The series detailed an Earth in the future when some type of cataclysmic event (or invasion) took place. The people and robots all had their memories erased and had to muddle through as best they could. The first season took place forty years after that event, and as the series progressed, clues were discovered that help the lead character, Roger Smith, figure out what took place. He is a former military man who has assumed the role of a negotiator, a man that is something of a combination bodyguard, private eye, and general fix-it man that is hired by people to take care of things for them. The city is under a series of large domes to protect the citizens from the harsh elements and there are other cities around the world that have similar problems. Roger also has the distinction of controlling a large Mega Deux, a mech robot with astounding powers, in a fashion by piloting it as emergencies arise.

Season one lasted only thirteen episodes and the second series is only three volumes long, intending to finish off the story. In the Last volume, many of the questions from the initial release were answered but several more popped up. As Roger continues to struggle with events beyond his control, pieces of the puzzle unveil themselves, and only Roger Smith has the ability to figure it all out, and stay alive. In the latest DVD, The Big O II: Missing Pieces (Vol. 2), the three episodes focused on the usual fights but also spent a fair amount of time with the hidden story as it comes to the forefront. Here's a breakdown of the episodes by the events taking place, without too many spoilers for you, and numbering them as though they are in order with the first set of discs:

Episode Eighteen: The Greatest Villain: Beck, serving his sentence of 723 years for crimes committed in previous episodes, plans on breaking out of prison with his minions. Once out, he captures Roger and plots to destroy Big O. Dorothy assumes the role of negotiator and attempts to rescue Roger but the best laid plans are apt to go astray. Beck has all the angles covered and neither Roger nor Dorothy seem able to stop him.

Episode Nineteen: Eyewitness: Someone, or something, is killing off all the robots of a certain type in Paradigm City and it may be up to Roger to stop the rampage before the next intended target, Dorothy, is terminated. With the help of R. Frederick O'Reilly, a robot investigator of the highest caliper, Roger attempts to figure out what's going on and why they were targeted. The underlying story leads to clues about the big event that wiped everyone's memories out, something Roger is very interested in.

Episode Twenty: Stripes: Roger's nightmares continue to get worse and his visions seem to be flashes from the past he can't remember. As part of a case, he deals with a retired man on a farm that appears to know far more than he's admitting to. Things get a bit interested when Angel and he find that they may have feelings for one another that have been eluded to in past episodes but never stated as such. The latest Mega-Deux appears to be a combination of previous enemies and Roger has to stop it before it tears down the entire city. There is something deeper going on besides the robot itself and Roger must uncover it before it's too late.

The show was impressive on several levels to me. The technical aspects were certainly solid and even with the minimalist animation style employed here, it looked really good. Further, the audio was a notch or two above what I've been used to in some series, particularly with the English 5.1 track. I think this volume was worth a rating of Recommended, due in large part to the lack of extras and only having three episodes. I hope the final DVD has something extra to tie up the series but I'll be the first to admit it's been a fun ride.

Picture: The picture was presented in the standard 1.33: ratio full frame color that is the current industry standard. It was crisp and clear with no artifacts or other visual problems worth mentioning. Considering how new the series is, I kind of expected as much but you never know how producers will cut corners. The anime itself was of the retro style employed in the recent Batman show but it looked very defined here as though a lot of care were taken with it.

Sound: The audio was presented with a choice of a 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround English track or a 2.0 Dolby Digital track for either English or Japanese (with optional English subtitles on each of them). This is a new series and I expected a lot out of it. Thankfully, the folks at Bandai didn't let me down as there was a lot of separation between the channels, a rich bass track, and some rather solid special effects tracks to go with well-made music tracks. I think the 5.1 track was the best in terms of overall quality but the original language track had plenty of appeal too.

Extras: There were three trailers, an image gallery, some credits and a paper insert that had some pictures of the show.

Final Thoughts: I've liked this series since I first saw an episode and while I wish it had more extras or, even better, more episodes, I can understand that getting the series revived was no small task. The technical aspects were great and the writing solid, making this one that all anime fans who enjoy robot shows should flock towards. Check it out and let me know what you think, just don't complain about how addictive it is.

Check out DVDTalk's Top Anime of 2003 for more hints on good anime to watch.