NoaIzumiAnime Review: Sol Bianca, the Legacy
February 10th 2009 12:17
Warning: I do usually try to avoid spoilers in my reviews, but this one may contain some.
April and her crew of space pirates are just trying to get along in this universe. They never asked for the Terra Forces to come after them, and they certainly didn’t ask for a stowaway. But their chosen course will take April, Jan, Feb, and June back to where it all started, the long-lost planet of Earth.
There’s a scene at the end of the first episode (it’s a six episode OVA) which pretty much sums up the series. The crew has just stolen the loot from an auction house and are escaping aboard the Sol Bianca. The authorities (the Terra Forces) are in pursuit, and the pirates turn and fight. One of the crew, June (the cute computer geek), links with the Sol Bianca and generates a building-sized hologram, of a woman with a bow and arrow, with the ship as the head of the arrow. The maiden fires the arrow, an energy blast fires, the Terran ship is crippled, and our heroines get away. It’s an absolutely gorgeous scene that makes almost no sense.
Sol Bianca is a beautiful anime to look at. The ship and character designs are wonderful, the music is perfect, and I really dig the Spanish cultural references in the language and architecture. But like the climactic scene of the first episode, it leaves a lot unexplained. Like any good dramatic anime, Sol Bianca sets up a number of questions. What happened to Earth? What happened to stowaway Mayo’s parents? How did the various crew members come to join April? What’s so special about the Sol Bianca and why is Admiral Gyunther so anxious to get his hands on it? But most of these questions are either not answered in a very satisfying way, or not answered at all.
Plotwise, Sol Bianca is kind of a mess. The first episode is a good setup for the series, and the next two are stand alone episodes that focus two of the characters. Both of these feel like filler; although the first explains something of June’s origin and the second humanizes Jan (the muscle of the crew), a real opportunity to show some background in that hour was lost in favor of some admittedly neat action scenes and some rather silly comedy scenes.
The last three eps form an arc, starting with Feb (the seductive one, and a great pilot besides) leaving the ship and ending with the whole crew on Earth. Again, this could have been done very well, with an hour and a half to wrap up the various plot threads, but then more threads are added until the situation in the final episode is almost incomprehensible. The power struggle within the Terra Forces was completely illogical, and it felt like the creators wanted a big spaceship battle, but not with Gyunther, so they introduce another admiral from out of nowhere, and make him the Bad Guy. But this admiral and Gyunther seem to want the same thing from the Sol Bianca, so why are they fighting? I can understand the temptation to make a complex plot, but Sol Bianca proves that sometimes, less is more. We do at least see what happened to the Earth, but the Sol Bianca’s role in its recovery is never explained.
And here’s a thought. If the Earth is damaged and needs to heal, maybe a good first step would be not to build a giant shield around the planet that blocks out sunlight. Just a thought.
In a short OVA like this, the temptation is to excuse the makers by saying they simply didn’t have enough time to properly flesh out the plot and characters. But that doesn’t fly here. There’s plenty of time, but too much is frittered away.
That being said, it is one of the prettiest animes I’ve ever seen. Even if plot holes bother you, I would recommend seeing this.
Extras: Character and ship designs, music videos.
Summary: Beautiful series, but too many gaps in plot and too little character development. Grade: C plus.
Age Rating: 13 and up. Violence, some light fan service, a non-explicit sex scene.
April and the Sol Bianca
April and her crew of space pirates are just trying to get along in this universe. They never asked for the Terra Forces to come after them, and they certainly didn’t ask for a stowaway. But their chosen course will take April, Jan, Feb, and June back to where it all started, the long-lost planet of Earth.
There’s a scene at the end of the first episode (it’s a six episode OVA) which pretty much sums up the series. The crew has just stolen the loot from an auction house and are escaping aboard the Sol Bianca. The authorities (the Terra Forces) are in pursuit, and the pirates turn and fight. One of the crew, June (the cute computer geek), links with the Sol Bianca and generates a building-sized hologram, of a woman with a bow and arrow, with the ship as the head of the arrow. The maiden fires the arrow, an energy blast fires, the Terran ship is crippled, and our heroines get away. It’s an absolutely gorgeous scene that makes almost no sense.
Sol Bianca is a beautiful anime to look at. The ship and character designs are wonderful, the music is perfect, and I really dig the Spanish cultural references in the language and architecture. But like the climactic scene of the first episode, it leaves a lot unexplained. Like any good dramatic anime, Sol Bianca sets up a number of questions. What happened to Earth? What happened to stowaway Mayo’s parents? How did the various crew members come to join April? What’s so special about the Sol Bianca and why is Admiral Gyunther so anxious to get his hands on it? But most of these questions are either not answered in a very satisfying way, or not answered at all.
Plotwise, Sol Bianca is kind of a mess. The first episode is a good setup for the series, and the next two are stand alone episodes that focus two of the characters. Both of these feel like filler; although the first explains something of June’s origin and the second humanizes Jan (the muscle of the crew), a real opportunity to show some background in that hour was lost in favor of some admittedly neat action scenes and some rather silly comedy scenes.
The last three eps form an arc, starting with Feb (the seductive one, and a great pilot besides) leaving the ship and ending with the whole crew on Earth. Again, this could have been done very well, with an hour and a half to wrap up the various plot threads, but then more threads are added until the situation in the final episode is almost incomprehensible. The power struggle within the Terra Forces was completely illogical, and it felt like the creators wanted a big spaceship battle, but not with Gyunther, so they introduce another admiral from out of nowhere, and make him the Bad Guy. But this admiral and Gyunther seem to want the same thing from the Sol Bianca, so why are they fighting? I can understand the temptation to make a complex plot, but Sol Bianca proves that sometimes, less is more. We do at least see what happened to the Earth, but the Sol Bianca’s role in its recovery is never explained.
And here’s a thought. If the Earth is damaged and needs to heal, maybe a good first step would be not to build a giant shield around the planet that blocks out sunlight. Just a thought.
In a short OVA like this, the temptation is to excuse the makers by saying they simply didn’t have enough time to properly flesh out the plot and characters. But that doesn’t fly here. There’s plenty of time, but too much is frittered away.
That being said, it is one of the prettiest animes I’ve ever seen. Even if plot holes bother you, I would recommend seeing this.
The crew of the Sol Bianca. From left: June, Feb, Mayo (seated), Jan, and April
Extras: Character and ship designs, music videos.
Summary: Beautiful series, but too many gaps in plot and too little character development. Grade: C plus.
Age Rating: 13 and up. Violence, some light fan service, a non-explicit sex scene.
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Comment by Andrew Kerstetter
A New Poetics
Inkwing
Cinemuscle
Comment by NoaIzumi
Fine Politics
Anime Bottle
As for Wolf's Rain, I've only seen pieces of episodes from when it aired on Cartoon Network, but what I saw looked pretty good. It's on my list.