So... this show.
Where to even begin...
Okay well considering how much i'm not a fan of Sci-fi.... and this is technically a sci-fi anime... that no one has ever heard of.... why do i own it?
The answer is pretty simple.
Some years ago, can't remember when exactly but it doesn't matter, I went to a convention where they had a "name that tune"
I didn't win (cause i crack under pressure so even though i knew the songs i couldn't remember... which is sad cause one of them was Eva... while it's not my fav show ever it sure as hell has iconic music... anyways) but i did make it to the final round or something... as a 'consolation prize' they handed me a volume of Solty Rei.
I'm not gunna turn down free anime... even if it looked really dumb...
but i'm also not gunna just own one volume of something.... so since i was at the con i looked around to see how many volumes there were (this was around the time they were started to go with 6 instead of 7) and how much the rest would cost me.... if it was full price i'd decide after watching the disk... if it was a good price i'd just buy and take the gamble.
it was selling anywhere from 2 bucks each to 5.....
so i got it even though i had a feeling it was going to be terrible.
-some spoilers from here on out-
Normally around this part i talk about the plot... It's kinda hard for this show... cause the plot changes constantly. Imagine if you will ever sci-fi staple.
SO we have augmented humans do to a horrible even that hurt a lot of people and forced them to get robotic limbs making people wonder at what point do you stop being human.
we have a class system where registered people have the ability to live happy lives in the sun while unregistered are underground and have to resort to theivery.
We have a bounty hunter who used to be a cop and is looking for his daughter who may or may not be alive.
we have a mysterious girl who later is revealed to be an Android with sentient thought and extrodanry power but she just wants to be a happy normal girl.
you've got you power hungry guy who knows more then everyone around him...
you've got girls who were genetically modified by nano machines to be super human.
and just when you think they can't cram in anymore they have my two least fav sci fi things ever.
i was going to start this review off "well at least it never goes into space!"
then it tells us that not only is there an element of space but the planet they live on was originally not suited for human life which is why theres this 'aurora shield' that acts as an atmosphere.
so after that i was going to be like. "well at least there wasn't some plague that wiped all the people on the ship out!"
and then there was a plague that wiped everyone on the ship out....
Luckily it was mentioned in passing but i was just flabbergasted.... it was like they were looking at sci-fi tropes and wondered. "how many can we put in before it's too much"
thing is i'm not done...
theres a computer controlling the city that can even control those with robotic parts.
computer systems that are willing to destroy everything since they see it as being for the greater good.
a character is brought back from the dead or was only mostly dead when she was found i dn't know cause it's NEVER explained... just "oh hey didn't you die?" "actually i work for the company now"
hey lets tack that onto the list.
There is a single company that controls all aspects of life in the city and the reason for the class system.
Mech suits that for some reaso contour to ever curve of the female anatomy yet still allow for jiggle.... but the art of this show is a whole other can of worms that i plan to deal with later.
OH OH OH theres also this guy who happens to live way far out of town and is the key to everything...
a Kid that loves flying despite the fact that if you go to high you are shot down by lightning (and apparently if you even think of going too high you are preemptively shot down by this sentient lightning.
a chip that shuts down an entire system... cause... thats how i want my supercomputers to run...
there is just so much that in the end it ends up being about nothing at all... the closest thing to an over all plot is "this is the dynamic between the guy who lost his daughter and the android."
and if you ask me thats a pretty boring plot.
now again i'm pretty biased.... i dislike sci-fi....
but then again this hsow has only the barest scifi elements (which is amazing considering the amount of tropes) until the last few episodes.
so... yeah....
The good:
hm.... something good...
Okay.... as i mentioned before some characters die.... it's nice cause no one feels safe.... but even better then that the way the characters are depicted as mourning is really really well done.
also the intro song "Clover by Meg Rock" is really really good
The not so good:
complete lack of direction, lots of characters that i could care less about and plot threads that are mentioned but not cleaned up till thesetwo side episodes at the end of the show that take place somewhere near the middle.
so many problems that could have been solved just by talking about them....
The bad:
I think this is an issue with funimation but i've never had the problem before so i don't know... the sound mixing for this show is terrible.... the music is incredibly loud while all the voice actors whisper their lines... I had to turn the volume up twice as high as normal just to hear anyone... i thought it was maybe just my tv cause it's a bit new.... but no trying it on different tvs and sound set ups one things was clear... the mixing was just off... and it's annoying cause the subtitles are of the japanese dialogue so.... when your watching a dub it doesn't help at all.
The animation... wow.... it's really bad.... eyes travel all over faces.... and even though the designer obviously had a lot of fun drawing low angle shots of girls from behind.... he's obviously never actually looked at someone from that angle.... cause clothing doesn't work like that, Gluteus maximus doesn't work like that, hips down work like that, the gap between thighs REALLY doesn't work like that and no woman would wear something that tight in that area of her anatomy... also for the warriors... you are fighting but the suit allows for jiggle? NO... that makes no sense... you want those tucked away and tight as possible so you have free range of movement.
but yeah most of the show is cropped at ass level... two characters will be talking and we'll be foused in on Soltys Bum which looks like someone inflated balloons... there sould be a kind of teardrop shape to them not these perfect spheres... also when flying gets introduced we get a tone of between the legs angles... and it's just so bad... i think they did it for fanservice but it's just so horrifying to look at i doubt they accomplished their goal. Granted i'm not the target audience.
The show isn't the worst thing i've ever seen (landlock or school days wins that particular trophy) but it is a completely misguided show that has no idea what it wants to actually be able so instead it'll be about everything... and therefor nothing.
also the end is a cop out.
why is he there?
how did they get there?
how do they suddenly have this technology... i mean they say a lot of time has passed but for a world that had no inspiration to go there boy they work quick.
why is there still an atmosphere when the thing that was creating it vanished?
why she able to do 'that' when she's essentially turned off/ THERE IS NO SOUND IN SPACE so how can they ever hear her.
so yeah not terrible but also not good.... even though i only spent about 20 bucks on the whole thing i still feel kinda ripped off...
but again i don't like sci-fi so it's entirely possible that i just don't get this show. if you have the chance to see it then give it a shot and make your own opinion but in my opinion it was a waste of time.
okay time to watch some other shows i started by never finished.... which should i do next... samurai 7 or Paranoia agent... hmm...
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