sola (old generic discussion thread)

[BatAttack]

Originally Posted by Sai the Dreamer

"Sola" is in fact a spelling error of "Sora". I believe this to be the case, given that the Japanese have, in prior times, accidentally replaced r's with l's when romanising words.

It is not really a mistake.

Romanising Japanese just means turning Japanese words into pronouncable roman characters. Given that neither the letter L nor the letter R exist in japanese, it can't really be correct or incorrect either way. R sounds tend to be favoured when romanising, but that is just an arbitrary convention.

In Japanese the sound that is closest to our R is sort of part way between L and R in terms of pronounciation. Since they use the same character for both, the Japanese have difficulty pronouncing Enlish words where the sound is definitely an L or an R, not a mix of both - hence the term 'Engrish'.

It is the same as the French not being able to pronounce 'h' properly ( 'ouse' instead of 'house', etc.).

When English speakers try to speak in other languages, there are also a myriad of sounds that we can't hear or pronounce properly.

[Skyfall]

Sola...Sora...Sky...

damn, getting even more Air vibes now >.< ... somehow when i think of the title "sky" my brain instantly links it with something like Air or Iriya no Sora ... i can't help but think the story is going to be quite tragic.

[Skane]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

Sola...Sora...Sky...

damn, getting even more Air vibes now >.< ... somehow when i think of the title "sky" my brain instantly links it with something like Air or Iriya no Sora ... i can't help but think the story is going to be quite tragic.

Given the tagline... I don't think that would be surprising. Of course... the ending could be a happy one, and I hope so, because it is Noto Mamiko! And I want her voiced character to have a happy ending in a romance series for once. All her other romance roles often end up nowhere.

Narf.

[Skyfall]

I almost always prefer my romance series to have at least somewhat happy end (think Hantsuki). One could say i prefer a dramatic (perhaps even tragic at times) story, but with an ending on a positive note.

Not saying than not having one takes away anything or makes me enjoy it any less (i love Air ^___^), but it is still my personal preference. Though a happy end for the sake of having one is something i hate very much >.> (think Mai HiME).

My prediction for this one - bittersweet anding at best

[FlareKnight]

Looks like a promising series, even if Mamiko Noto's voice and my ears haven't quite gotten along. Hopefully I'll get used to it since the promo looked good. I'll save my predictions for the kind of ending until I've seen the first episodes .

[WanderingKnight]

Romanising Japanese just means turning Japanese words into pronouncable roman characters. Given that neither the letter L nor the letter R exist in japanese, it can't really be correct or incorrect either way. R sounds tend to be favoured when romanising, but that is just an arbitrary convention.

Yeah, well, the thing is, there are these "standards" that are supposed to be respected throughout romanizations of Japanese. You see, you're only taking into account the R/L sound compared to the English R and L sounds, but in many other languages (most major languages in Europe, for example), the Japanese R/L sounds much closer to an R than an L. That's why stuff like the Hepburn standard romanizations were built in the first place.

Thing is, you English-speaking guys have a really, really weird way of pronouncing R's

[Vexx]

You are correct, WK... unfortunately, entertainment and marketing people take liberties with proper language (any language) for effect.
So we get Quiky-Mart, U-totem, Sansabelt.... the japanese ad/market/entertainment folks love messing with that stuff
(recalls the kasimasi vs kashimashi (old vs new))

This is one english-speaking guy who is totally unable to roll his "R" sadly (one reason I like japanese).

[physics223]

This is another one in my to-watch list. I *hope* this doesn't end up like Shuffle! I've had had enough of that series, and my expectations have drastically declined. But with the character designs of this one that good, I'm definitely going to give this one a go.

[Skyfall]

^ Why do you compare this to shuffle, when this one even isn't a harem ?

[Vexx]

Agreed..... people seem to be bringing that mess up in the oddest places. But if you're going to tag things as "romance" vs "not romance" it'd be in the same pile, I guess.

[Skyfall]

I think that tagging things as "romance" would not be very fair either - there are truckloads of great romance series out there (and truckloads of shows that can be tagged as romance). Besides the structure of the romance is different in a harem show and something like this, which, i think, is going to be a "single straight path", much like Lamune for example (only the couple facing different difficulties).

The problem with Shuffle was that they were unable to finally get the guy together with one of the girls without butchering some of the characters. While here, i expect, getting them together won't be a big issue - rather what problems there will be standing in their way.

The main theme of a harem anime (in majority of cases) is to see which girl the guy will end up with, and it is one of the main issues, and the events that happen in the series serve as various triggers for relationship developments that finally leads to the male leads decision ... while in a show like this i expect the main issue being something completely different (i mean - the couple is more or less set in stone even before the 1st ep, ) , hence it would be quite hard to achieve the same flaws

... ok, i seriously need to get some sleep ... this post probably didn't make much sense, and i am not sure whether i managed to write down my thoughts properly

[Vexx]

I got it I pretty much agree.... the categories and stereotyping get pretty meaningless when the subjects are usually mixtures of different story elements with a variety of emphasis.

