After many delays (including production date slips of the original in Japan) Pioneer has finally released the last two OVA episodes of SOL BIANCA: THE LEGACY in North America. Since the volumes came so far apart, we have EX reviews of the first two volumes in EX 5.4 and EX 5.7, which you should certainly check out first if you are new to the series.

SOL BIANCA continues to shine in its original artistic style and flair, and shakes off a few standard anime clichés. The true decadence of the ship Sol Bianca, along with their extravagant technology, hints at the glory of the Frontier era. When our pirate heroes travel to Earth in pursuit of their lost friend Feb and Mayo's parents, they discover firsthand that the Frontier technology has not been entirely lost. In fact, the Terra force will prove to be their biggest threat yet, ultimately ending with a challenging large-scale ship battle above the fabled Earth.

The strongest points of SOL BIANCA revolve around its characters, both in original artistic style as well as some non-traditional interactions and personalities. This volume cements this, with Feb's inner turmoil about her proper place and April facing her own duty as a captain and the pain of a friend's betrayal. Even Gunter's motivations are revealed, as messed up as they are.

However, aside from the primary characters, I must admit the places of SOL BIANCA seem almost empty. A loneliness exists, as the streets and people are relatively static. Except for Gunter, the motivations behind the Terra Force are shallow and, at the top, pointlessly evil.

I do like the overall Sci-Fi/Roman mythic world where SOL BIANCA takes place, however. It is nice to see technology that defies currently known rules in a believable way. Some of the secrets revealed still fall into the "been there/seen that category," but there is still a freshness to this world.

The CG work in this last volume shows definitely improvement over the original static computer-overlaid backgrounds of earlier episodes. It has a ways to go, but I found the backgrounds to more alive, and the ship battles to be better polished.

For a DVD, this disk is as good as the others, with a simply gorgeous print from a high quality source. The Japanese 5.1 soundtrack is as good as the other volumes, and I must say VHS buyers will miss out some of the best features on this "made for DVD" show. This only bodes well for newer series as the transfers can finally have a chance to match the quality of the original Japanese releases.

Bonus-wise, there's another Animetronic remix of the first music video, along with the standard mini sketch gallery. I have to admit I was disappointed to see them just remix the same song and video footage found on the first volume, rather than create a more coherent video using footage from the entire series.

I found I enjoyed this DVD the most among the three. The first episodes were a bit disjointed as they served as character introductions, but these final two episodes brought the plot to its climax and revealed many secrets hinted at before. While my complaints about the lack of depth to the majority of enemies and side characters still stand, I left the series feeling entertained and satisfied. This volume sets a solid conclusion without closing the door, and I would honestly be interested in seeing this series continue at some point. Simply put, if you enjoyed SOL BIANCA: THE LEGACY up until this point, GOING HOME will not disappoint.