sola (old generic discussion thread)

[Skane]

Originally Posted by Skane

Preliminary Thoughts on ~sola~ Ep01:
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Spoiler:

• I was impressed by the level of detail in the BG-art. The signs of wear and tear on walls, the grains in the wooden floor of the tram, etc...
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• I get a kick out of Mamiko Noto voicing a character who goes around kicking vending machines. It's not often that she gets to voice a semi-energetic character, since she seems to be stereotyped in "demure" roles.
  
  She slipped into her "Yakumo" voice at times, but for the most part, she is using a different tone for this role.
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• Given that this is partly from the writer of Kanon, I wager that the flashback with the cave and stuff is going to be very important. In fact, I am now fully expecting flashbacks in every episode that insert another piece to the jigsaw puzzle.
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• I am glad that the male lead does know how to interact with girls, and not like... run away screaming like they're diseases or something. The jib about Mana's pantsu blocking his view of the sky was golden.
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• Speaking of which, he's abnormal and has weird taste. Which makes him your typical guy. The gag with the mutant doll was amusing, and his obsession with the sky is borderline crazy.
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• I'm soooo surprised that they did not make a gag about indirect kissing when they shared the can of tomato juice. It's so cliché in romance shows that I was shocked it did not happen. It makes me happy.
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• Vita from "MSLN A's" called and wants her bunny-doll back.
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• The token loli seems to be the spawn of Shinku and Suiseiseki from Rozen Maiden.
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• Is Matsuri really a vampire? Why does Aono avoid the sun as well? Did Yorito's previous incarnation fall in love with vampires, causing his bloodline to manifest vampires as well?
  
  Actually, maybe vampires are not involved at all, and this is just all a misunderstanding on our part.
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• Given that this is an original story, and not an adaptation, I have faith that they will be able to spin a coherent tale. Especially since they do not have the pitfall of needing to merge separate story-paths.

Cheers.

Now that I have watched the fansub for Ep01,

Random Thoughts on Ep01:
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• I LOVE THE BANTER BETWEEN MATSURI AND YORITO! Both were so equally cutting with each other, in a teasing way, and it felt natural. I am a fan of battles of wits, and some of the lines said were golden, like Yorito telling Matsuri she needed to stock up on her favourite drink because it was sure to be removed from the market soon (a subtle way of saying that the drink was horrible).
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• Dozens of theories are flying through my head, and I am bewildered as to choose which train of thought to follow. I am starting to wonder whether the girl in the flashback is in fact the Rozen-Loli, with the staggering man with the walking stick being her guardian (the one hunting Matsuri).
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• Speaking of which, the dialogue between the Rozen-Loli and Hunter-man was amusing as well.
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• Just a minor complaint but... why don't their clothes get wet in the rain?
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• I like the fact that Yorito does not stammer when confronted with beautiful girls, does not blush profusely in the presence in beautiful girls, and can actually hold normal conversations with them. We need more leads like this, and Yuuichi.

All in all, sola is living up to my expectations. I enjoy romance series like this where the dialogue is engaging and the leads are likeable. Comedy through witty banter is always a plus.

Cheers.

[orion]

I still think that...

Spoiler:

The scene with the guy walking up a hill in daylight and the girl in the tunnel with kids dancing around a tree could be a flashback of the previous couple's incarnations. The guy looks like Yorito. The girl looks like Matsuri.

[Kensuke]

Well, now that I have watched first episode, my feeling are mixed, it certainly wasn't bad, but not good either... last few minutes saved a lot. Vampire was my first thought too.
And I got a tons of Rozen Maiden vibes, is she a real girl or doll?

But this looks interesting, so I will be following this.

[DragoonKain3]

Having recently watched the j-drama 'Taiyou no Uta' and played the fan translated game 'Red Shift', my first impression was that the girls weren't so much vampires as they are just people who are afflicted with a disease that makes them very vulnerable to sunlight. I mean, if Matsuri was a vampire, wouldn't she exhibit her paranormal powers when she was being hunted?

Though Matsuri being hunted is a mystery if all she really has is a disease. Maybe it's really rare and these people want to do research on her?

Still, overall a good show. While the first episode didn't wow me as much as say, Darker than Black, I'm still looking forward to this series's future episodes more as there's more unanswered questions.

