Let’s not, and say we did (part 2/2 of a sola review)
A graph first, before anything:
After much delay and procrastination, I finished sola since it was beginning to seem clear to me that Doremi wasn’t interested getting out a release any time soon. It was a rough journey, surely. While it wasn’t the type of anime I’d look back and cringe at for having wasted X hours of my life on (that dubious honour goes to Bokura ga Ita and the Death Note movies), it definitely belongs in the category of “could have been way better”.
I don’t claim to know what makes an anime good. I know what makes an anime good, and it’s definitely not about pandering to the salivating group of moe fanboys that, by some measure of coincidence, have substantial purchasing power. “Good”, of course, is defined as being in reference to my standards, (because I have them! a shocking concept, surely) and it’s just too sad to say that sola, with respects to those standards, weren’t really up to par.
Have you ever asked yourself the question “When is it right to compare anime?” I’ve noticed that strawmen are usually made out of ill-compared anime, where those two have no business to be weighed on the same scale to begin with. As an example, Blogger X compares Anime A with Anime B when the two only seem similar on the surface, belying the fact that they’re actually quite different in implementation.
Then there’s the issue of precedence. While I do agree that an anime should be judged by its standalone value and individual merits, there are exceptions to that rule — which brings us to the case of sola. sola is, by far, good in that begrudging sense if you ignore that its writer, Naoki Hisaya, was responsible for the series Kanon.
So that’s a yardstick by which it can be measured. I don’t believe that an author should have to stick to his or her previous success formula in order to move on from one work to another, because that’s utter rubbish, and results in all manner of trashy, cloned stuff which wouldn’t have made the cut if not for the author’s pedigree to begin with. In the same manner, supporting said author’s work only encourages the author to churn out more of the same drivel.
To be honest, I was really interested in sola for its pedigree. Finally, I thought, something that isn’t coated in the overtly defensive fanboy rhetoric that came with Kanon or Air! A tabula rasa, so to speak, that could prove that Kanon wasn’t just a one-trick pony. With that in mind, I wasn’t expecting it to borrow so heavily from Kanon’s elements so much that it felt like a cleaner, tighter Kanon that wasn’t limited by an adaptation structure. Too bad for it that it did, because I’ve heard it all before:
Kanonsola seems like an everyday school life series untilAyuMatsuri shows up inYuuichiYorito’s life one day.Ayu and NayukiMatsuri and Aono have a secret past shared withYuuichiYorito,seven yearscenturies ago but he’s forgotten all about it.AyuYorito is also “dead”, butYuuichihe doesn’t know about this until the end of the show.
AyuMatsuri is eccentric. She likestaiyakitomato drinks, is secretive, and in addition to not really being human, is always on the run from ataiyaki sellerbearded man who wants her to pay forthe taiyakiturning his childhood friend into a Yaka.Mai, Aono on the other hand, is no different — aside from being skilled with herswordorigami in combat, she is also silent, talking only when necessary, and protective ofYuuichiYorito.One day
AyuMatsuri disappears fromYuuichiYorito’s sight, and when she meets him again she only has bad news for him — they can’t see each other anymore. All this whileNayukiMana has been in love withYuuichiYorito, and asAyuYorito disappears fromYuuichi’sMana’s sightshehetells him to forget about hermakes her forget about him.YuuichiMana cries alone in themake-believeschool they once attended.
How is this a proper comparison? Simple — the above are essentially Kanon in nature, and while it would be a stretch of the imagination to say that that was all sola was about, it still made up parts that, not surprisingly, happen to be the very same emotive moments and plot devices that drive both sola and Kanon. Same situations, different faces.
merging both of them, aka Aori or Matsuno would have made for a superior show since she would now be an eccentric elder sister love interest who, aside from being a silent, sickly vampire, also wears thigh highs for that zettai ryouki factor
The ghost of it was everywhere I looked. If it hadn’t been for Mamiko Noto’s outstanding performance I had the feeling things would’ve been a lot worse, for the main cast was terribly uninspiring. Nobuhiko Okamoto as Yorito annoyed me beyond belief with a voice that, when not being whiny, had the vocal equivalent of nails being dragged across a chalkboard. Mai Nakahara as Aono did nothing to alleviate matters, with her performance doing nothing to distinguish herself from the dozens of other similarly written silent-type characters out there.
