Release Year: 1999

Paradigm City is home to a populous of amnesiacs.  What cataclysmic event could erase the memories of so many people?  Why is the city encapsulated in a glass bubble?  What are these giant robot weapons of war, known as Mega Deuces, that keep popping up?  Who is the mastermind behind it all and why?  Roger Smith, Paradigm City's chief negotiator, is learning case by case that he is the tool of a conspiracy that only a select few can remember.  Luckily, he's got the best back-up a man could want: a giant robot named Big O who knows how to lay the smack on any villain Roger may encounter.

I've heard it said that Big O is like a cross between Batman and Gundam.  Perhaps it seemed that way at first, but once the story truly unfolds, it goes so much deeper than that.  The Batman comparison is based on the fact that Roger is a millionaire with a super car and a butt-kicking butler.  The Gundam comparison is based on the fact that he pilots a giant robot.  These are easy comparisons to make, but they are very superficial.  Personally, I think Big O is truly its own entity.  Roger is a semi-pacifist who tries to talk his way through tough situations.  He doesn't carry weapons or pick fights.  He is more of a detective than the scourge of the night.  As for the Big O, it is not a military weapon like most of the Gundams.  It has a unique style unto its own.  It even manages to have a certain divine quality every time it is activated and the words "Cast in the name of God, ye not guilty" appear on its screen.

"This is a very enjoyable anime and will probably be remembered as one of the greats."

The story is interesting and the characters develop nicely.  The art is unique, in fact, it can be mistaken for the kind of Americanized artwork that comes out of Warner Bros. Animation Studios.  I particularly like the artwork on the Mega Deuces.  This is a very enjoyable anime and will probably be remembered as one of the greats.  I highly recommend it, but due to it's enigmatic nature and over-the-top "acting," I am not surprised when people don't like it.

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Okay, I really wanted to like this series.  It has all of the intrigue and characters that would normally make me love a series.  Like Paradigm City - what a GREAT NAME!  It reveals so much - a paradigm, for those who don't know, is a set of values and beliefs shared by a community and it is the way they view reality (kind of a group conceptual framework, for those familiar with psychology).  Is that not a GREAT NAME for a group of people suffering from some kind of strange amnesia.  And then Roger and his android friend, Dorothy.  They're really interesting characters.  But no matter how hard I try I just can't get into it.  I have watched so many episodes trying to like it but, nothing.  I'm not really sure why I don't like it except maybe the acting and the dialogue seems a bit over-the-top at times.  But hey, if you can enjoy this series, I really envy you.

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