“Big O…Showtime!”

When it comes to anime, there are two sides to my personality. On the one hand, I make a point of watching most major new shows so I can keep up with the latest moe trends and decide what products we want to stock on J-List. Still, I’m “old school” to the core, always happy to rewatch the original Macross or Bubblegum Crisis or revel in the sober refinement of classic Universal Century Gundam. Recently a show from 1999 called The Big O caught my eye, and I decided to give it a try, since I’d missed it the first time around. (Just to make things more interesting, I watched the entire series while on the treadmill at the gym, one episode per workout.) It was a wonderfully fresh idea, combining the best noir story elements of the 1990s Giant Robo with the Batman animated series, all wrapped in elements of Christopher Nolan’s film “Memento.” If you’re ever in the mood for some classic 70s-era robot fighting with a really good story, give The Big O a try.

I watched The Big O and enjoyed its retro noir design. Plus Dorothy is the hottest android ever.