Dull voice acting aside, there was the ending, which didn’t contribute to my liking of the show any further. It isn’t saying much when I say that the closure was vague, but since this isn’t a slice of life show but an event-driven one (which as everyone knows isn’t about the ending) that’s about as much justification as I can give as to why it sucked. Can you say “lazy”? It was as if halfway through writing the story, those responsible for sola decided to end it on a whim, without any clear-cut explanation.
If Matsuri really disappeared as the ending suggested, how does that explain the two tomato cans at the very end? If I wasn’t missing some deep attempt at symbolism, will that be then explained in the two DVD-exclusive episodes, or was it just thrown in randomly to screw with the viewer’s minds for the sake of an open-ended conclusion? If Aono was so attached to Yorito how did his stabbing miraculously change her mood from denial to that of acceptance? Why the convenient mind-wipe on Mana, and everyone who knew the Morimiya siblings?
I suppose those are minor details, though, in the sum of things. What I did like about sola was its stunning music, a first for a series that I’d lump into the bishoujo/harem genre. Hitoshi Fujima, whose compositions mark the second time he’s venturing into soundtrack territory after Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, in addition to being responsible for the StrikerS OP, excels in his element.
The music is delightfully understated, with light yet solid piano pieces that capture the serious/playful mood alternation present throughout the series, and complement the string accompaniments. The battle scenes, of which there could have been more, are still decidedly classical in nature, with electronic overtones that result in a compromise that sounds better to the ear than on paper.
It goes without saying, then, that sola could have done more, yet was happy with so little. The same could be said of the fans who, for some reason or another, chose to overlook sola’s faults without question — it would have been great for a first-time fan unacquainted with Kanon, I’m sure. As it stands sola has my respect for trying to break out of genre conventions by adding flavour through sparsely sprinkled action. However, the times where it chooses to return to the very tropes and clichs it seems to want to avoid are aplenty, and this is what stands in the way of it attaining greatness.
Maybe someday I’ll return to it and hate it even more, or somewhat less. A 7 is all it gets from me with regards to a rating, which seems high, only until you realise that rankings on the AnimeSeen List that can be accessed from the menu above go to a 10+, then an S, and S+, so that’s not much praise. The last bit where Mana proceeds to mirror Yorito’s actions in the opening minutes of the first episode was a sweet touch, although it couldn’t stop the boat from sinking entirely I’m afraid. Maybe next time. I’ll be waiting for the OVAs.
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I liked sola, but it wasn’t really memorable for me. Tons and tons of plot holes don’t help it either. I’d say it’s good for those less-acquainted with anime, but more
elitistseasoned viewers would only find it as a filler show.I laughed a little inside with that Kanon comparison too.
That Kanon comparison was amusing, but I think you’re focusing a bit too much on the fact that sola was written by the same writer who did Kanon. To be honest, the setup for sola is similar to 99% of the plot-driven harem-style shows (eroge adaptations, for the most part); I think Tsukihime and maybe Shuffle could very well fit in the blanks you had there. It feels like you’re trying to say “It’s too much like Kanon,” and condemn it for that, or something similar, when it’s really just using the basic starting points for any show of this type. Still kind of lame and rehashed, sure, but I think Kanon and sola take widely different routes beyond what you mentioned.
I think you and Zeroblade still did nail what sola is though pretty well; a good series for casual viewing (if you overlook some of the minor – or major – flaws), but not so much if you hold it up to the light.
P.S. What was so incredibly horrible about episode 7 and 8? I thought they were where the series kicked in; but maybe I’m a sucker for emotional manipulation.
The main 3 cast made me cringe a bit too often. >_
Eh, I hate it when my random use of symbols cuts me off…
Anyway, the main trio really irritated me with their utter lack of common sense. I’ve probably spent hours on Animesuki forums pointing out the numerous inconsistancies and otherwise stupid things the cast was doing. It just seemed like their IQ varied inversely with the episode number. There was also a ton of stuff left unexplained, much of which actually damaged the continuity of the show itself. Yes, I know there’s 2 more OVA episodes, but if I can already think of half a dozen things those episodes can focus on, that just means the series itself still has a lot of explaining left to do.
