I bet this show is about the sky....
It’s amazing how you can watch the same genre, the same mysterious atmosphere type shows and come away from two shows with two very different experiences.
I like the random cute moments.
Read for entire series review
Sola was voted anime of the year in 2007. I followed the flock of sheep train and watched all 13 episodes and 2 OVAS in one seating and went….eh at the end of it.
What do you mean just EH?
Sola has the basic formula to it. Boy meets mysterious girl. Mysterious girl has enemies. Insert random flashbacks of how everyone knew each other “back then”. Sister hates mysterious girl for trying to ruin their almost incestuous happiness. Boy angst over mysterious girl. Boy and mysterious girl make a sacrificeto make other people happy. This is the very basic plot of Sola. It sounds generic, yet Sola pretends it is very fresh and original. Despite its twists here and there, deep down it is generic. Had Sola not been so pretentious about what it really was and accepted it was “generic” with a twist, it would not have been so annoying.
Just a typical couple, nothing strange going on here.
And what are the twists? Yorito is a paper doll. A few centuries ago, Yorito and Aono were a happy brother and sister family. The village decides to sacrifice Aono to the yaka (some monster thing that is never explained). The yaka turns out to be Matsuri who doesn’t want Aono dead, she is a GOOD monster thingy. A storm hits the village and kills Yorito. Aono convinces herself it’s her fault and kills herself. Matsuri, having lost both her special people, changes Aono into a yaka so she can live. Aono is still cannot get over Yorito’s death so she makes a doll out of her powers (to control paper) and pretends his false personality is real. While I admit being a paper doll is a pretty interesting twist, this is an anime, I expect a twist. Don’t rely on the twist to carry your show; it needs to have a decent build up and interesting characters.
I'm made of paper?!
What do you mean she killed herself?!
This is the only way you can explain to someone they are made of paper.
This series has some serious plot holes/misunderstandings. Takeshi often talks about his disgusting yaka’s are, yet his girl Mayuko is one. Unless I missed something, it is never explained why Mayuko hides in trash cans and boxes around the city. Aono blames herself for Yorito’s death, since she did not die like she was suppose to. However, she knows Matsuri is the yaka and she is not responsible for the curse on the village. She couldn’t possibly be responsible for Yorito’s death, throwing her reason for self hate out the window. And just what is the curse on the village? With only 13 episodes, there wasn’t enough time for all these answers.
Trash cans make the best hiding spots.
Can we say hypocritical?
That was probably a big issue with this series. I tend to stick to 24+ episode series. This was the first 13 episodes I have finished. The entire series felt rushed. I didn’t feel emotionally attached to any characters. Matsuri was in and out of Yorito’s house within 6 episodes, so it was hard to understand why Yorito was so sad without her. Aono’s hatred for Matsuri seems to manifest instantly. Matsuri’s history for being a yaka or what Aono and Matsuri have been up to all this time was never explained. The “mystery” could have had several scenes working up to it. Yorito being asked where they moved from, where their parents are, ect. The mystery was just dumped on the views. While I hate mindless fillers, this series could have worked in some explanation episodes.
We must duel to the death.....
WITH PAPER AIRPLANES!
Takeshi and Mayuko feel like tools. Their purpose in the show was only to supply the yaka killing sword (no explanation on where it came from or why Takeshi has it). Mayuko was brought back to life by Matsuri we assume, but what makes her a candidate to be brought back? Mayuko has no real substance to her, just a list of weird quirks and personality traits. Takeshi started off as a young man who thinks he can handle taking care of a childhood friend turned zombie and ends up this bitter man who is too focused on his mission. Yeah, his mission that he decides to toss in the trash (hope Mayuko wasn’t in that one) when Mayuko decides to randomly adopt Matsuri. If Takeshi really wanted to save Mayuko, he would have tried to take Matsuri out without Mayuko knowing. He should have died heroically for Mayuko instead of being her rice ball errand boy.
I did find Chibi Takeshi cute.
So....did Matsuri bring her back to life?
At least they are well fed.
The entire series wasn’t an entire waste. Matsuri had endearing qualities. She seems to just be a lonely girl who wants to give people second chances. Mana, while annoying loyal at times, had spunk and strong will. Yorito also had a very “gotta help out people” frame of mind. The fight scenes were interesting enough. The light darts were a better concept than silver bullets or other cliché things. The art style was crisp and clean…and the tomatoes can were cute? Yeah, I am stretching it here.
