Solty Rei

Overview:
Unless you're a serious follower of sci-fi anime or Gonzo (the latter being pretty unlikely, given their rather poor reputation in the anime community), it is highly doubtful that the words "Solty Rei", referring to an extremely obscure anime from the mid-2000s, ring even the faintest of bells. I myself only came across the anime by accident via a now-taken down video from Youtube, and ultimately decided to check it out because it seemed interesting. While I can't say I regret watching it, I wouldn't put it particularly high on my rewatch list, as it doesn't really stand out in any meaningful way.

Story (7/10):
Set in ... the distant future, twelve years after the planet was ravaged by a mysterious disaster, "Solty Rei" follows Roy Revant, a gruff middle-aged bounty hunter with a troubled past who spends his days hunting down various dangerous cyborgs called Resembles. One day, while on what initially seems like any other job for him, he encounters a mysterious girl covered by nothing but a battered cloth. Soon after, he learns three things about her in quick succession- she has very unusual-looking ears, she has strength well beyond that of any human, cyborg or otherwise, and she has no idea who she is. After saving Roy's life twice (once indirectly and once directly), the girl becomes acquainted with Roy's associates, including his employer Miranda Maverick and her daughter Kasha, and ultimately gets taken in by Roy as his adopted daughter, with Roy giving her the name "Solty". The series then follows both Solty gradually adjusting to daily human life and Roy's exploits as a bounty hunter and along the way they encounter Rose Anderson, a dashing Robin Hood-esque thief with more to her than meets the eye, and come in to conflict with the Reestablishment Universal Committee (R.U.C.), a government agency that manages day-to-day activities in the city and whose leader has some sinister plans for the world.

If this premise sounds interesting, then that's because it is. Unfortunately, the plot is greatly hindered by an extremely slow-paced beginning, with the series spending way too long stuck in an episodic format, during which it introduces a whole bunch of various topics that in most cases have nothing to do with the story at best and don't go anywhere at worst. While there are a couple of episodes that expand on the characters' backstories and provide some decent world-building, these are ultimately irrelevant in the grand scheme of things and are conveniently forgotten about once resolved. Even when the first big twist comes mid-season, it takes a few more episodes for the plot to really get going, and while things do improve dramatically afterwards, it further serves to highlight that the first half of the series was mostly just a waste of time.

In spite of all that's been said, I found myself enjoying the story quite a bit, in no small part thanks to its theme of family. When we first meet Roy, he's a bitter, lonely man desperately searching for the daughter he lost as a result of the Blast Fall, the aforementioned disaster that ravaged the planet twelve years before the story began, even though he doesn't even know for sure she's still alive. Overtime, however, due to adopting and raising Solty among other things, he gradually learns to appreciate those he has in the present instead of chasing after the ghosts of his past. While this theme is mostly in the background in the beginning, it's brought to the forefront in the second half, to the point that it serves to contrast Roy and the main villain. This results in the later episodes not only being epic, but highly touching as well, all the way up to a great ending, though this just made me wish that the rest of the series was as good.

Art & Animation (7.5/10):
As one would probably expect from Gonzo, "Solty Rei" is not a particularly good-looking series. While the character designs are decent, the colours and textures are very dull and bland and there are plenty of rough edges to be found. Also like in a lot of Gonzo anime, there's a lot of very obvious 3-D effects, namely with the robots of the series, which look so out of place in comparison to everything else that even I had trouble tolerating them, since I'm usually quite lenient when it comes to that kind of stuff.

Sound & Dialogue (8.5/10):
The soundtrack is alright, but there aren't all that many memorable tracks. Of the ones I remember, there's the opening "clover", the two ending themes "Float -Beyond the Sky" and "Return to Love" and one track that plays during particularly somber moments, the latter of which is probably my favourite. Instead, the best part of this category, and indeed the best part of the whole series, is the voice acting. The dub features a number of great talents, including Christopher Sabat and Colleen Clinkenbeard as Roy and Rose, respectively. Carrie Savage also does just as good a job as Solty, capturing the character's kind, cheerful nature perfectly and just making me love her all the more. The dialogue can be somewhat corny here and there, but never to the point of making you want to facepalm.

