miss macross

Summary: When five space pirates find a young stowaway in their latest haul, they find themselves embarking on a journey to capture one of the most legendary treasures in space.

Review: Sol Bianca has been on my watchlist for at least a decade, and it did not disappoint. I experienced this OVA almost the way it was intended: via a VHS rip of the dubbed version from ADV Films, which even featured the trailers for some other wild throwbacks. (Watch this version here.)

There is actually a Sol Bianca 2, which I have yet to watch and which ADV never acquired. There was also a 6-episode reboot in the late 1990s.

Sol Bianca has a simple but solid sci-fi premise. An all-female, morally gray team of space pirates learn from a spunky child stowaway about the potential location of what they consider the ultimate treasure. Called the Gnosis, it is a legendary item from the far distant past – and the long-extinct planet Earth. But before they can capture the Gnosis, they must first defeat its current owner, who happens to be the brutal emperor of the planet Trez.

I love the concept of space pirates, and the Sol Bianca crew are a wonderful example of why I feel that way. Each woman has a very distinct look and personality. I particularly like June Ashel (voiced in the dub by Tiffany Grant), who is both a girly girl and computer nerd. The crew share a strong familial bond that makes it seem like they can achieve anything together, even fighting against an entire planet.

Young stowaway Rim Delapaz could have been just another obnoxious 90’s anime brat, but he is actually quite sympathetic and incredibly helpful to the plot.

Evil Emperor Batros is rather one-dimensional. However, his brutality does provide some of the more shocking scenes in this OVA.

Speaking of shock, I was surprised by the low amount of gore in Sol Bianca. I was also surprised (and delighted) to find that there is very little, if any, fanservice. For a sci-fi anime in 1990, that’s pretty notable!

The art style is solid and clean, and the animation during the fight scenes in space are particularly impressive.

With a runtime of about an hour, it’s worth the time of any retro anime fan to check out. This is one that I hope gets a remaster and re-release (with its sequel this time!) some day.