These moments were endearing. Two thumbs up for this scene.
Aono looked normal in this scene! It is a miracle!
What was up with the ugly plushies?
I really loved the school uniforms, best I have seen in a while.
The more I think about the series, the more negative things I think of and it truly wasn’t that bad. The concept about the sky was cute, despite it being hammered into our brains. Aono comes across like time affected her in a psycho way. Matsuri should have been more aware of how “living forever” is a very bad gift to force on someone. Matsuri seem quick to give up her life for Aono, but not Mayuko who seems more worthy.
This really wasn’t meant to be such a bashing post. I watched all 13 episodes (and the two useless OVA’s) and my brain did not explode. It wasn’t the best anime, but it wasn’t the worse either. I would view it at an anime convention, but not invest money into the series. I rate it a meh now. I’ll be over here in my corner of the internet, waiting for its diehard fans to torture me. Give it a whirl, just don’t expect miracles.
Vending machine abuse!!!
What do you mean just EH?
Sola has the basic formula to it. Boy meets mysterious girl. Mysterious girl has enemies. Insert random flashbacks of how everyone knew each other “back then”. Sister hates mysterious girl for trying to ruin their almost incestuous happiness. Boy angst over mysterious girl. Boy and mysterious girl make a sacrificeto make other people happy. This is the very basic plot of Sola. It sounds generic, yet Sola pretends it is very fresh and original. Despite its twists here and there, deep down it is generic. Had Sola not been so pretentious about what it really was and accepted it was “generic” with a twist, it would not have been so annoying.
Just a typical couple, nothing strange going on here.
And what are the twists? Yorito is a paper doll. A few centuries ago, Yorito and Aono were a happy brother and sister family. The village decides to sacrifice Aono to the yaka (some monster thing that is never explained). The yaka turns out to be Matsuri who doesn’t want Aono dead, she is a GOOD monster thingy. A storm hits the village and kills Yorito. Aono convinces herself it’s her fault and kills herself. Matsuri, having lost both her special people, changes Aono into a yaka so she can live. Aono is still cannot get over Yorito’s death so she makes a doll out of her powers (to control paper) and pretends his false personality is real. While I admit being a paper doll is a pretty interesting twist, this is an anime, I expect a twist. Don’t rely on the twist to carry your show; it needs to have a decent build up and interesting characters.
I'm made of paper?!
What do you mean she killed herself?!
This is the only way you can explain to someone they are made of paper.
This series has some serious plot holes/misunderstandings. Takeshi often talks about his disgusting yaka’s are, yet his girl Mayuko is one. Unless I missed something, it is never explained why Mayuko hides in trash cans and boxes around the city. Aono blames herself for Yorito’s death, since she did not die like she was suppose to. However, she knows Matsuri is the yaka and she is not responsible for the curse on the village. She couldn’t possibly be responsible for Yorito’s death, throwing her reason for self hate out the window. And just what is the curse on the village? With only 13 episodes, there wasn’t enough time for all these answers.
Trash cans make the best hiding spots.
Can we say hypocritical?
That was probably a big issue with this series. I tend to stick to 24+ episode series. This was the first 13 episodes I have finished. The entire series felt rushed. I didn’t feel emotionally attached to any characters. Matsuri was in and out of Yorito’s house within 6 episodes, so it was hard to understand why Yorito was so sad without her. Aono’s hatred for Matsuri seems to manifest instantly. Matsuri’s history for being a yaka or what Aono and Matsuri have been up to all this time was never explained. The “mystery” could have had several scenes working up to it. Yorito being asked where they moved from, where their parents are, ect. The mystery was just dumped on the views. While I hate mindless fillers, this series could have worked in some explanation episodes.
We must duel to the death.....
WITH PAPER AIRPLANES!
Takeshi and Mayuko feel like tools. Their purpose in the show was only to supply the yaka killing sword (no explanation on where it came from or why Takeshi has it). Mayuko was brought back to life by Matsuri we assume, but what makes her a candidate to be brought back? Mayuko has no real substance to her, just a list of weird quirks and personality traits. Takeshi started off as a young man who thinks he can handle taking care of a childhood friend turned zombie and ends up this bitter man who is too focused on his mission. Yeah, his mission that he decides to toss in the trash (hope Mayuko wasn’t in that one) when Mayuko decides to randomly adopt Matsuri. If Takeshi really wanted to save Mayuko, he would have tried to take Matsuri out without Mayuko knowing. He should have died heroically for Mayuko instead of being her rice ball errand boy.
