Totali, the only reason why I watched Solty Rei was because Rose was awesome.

1. Well, probably. I think Suzumiya Haruhi was the most overrated show ever, but I still liked it a lot.

2. Maybe. The difference between those two and Sola was that I could actually get attached to the characters, Air more in particular.

3. I can agree with that. But, because of that, people look past the obvious flaws. I see that as a trick to keep people watching, not something that makes a great show.

4. This may be one reason I couldn’t enjoy Sola as much. None of the characters’ “moe points” really got to me. Sure, I liked Koyori, but not because she was a loli. I only liked her because her seiyu was Ai Shimizu xD.

5. To me, the cliches got old. Quick.

6. And they didn’t. I agree though.

7. I can’t see how Sola can be put on the same level as Koi Kaze. I couldn’t get into Solty Rei and haven’t seen Banner of Stars yet, so I can’t say much about that. I still don’t see Sola as being memorable, but everyone has different tastes.

and I’m guessing that the two dvd episodes will feature stories from the past, because we haven’t seen enough of it. It would make the most sense. We would see how the real Matsuri and Yorito got along, and things like that. If not, maybe more Takeshi and Mayuko development or more Mana, Koyori, and Aono living together. Maybe both. There are going to be two after all.

#2. Air and Kanon 2006 have their share of plot holes in my opinion.

#3. What Sola really excelled at was its use of cliffhangers at end of episodes to keep the viewers hooked. The careful control of pacing and timing of the events had many viewers entranced, thus more prone to rate the series much higher than it deserves.

#4. Another this Sola really did well was hitting the MOE button. Every episode had at least two moments where many otakus around the world would scream “Moe!”. Koyori was so cute, someone could have attacked me for becoming a lolicon. Many post like “Ponytail FTW” was made in comments for Sola. I wonder if this was more of commercial choice, or producer’s desire to have Sola character win in various SaiMoe tournament soon to be held in Japan and Korea.

#5. Sola also knew how to use the cliches well. In world of art, in order to succeed, either you try the original path, or use the cliches very well. Sola definitely took the latter path, but sometimes, if enough cliches were used well, that becomes like a something new. In hindsight, not much originality may be found in Sola, but seldom you think about ” Haven’t I seen this before? ” at the first viewing, and sometimes you have to see it multiple times or think about it for a while before realizing that it is reusing something famous from the past.

#6. One original path I wish they had explored was the issue of whether a person is an island or not. In the beginning, the series raised possibility of all the relations featured in it having serious issues and much mental conflicts. They could have went into more psychological thriller like show and delved further into how characters interacts in tough situations and the thoughts that precedes or comes after the event. Obviously, that is what you expect from 900 page novel or serious theater play, not an anime series. Still, I could dream, can’t I?

#7. Sola has many failings which I am well aware of. Despite that, this was the most gripping and rewatchable series since Koi Kaze for me.(hmmm, another incest story? wait! before Koi Kaze, it was Banner of Stars). On memorability, Sola tied Solty Rei for the top spot ( I am a father of a child, thus subject of parent-child relationship interests me more than most other anime fans ) I have no idea how to make the ending episode better, but, if it was better, I would have placed Sola as the most memorable anime series of the decade for me. It just has to settle for the most memorable anime series of past 48 month as the things currently stands, unless they do something extraordinary in the two DVD episodes, which is very possible.

As far as Air goes, I actually rated it higher than Kanon. Maybe the emotion was kind of out there, but I thought it was powerful. Like, I think I moved to tears when I watched it back then.

Link > I was comparing Matsuri’s cheerfulness to Narue’s, because I think that’s what most people think stand out. I mentioned Moa because when most people think of Mamiko Noto, they think of Ai or Yakumo type roles. People were freaking out about Mamiko Noto’s “new” type of role, when she has played a lot of different types in the past.

Matsuri also has many more lines than Narue does, though that’s mostly because of sola putting Matsuri far above every other character, which is one of many flaws of sola.