The Big O
By JC

Introduction

Forty years ago a catastrophe occured that nearly wiped all mankind off the face of the planet. Paradigm City arose from the ashes at the hands of those who had survived the apocholipse, only none who lived to tell the tale could remember it.

It's come down to Roger Smith and the piston pounding fists of his giant Megadeus to unravel the riddle of the Paradigm City while at the same time defend it from the dark awakening memories that threaten to destroy it.

Episodes

1. "Roger, The Negotiator"=20
2. "Dorothy, Dorothy"=20
3. "Electric City"
4. "Underground Terror"
5. "Bring Back My Ghost"=20
6. "A Legacy of Amadeus"=20
7. "The Call from the Past"
8. "Missing Cat"
9. "Beck Comes Back"
10. "Winter Night Phantom"=20
11. "Daemonseed"
12. "Enemy is Another Big"=20
13. "RD"=20

The Story (From Box Cover)

"Paradigm City... A city of Amnesia, where forty years ago everyone lost their memory.

But humanity continues to survive. They've learned to operate machinery, produce electricity, and go on living from day to day. Still, there's something missing in a town with no past, no history of what has come before.

Roger Smith is a Negotiator, hired to negotiate disputes between = parties. And Roger enjoys a reputation of being the best at his job. = But he has an ace up his sleave.... a rather big ace. He controls the Megadeus called the Big O, a wondrous piece of technology from before the age of Amnesia.

Occasionally, fragments of memories appear, and with them comes trouble. The Big O comes in handy for subduing such dangers, but does it sere some greater purpose?

Together with the unusual R. Dorothy Wayneright and his loyal butler, Norman, Roger Smith keeps Paradigm City safe from the nightmare of memories."

The Story

The Big O is an enigma wrapped in some of the greatest giant super robot action this side of the legendary anime, Giant Robo. I was skeptical going into this series when I first saw it air on Cartoon Network's action toon block Toonami. No bright colors, wildly designed characters or J-Poping music that was trademark for that era of Toonami. Instead, as many have already pointed out before me, it had the feel, look and design of Batman the Animated Series.

The story plays out with the calm smooth ease of its very own blue soundtrack. At first I took this as in being just... boring. I couldn't figure what this anime was all about, but since it was new, it was worth sitting through to the next episode. Once the first seeds of the bigger mystery behind the world of Big O are sewn and we get to see our first giant robot fight you get hooked.

The giant robot fights harken back to the days when giant robots were Super and bares an intentional resemblance to men in lumbering costumes. The result is heavy metal action where each punch slams home like a megaton of steel on concrete. The robots don't run between buildings like fleet footed ninjas, they lumber as if they're about to fall over at anytime and it's up to the steel nerved, never wavering pilot to keep the big bot on its feet and plowing forward to stop whatever the latest threat is to Paradigm City.

The giant robot fights are awesome. The Big O fights everything from sleeping leviathan monsters, to giant mutants, to clock work robots, to other well built machines of destruction from an forgotten age. These monsters and robots awaken, but for what ultimate purpose, nobody knows.

The Big O isn't all just robots and monsters. The bulk of its driving plot plays out like an old Humphery Bogart detective story. Full of classie dames, ex cops, smokey bars and enigmatic old men who calmly pull the strings of everyone without ever tipping their hand. You get the sense that there's a purpose behind everything. That every scrap of paper found, apocholyptic flashback experienced, cryptic line delivered by a villian, or the last words of a dying man delivered are adding up to a final answer that will blow you away.

You come for the giant robot fights, but you stay and pay attention closely to find out the big secret just pulsing beneath the surface and you don't even want to blink when it finally explodes and all the answers are revealed.

What happened 40 years ago? What's happened to the rest of the world? Why hasn't anyone journeyed out to find out? Where do the giant robots come from and why are a few select people so driven to pilot them? How do that know how to pilot them in the first place? Why do people fear to travel underground? And what is Roger's facination with hour glasses and the color black anyway?

The answers to those questions and no doubt more to come will be revealed in the coming weeks on Cartoon Networks Adult Swim, starting August 3rd and every following Sunday after that.

Final Word

Big O is not only one of the finest giant robot animes of all time, but also one of the greatest anime of all time. While borrowing from other well known sources like Paradigm City being a reflection of Gotham City and the hero, Roger Smith, being the spitting image of Bruce Wayne right down to the butler, the show has an unmistakable life all its own.

You don't even have to be a hardcore fan of anything to access its brilliance. In design it can appeal to the biggest stickler for American animation, yet in action brings through the detailed action sequences we've come to love and respect from our Easter neighbors.

One errant weekend, I popped in the final DVD so I could finish out the series with a friend I had introduced to the saga. He was a bit apprehensive about it, since he had company over that wasn't necessarily into anime. I took a chance and hit play anyway.

By the end of episode 13, where Big O stood on the harbor shore ready for yet another giant robo slug fest everyone in the room was out of their chair cheering as the final words were cried, "BIG O....... SHOWTIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" In a blast of white light the show came to an end and everyone in the room might not have turned into an anime fan over night, but for sure, they'd been turned into Big O fans.

So be you a buyer of good DVD(anime fan or not), a liker of things good, or just wondering what series it is you need to pick up next, the answer is The Big O. Be the first one on your block and try not to be the last to experience this outstanding series.

You won't regret it.

JC

[Toonami Arsenal: Big O Promo and clips]
[AdultSwim Unleashed Promo and clips]
[Paradigm-City.Com]