Forum - View topicREVIEW: Solty Rei DVD 2
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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I will have to say that this is the weakest recent Gonzo release next to Desert Punk and Black Cat. That being said I'm still collecting it and finding it enjoyable. The paternal relationship (much like Speed Grapher) hits me and the main characters of Roy and Saiga resonate with me, being a single guy getting on in his 30s. Maybe there is some truth (as someone mentioned on another thread) the idea of kids valuie friendship, adolescents value romance, and adults value family. I'm currently rewatching Zone of the Enders which also is very strong in this department. There is a strong element in story telling in regards to identifying (or at least liking) with the protagonist, which is one of the reasons why I don't like Desert Punk or Burst Angel.
As for volume two I did enjoy the whole underground city bit. The cityscape and back story for Solty Rei is one of it's main draws for me. It somewhat reminds me of Judou (sp?) from Heat Guy J. I only wish that the 3D animation were better since most of the mecha lack texture. Rose and the brothers are fun, but often their comic relief is a bit too much for me to handle. I agree this second volume didn't feel as dark as the first and I wish they went more into the divide between citizens and the people Rose is helping.. I also wanted to see more of Roy's quest for his child and the tragedy that occurred over comedic antics. This series along with Black Cat make my cut for series to collect new, although anything below them will have to wait for a brick or thinpak. I guess I'm a sucker when it comes to Gonzo. |
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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Well, I somewhat disagree. While this series doesn't really have anything that jumps out and sets it above the rest it is still a good series and does quite well, and usually I'm quite critical of typical generic fare. Something about the characters and how they interact makes it all work for me, and as you mentioned, the family aspect is portrayed quite effectively and I think that's at the center of it all.
While it's not their strongest, I wouldn't put this as their weakest either, or one of them. Like you said, neither Desert Punk or Black Cat particularly interested me, but honestly I felt Speed Grapher was far weaker. It had an interesting premise but the execution just didn't work for me, where as Solty Rei has a pretty generic premise but is executed quite well. Going over the list of what Gonzo has done it's actually quite easy for me to stack quite a few of what they've done under Solty Rei, in the end this would win up somewhere in the middle, or upper middle, but certainly not near the likes of Last Exile or Samurai 7. But under Afro Samurai or Origin? No, in my opinion it sits somewhere in the middle, not a throwaway series but not groundbreaking or terrific either. It actually has fit the bill for me though. I tend to get too caught up in the philosophical titles or slower drama titles. Last time I decided I wanted a series that wasn't too deep and was just fun to watch I got caught up in FMA and ended up with yet another deep and philosophical series. Solty Rei though is exactly what I was looking for though, it's nice to have something that's just a joy to watch, especially when two others I'm collecting right now, Ergo Proxy and Noein, are definitely not the "shut your brain off and enjoy the show" types. I love deep and meaningful series, but sometimes even for someone like me a show like Solty Rei is a perfect break in that routine. |
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