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Sola Oct 10, 2008
reviewed by ChocoMilkTea
As the title implies, this Romance, Drama is heavily themed on the sky (sola), which is definitely different than the usual anime but that may not always be a good thing. It’s quite interesting how something we take for granted like the sky can be such a treasure to other’s but it’s irritating that the bulk of the story has something to do about the sky.
The other main focus of the show is on the blossoming romantic relationship between the two main characters; Yorito is an average guy who’s obsessed with taking photos of the sky and Matsuri, she’s the “special girl” usually found in these types of anime. This type of set-up has been done many times before and compared to other masterpieces, Sola just seems average. With such a dull premise, a lack of action and unanswered questions it’s easy to lose interest in this show. At least as the story begins to develop all of these issues become a thing of the past and the show ends up being good to watch.
This anime ends up doing a not-so-good job in the character department, with the same 7 characters throughout the series. The characters are really average and have the sort of personalities that have been seen many times by an anime fan. On the other hand the show does manage to surprise us with some interesting developments on Yorito (male protagonist). The only other interesting characters in this anime are Matsuri and Yorito’s so called sister Aono because of the mystery that shrouds them and they’re the only ones that are developed well, throughout the series.
The visual quality of this animation is definitely above average with this anime embracing various new animation techniques and styles. Just like the title implies, a lot of detail was put into the skies, clouds and lighting effects. Even the water looks superb, yet it’s a shame that some of this effort wasn’t put into adding more dynamic characters to the screen.
The music was decent with a unique blend of piano, string and harp melodies as background music. It is certainly suited to the calm and dramatic nature of this anime however it did little to add excitement, on the rare occasions of an action scene.
Overall this anime closely resembles “Lunar Legend Tsukihime”, in the sense that both shows revolve around two mysterious girls romantically involved with the male protagonist, who’s unsure of himself. Both shows have the same sort of pace as they start of slow but then finish quick. As a Romance Drama Sola does a decent job in both departments but it was only halfway into the short series that it really kicks in, with shocking character developments and intense fights. The show ended well with the final dramatic confrontation and happy-sad ending, so I only recommend this anime to fans of romance and drama but not for the action lover. ^_^
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