Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
MAGNUS8M
The Big O is probably best viewed as an anime version of "rock'em sock'em robots" with a touch of unexplained mystery to pull you in and make you wonder. Unfortunately, another company got involved with completing the series in the second season by turning the unexplained-mystery into "plot dump", therefore killing the mystery. The second half pulls down what could have otherwise been given a perfect score from me.
The Big O is about a giant robot that is used to beat up other giant robots, kaiju, or whatever else attempts to destroy the area known as Paradigm City that it protects. And that's really all it needs to be.
Roger Smith is its pilot, who keeps his identity as a 'domineus' secret while he spends most of his time as a "Negotiator", helping the people of "The City of Amnesia" wh…
Read at the sourceCiaran_Zagami
I really want to recommend this anime
Its got a lot going for it.
Great animation, great music, great action, good characters, an awesome and mysterious setting.
In fact everything is basically perfect.
So why the hesitation? It's not really something I can talk about with out spoiling the entire series and that is REALLY something I don't want to do. If you even remotely think this series sounds interesting I highly encourage you to give it a try.
For the rest of you, abandon all hope of avoiding spoilers.
All my problems stem from the ending.
I think its supposed to be some weird cosmic reality bending thing. Where god herself in the form of Angel/Big Venus decides to reset reality to the series start. But this time she will retain her memories and allow everyone's lives to go…
Read at the sourceReey_Monteiro
No doubt TBO has become the best mecha I have ever seen in my life, it is difficult to find words to describe how incredible TBO is.
The characters are very good and very charismatic the atmosphere of the anime is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, not to mention the soundtrack that is a masterpiece. I love all the TBO characters, they are well written and unique.
The Big O plots are amazing and mindfuc **, but if you pay close attention, you will be able to understand the story or not lol. I was so crazy about the plot that it came in a short sequence of time.
About the end .. Yes, Angel was a robot / Megadeus, to begin with. When her operator died, she became human. Essentially becoming a physical resemblance to her operator, but without any recollection. Due to its ab…
Read at the sourceCritically_Red
I don't know if people are still reading reviews on this show or not. And I know reviews can seem to go on and on sometimes, so I'll be as brief as I can here.
The Big O is a very eclectic experience. It's as moody as it is humorous. It's as atmospheric as it is fast paced. And it's as lighthearted as it is existential. It follows a formula similar to a saturday morning cartoon, where the hero is usually pressed in to a corner, and at the last minute pulls out the big guns and saves the day. But it works so well here because there's so much more substance elsewhere in the show.
It overtly pulls inspiration from film noir tropes, making this perfect for anyone who enjoys the gloomy jazz and blues vibe that Cowboy Bebop executed so well. It does however, take a different direction with t…
Read at the sourceLightHouseGary44
Let the record show that I at first thought this show would besome kind of artsy-fartsy mishmash that would leave its audience so totally confused they felt like they were swindled by a snake oil salesman, but this proud trump supporter cannot say that's here the case.
I first got a glimpse of this show on Toonami some yeares ago; i was woodworking and my grandson was walking round arms at his side with his damn undies at his ankles. "what in tarnation!" i exclaimed, and i asked right immediately what the hell was his issue. "im imitating a megadeus," he explained. a mega-what? Thats when he showed me this show playing on the tube, and since it was a giant robot fighting a mosnter, i was floored. i understood immediately why my son walked aroud like me when i forgot to get a new roll and…
Read at the sourceGridfire
While it's aesthetic gives the impression of a mystery thriller series, as much as it is that, the Big O is also a mecha series of the monster-of-the-week variety. Roger Smith, the main character is a 'negotiator' whose negotiations inexplicably end in giant robot battles, in a world where no one's memories of 40 years ago exist. One would have thought that written media and records would make it infinitely clear what had happened even if you lost all your memories, but the less thought you put into that issue, the better.
The series is obviously influenced by Batman. Roger Smith plays the part of Bruce Wayne, complete with a mansion, a butler and various gadgets, including of course his very own giant mech, Big O. R. Dorothy, his android sidekick, is a standout character. Bearing emotion…
Read at the sourceEingya
The Big O is a noire with mechas... sort of.
