Anime TV Review

Show: Big O

Genre: Sci-fi

Creator/Studio: Keiichi Satou/Sunrise

DVD Info: Season 1 had 13 episodes and is on 4 DVD volumes. Season 2 also had 13 episodes, and has three volumes.

TV Rating: TV-PG(V)

Summary: Forty years ago, the people of Paradigm City lost all their memories. No one knows how or why this happened. Flash forward to present day, Roger Smith is Paradigm City�s top negotiator. Helping him in his job as crimefighter are his butler Norman Burg and an android named R. Dorothy Wayneright (the R means Robot, by the way). When negotiations go awry, Smith turns on a special button on his wristwatch and shouts �Big O!�.

The Good: The show has an intriguing concept. Roger and Dorothy have an amusing relationship. There�s lots of action.

The Bad: At times, the show can get confusing.

Offensive Material: There is a lot of violence, mostly in the big robot variety. (A few episodes did have blood) There�s also the occasional swear word, mostly the d-word. In Act 7: �Angel in the Night�, we saw a character named Angel remove her coat, revealing two scars on her back. But that�s as far as it goes for the nudity.

Overall: Roger Smith may remind you of Batman. In fact, there are a lot of similarities between Smith and the Dark Knight. The show is very entertaining.

My Rating (out of 4): 3.5

Note: Big O is based on a comic of the same name, translated in America by Viz Communications. The fifth volume will be out in February 2004.