Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into The Big O, and perhaps uncover a few more secrets regarding Paradigm’s strange history. The Big O’s last episode was actually brimming with information regarding the world of Paradigm, though in classic Big O fashion, all of that information was gracefully woven into the course of one more episodic investigation.

As Dastun sought answers regarding the identity of his destined woman, we in the audience learned a great deal about Paradigm, and the world around it. For one thing, it seems like Paradigm’s government is a sham. In spite of the city theoretically possessing a full board of representatives, all of those representatives in turn answer to the city’s true boss, with Angel at his side. Additionally, it appears that the show’s claim that the outside world has been destroyed is just another form of population control, as the episode culminated in outside forces sending a giant robot stomping through the city. Rather than the final holdout of a dying humanity, Paradigm is looking more and more like an isolated dictatorship, raising the question of whether even the mass amnesia was intentionally provoked in order to better control the populace.

But questions like that seem a little outside of Roger’s pay grade, at least while we’re still halfway through the first season. Whatever perils may come, I’m sure The Big O will convey them with genre-savvy finesse and plenty of style. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to return to The Big O, if that’s okay with you all, as I feel this show is one of the most rewarding projects I’m currently working on. The show is just such a complete package – I’d be happy enough simply to marvel at its terrific architecture and use of visual geometry, but it also succeeds as a polished, tightly written noir drama, somehow finding a natural meeting point between mystery, horror, and giant robot drama. As for this episode, it apparently features a storyboard by Kazuyoshi Katayama himself, the series’ overall director, and also the architect of its first three storyboards. If anyone has a natural fluency in The Big O’s aesthetic mix, it’d be Katayama, so let’s see what he has in store for us in episode ten!

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Hello all, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eagerly awaiting our continued explorations of The Big O, a show that has impressed me anew with almost every new episode, marrying gothic grandeur and neo-noir smolder to dazzling effect. I say “almost” there as a specific nod to the show’s last episode, which was unfortunately a bit of a step down from the show’s standard; a little more monster-of-the-week than usual, and also a bit less impressive in terms of its overall storyboarding.

But of course, as we hopefully all understand at this point, an anime production isn’t really a singular, cohesive organism; it is a composite of many individual artists, all of whom tend to leave a definable signature on their work. And in this case, one of those artists happens to be Akihiko Yamashita, co-architect of the astounding Giant Robo, and one of The Big O’s most accomplished storyboarders. With him on boards and series mainstay Ikuro Sato on direction, I’m expecting great things from The Big O’s ninth episode. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to continue our investigations into the city of Paradigm, as The Big O seems intent on outdoing itself every single episode, and I absolutely need to see where this masterpiece of aesthetic leads.

The Big O’s sixth episode was elevated by storyboards courtesy of Kazuyoshi Katayama, one of the main artists behind the stunning Giant Robo. But Katayama’s influence is clear beyond that latest adventure; along with serving as an overall director on The Big O, he also handled the storyboards for The Big O’s first three episodes, essentially setting the cinematographic tone for the series.

After that, episode seven was storyboarded by another major Giant Robo veteran: Akihiko Yamashita, an acclaimed Studio Ghibli animator who handled not just storyboards, but also character design, animation direction, and even some key animation on Giant Robo. It’s clear enough why The Big O possesses such an overwhelming sense of scale and beauty; it’s being captained by the artists responsible for perhaps the greatest example of scale and beauty in giant robot history.

Along with its legendary storyboarder, last episode also featured a script by Chiaki J. Konaka himself. Konaka is likely most famous for his collaborations with artist Yoshitoshi ABe: Serial Experiments Lain and Texhnolyze. Both of those shows demonstrate both a fascination and distrust in modern technology and transhumanism more specifically, as well as a slow, contemplative pace that feels right at home in The Big O. Between all of them, these three might be what truly defines the “soul” of The Big O.

However, as you might have noticed, we’re not watching episodes six or seven; we’re on number eight. Episode eight was both storyboarded and directed by Tetsuya Watanabe, an artist who frankly never broke big in any major way; his biggest directorial projects seem to be Schwarz Marken and Rumbling Hearts, neither of which are anything to write home about. Both storyboarding and directing is a big responsibility, so I’m intrigued to see his unique take on this remarkable franchise. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to return to the shadowed streets of Paradigm, and enjoy another finely crafted episode of The Big O. I’ve got a bit of a natural bias against robot shows, or as I’d personally protest, I have no particular bias towards them – the fundamental concept of robots moving or fighting isn’t inherently interesting to me, and thus a lot of scenes in a lot of giant robot shows fall flat, predicated as they are on the inherent grandeur of robots in motion.

Not so for The Big O – when this show wants its robots to feel grand, it is impossible to deny their terrifying, strangely beautiful presence. The Big O’s robots combine the lumbering, not-quite-right scale of kaiju or early super robots with a street-level perspective born of the show’s noir roots, resulting in battles that consistently feel like the end of the world. With last episode’s musical drama having reaffirmed Roger and Dorothy’s relationship, I’m eager to see them continue to unlock Paradigm’s secrets. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to The Big O, that exceptional mix of noir and giant robots that we all enjoy so much. Well, at least I’m greatly enjoying it; it’s a delight simply exploring the diverse sights of Paradigm, and Roger and Dorothy have made for dynamic, endearing tour guides.