Set in a post-apocalyptic sci-fi city in which all humans have lost all memories in an unknown event happened 40 years prior, The Big O throws a huge amount of concepts at the wall in its exploration of its main themes of memories and "what makes a person's being and goals".
The series goes from deconstructing old school mecha tropes to moody noire monologues, passing from vague otherworld lovecraftian concepts, religious references and much more. While not all those idea may work, they are always delivered with a confidence and savvy aesthetical means (although the slicker animation found in the second season is far less fascinating than the rougher one of the first season) that if nothing else, makes most episodes entertaining and moody-ly h…
Read at the sourceAnimeObasan
As you will be told at the start of nearly every episode (or one character will announce at least once per show), Paradigm City is the city of amnesia. The idea is that in some event 40 years ago, everyone lost their memory. Ok, that's easy enough to accept as a decent premise for a show, right? But...what about all the younger people? Yeah, for some reason, EVERYONE has lost their memories at some point in the past, including our Negotiator and main character who appears in his late 20s. As I watched this show I developed a theory: these are not humans, but rather long lived elves or evolved humanoids. See, that would explain the looks, both the young appearance and the crazy, tiny, pointed ears.
SOUND: The voice acting is just ok. The voices of the main characters (Roger, Dorothy, and…
Read at the sourceenslay
Big O is a philosophical anime about memories and their representation. Really understanding it requires several viewings. It's not obvious, for example, that the mecha in this anime are symbols of ideas/movements/memories. It's even less obvious how to interpret them. The stories in each episode are merely the surface.
Story:
The story is unusual. On the surface, it may even seem corny. Paradigm city, a city where everyone lost their memory 40 years ago? Certainly sounds something like B grade Sci-Fi. But if you're like me and you like unusual plots, this is definitely one to watch. Otherwise, just give it a chance.
As I said in the introduction, the stories often feature details that are not easily noticed or understood. You may need to watch it more than once. There are admittedly som…
Read at the sourcebrucege
While Big O appears to be a generic giant robot show at first glance, it distinguishes itself by its quirky characters, old-school artwork, and transcendent music.
Story 8/10
The show is a mix of mystery and action with traces of comedy, horror, and romance. The first season is mostly a standard monster-of-the day affair: light on story, high on action. The second season, on the other hand, features an overarching plot. The story is simple, but it serves as an excellent foundation for the show's true strengths.
Characters 9/10
While the characters are somewhat two-dimensional, they pull off their roles with vigor and panache. Roger, a hybrid of James Bond and Batman, is a mature, suave, and highly likable lead character, a refreshing change from the whiny brats of many recent shows. Doro…
Read at the sourceJizzmasterzero
First of all, I love the style of Big O. Apart from its terrible name and opening song it showed a lot of promise in the first episode. It was a great idea, too. I liked the pacing and the 1992 animated batman look. It is an entertaining anime, light hearted fun (though it didn't have to be light hearted, but taken otherwise is a mistake. It is intended to be serious, but there are just too many flaws and odd things happening).
On to the music. It is not good, atmospheric or otherwise, but the opening and closing songs really take the crap cake. As for the characters and dialogue, they are also not good. You are never really convinced that Roger puts on a good facade as a negotiator. Pretty much all the characters are weird in some way and it is hard to think of them as very real charact…
Read at the sourceFreida5
When I was a young anime fan I saw this show on Toonami and was transfixed. To me this show was basically Batman with giant robots. However when I recently re-watched it i was horribly disappointed. The characters are well crafted, and the art and music compliment each other wonderfully with their noir style. The story is where this show crashes and burns. The beginning is very good, with lots of action, and even a few touching stories. As the show goes into the second season confusing flashbacks, convoluted plots, and heavy handed symbolism turn a fairly decent action show into a complete disaster. I watched it once out of nostalgia, but I would not see it again.
Read at the sourceDreadnaught_500
Loved it! Classic Mecha Anime! (Personal Opinion)
If you are into mecha animes I recommend that you give Big O a try!
Read at the sourceMliekseter
BIG O, BIG O BIG BIG O!
DAN DAN DANN DAN DAN DANN
Cast thee in the Name Of GOD, Ye are Not Guilty!
We have come to Terms
BIG OOoo!
Sorry about that.