I did find Chibi Takeshi cute.
So....did Matsuri bring her back to life?
At least they are well fed.
The entire series wasn’t an entire waste. Matsuri had endearing qualities. She seems to just be a lonely girl who wants to give people second chances. Mana, while annoying loyal at times, had spunk and strong will. Yorito also had a very “gotta help out people” frame of mind. The fight scenes were interesting enough. The light darts were a better concept than silver bullets or other cliché things. The art style was crisp and clean…and the tomatoes can were cute? Yeah, I am stretching it here.
These moments were endearing. Two thumbs up for this scene.
Aono looked normal in this scene! It is a miracle!
What was up with the ugly plushies?
I really loved the school uniforms, best I have seen in a while.
The more I think about the series, the more negative things I think of and it truly wasn’t that bad. The concept about the sky was cute, despite it being hammered into our brains. Aono comes across like time affected her in a psycho way. Matsuri should have been more aware of how “living forever” is a very bad gift to force on someone. Matsuri seem quick to give up her life for Aono, but not Mayuko who seems more worthy.
This really wasn’t meant to be such a bashing post. I watched all 13 episodes (and the two useless OVA’s) and my brain did not explode. It wasn’t the best anime, but it wasn’t the worse either. I would view it at an anime convention, but not invest money into the series. I rate it a meh now. I’ll be over here in my corner of the internet, waiting for its diehard fans to torture me. Give it a whirl, just don’t expect miracles.
Vending machine abuse!!!
5 comments:
Thanks for this review! I enjoyed reading your opinions about Sola. It didn't really appeal to me either. The twist was really nice though and, i have to admit, it left me feeling empty inside. Your thoughts on this anime helped a lot while I was explaining the series to my friends. Thanks a lot!
I dont think you really bashed this anime... its just your personal opinion. You actually helped me understand Sola a little more than I already did :)
Anonymous- Thanks for the comments! Sorry for the late reply. Sometimes yahoo mail sends my blog comments to the trash bin -_-
But yeah sometimes I feel as if I am bashing something when I am really just trying to be honest and explain it to people. I rather people know what they are getting into rather than go on and on about this apparently award winning anime.
The twist was a new one. Can't remember the last time the main character was paper. But it just went on and on and the hurt feelings were too drawn out to be reasonable. It left me feeling empty inside to.
I am glad I could help explain things. Sometimes when animes make me X_X I find reading someone else's perspective help you see things that you might have missed the first time. Or it is just fun to see that other people feel the same way you do. XD
Sorry to comment as anonymous, I don't feel like creating an account just to make a mere comment that nobody ever will even care about.
Sola anime series is based on a manga. It happens A LOT (my last example was Sasameki koto -the 13-episode anime only covers the first 12 out of 46 chapters, wtf, and it ends with actually NO ending whatsoever, AT ALL -yes, it was hell. A cute hell, but hell indeed.) that they only make a few episodes that either don't fully cover the story (as the aforementioned series) or rush into it in very few episodes; I don't know what they do it, maybe they can't risk or afford or trust the series enought to make more episodes. I haven't read the manga yet as I'm just finishing the anime series now. Honestly I enjoy anime way more than manga (shame on me!) unless it's horror manga, so I don't feel very enthusiastic about reading a manga of something I enjoy more on an anime version and which story, in addition, I already now. But I'll give it a try I guess. I say all this because I'm thinking maybe in the manga they do explain the "mysteries" and the past (the sword, for instance) and it probably makes more sense that Yorito is so freaking desperate and obsessed with Matsuri enough to ditch his loving, caring sister like that. Right? Because he was suffering so freaking much for her that I can only think that in the manga their relationship is not only deeper but also... longer. I want to believe.
Btw, I like 13-episode anime series a lot. I like having the chance to watch them all at once in one day (yes, I'm that lame when it comes to anime) and being, thus, able to enjoy more series in less time and have, therefore, more variety. Examples of 13-ish-episodes I was absolutely able to enjoy (hey, I did enjoy Sola, I must say): Another (though the ending -around the last 5 or 4 episodes- was RIDICULOUS, I loved the other ones, specially the first 4 or 5), Serial Experiments: Lain (I actually related Sola and Lain because they both go all about reality vs ilussion, memories vs facts, past vs present vs time doesn't exist really vs what DOES really exist anyway, etc).
Oh, dear god, I wrote so much. I'm sorry!
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