. There turns out to be a reason why those shows took their time in coming to the UK, and while MVM's output this year has been consistent and entertaining, there certainly has been nothing to grab the viewer by the scruff of the neck as Black Lagoon did last year, and as Romeo X Juliet promises to do in 2010. However, in a year of 'good enough', Solty Rei stands out as just a little more than average. It may an identikit Gonzo sci-fi mystery show, but it's consistently well animated, with likeable characters, a great noirish feel, and as this final volume proves, it isn't one of those Gonzo shows that fall apart in the final act. Solty Rei stays at the top of its game to the final reel.


It's been a difficult series to review without divulging spoilers, but I think I will restrain myself this time. Suffice it to say that it is an action packed and emotional conclusion. No plot points are left dangling, and any questions that were raised about this odd world and how it came to pass are answered in full. Also, it seems that Gonzo have avoided the temptation of creating one of those inconclusive conclusions, in the usually vain hope that a second series will be forthcoming. So few anime shows make it to a second season, that the open-ended final episode is cop-out more often than not, and while for a moment Solty Rei looks as if it is going in that direction, staying till the end credits means that you get an ending worthy of the name, signed, sealed and delivered. Solty Rei is as complete a series as you are likely to get in anime form.


The bonus episodes are actually one, double length bonus episode, with no credit sequences in the middle, just an eyecatch. It's probably presented as two episodes so that purchasers can be assured that they are getting the full 90 minutes of anime on disc, not just 70-odd. It slots into position early on in the show's chronology, and offers some nice character moments, with Solty still getting to grips with her nascent humanity. It's set before the story got dark and ominous, so it's nice to see the characters in light fluffy mode, and consequently the episode is light on drama, and heavy on the comedy. Still, it's poignant to see Roy meet someone who looks just like his late wife, while Solty has an unexpected jealousy to deal with, before she gets a grip on something like happiness. The emotional content comes from Kasha and Miranda, who have to deal with Kasha's past threatening their family unit. It's a predictable storyline, but the characters make it fresh and interesting. The bonus episode isn't Solty Rei at its best, but it is entertaining, and seeing the characters in happier times, without the burdens that subsequent events will bestow on them, is the ideal frivolous way to end the series.


In a year of relative mediocrity, Solty Rei has turned out to be MVM's bright spot. It's entertaining, it's exciting and it's of consistently high quality. If you're going to buy just one MVM series from 2009, make it Solty Rei.