Right, Big O really sticks in my mind as the most Stylish anime I've ever seen. "To heck with your giant shoulder pads and fancy jet packs" it says to the rest of the Mecha Genre; Lets have some Giant Piston Arms and Solid Grey Iron Exterior.
And that is, frankly, Awesome.
My perennial complain with Mecha Animes is that their all so "graceful" and "humanoid". The mechs are never just giant hunks of walking metal that punch their enemy's into pulp. Big O goes so far against this tradition that it even has an episode making fun of it. And, of course, that "making fun" is done with Style, poise and tact.
That aside:
Big O has style in all face…
Read at the sourcesinsenest
The first thing that caught my eye when I first watched this series was "Am I watching a Japanese re-make of Batman or something?" You can kind of start noticing when you see a rich lookin' guy dressed in all black with shades (and a butler of course), exept that he's not in a cape but instead, a GundamWing-like robot.
Story (7.9/10):
Like the other person before me said, the story basically follows a series of mysteries that the main character, Roger Smith resolves that sort of pieces the story together. I wouldn't say the story was all that great, or all that bad, but it was all right. The main thing that sort of brang me down from that story was that stupid robot (no offense to you mecha fans out there) "Big O" that Roger always has to call on to "save the day". But I guess it's the ro…
Read at the sourceBishounen_Hunter
I really have no idea about how I feel about this show. Therefore this review might wind up ambiguous....you decide. See, I was never too crazy about Big O, even from back in the day when it was on C/N. Even after re-watching it again now I still feel the same way. There are too many things about it that I either found irksome or just failed to impress me altogether but there were parts that I did like about the show too. What I disliked: for one, I've never been too fond of Mecha anime shows especially of the giant robot variety because they always seem too quick to jump into them and try to solve everything in them then they end up fighting and smashing up things of course Big O is no different when it comes to this. But I did like the show for the mystery element as well as for the love…
Read at the sourcecidz
This is one of my most favorite animes, I'm not huge on mecha as most series ive seen seem to be about a buncha teens in the future trying to save the world (altho another exception to that is eureka seven, which oddly is a buncha teens in the future trying to save the world >_> but thats besides the point)
anyways, its basically about a negotiator named roger smith that pilots the big freaking mecha, big o. later on he gets swept up in all of this espionage and secrets and whatnot.
the first season is mostly stand alone episodes roger gets hired as a negotiator and he gets into battles with other mechas destroying most of the city (only for it to miraculously be exactly back to normal the next episodes.. ooh anime, gotta love it XDD) he runs into various villians including some reaccur…
Read at the sourceHuntsman
BIG O was a unique show, with a good concept. Having everyone in the worlds memories erased and no one knows what happened, but everyone has clued inside of their minds. It reminds me a little of the movie DARK CITY. It had a nice twist on the Giant Robot anime, instead focusing on the characters and story. The story was great, you couldn't stop watching. All the twists and turns along the way in search of the what happened forty years ago. The story and characters were the best part of the show. The music was great, the animation was pretty good, and the action was good. The ending was great, but I still have no idea what really was going on. That's why I wish Cartoon Network had agreed to a season 3. I guess it just wasn't popular in both Japan and the USA.
Overall I think BIG O is unde…
Read at the sourceArcherKinao
This was an interesting anime from the start. First you think its about a negotiator in Paradigm city. But as the story continues you find out that it is actually about finding what life is really about.
This anime goes really deep and has you questioning your own reality before its over.
The ending for this anime was just as confusing. I have watched it several times and still have a hard time making sense of it.
This anime is for those of us who like to think.
Read at the sourceJackCox
Yes, I understand I'm again writing a very excellent review from this one, I did dock it one for art because there were some slight animation issues in some parts of the show. But really I did enjoy this show.
First of all, if you are a mecha fan, you may be sorely dissapointed with this show, it has much more of a mystery feel to it and the Mecha fights may not be to your liking.
However, if your not a hard-core mecha fan like me but can appreciate the art-form of Mecha, you will likely enjoy this.
The main reason I love this show was because of it's fantastic mysteries and it's fantastic characters. I love all the characters in this show, because they are somewhat unique in their own ways. Characters like Schwarzwald who to many people appears to be evil actually is trying to good. Wh…
Read at the source