Search - Solty Rei, Vol. 1 on DVD

One of the best and most underrated sci-fi anime series of a

J. Ernst | St. Louis, MO | 10/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, I really can't believe that nobody else has reviewed this gem of a show. I can see where perhaps some only watched the first volume or two and decided it wasn't their cup of tea, but surely there are other diehards like me who watched the entire thing and wanted to promote this underrated series. This is going to be a review of the entire show, not just the first volume.



To start, Solty Rei is just a phenomenal anime. Absolute first rate voice acting from the English cast, most notably Christopher Sabat (aka Prince Vegeta), and animation studio Gonzo does a heckuva job on the CG/traditional animation combo.



*Minor Spoilers may follow*



The show opens basically enough. Roy Revant is a bounty hunter, chasing down the baddies with his hard-nosed attitude. He's lost his wife to cancer, and his daughter to a mysterious disaster called the Blast Fall. One night, one of his hunts goes awry, and this mysterious girl falls from the sky and saves his life. She grows attached to him, and he pushes her away, with amusing results. Oh, and she's a cyborg.



Sounds simple. Your basic anime plot, right?



WRONG. Dead wrong. While Solty Rei may start out on a rather formulaic note, by the time you reach the halfway point, the entire series does a "180" in tone, and doesn't let up for a second. Since so much of my enjoyment was derived from the major plot twists at the midway point of the show, I won't spoil it for anyone, but suffice it to say, it's big.



By the time you make it to the end of the series, everything you thought you knew gets stood on its head, and you'll become attached to all the characters, desperate for more action. The ending is wholly satisfying, and answers all the questions that are raised during the course of the series.



Don't pass this one up, or be dissuaded by negative reviews for the first couple of volumes on other sites. You will not be sorry you spent money on this one."