Far into the future, tales of splendor are about all that remain of the planet
Earth. Man now roams outer space freely, and most have never seen the mother
planet for themselves.
Artifacts from Earth have the greatest value in the universe however, and this
beckons the beautiful female pirates of the ship Sol Bianca to go and find
their fortunes...
Review: Sol Bianca The Legacy
Five young women are brought together by a magnificent ship called the Sol
Bianca, a ship that's supposed to have been made during the Earth's
technological peak. There's April, the group's leader. She is spurred on by
dreams of total freedom, of being able to live by doing as one pleases. It is
with this prospect that she calls on the others to join her -- Jani, the
weapons expert who is always mistaken for a man; Jun, whose skill with
computers is unparalleled; and Feb, who has a penchant for alcoholic drinks.
These four are soon joined by the little girl Mayo, whose only concern is to
find her parents whom she believes are on Earth. Together they travel through
space, searching for valuable booty... searching for answers.
Sol Bianca: The Legacy consists of six episodes. Each one is action-packed and
fairly self-contained, as you can expect from a pirate-themed series. In one
ep, the girls fight to recover an antique gun that is April's last remembrance
from her aunt and acquire other valuables in the process. In another ep, a
terrorist captures the Sol Bianca and three members of the crew.
There is a consistent antagonist though; it's just that his name always
escapes me. He's after April's gun, Sol Bianca, and Feb but his reasons are
not clearly explained. Various literary references abound as well, ranging
from Biblical passages to verses from Dante's Divine Comedy.
While there seems to be a lot going on in the series, I always felt that I was
missing a lot. I don't know if it's because I watched the English dubbed
version and they may have modified the dialogues, or if it's because the
series is really half-baked. They gave April a love interest of sorts, but it
seemed like it was just thrown in for the sake of having one.
Feb seems to have some kind of relationship with the antagonist, but it's also
unexplained... they're just extremely familiar with each other for no apparent
reason. Jun is innately connected to the Sol Bianca, to the extent that her
soul can merge with the ship -- but we never know why or how that happened
either.
The Sol Bianca can even produce a huge goddess-like manifestation that can
destroy legions of enemies, something which I found to be quite incredulous
(albeit an awesome sight to behold). Was that a product of technology
too? I don't know. A severe lack of background information seems to plague
this series.
The art and animation are excellent. Lush character designs, state-of-the-art
computer imagery, and impressive action sequences make up the series. The
soundtrack is noteworthy as well -- a mix of rock and alternative. I
especially liked the opening theme "To Be Free", which is sung in
English. It kind of sums up the overall mood and direction of the series. The
English dubbing is very good. All the voices suit the characters perfectly,
and there were no inaudible or hard-to-understand deliveries.
Sol Bianca: The Legacy is overall an above average series. You can actually
just take everything at face value, ignore the little loopholes, and have a
pretty enjoyable experience. Just don't say I didn't warn you...
Miscellanies: Sol Bianca The Legacy
Although only a mere six episodes long, the DVD and VHS releases span three
separate volumes -- making it a rather costly series to own.
Sol Bianca: The Legacy (Sol Bianca: Taiyou no Fune) | |
| Genre | Adventure, Sci-Fi |
|---|---|
| Episodes | 6 |
| Status | Finished Airing |
| Aired | Sep 24, 1999 to Oct 6, 2000 |
| Producers | Pioneer LDC |
| Studio | AIC |
| Rating | R+ |
| Themes | Mecha, Space |
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