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Wow. We got really rough critics... I don't see myself as much of a critic, so my post won't be as big... So, here goes:
I personally liked Sola. It wasn't another vampire story or super hero-ish story or any other story that seems to be touched upon repeatedly enough that it starts to feel old. Like a few stories out there, it was fresh and new in my eyes. It's refreshing to know that there's still some form of creativity out there where someone can't just randomly say, "Yeah, they've done that type of characters in..."
When I watched the first episode, I had the thought of, "Oh, great. Another vampire anime. What number is this now?" But, I was wrong to think that so quickly as the episode progressed. Instead of vampires, it was yakas. What exactly is yaka? Well, people say "woe" or "calamity." I liked one of the fansubber's own translation of the word in english. "Night Dwellers." I'm not one to much describe what a yaka truly is, but as far as I can really say, it's like a vampire, but closer to being human... Oh, and varying powers. That whole idea impressed me. Most stories now-a-days are easy to compare to other works we've personally seen in the past. With this one, I had a hell of a time trying to make a connection to other things. That's why I find it so creative.
The music helped set the mood and the flow of the colors just kept me wanting to watch for more. Sure, I can say that there were some disappointments and questionable moments about the story, as well as I wished the last episode ended differently, but it was amazing that it kept me attached to the series to the very end. The emotions it tried to invoke on the audience wasn't overwhelming like other animes and that helped. Some animes just invoke so much emotion that it makes it so hard to watch the whole series, and I end up either watching each episode at longer gaps of time or end up just putting it off until I felt that it was just a little too much for me to handle. This kept it at a good balance, though I will say that if it invoked a tad more emotion on the audience, it would have helped.
Oh, the storyline. I'll have to agree with those who say that there seemed to be several things that made me question or wonder/linger, but never ended up getting or finding an answer. I personally think that could have been resolved if the series had been expanded to 26-ish episodes instead of 13. I know I would be one of the audiences that would have hung on to the end.
Ah, the character development was highly criticized by many. I personally won't break it down per character. I actually liked them all, though for some of the supporting characters, I wished there were more to them than just showing up at convenient times. As for the characters that we were able to know more in-depth about, I was content, though it left me wishing for more. Several flashbacks and glimpses just give me a puzzle to work on while making me feel like there should be more pieces. Other than that, I liked how the characters started out personality-wise, and I liked how it progressed. They tried their best to explain why the characters acted these certain ways, and I'll give them kudos for that. But, like I said, if the series was longer, it probably would have helped expanding on that.
Overall, the anime was great and I'd love to buy it once the DVDs hit the shelves here in the US. (I'm praying they do.) The story could have been expanded further for a longer running anime. And of course, I do wish there would be more coming out later on, but with the way it ended, I highly doubt it... Unless the manga manages to continue the story past what has transpired and enlightens the director/producer/etc to continue the anime based on the manga.
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