The Big O Review

Name(s): The Big O / THEビッグオー
Format: TV series (26 24-minute episodes)
Release Date(s): October 13, 1999 – January 19, 2000
Studio(s): Sunrise
Publication Date(s): N/A (unknown)

The Big O is the nerd’s Greek tragedy. The storyline doesn’t intend to be one, but the events surrounding the show’s production ensure that it is. It’s common knowledge now that the writers of The Big O were planning a story that would last three seasons, but when the hammer came down and they didn’t get that final season, they had to quickly improvise an ending with the remaining episodes.

So, just when shit is hitting the fan and mysteries are answered with even more mysteries, the plug is suddenly pulled and we’re left a scrambled curiosity that could only be defended as some work of surrealism, even though we all know that wasn’t the case.

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EDIT 9/17/2024: I’ve heard variations on this tale from every conceivable angle, and I’m frankly not sure where the truth lies with this production story. One of the more credible citations I’ve seen in the past few years was a quote from one of the series’ top creatives (again, I don’t recall which) stating that they would have gone for a mysterious, incomprehensible ending regardless of when it had to happen. I’ll need to do in-depth research at some point and update this review.

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And yet I gave The Big O a 9. Why? Because the journey itself is so amazing, so stylistically distinct for anime at large with a lovable cast of characters that it had me more intrigued than any other anime ever did all the way up to its underwhelming anti-finale. Yes, it’s truly sad The Big O could have been even more incredible, but anyone should still watch it simply because there’s nothing else like it.

I have to give a nod to The Big O’s design itself, also pretty unorthodox for a mecha anime. It’s the rare halfway super robot that has both super powers and is limited by real-world restrictions. Fights are heavy and slow, taking clear influence from giant monster movies, yet they’re so suspenseful and fun to watch as Roger Smith usually has to devise some way to defeat the enemy with limited mobility through intelligence and often using the environment. Just really unique stuff. Oh yeah, and it has one of the best anime soundtracks ever.