I first heard about Solty Rei at last year's Anime Boston. This new series published by FUNimation was announced and sounded pretty cool. After investigating I found out that it was another science fiction series by Gonzo which immediately my interest peaked. This 24 episode show ran in Japan from 2005 to 2006 and has finally arrived on DVD with a whopping six episodes.

After sitting through all six episodes on the first disc I can honestly say that Solty Rei does a lot of things uniquely. The concept carries quite a bit of intrigue and the characters are likeable enough, though somewhat stereotypical upon further examination. You have the moody bounty hunter, the perky girl who doesn't know her past, and quirky enemies that don't really appear to be enemies at all. Yes, in many ways Solty Rei is similar to many shows that have come before it but there is still enough stuff here to make it worth watching no matter how seasoned an otaku you'd consider yourself.

In a distant future there is a city with a tragic past. You see, this metropolis is covered by something called the Aurora Shell. This multicolored barrier keeps the atmosphere intact though it has played a bigger role in the lives of those who live beneath it. Twelve years ago there was an event where the Shell struck lightning down on a tower that was built too high. The result; called Blast Fall, was cataclysmic and nearly destroyed the city. Thousands died and much of the area needed to be rebuilt.

Roy Revant lost his daughter in the event and quite honestly he hit rock bottom after that. With his wife passing away due to illness Roy had no one to turn to and nothing else to look forward to in life. He hit the bottle and became a bounty hunter working under his sister-in-law Miranda Maverick. After seeing Roy in action across these six episodes he really comes across like a Dirty Harry-like character. He's played with a heavy dose of anger and depression all rolled into one volatile package. Good guy, really.

One day while Roy is out on a case he's ambushed by a thug looking to get revenge for his buddy. Roy's mindful tactics and skill with a gun is unparalleled but when he's up against this Resemble (person with prosthetic implants for heightened abilities) he is arguably outmatched. Things looked grim for Roy until a green-haired girl fell out of the sky and landed on his foe.

Stricken with amnesia and obviously not human, the girl takes a liking to Roy when she comes to. Before long she's discovered as being a non-register person and Roy has to name her (Solty Revant) and become her guardian in order for her to keep from being arrested. In the world of Solty Rei there is an underground section where unregistered people live. It's illegal for them to come to the surface without someone vouching for them. This really gives Solty Rei a lot of social undertones and a springboard for commentary on the class structure in society.

At any rate, Solty, Roy, and the Mavericks go on one episodic adventure after another. Between each episode there isn't a lot of development. The mystery surrounding Solty's past is definitely interesting and seeing Roy soften up a little bit definitely adds weight to his character. Along the way though some recurring enemies show up in the form of the RUC, which is a militant policing group. There are other scumbags as well because after all this is a bounty hunter show but frankly there's nobody else in this volume other than a thief who goes by the name Rose. None of these characters really added anything to the six episodes here and they really just felt like filler action scenes.

Of the episodes here there are a couple that are notable. The best in my opinion involves an unregistered man stealing some P10 crystals from a high tech lab. Roy takes the case and goes to track the man down but finds a girl with his daughter's name in the process. He discovers that while she isn't his daughter she is a victim of Blast Fall and the event left her eyes and legs unusable. The unregistered guy turns out to be her father and is stealing the goods in order to buy her resemble eyes and legs.

Another episode on the polar end of the spectrum features a day at a spa/pool place. Rose appears and hides an emerald at the resort while Solty, Roy, and company are there trying to relax. Things get crazy when Solty tries to help Rose out and in the end the RUC gets involved with trying to recover the emerald. Out of every episode here this one offers the least redeeming qualities. There really wasn't much of any development here and the plot was entirely a time waster.

Overall the first volume of Solty Rei certainly does offer a wealth of episodes. With so many to watch right away we get a pretty good feeling for the flow of the series. The relationship between Roy and Solty is arguably the most dominant feature and part of the joy of watching the show is seeing Solty's discovery of the world around her. It's entertaining but in the end not a road we haven't been down before with other anime. Still, the concept is interesting enough and the episodes are mostly good. This is one to check out but not go head over heels for; at least not yet anyway.

The DVD:

With the recent production date Solty Rei receives an anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The show's production looks stunning when you get right down to it. Vibrant colors and crisp animation absolutely pops in every frame. Unfortunately the picture quality doesn't holy up quite as much as you'd hope it would. Due to the compression of episodes here there are many flaws to point out from grain and pixilation to aliasing. They aren't entirely prominent but when they pop up it's definitely hard to mis them. In the end this is a good looking show that receives a decent transfer but the capacity of the DVD hinders some of its presentation.

Three audio tracks make their way to this release of Solty Rei. The original Japanese track is presented with a 2.0 stereo output that is about as limited as you'd expect though there is some slight directionality with sound effects and music. English gets a similarly styled stereo presentation but it also receives a 5.1 track that is much more dynamic. Sound effects, voices, and music is spread across all channels and has a very good presence when you get right down to it. The sense of immersion could have been better but it was still decent enough.

A meek supplemental offering is available for Solty Rei's first release. Clean opening and closing animations, a few trailers, and some cast auditions are all that you're going to see. The auditions are a nice inclusion as they always are but a commentary track or interview would have been much nicer.

Solty Rei is one of the most buzzed about anime shows to come out in recent months. The science fiction atmosphere, decent character development, and mysterious nature all come together to make an interesting show. There isn't as much depth as I would like (not yet anyway) and the technical presentation of the show is hindered by the fact that six episodes were packed onto the disc. This makes the first volume of Solty Rei spotty in terms of quality. I liked the show enough to recommend it but nothing that is here is so unique or memorable to warrant a high recommendation.

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