[Boukenxha]

Actually I thought Yorito's dedication to the sky is kinda cool and romantic. He is having fun and I'm sure he gets lots of satisfaction taking pretty pictures of the sky. Not sure about his school grades, but at least he is a good kid and don't go around getting into trouble.

It's pretty obvious that the sky will be the common thread linking the few characters together. I like the part in ep 1 where Yurito taught Matsuri about the different names of the skies and clouds and she was whirling in circles repeating the names and imagining herself under the vast blue sky. Having read a little of the manga no spoilers from me , I'm also looking forward to see the scenario in chapter 3 animated.

Anyhow, I'm curious why Yorito has so much passion for the sky, perhaps it's for the reason orion suggested earlier in the thread or perhaps it's something else. Whatever the reasons, my guess is that it's important to the story. If ep 1 is anything to go by, the mood and atmosphere seems to be one of the stronger points of the anime, yeah I'm looking forward to see how the story plays out.

[Skane]

Wait. Manga? I was under the impression that this anime was not an adaptation, or is the manga a parallel release?

Cheers.

[Boukenxha]

Originally Posted by NeoSam

A manga drawn by Abeno Chako is starting in the next issue (released on 20/1/2007) of the seinen(young men's) manga magazine Dengeki Daioh

The manga started in January, but it should count as a parallel release. Of the 3 chapters I've read, most of it is similar to what's shown in ep 1 with the anime being more detailed. Most notably, the part which I mentioned about the names of the skies and clouds was not in the manga.

[solwyvern]

I am VERY interested in the show, *grabbed by the first episode*
Probably my favorite this season.

Though, it seems to feature Naru Nanao's works more a little more often than it should..=\

[Pellissier]

Originally Posted by Pellissier

So, finally my most anticipated show of this season started. Watched episode 1.

Spoiler for episode 1:

And it was fantastic. The best "episode 1" since Bokura ga Ita, as for atmosphere, build up of a climax and mesmerizing story flow. Character designs are excellent. While I've watched only the raw, the dialogues weren't particularly heavy or difficult so I think I've gotten most of the episode.
All my wondering about why Matsuri seemed to be scared by light (from the promo) kind of vanished at the ending. If I could have been pondering between an illness (though the tomato juice was quite of an hint) and her being a vampire, I suppose the last scene wiped off all of my doubts. There's a vampire (Matsuri), and a vampire hunter (voiced by Fujiwara Keiji, Hanamoto Shuu if you watched Honey & Clover). And a saviour, of course (Yorito), whose sister is ill and in a hospital (Aono - with fear of light, vampirism or actual illness?), an osananajimi (Mana), and a cute little girl close to Aono (Koyori - voiced by Ai Shimizu).

No words can describe Mamiko Noto's performance, but I feel to say that with this role she could surpass any perfomance she made in the past. Solid, focused, convicting... almost astounding. As for the story, the feeling is certainly sad. I agree that sola seems somewhat of a cross between Air and Shingetsutan Tsukihime. I expect drama, and a lot of truly sad moments. The Opening Theme rivals Aria's "Undine" as for gentleness and relaxing feeling, while the Ending Theme has excellent visuals, almost competely focused on sky & clouds, with their various gradations of colours.

Also this first episode 1 confirmed my first impression about the sola-sora matter: I think it means both (I've always thought so, but now I've elements to enforce the theory), either the sky either the "being alone" just as italian and spanish vocabularies, whereas the word "sola" carries that meaning, say.

Usually I wait for a sub before making such an assesment like a rating, but in this case I'll make an exception. My sixth sense tingled a while ago about this anime, and it wasn't wrong.

10/10

Above, the impressions I posted 1 week ago after having watched the raw. Now that I've watched the sub, nothing is changed, also because the dialogues were really light and all in all I had lost just a few phrases, but nothing important.
I'm watching a fairly consistent number of spring show but I'd place this at number 1.

You guys are going far with speculations (neh.. orion ? ) for having watched one episode alone. But yes, one thing that left me wandering at this second watch was the vision of Matsuri in the daylight over the hill.
The vampire theory is not the only one, though it remains the one I see as most likely... if only for the hunter.. (or maybe he was... a doctor trying injecting a vaccination as she's fearing shots? ^^). Interesting to see a Rozen Maiden in the series as well, anyway I'm not sure that being is a human, and it's yet to see whether she fears daylight as well (she only appeared in the dark).