And playing the mind wipe card has got to be one of the most irritating moments of the show.
My apologies for the triple post, but I also can’t help but feel that your Sola/Kanon comparison is so incredibly generic that it can describe a lot of other anime, not just eroge adaptations or whatever. Observe:
Shakugan no Shana:
“Shakugan no Shana seems like an everyday school life series until Shana shows up in Yuuji’s life one day. Shana knows a secret about Yuuji, concerning an artifact centuries old, but he doesn’t know about it. Yuuji is also dead, but Yuuji he doesnt know about this until the end of the first episode.
Shana is eccentric. She likes melonpan, is secretive, and in addition to not really being human, is always on the run from a doll obsessed demon, a woman who can turn into a werewolf, an incestuous loli duo, and much much more. Yoshida, on the other hand, is no different aside from being skilled with making bentos, she is also shy, talking only when necessary, and protective of Yuuji.
One day Shana disappears from Yuuji’s sight, and when she meets him again she only has bad news for him they cant see each other anymore because her guardian wants to kill him. All this while Yoshida has been in love with Yuuji, and as Yuuji is revealed to be a torch in Yoshida’s sight he tells her to forget about him. Yoshida cries alone at the summer festival while everyone’s being attacked by demons.”
Bleach:
“Bleach seems like an everyday school life series until Rukia shows up in Ichigos life one day. Ichigo’s father has a secret past related to Rukia and the shinigami, decades ago but hes kept it hidden from his son. Ichigo is also dead, but this doesn’t happen until episode 17 or so.
Rukia is eccentric. She likes chappy the bunny candy dispensers, is secretive, and in addition to not really being human, is always on the run from her older brother. Orihime, on the other hand, is no different aside from being skilled with healing, she is also ditzy, talking way too much, and protective of Ichigo.
One day Rukia disappears from Ichigo’s sight, and when she meets him again she only has bad news for him they cant see each other anymore because she’s gonna be executed. All this while Orihime has been in love with Ichigo, and as Ichigo leaves for Soul Society she insists on tagging along. Rukia cries alone in the tower of penitence (or whatever that thing is called).”
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni:
“Higurashi seems like an everyday school life series until the girls of Hinamizawa show up in Keiichi’s life one day. Rika has a secret past shared with everyone else, due to all the repetitions, but everyone else has forgotten all about it. Pretty much everyone is also dead, but thanks to supernatural time resets, everyone’s back in time for the next chapter arc.
Rika is eccentric. She likes wine, is secretive, and in addition to being best friends with someone who is not really human, is always on the run from the real villain of the story who has her murdered in every arc. Rena, on the other hand, is no different aside from being skilled with her cleaver in combat, she is also prone to kawaii-gasms and protective of Keiichi.
One day Rena disappears from Keiichi’s sight, and when she meets him again she only has bad news for him she’s going to burn down the school with everyone in it. All this while Mion has been in love with Keiichi, and as Keiichi disappears from Mion’s sight she accidentally gets her twin sister to murder everyone. Rena cries alone in the abandoned vehicle in the town dump.”
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya: (NOVEL SPOILERS)
“The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya seems like an everyday school life series until Haruhi shows up in Kyon’s life one day. Haruhi has a secret past shared with Kyon, three years ago but he doesn’t know about it yet due to stuff dealing with time travel. Haruhi is also “god”, but Kyon doesnt know about this until episode 3 chronologically, or episode 5 broadcast order.
Haruhi is eccentric. Period. Yuki on the other hand, is no different aside from being skilled with data manipulation, she is also silent, talking only when necessary, and protective of Kyon, literally.
(I’m not doing this paragraph, because while it fits really well, it would also be incredibly spoiler-ific for the 4th novel, which is likely going to be in the second season.)”
I’d do more (you’d be surprised how easily Death Note can fit into a structure like this, with proper lubricant), but I’m getting tired lol.
