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 added only another thirteen episodes, intending to finish off the story. In the Second volume, many of the questions from the initial release were answered but several more popped up. I didn't see the third volume but a lot must've happened since the latest DVD, The Big O II: Aggressive Negotiations (Vol. 4), because everything was set to wrap up. The dilemma with Dorothy seemed all but fixed and Roger began the trio of episodes fighting his biggest (and most strongly equipped) rival, the Duo Deux, piloted by a rival of his. All the major threads began to tie into one another and each faction of the city seemed ready to protect their own interests at all costs. As Paradigm City is laid to siege, Roger is nearly killed repeatedly by his enemies, and the secret to what happened forty years ago is finally brought to light, can the cast survive or will the curtain fall for the last time on the cast?

Episode Twenty Four: The Big Fight:
Episode Twenty Five: The War Of Paradigm:
Episode Twenty Six: The Show Must Go On:

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, otherwise I'd have rated it even higher. I had been hoping for better extras or more episodes in this final DVD but I have to admit that I liked the ride a whole lot (at least what I saw of it).

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. I'm led to believe that the third volume had some kind of flaw that Bandai didn't want made public, hence the lack of a review copy, but I'll try to get my hands on one as soon as I can find a bargain.

If you enjoy anime, take a look at some of the recommendations by DVDTalk's twisted cast of reviewers in their Best Of Anime article!