Characters (7/10):
When we first meet Roy, he's best described as gruff, bitter and apathetic. While he's kind enough to allow a girl to stay the night in exchange for saving him, which is how he and Solty first met, he means just the night and expects her to fend for herself afterwards, even refusing to take her in after it's revealed that the alternative is her getting taken away to a secure facility, though he is convinced to do so in the end. His overall demeanour is very similar to that of Rick Deckard from "Blade Runner", which is ironic since he shares his first name with Deckard's arch-rival Roy Batty. Unfortunately, this works just as much against him as it does for him, especially since Deckard is known to not be the most likable of protagonists. Overall, he starts off pretty bad, then gets worse (though not without good reason) before finally getting a hell of a lot better, so overall he has a pretty decent character arc. That said, he definitely isn't the most complex of protagonists and as far as Christopher Sabat roles go, he isn't really anything I haven't seen before.

Ultimately, the title of "best character" goes not to Roy, but Solty herself. When we first meet her, she has absolutely no idea who she is or where she came from, though we soon learn that she's a robot girl, or Genuine Resemble as she's called, with her true identity being gradually revealed over the course of the series. Despite her lack of memories, she's ultimately a very kind and cheerful girl who quickly grows fond of those who have become her new family- not just Roy, but the aforementioned Miranda and Kasha too, who spend just as much time looking after her as the former. She also has a very strong moral compass, as shown by her repeated refusal to get involved in Rose's criminal life among other things, and gets some really awesome moments to shine in the second half of the series, to the point that it could be argued that she's the real main character. However, much like Roy, she's not a particularly complex character, though she's definitely a lot more likable than Roy is.

The last of the main trio is Rose Anderson, also known by her thief name, the "Blue Comet", who works with her brothers Larry and Andy as a thieving trio, stealing various valuables to give to people in the slums. While this gives them a definite Robin Hood vibe, the fact that they're thieves really isn't glossed over in the series, since it means her relationship with Roy, a cop in all but name, starts off highly antagonistic and Solty repeatedly refuses to get involved in her work despite her persistence. Eventually, though, she relents, with she and Solty developing a sweet sisterly relationship, and she warms up considerably to Roy as well. Unfortunately, in the second half of series, she's given a character arc that's pretty nebulously told, and not in a good way, though thankfully that gets resolved right before the climax. The supporting cast is decent, but unfortunately they aren't given an awful lot to do outside a few specific moments. And the less said about Ashley Lynx, the enigmatic CEO of the R.U.C., the better, as just about anything genuine about him is a major spoiler, though I can at least say that he proves to be a genuinely menacing and surprisingly sympathetic antagonist, as well as a great foil to Roy.

Enjoyment (7/10):
As a result of the very slow-paced beginning, "Solty Rei" is an anime that definitely requires a lot of patience to sit through, as while there are some good episodes in the first half, most of them are ultimately rather forgettable, so a lot of you may end up giving up on the series before things start to get interesting. In addition, while things do get a lot more exciting in the second half, it comes at the cost of the story veering into some very dark places, particularly in regards to the revelation of the world of the series as well as the true nature of the Blast Fall, though thankfully the series does manage to end on a happy note.

Overall:
It gives me absolutely zero pleasure to say that "Solty Rei" fails to leave any real lasting impression, thanks to the dated visuals, likable but fairly underdeveloped characters and a story that, while decent, takes far too long to really get going. The only thing it really has going for it is its theme of family, something it doesn't explore to its fullest until the last few episodes. It's not a terrible anime by any means, and I did enjoy watching it, but there's still no denying that it could have been so much more than it is.

Score:
7+7.5+8.5+7+7=37/50=7.4/10