Cast in the Name of God- Ye not Guilty! Big O! Showtime!

"This place, Paradigm City, is a town of forgetfulness. One day forty years ago every person here lost all memory of what had happened before that day. But humans are adaptable creatures, they make due and go on with life. If they are smart enough to figure out how to operate machinery and electricity, they can have something of civilization. People can survive without knowing what did or didn't happen in the past. And each day they try their hardest to do just that. The only people who regret the loss of these memories are the city's elderly. But memories, like nightmares, can come when you least expect them."-Roger Smith

   In the spirit of my Air Gear ramblings, it's time for a great half an anime series! Yep, it's time to put on your best suit, sunglasses, and call out "BIG O" into your watch!

    From the moment the show opened, I knew I would love this series. It reminded me of Batman, from the film Noir style, to the voice of Stephen Blum, there was nothing not to like! In a city that lost all it's memories 40 years ago, an ex police officer named Roger Smith is known as the Negotiator. The best around, when you need to negotiate you come to him, and everyone does, the man is clearly loaded. We first see him exchanging a suitcase full of money for a kidnapped girl. As soon as the villians get the suitcase, they're off like a bat out of hell. The girl turns out to be an android, not the guys daughter. Luckily Roger is prepared, he put a recall device on the suitcase. It gets shot open on it's way back, but at least the villians didn't get it. Another typical day in Paradigm city.

    Paradigm city is where the rich folks live, inside domes, and outside is where the poor live in squalor. There are many surprises to be had in an unknown area, full of surprises.The first half of the series is episodic- a bit of an over reaching story, mostly involving Roger Smith helping people solve their problems, for a large fee of course. Then things go bad, and he pulls out his giant robot- The Big O! It features an over reaching plot point of questioning what really happened 40 years ago. The cast:

Roger Smith- Bruce Wayne with a robot. A lazy lech with sweet robot fighting skills.

Dorthy- lives with Roger after the first episode. A deadpan android who enjoys playing the piano.

Norman- the butler, responsible for maintenance on Big O. The Alfred of this universe.

Angel- a mysterious young woman with wing shaped scars on her back.

Schwarzwald- An insane reporter who may have discovered the secrets of what happenend40 years ago, has a robot known as Big Duo who can fly.

Alex Rosewater- head of Paradigm city.

Paradigm city

    As the series rolls on, people begin to realize there are other countries out there, and they aren't as alone as they realize. More robots appear, and Roger Smith delves deeper into the mysterious of the city. The first season ends with Roger heading into the Ocean to face three Megadues at once, and BAM! Next episode is the first one. Luckily (or not) Cartoon Network helped finance a second series to resolve everything. This is where it all goes downhill.

Dat Ass.

   The second season is more arc based, and involves dealing with Alex Rosewater, and his crazy cyborg lacky. After a bunch of boring episodes it's revealed that Paradigm city is a Virtual Reality created by Angel. The series ends with everything being erased, and the narration Roger gave in the first episode is once again heard. Yep, reset end. I wonder if this was the original end they had in mind, and if the show had been give a full season originally it would have been better.

She sees your penis.

    Still the first half of this show is highly recommended. You'll be compelled to suffer through the awful second half by then end. All I can offer you then is courage young lad. Like most series there is a manga, but I barely remember reading it. I known I read the first six volumes, so it must have been nothing special.

Big O season 0ne-8/10

Big O season two-4/10