The Big O

The Big O
Anime DVD Review

The Big O has been often described as 'What if you combined Batman and Giant Robo?' But it is way more than that. It is pure, hardcore, literary-quality science fiction wrapped in style and sophistication, referencing everything from Isaac Asimov to Kurt Vonnegut. Meet Roger Smith, a man who fights crime in a double breasted all black suit, and he's got a giant robot (but does he control it, or does it control him?). Roger's companion is a female android who is more like MTV's Daria than anything else. She's like nothing you've ever seen in anime before. Be in awe of Dorothy, her power, her magnificence, her improbable size to mass ratio, her sardonic monotone comments, and her hidden, but deeply felt emotion.

The Big O: Outstanding!Simply put, The Big O is everything that we admire about Anime. It has taken American pop culture references and made them its own. Then it augments satire with some brilliantly executed scripts that actually make you think. Combined with one of the most intense, dramatic and downright gothic soundtracks ever recorded, (and one of the most hysterical opening theme songs ever), The Big O is both parody, homage, and something unique all it's own. It may be one of the best anime series ever made, and at a mere 13 episodes, it ends with you screaming for more.

Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, Summer 2002

Big O Soundtrack
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Big O Soundtrack
Anime Soundtrack Review

Awesome, magnificent, powerful and earthshattering are some of the adjectives we could use to describe this soundtrack. But mere words are unable to express the sheer scale of this seminal work. Running the gamut from subtle to audacious, this is simply the greatest music made for any anime since Yamato.

Big O SoundtrackThanks to a full orchestra, the music actually sounds "big", and you feel the power in the notes. Track 4 "Name of God" will send a chill down your spine and leave you with goosebumps. Yes, it's that good. Included, of course, is R. Dorothy's "wake up Roger!" piano solo. Stick that in your alarm clock bucky. Big O rocks, and this soundtrack will rock your house.

Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, November 2003

Big O: Sound Score II for Second Season
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Big O: Sound Score II
for Second Season
Anime Soundtrack Review

We had already reviewed the first season, and its soundtrack, but when Cartoon Network co-produced an entirely new season of Big O, out come some more stunning music. This collection includes some re-ochestrated favorites from the first season as well as the new music from Season 2, PLUS, welcome bits that were heard in episodes from both, but never made it to the first album.
Our Dorothy!
Basically, it's great stuff overall. Gothic, jazzy, fun and somber, it's the music that really makes Big O the show that it is (that is, apart from a killer storyline, amazing art direction, and of course, everyone's favorite sardonic android...) Big O rulez.

Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, June 2008