CCYoshi, Mirrinus:
I’m afraid you completely missed the point and jumped the boat there. Mirrinus especially, with regards to those examples — how do they fit in exactly with the sola/Kanon contrast? Sadly, they don’t. I knew a lot of people would miss this in their efforts to prove my parody wrong (especially when it was in the paragraph after it; shocking how reading patterns can be predicted so easily), and here it is again:
Mirrinus, in your enthusiasm to fit other anime into the structure I did, again, it seems like you can’t see the forest for the trees. sola and Kanon fit perfectly in the few aspects I mentioned — “bentos” and “healing” aren’t combat, I wouldn’t call Rena crying an emotive moment, and you’re kind of losing me with the Haruhi one, so yeah.
Even if you argue that these are generic plot devices, sola is almost a carbon copy of Kanon in that respect. Bleach has no emotive moments or closure yet, that we know of. Ayu and Yorito are only revealed as “dead” towards the end — trying to fit it in any other series is possible, but the timelines don’t sync.
Do any of them say goodbyes in a school, or pseudo-school setting? Where is the “forget about me” part that you failed to match? Since when did Yuuji tell Yoshida to forget about him in the same way that Yorito and Ayu did? Your comparisons are sloppy, ill-fitting, and meant for absurd contrast, which I can see as what you’re trying to say, but it doesn’t excuse the validity of my comparisons, if you get what I mean.
Oh, and I wouldn’t call AnimeSuki an excellent place to bring up reasoned debate on the merits/failings of characters. Blogs are superior in almost every aspect. Just saying.
If that still flew over your head, let’s tl;dr it a little bit. Higurashi, Tsukihime, Shana, Bleach, Shuffle, Haruhi all have no direct parallels with Kanon. Structure-wise, yes, but I was being very specific with what I found similar about the two. Unless you can find a series with the exact same details, my point still stands. That’s about it I’d reckon.
Emotive moments and plot devices, you say? Pardon me for disagreeing, but it seems like you’re focusing too much on appearances and not enough on what such situations and characteristics were actually used for in the story. Perhaps we define “plot device” differently, but I would only consider a plot device to be the same in two different stories if it accomplishes the same purpose, regardless of whether or not they superficially appear the same. Let’s take the example you’ve called me out on: Mai’s sword skills and Aono’s origami magic. Both are combat skills, yes, but serve completely different purposes in their respective stories. Aono’s origami magic was used as a weapon for her to compete against Matsuri for Yorito. What would I consider to be a similar plot device? Yoshida’s bento-making skills, which were in fact used actively in her competition against Shana for Yuuji’s love. Now, I’m pretty sure Mai never went after Ayu with her sword in Kanon, although seeing those two go at it EFZ-style would have certainly been quite funny. ^_^
Your examples seem to pick and choose at least somewhat arbitrarily the precious details that you esteem to be identical, which is why I’m having a very tough time seeing the similarity of usage of said details. Matsuri’s tomato juice habit was used merely as a plot device for the other characters to locate her on multiple occassions; I don’t recall Ayu’s taiyaki addiction being used for any such purpose. Surely simply having a favorite food can’t qualify as an overplayed trope in it of itself, or we’d all be guilty of living a dead horse trope. Most of your other examples fall under the same problem. Matsuri’s revealed to be a Yaka right at the beginning; Ayu’s true nature is kept as a surprise at the end. What’s that you said about timelines not syncing? Or are you just picking and choosing which revelations to compare? Speaking of which, the revelation of Yorito being “dead” was used to force him to make a decision to live on anyway and seek a value for his artificial life, or just give up; a choice paralleled well by Yuuji in SnS (who thankfully made a different choice from Yorito). Ayu, on the other hand, is technically never given the choice to continue on (unless you watched the Toei version, which deviated from the source material here). Moving on, Ayu and Nayuki didn’t even know each other in the past they had with Yuuichi, and couldn’t really serve as a plot device for fueling any conflict between them like Matsuri’s and Aono’s did. Timeline-wise, Ayu and Nayuki were both explicitly stated to have known Yuuichi in the past in the very first episode, once again out of sync with Sola, which saves most of this exposition for the end. And try as I might, I just can’t imagine the taiyaki baker as Kanon’s equivalent of Takeshi. ^_^