Along with the show’s excellent art design and likable cast, what I most appreciate about The Big O is its willingness to embrace the weirdest consequences of its genre mix. While it’d be easy to construct a series of propulsive, action-packed murder-mysteries in the context of this world, The Big O has instead embraced both gothic horror and noir’s tendency towards ambiguity and even surrealism, frequently spending more time luxuriating in the atmosphere of Paradigm’s mysteries than following clues towards a destined end. Personally, I think ambiguity and atmosphere tend to be far more effective worldbuilding tools than outright exposition; through presenting a world with a rich sense of place but no clear answers, The Big O grounds us in the day-to-day experience of Paradigm, while implying there is more to this world than we could ever know. Let’s sift through the detritus of the sleeping city, as we explore a new episode of The Big O!

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Hey everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m excited to be returning to The Big O, and once again exploring the world of Paradigm with Roger and his companions. Episode four actually shed at least a glimmer of light on some of this show’s core mysteries, as Roger’s search for a missing author led him to first encounter the mysterious Schwartzwald, and then ultimately discover both an ancient cityscape and a half-formed Megadeus in the bowels of Paradigm’s subway system. With even the subway system itself having long fallen into disrepair, it is clear that just as Paradigm’s residents are building new lives on a bed of buried memories, so too is the city itself constructed on the forgotten bones of an older world. Questions of memory and identity are baked into the core of The Big O, and whether this episode continues to tug at the threads of those mysteries, or simply offers another stylish and exciting neo-noir adventure, I’m happy to dive back into this excellent production. Let’s see what Paradigm holds in store!

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Today I’m eager to return to a production I’ve been greatly enjoying, the gracefully genre-splicing Big O. Last episode saw Roger Smith taking a journey to Electric City, where he met the thieving femme fatale Angel, and ended up doing battle with a genuine electric kaiju. The episode was somewhat light on narrative tissue, but rich in atmosphere, with Roger’s quiet investigations of a rundown power plant offering plenty of that distinct, slow-burning noir appeal. The fact that Smith is generally just a guy in a suit asking questions actually makes The Big O feel remarkably close to its film forebearers at times, at least until a giant robot rises out of the ground and punches an electric eel. I’m looking forward to enjoying as much of that atmosphere as I can this week, but to be honest, I mostly just want to see Roger and Dorothy have more adorable bickering fits. Look, I’m a simple man, I enjoying watching a stuffy detective get owned by his robot assistant. Let’s get to it!

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Today I’m thrilled to return to Big O, a turn-of-the-millennium classic that combines noir storytelling tropes, art deco and gothic architecture, and lumbering super robots to arrive at something totally unique, yet roughly reducible to “giant robot Batman.” Using his titular robot companion, negotiator Roger Smith managed to save the android Dorothy from a gang that wanted to make use of her much larger sister, thus ending the show’s two-part introduction on the formation of Roger’s full negotiation team.

Though the narrative parallels and stylistic similarities between The Big O and the much-loved Batman: The Animated Series make comparisons inevitable, The Big O’s first two episodes emphatically demonstrated this is a show with its own wide array of formative influences. The Big O’s action setpieces embrace a style of slow, impactful movements that feels heavily reminiscent of classic kaiju battles, with shots cast through windows or upwards from the city streets, vividly emphasizing the unimaginable scale of giant robot battles. Its music calls back to the early 20th century film styles it’s emulating, while its robot designs combine playful super robot anthropomorphism with imposing gothic arches and buttresses. And even though they weren’t actually spearheaded by the same Sunrise substudios, it’s hard to shake the sense of Cowboy Bebop’s ghost in Paradigm’s dirty streets and huddled passerby (particularly when combined with Steve Blum’s iconic leading voice). But influences aside, The Big O’s first two episodes were plain and simply excellent television, and I’ve wasted more than enough breath getting us all caught back up. Let’s explore The Big O’s third episode!

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Heck yeah everybody, let’s get back to The Big O. This show’s first episode was a terrific mix of evocative art design and snappy thriller storytelling, combining gothic and art deco architecture with an angular, shadow-heavy visual aesthetic, along with some striking layouts and unique robot designs. Though he’s technically a “negotiator,” Roger Smith’s first adventure cast him as something more like a resigned gumshoe in a noir thriller, putting his violent past to work as a private detective, haunted by vague and distant demons. Roger’s life was disrupted by Dorothy, an android on the hunt for her “big sister,” a quest that culminated in Roger sending a hyper-powered robotic piledriver into that sister’s chest.

We were left on the most precipitous of cliffhangers, with Dorothy I and The Big O tumbling down on top of Dorothy II in the midst of a decaying, domed city. I ended up enjoying that first episode far more than I expected to, and am already taken with a variety of this show’s key features – its unique and often beautiful art design, its efficient storytelling, its overarching sense of melancholy, and especially the developing relationship between Roger and Dorothy. I’m a sucker for a good partnership, and particularly fond of their classic “smooth talker is perpetually deflated by their deadpan assistant, but there’s romantic tension there???” dynamic. Let’s see if Dorothy has been flattened into a pancake!

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