Sola doesn't seem to have anything in common with a straight harem with sci-fi elements like Shuffle! (whatever one thinks of the story execution).

[physics223]

I don't really know the story regarding this series, but it sure looked like a harem to me with a poster featuring a slew of girls and a single guy. What immediately came to mind as something to avoid was Shuffle!. Although I would admit that I waited for it patiently with the hopes of it reviving the franchise, all was for naught as I saw different blogs and different people in this forum (among them was Vexx) who immediately saw through the thin plot full of fluffy fanservice. I've finally terminated all expectations of any 'romance' series to have the same kick as Honey and Clover, and that was why the expectations of mine were bleak.

Pardon me if I was spouting nonsense. I'm going to go desensitize myself by watching Ikkitousen: DD and then Shuffle!:Memories.

[Skane]

Don't judge an anime by its' poster.

Cheers.

[orion]

But one of the girls is his sister and the other male has a shiny sword with Matsuri's name written on it.

I don't think it's going to be that type of a title.

[rg4619]

I don't really know the story regarding this series, but it sure looked like a harem to me with a poster featuring a slew of girls and a single guy.

It depends on how we define a harem. As you've described, Sola is most definitely a bishoujo series (not sure if this term is used in anime) aimed at the otaku/moé crowd, which might be enough to turn off some viewers.

However, bishoujo story concepts differ from title to title. Some are all about fanservice and silly sexually-charged antics, which is how I'd describe a harem. However, there're other types of stories, such as gentle one-on-one romances (Lamune), conflict-centered soap operas (KGNE), idealistic/non-romantic high school friendships (To Heart, Lamune to a certain degree), and tragic fairy tales (Air).

All bishoujo products are characterized by a slew of girls and a single guy. I'd also say that character and scenario complexity tend to be downplayed in favor of emphasizing a cute and often innocent/dreamy atmosphere. However, it'd be grossly inaccurate to classify all of them as harem series.

I've finally terminated all expectations of any 'romance' series to have the same kick as Honey and Clover, and that was why the expectations of mine were bleak.

Well, yeah. Honey and Clover was aimed at a different viewer demographic, so I wouldn't expect any otaku/moé-centered series (which might not even be strongly romantic, despite the slew of girls) to be remotely similar.

That series was an experiment to draw in young working women who normally have no interest in anime. On Fuji's Noitamina time block, H&C, Hataraki Man, and Nodame Cantabile have been quite successful, so similar series might just be offered in the future.

[Maceart]

I think what sets sola apart from harem drivel would probably lie in its screnplay/character design strength. Having the writer from Kanon always helps, along with Da Capo's character designs.

Even if sola is a harem, he at most has only 2 girls to go after. (The others are a 2nd grader and his own sister!)

[Samsara]

re: Doremi's release of the drama CD. That's a very interesting way of subbing a drama CD! First time seeing it done this way. Although I still personally prefer to get a drama CD as mp3 and the translated script (if any) as a separate file, I must commend Doremi for doing such a wonderful job.

This series only came to my attention because somebody commented in her blog that the male lead's voice Okamoto Nobuhiko sounds like Ishida Akira. From what I've heard in the trailer, his first sentence and the first half of his second sentence do carry a slight resemblance but the rest doesn't even come close. It'd be nice if they actually did cast Ishida-san though... oh well.

Anyway, the show itself looks like it might be interesting. I think I'll consider checking it out.

[relentlessflame]

Spoiler for Episode 1 (impressions, but no blatant spoilers):

I like the "vibe" the show gives off (for lack of a better word). On the one hand, it has a lot of familiar elements, but there's something just sort of "off" about it -- you know there's something strange going on in the midst of the seemingly-normal surroundings. And sure enough, the end of the episode confirms it (even if the way they went about it is a tad obvious, it definitely sets things into motion rather quickly, which is a good idea for a first episode that otherwise featured largely character and theme introductions). The whole "sky" thing, as the title suggests, is very very important in the show. It has physical significance in the plot, but it's also a huge metaphor, of course. So the first episode is very much an introduction (it compliments the Drama CD), but I'm curious to see what they do with it. At this point, it's still pretty open game.

Incidentally, the art and animation were pretty good (and produced in real HD), and I liked how the ED featured CGs from Naru Nanao (which makes sense, given that her character designs were one of the selling points).

[orion]

Spoiler:

This show is giving off "Air" vibes to me. "Sensitive Scenery" played at the beginning and totally set the mood for ep. 1. The water effects were great.

I wish "Sensitive Scenery" was the OP.

Matsuri's the second cutest vampire. Hazuki takes first place imo.