In my eyes, it is not intrinsically bad for an author to use similar details in two of his works, so long as he uses said details differently to advance the plot. So long as he shows the ability to tweak, alter, or subvert the details’ expected effects on the story, I’d call it versatility. It plants a familiar expectation in the audience, but then betrays this expectation. After all, this was what made Shakespeare famous. Just look at Othello and Much Ado About Nothing, two of my favorite plays. Both stories share more or less the exact same details in their plot: A strong and brave nobleman (Othello/Claudio) is tricked into suspecting and accusing his innocent and perfect lover (Desdemona/Hero) of infidelity due to a false and contextless overheard conversation staged by a crafty villain (Iago/Don John) who has no real motive aside from acting evil for evil’s sake. However, thanks to a chance encounter with an otherwise minor character (Emilia/Dogberry), the girl’s innocence is proven, and the villain is brought to justice. Would this be considered a direct parallel sharing pretty much the exact same details and situations, much as you accuse Kanon and Sola of having? Yet the devil is in the details, or in this case, in how the details are used. Much Ado used the very same details to provide the impetus to drive two feuding characters, Benedick and Beatrice, into admitting their love. In a similar manner (although of course nowhere near the same level of literary merit), Sola uses similar details and situations to drive a conflict between two “protagonists”, a huge part of the plot of Sola that was never paralleled in Kanon. Well, you might make a weak argument for a parallel in Toei’s version, but once again that deviated more from the source material.
Now, I should clarify that I’m not trying to defend Sola, as I agree with much of your sentiments on that show. It’s just that there are so many more effective ways of criticizing the show without having to resort to a tenuous comparison that practically every single blogger has brought up. I prefer to judge the product apart from its author, like New Criticism is apt to do, and even with such a method it’s not hard to find plenty of flaws that are much more applicable and understandable to a broader audience, not just the ones who have already seen Kanon.
And personally, I must wholeheartedly disagree with your opinion that blogs are superior to forums for engaging in debates over characters and series. First off, I appreciate the larger traffic in forums, which brings in plenty of fresh arguments and perspectives. Sure, there might be more idiots, but that’s only because there’s more of everything. Second, forum posts allow me access to all sorts of tools for enhancing an argument, such as hyperlinking other web pages or inserting pictures. I’d have loved to link to various pages from tvtropes.org in this very post to illustrate how widespread and acceptable many of your “exact same details” are in other works of fiction, but it’s not easy to in such a format. Third, blogs generally pose an innate disproportion of power between the blog owner and those who comment.
Then again, maybe it’s just because I’m too lazy to consistently write for a blog of my own, while I’ve been frequenting message boards for many years now (although I technically didn’t start posting on anime forums until just this year).
My response to you is pretty much the same as what I wanted to write to the guy who did ANN’s writeup for Sola in their spring 2007 guide… I think you’re concentrating far too much on what the show does the same as everyone else. Granted, his comments were in relation to erogame adaptations in general and not just Kanon, but I think my point applies to both.
That’s not to say that some of the cliches didn’t annoy me too (Aono in particular drove me crazy as an “uninspired silent character” until they gave her an actual purpose in the story), just that the rest of the show stood out for me a lot more than the cliches did.
I think this was in large part due to the fact that I wasn’t actually looking for the cliches. I’ll also fully admit I wasn’t expecting much despite knowing about the Kanon connection. Part of my enjoyment of the series was probably due to the “wow, you mean this show isn’t JUST about the cute girls” reaction I had to some episodes.
(In a similar way to how I think preconceptions play a role in one’s enjoyment of anime – one reason I like to avoid other people’s opinions of stuff before watching – I feel mood also has an effect on one’s enjoyment of a series. Trying to adjust for whether I was in a good mood or bad mood when writing reviews drive me nuts.)
There’s also an issue of the value of originality at play here. Computer hardware and gaming site firingsquad.com wrote an editorial a while back discussing how they thought professional reviewers who play 100 games a year for work value originality more than your typical gamer. Again, I think this may be relevant.
