Solty Rei: Volume One

Solty Rei: Volume One

Hawkeye

A terrible event called the “Blast Fall” killed thousands of people, and even more went missing that day. Those who did survive were crippled and broken, but with the new technology called Resemble, they are able to live normal lives again through amazing prosthetics. But even as the city where the explosion happened heals and grows, criminals are still abundant, the police are useless, and the need for bounty hunters has never been greater.

Roy Revant is the toughest, meanest bounty hunter out there. He lost his daughter in the Blast Fall and has never been the same since. He spends his time being angry and turning in bruised and battered bad guys for money, while working for his best friends wife’s company. But everything changes for him when he runs into a strange super-strong girl. The girl doesn’t know who she is or where she comes from, but takes a liking to Roy. After much stalking and persistence, Roy becomes partners with the mysterious girl, and names her Solty. But with a mysterious path and inhuman powers comes trouble, and they attract the attention of government officials, expert thieves and more.

The animation was sharp and fluid and had its own unique design. It’s refreshing to see a main character who actually looks rugged and toughened by hard times. The blend of 3D elements with 2D animation was well done and didn’t seem out of place when it happened.

The sound effects are of special note in this anime, everything from background noise to the battle sounds were excellent, making the scenes realistic and believable. The voice acting was good, too. I particularly liked Roys voice. His dark sarcastic tone reminded me of Bruce Willis’s narration in the movie Sin City.

The only real extra of note was the Character Cast Auditions. I could have gone for an interview or a character art gallery as well. However, there are six full episodes on this DVD, giving you the full bang for your buck. I hope it’s a trend they continue to carry throughout the series. I also compared the DVD Box Starter set to the standalone first volume, and the only difference is the ten dollars in the price and a little box that you can store the future volumes in. The Box Starter Set offers nothing extra.

Solty Rei offers an in-depth story with plenty of mysteries to uncover with a slick art style. This one has a lot of potential for plot twists and I’m looking forward to the next volume. Those who like cyberpunk, futuristic settings and bounty hunters will like this anime.

Entertainment: 8
A good story with a lot of potential, it had a lot of dark story line, but kept a good balance of lightening things up with comedy scenes.

Technical: 8
I just wasn’t impressed with the extras, but hey 6 episodes and good voice acting for the win.

Overall: 8

DVD Features: Episodes 1-4, English, Japanese with English Subtitles

DVD Extras: Character Cast Auditions, Textless Songs, Trailers