Solty Rei takes place after an event called Blast Fall where an accident occurred with the Aurora Shell and created a massive explosion. Thousands died and in one man's case, so did his daughter. Even since that day Roy Revant has drifted through life bemoaning the loss of his child but with wild determination and a difficulty accepting "reality" he continues to search for her in hopes that she's still alive somewhere. These efforts prove to be futile but one fateful night while he's out hunting a criminal he has a new, artificial daughter land in his lap.

Solty has become a part of his life and Roy slowly begins to accept her for what/who she is. Other characters come in to fill the gaps as well such as Roy's "boss", a woman who hires him out to do some bounty hunter work, her daughter, and a group of underground siblings lead by a blonde named Rose Anderson. In the previous volume it was revealed that Rose is actually Roy's long-lost daughter. That fact brought a few interesting events to the story and the development of its characters but it didn't last very long. In a second mini Blast Fall Rose was killed when a building collapsed on her and Roy went back to being a listless drunk.

As this fourth volume starts Roy is slowly wasting away in his apartment and Solty is nowhere to be found. She went off by herself in an emotional fit thanks to Rose's death and Roy's pissy "why me" attitude. When she gets lost in the desert she comes to in the care of an older gentleman and a kid who is fascinated by her resemble body. She stays with the two for some time as she mulls over the recent events in her head.

Gradually Solty grows closer to the boy who admits to being half-serious about being in love with her. Sadly he was injured severely during Blast Fall and his body has been degrading ever since. Before they can spend much more time together he kicks the bucket and Solty is left in a crying fit once more. As she heads home to see Roy and company, Roy winds up going to the old man's house that she was staying at. Eventually the two meet up and have their happy little reunion.

It was nice to see Roy come full circle and accept Solty as a surrogate daughter though I take some issue with Solty's development in this volume. She essentially strives to be human and goes through a little Pinocchio phase while dealing with her personal feelings. She is still plucky despite everything that has her down and watching her impact the lives of others is one of the joys of the show. Unfortunately the development of her character hasn't really gone much further since we saw her in the first episode. She's very static and one-dimensional though she becomes more interesting thanks to her interactions with others.

The thing about this volume that really got me down was the resurrection of Rose as a puppet of RUC's lead man. Her memory seems to have been erased and she's now a mind-controlled super cop of a corrupt organization. I have to say that as a viewer of the program I was almost happier seeing Rose dead and gone. It brought about real emotion from the cast and gave Roy and Solty something to work towards. With her randomly tossed into the mix in such a weak manner it really broke up the biggest thing that Solty Rei had going for it.

Despite my ill feelings towards some developments in this volume I still had a decent time watching it. The four episodes each offer some kind of hook though they don't sink quite as deep as previous ones. I'm hoping that things still turn out well for Solty Rei but with the way its looking we might have a let down on our hands. If you've been watching please join me in keeping your fingers crossed for a strong finish!

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 from every frame. Unfortunately there are some problems with the transfer available for this volume. This installment just doesn't look "quite" as good as the prior ones thanks to an abundance of compression artifacts and grain. Both accounts appear strongly here and though they don't completely ruin the experience it's hard to ignore them.

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.

This time around the only bonus features you're going to find are some trailers and textless animation.

Solty Rei has been a real rollercoaster ride for me. One volume impresses with potential and risk taking while the next disappoints with trivial development and random events. There is a distinct lack of consistency here and though my overall impression of the series is positive my interest is starting to waver. We'll see how things end and if they are worth the wait. Check back later to see how well the curtain closes!

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