Apologies if my thoughts on this matter seem disorganized… they kind of are.
(Side note: Speaking of originality and cliches, am I the only one who find that far too many anime comedies just crash and burn a few episode in because the appeal of whatever “twist” they applied to differentiate themselves from other such shows has worn off? What’s even worse is when the writer’s solution to this problem is to introduce new characters who aren’t nearly as strong as the starting cast.)
Mirrinus:
I guess I’m more finnicky about such shared similarities than you are. You have a point there about how the devil’s in the details, but in my opinion there shouldn’t be the need to have the author rehash what I find are things that resonate too close for comfort.
Let’s look at it from another angle. I believe that good authors shouldn’t have to even borrow in the slightest from what made their original work successful when creating their sophomore work. As a writer I’d have to say it smacks of laziness, unoriginality, trying to cash in on what made the original successful, and this is something I want no part of, because, let’s face it — hardcore, diehard fans of the original work will lap this up no matter how good or bad it is.
Taking a real life example, for instance — J.K. Rowling’s a good measure of this. Will she rehash what made the Harry Potter franchise a huge success by writing a spin-off set in that world? Will she have another angsty teenage protagonist that screams “Harry” as much as it does her latest work, whatever it is? Will she ultimately emerge out of HP’s shadow, or won’t she?
I heard that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle struggled to get out of Sherlock Holmes’ shadow after killing him off, and failed, ultimately resurrecting Holmes due to popular demand. In the same way, if Rowling is going to write something unabashedly similar to HP, her legion of fans are going to be all over it, regardless of how obvious a money-making ploy it is
As I see it I’m quite disappointed with sola’s efforts because it’s not a huge step out of the prominent shadow of Kanon. I believe, as a writer, that you should continuously strive to improve yourself and not rely on a set “formula” that the not-so-discerning will eagerly devour regardless of quality.
sola is, to me, something that had a lot of promise and potential, but was ultimately squandered by weak characters and a meandering plot. You know it says something for Aono as a character when she talks more in one episode than she has in the past ten combined.
Personally I prefer blogs over forums for the same reason that I do anonymous imageboards; your reputation is of no consequence. You could argue that we have the same here in the blogosphere, but there’s no stopping any blogger from assuming a pseudonym in his or her efforts to engage me anonymously.
In the end, what’s of great consequence here is the opinion, and the factual validity of it, or how the person perusing the opinion’s arrived at it, and whether or not it’s sound, like what you’ve just pointed out in your insightful comments so far, and forums do nothing to help with their flashy identities and post counts.
Seniority matters to a larger extent than the opinion, and then we have the moderators and administrators who, being human and all, are dangerously prone to destroying discussions citing rules, protocol, and whatnot.
The disproportion of power comes with checks and balances like reputation and an atmosphere conducive for discussion — there are bloggers who disallow comments, and bloggers who happily censor or lock down on threads that they can’t answer, or don’t want to. Such deviants are usually given the cold shoulder by those wanting a discussion after a while, so that’s why I’m of the opinion.
0utf0xZer0:
I’m sure the originality factor had a lot to play with regards to it (see my response to Mirrinus above!), but that’s also due to how I found hardly anything of worth. The initial, tentative scent of mystery and action promised in the pilot episode yielded nothing as time went on. I found myself nitpicking at the similarities because it seemed to me then, and now still, that it lacked substance.
In a sense the lack of originality allows a series to play more with the things that matter, since the originality of something with regards to the exterior is all style and wrapping; having wrung the book of clichs for all its worth, they can now concentrate on the things that matter.
Yet I found the characterisation to be hollow and unforgivably painful (in a bad sense). The cast was two-dimensional. The inability of Naoki Hisaya to break out of the Kanon mould and do something different was maddening.
I tried very hard to look for something that would ultimately, in my eyes, redeem sola as something of worth. I found nothing for a lot of episodes aside from a grand remix of all the old harem tropes and stock behavioural patterns we’ve all come to roll our eyes at and groan. That explains why I came to the conclusions I did.