Solty Rei...
I wasn't entirely sure what to make of Solty Rei, but, the series seemed like something I might enjoy, so, years before the series was available as a box set, I picked up all six individual volumes of the series...
Solty Rei has two interconnected story arcs that spans its 24 episode run with two extra episodes that do not necessarily impact the main story. The first story arc introduces Roy as he beats the snot out of a criminal who has the nerve to be wasting his life while Roy's wife is dead and his daughter is missing. This is a bit of foreshadowing which will come in handy near the end of the first story arc. The aforementioned incident also introduces Solty, a mysterious girl with no memory of her past and amazing superpowers.
Roy is quite rude with Solty, but, eventually Solty manages to find a way into his heart. In fact the core of the story is a tale of loss and finding love in the support of family. To complicate their relationship, Roy has a tendency to feel sorry for himself and drink heavily while pushing people that care for him away. Both Roy and Solty show quite a bit of growth during the series and, at times, the series can be quite melodramatic.
The second story arc introduces a new villain and escalates matters to a very dramatic level. To emphasize the drama, some major characters die in a shocking manner. In the latter episodes some surprises are revealed regarding the city state in which humanity lives and about Solty's origins. The series builds to a wonderful climax in the battle with the aforementioned villain. Events take a positive turn and just when it appears that the situation has come to a resolution, things go from good to really, really bad.
Solty Rei has some violence, but, there is surprisingly very little blood. The main focus of the series centers around family and, at times, the series can be very melodramatic. There are a handful of bare bottoms and a few bare breasts, but, there are no actual naughty bits. Early on, the series has a fairly light tone and even some humor, but, as the series progresses, the tone of the series gets much darker. Overall, Solty Rei was actually fairly well paced and very entertaining. I would gave Solty Rei a 4 out of 5.
I have a soft spot when it come to hard-boiled characters and in Solty Rei, Roy certainly appeals to me. One of the aspects of Roy that I really liked was that just when you think Roy might go in one direction, he ends up going in a completely different direction. Sometimes Roy can be surprising and not necessarily in a good way. But, even in Roy's little black heart, he's not evil. In the early episodes of the series, Roy seems to have surrounded himself with a fairly impressive harem, but, in an interesting twist, Roy isn't the focus of the harem -- rather Solty is the focus.Volume 1
Roy Revant is living the hard life of a bounty hunter in a broken city, a city where thousands have died in a mysterious event called the Blast Fall. Those who survived share the sting of loss. Countless Resembles walk the streets, people whose mangled bodies have been rebuilt with high-tech prosthetic devices. Yet there are those that even science cannot mend. Roy needs a miracle to escape his rut… and one night she falls from the sky. Like countless others Solty is a Resemble, but one unlike the world has ever known. A young girl without a past, soon she will have a family. But in this world, pain and alienation are never too far away.
Volume 2
As dark fades to light and light becomes pitch black in an instant, all a man can do is put his head down and trudge forward. Unexpected allies are brought together, losing sight of the fine line between right and wrong as intentions are judged with sore hearts. After so much destruction and loss, Solty glows with the fresh life that Roy's been seeking and there may be a chance for happiness in the dark. As strangers pass in the graveyard, bitter loss binds them all.
Volume 3
Yet this sorely battered soul has never lost hope of finding his long missing daughter amidst the ruins... Miracles prove their existence, but reality kicks in with the tarnish and sometimes more is lost than just the years. Family ties, be they blood or circumstance, are tested beyond endurance. As violence begets violence, the loss of one seeks to undo them all and Solty turns to Roy as her savior, but he must first be saved. One can't blame the broken, unable to salvage the present from the past.
Volume 4
In the desert sands beyond its borders, Solty will befriend the hardest lesson she has yet to learn. Unfortunately for the RUC, things aren't so clear cut. As the pieces come together, the sum proves more confusing than the parts... For when the dead arise and end up in charge, something rotten's afoot. Paths cross in the sunbaked sand and unlikely allies begin to converge. But when there's hot blood' on most hands and cold betrayal behind every word, both heroes and villains will fall.
Volume 5
The Aurora Shell which has shimmered over all proves at once a prison and a blessing... And a curse? The tangled lines of loyalty have been rewritten, and those that seek to save humanity are many, yet opposed. If the enemy of an enemy is an ally... When the secrets of Solty and a splintered society are revealed, enemies must unite to undo an injustice. But the premium is too high, and Roy has already paid enough in tears and grief. A better world awaits, but by whose design?
Volume 6
Such lessons learned in the void left behind weigh heavy on the battered souls that have fought for humanity's survival. Yet a devastating new threat has arisen, for even in the face of victory mankind's final destruction looms just beneath the stars. Now Solty must save them all. Daughter, sister, machine... Humanity's only hope. As she rises to confront the menace, armed with an appreciation for life, death, love and compassion, an entire population watches the sky, unites by trembling hope. A time for the greatest of sacrifices has arrived.
Solty Rei has two interconnected story arcs that spans its 24 episode run with two extra episodes that do not necessarily impact the main story. The first story arc introduces Roy as he beats the snot out of a criminal who has the nerve to be wasting his life while Roy's wife is dead and his daughter is missing. This is a bit of foreshadowing which will come in handy near the end of the first story arc. The aforementioned incident also introduces Solty, a mysterious girl with no memory of her past and amazing superpowers.
Roy is quite rude with Solty, but, eventually Solty manages to find a way into his heart. In fact the core of the story is a tale of loss and finding love in the support of family. To complicate their relationship, Roy has a tendency to feel sorry for himself and drink heavily while pushing people that care for him away. Both Roy and Solty show quite a bit of growth during the series and, at times, the series can be quite melodramatic.
The second story arc introduces a new villain and escalates matters to a very dramatic level. To emphasize the drama, some major characters die in a shocking manner. In the latter episodes some surprises are revealed regarding the city state in which humanity lives and about Solty's origins. The series builds to a wonderful climax in the battle with the aforementioned villain. Events take a positive turn and just when it appears that the situation has come to a resolution, things go from good to really, really bad.
Solty Rei has some violence, but, there is surprisingly very little blood. The main focus of the series centers around family and, at times, the series can be very melodramatic. There are a handful of bare bottoms and a few bare breasts, but, there are no actual naughty bits. Early on, the series has a fairly light tone and even some humor, but, as the series progresses, the tone of the series gets much darker. Overall, Solty Rei was actually fairly well paced and very entertaining. I would gave Solty Rei a 4 out of 5.