As Skane, I too noticed how rain doesn't get people wet in that town, and that's quite interesting ^^

Oh, and I found very funny the next episode preview, with the shiratori and Yorito only saying words ending with "gumo" (cloud) and consequently Mana always forced to say words starting with "mo" .. but that aside, loving the sky in the way he does is very romantic, I have to say.

[rg4619]

Wait. Manga? I was under the impression that this anime was not an adaptation, or is the manga a parallel release?

sola is a media mix project, spanning a manga, an anime, and supposedly a PS2 game (perhaps somewhat similar to what the mainstream game industry has been attempting with projects like .hack and Code Age. In response to a weak market, they're trying to launch new IPs by simultaneously releasing content on different forms of media).

To clarify, eroge creators Naoki Hisaya and Naru Nanao aren't directly working on the anime or manga, so this might as well be viewed as an adaptation of sorts. Nonetheless, as a media mix project, I'd imagine that quality control will be more stringent than your typical adaptation or spinoff (for which the goal is usually to milk an already popular IP at lowest cost).

[ZODDGUTS]

Originally Posted by jedinat

The first episode didn't interest me much... The protagonist has an annoying voice and it doesn't look like he's going to be bitten by the vampire girl anytime soon. It's also just too full of anime clichés... and the guy's fascination with the sky is lame. (it's obvious where that's going )

Pretty much had the same opinion of the first episode didn't really pique my interest much. Seriously that boy has a Sky fetish going on lol. Overall the first episode was decent.

[JediNight]

I can sort of relate to the main character on this -- I also like to take neat pictures of the sky when I'm able to. Of course I'm not even 10% as dedicated to it as he is, though ;D

[Skyfall]

Hey - at least he seems a decent guy who doesn't lose 99% of his thinking capability when confronted with a girl Other than his fascination with Sky (which borders on obsession ) he has the potential to be a great male lead, imo.

[Pellissier]

Originally Posted by Skyfall

he has the potential to be a great male lead, imo.

In a world with Matsuri, I'm confident I'd have all the potential to be a great male lead as well!

And now that I watch it well... wow, I like your avatar better than mine, feels like a perfectly executed ... own-goal

Since I'm here, I also wish to thank Doremi for the audio drama, the preview and - of course - episode 1. They have great merit for having gotten me gradually interested in this great series.

[Ichy]

Am I the only one gettin Mai Vibes from Yoritos Sister?

[negativeone]

am i the only guy watching this?????

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Ichy

Am I the only one gettin Mai Vibes from Yoritos Sister?

In a word - no!

[Chaos2Frozen]

Originally Posted by negativeone

am i the only guy watching this?????

Maybe... Who knows... It's a big world out there...

Must be pretty lonely sometimes...

[Scribble]

Ugh, I don't know. The first 6 minutes or so were interesting ( up to the part where Yorito and Mana took the bus to the hospital), because I thought the character interaction and general presentation was pretty good (My favourite scene was in the classroom when Mana rejected the doll).

I didn't enjoy the rest of the episode. That mysterious guy and Shinku-Seki didn't really hook me like they were probably meant to. I'll try a few more episodes.

[Sorrow-K]

Ep 1.

Didn't think much of this, but that's because hardly anything was introduced. This could very well be one of those series where you need to see at least half of it before you can even form a first impression, and with one of Kanon's writers at the helm, it could well be the case.

I like the tone of the series... no comic relief or crap like that. The character interactions are genuine, but so far we know virtually nothing about the characters (which is to be expected after a first ep). The atmosphere is good, and while the animation is acceptable, sometimes the character art goes a touch out of whack (never so much that it becomes distracting though). But, since we know so little about this, it's hard to have an opinion at this stage. Oh well, even if it does bomb (and I'd be a little surprised if it did), at least we'd get to hear Noto Mamiko in a lead role. I could listen to her voice all day

Originally Posted by DragoonKain3

Having recently watched the j-drama 'Taiyou no Uta' and played the fan translated game 'Red Shift', my first impression was that the girls weren't so much vampires as they are just people who are afflicted with a disease that makes them very vulnerable to sunlight.

So, I wasn't the only one who thought "Taiyou no Uta" while watching this. Obviously, with the introduction of <insert "vampire" here maybe> hunter, it's not going to go down that path, but I really wouldn't have minded if it did, since Taiyou no Uta was quite a good film. I think I'd have really dug this show if it was just romance and nothing else. It's yet to happen, but I can easily see the action element becoming a convenient, unwelcome distraction.