The Big O, Vol. 1: Anime Legends Complete Collection
by Kazuyoshi Katayama
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Actor: Akiko Yajima, Lia Sargent, Mitsuru Miyamoto, Motomu Kiyokawa, Steve BlumDirector: Kazuyoshi Katayama
Brand: Bandai
Writer: Hajime Yatate
Writer: Kei'ichi Hasegawa
Writer: Masanao Akahoshi
Writer: Shin Yoshida
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); English (Original Language); Japanese (Original Language)
Format: Animated, Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 325 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-06-19
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Bandai
DVD Reviews of The Big O, Vol. 1: Anime Legends Complete Collection
DVD Review: It's showtime!
Summary: 5 Stars
Imagine a crumbling domed Gotham City where everyone has amnesia, and Batman fights evildoers using a giant black mecha.
That's a fairly basic description of "The Big O," a strange and action-packed anime with an art deco style, a noir atmosphere and lots of giant robots and strange conspiracies. This is no simplistic action show -- there's a deep central mystery that each episode revolves around, and some deeper meditations on the nature of memory.
Negotiator Roger Smith is hired to get the kidnapped daughter of a client back... only to discover that "Dorothy" is an android, who asks him to protect her. When he starts investigating, Roger learns of her "sister" -- vast mecha "Dorothy 1" -- who can only be stopped by his own mecha, the Megadeus called "Big O." But when Dorothy vanishes during the attack, Roger must find her before a gang of thieves do.
With the help of Dorothy and his faithful butler Norman (and occasionally hardened cop Dastun), Roger uses Big O to deal with a series of increasingly bizarre mysteries. Among his problems: a giant electric eel, a skeletal mecha controlled by the psycho ex-reporter "Schwarzwald," a billionaire's missing son, a piano-playing android, a "sea titan" in a flooded city, a mysterious cat with horrifying origins, a Heaven's Day attack, and a mysterious woman haunting Dastun's dreams.
Things take a darker turn in the last few episodes, especially since Paradigm City's strange past becomes the most important part. Roger is hired to give a severance check to Schwarzwald, but becomes enmeshed in his plans for Paradigm City -- and witnesses the unveiling of another Megadeus, Big Duo.
And when a series of murders are committed by a red-cloaked figure -- who leaves Big O's motto "Cast In The Name of God, Ye Not Guilty" at each crime -- Roger starts to suspect that Dorothy may be involved. And even more confusing, Roger is suffering flashbacks of whatever happened forty years ago... which may be even more ghastly than anyone suspects.
"The Big O" is one of those series that drips with lots of influences -- it hasa lovely classic noir feeling, more than a hint of "Batman," and some tinges of Isaac Asimov (R. Dorothy?). And even the animation has a style reminiscent of art deco, with lots of long clean lines and dark shapes -- even the vast Megadeuses and other mecha have them.
But the real beauty of "The Big O" is in the storytelling: the individual plots are reminiscent of a noir detective's adventures, but with a weird sci-fi twist -- a mad journalist in a haunted subway, a mad geneticist, and giant robots that fly and swim. It's also graced with some explosive slam-bang action, intriguing hi-tech gadgets, and lots of wry humour (Dorothy sets off an elevator's weight alarm) and dialogue ("Did you say 'mama'? As in your mother?").
And running under each episode is the haunting question of what happened to Paradigm forty years ago. The plots drop hints about floating memories and something terrible that turned Paradigm City into a series of half-ruined boroughs. This is especially true in the final episode, which briefly shows the horrifying past.
Dashing playboy Roger Smith is a pretty likable hero -- charismatic, charming, a bit lacking in chivalry at times, but ultimately quite heroic and kind. Dorothy's emotionless attitude makes a nice counterpoint, but she shows some signs of becoming more human ("Even I feel like playing the blues sometimes"). And for the true noir feel, there's a mysterious femme fatale named Angel who keeps getting Roger into trouble, and the likably efficient butler/cook/technician Norman.
While it appears to be just another mecha anime on the surface, "The Big O" is actually a clever sci-fi/noir series with underlying conspiracies and haunting mysteries.
Description of The Big O, Vol. 1: Anime Legends Complete Collection
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