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.
The Story
"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 sleeve.... 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
come 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 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 hearken 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 classy 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 villain, 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 fascination 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.
Well there you go the stories told>>>>HAVE
FUN!!!!