Big 0 2 Volume 4: Aggressive Negotiations

Not Listing a Voice Cast:

What the box says:

The War for Paradigm City has begun. Now, Roger, Dorothy, Norman, and the Big O face their greatest challenge ever. The enemies of Paradigm City all want to see it destroyed for their own personal satisfaction. Gordon Rosewater wants to destroy what his father built and re-create the world in his own image. The Union wants revenge for the way they've been treated. And all that stands between the citizens of Paradigm City and certain doom is the Big O and Dastun's loyal group of police.

But the cause behind all of these things and the mysterious event that made everyone lose their memories forty years ago, still has to be revealed. Time is running out. Can the secret be unearthed before everything is destroyed? And if it is, will it mean salvation or ultiamte destruction?

The shocking fate of Paradigm City is revealed in this, the final volume of Big 0 II!

Plot:

Episode 24

Big O VERSUS Big Duo. Roger wonders who is piloting Big Duo. Dorothy is taken away. Big Duo keeps up his flying assault against Big O.

Alex Rosewater wants to create history in his own fashion.

Big Duo is getting the upper hand on Big O. Roger unleashes a couple salvoes of missiles against Big Duo. Alan Gabriel is hooked up into Big Duo and Borged into the control system. Big O is damaged and barely can keep his defenses up. Gatling gun fu not enough to drive Big Duo away.

Things aren’t looking that good until Big Dup flies away. Alan Gabriel is angry that he can’t get Big Duo to kill Roger.

Roger leaves Big O and goes after Dorothy.

Alex Rosewater wants to the god of this world.

Roger finds Dorothy. Her disk was removed from her head.

Alex Rosewater has Dorothy’s disk to be used in Big Fau. He’ll reset the world to his liking and won’t accidentally lose all the memories like Gordon did. Alex wants Beck to work for him.

Roger and Norman inspect Dorothy who lost her memories. Roger gets a letter from Schwarzwald that was mailed after his death. Norman begins repairing Big O.

Angel discovers a television set of the kitchen she remembers as her mother’s kitchen.

On the streets, Dastun spots a child who is him as a child…

Episode 25

Dastun ponders his young version while Angel is at the TV set.

Scorpion tanks attack Roger’s armored limo.

Big Duo is flying in the air. The city is under assault by lightning.

Norman is furiously working on repairing Big O with a crew of mecha repairmen.

Big Fau emerges. Explosions destroy the domes. Roger falls under the wreckage.

Suddenly, Gordon Rosewater is on the TV set with Angel. Vera arrives and has been manipulating Angel her entire life. Vera is Gordon’s daughter?

Alex Rosewater will destroy all who don’t deserve to exist.

Dastun can’t get the military police to stop from firing.

Dorothy awakens.

Vera saved Gordon from Alex’s arson. The shocker is Gordon is also Angel’s father. Many of people were created with cellular material and thrown away which is most of the Union. Alex Rosewater eliminated all who had their memories. The Union is united in their hatred against Paradigm City. A bullwhipping Vera keeps striking Angel, when Roger arrives. He is one of them.

Gordon reveals no one had any memories prior to 40 years ago. There is no real Union.

High above the Paradigm City, the sky is encased in a dome with lights.

Angel is a memory not human. Roger calls for Big O. Gordon has a picture of a younger Gordon with Roger who had memories as negotiators. Gordon wanted Roger to deal with who directs the world.

Beck finds Dorothy.

Big Fau, Big O, and the Vera Bot all face down…

Episode 26

There were no memories before 40 years ago.

Big Fau versus Big O. Roger isn’t able to get past Fau’s force shield.

Dastun learns that the Paradigm Corporation has ordered the military police to attack Big O.

Big Fau starts his beat down of the black megadeus.

Dastun is just about to be thrown out of the Military Police for questioning orders when he does his impression of Johnny Paycheck about taking this job and shoving it.

Dorothy awakens and terrifies Beck.

Dastun follows the path of destruction of the Bigs battle. The city watches the battle.

Big Fau drags Big O down the street and is about to toss him into the ocean when Dastun opens fire on Fau with a tank. Dastun sees more military police that took his lead and quit.

Alex is ranting when electrodes implant themselves into his back.

Cut to Angel and her back scars.

Alex uses Big Fau to attacks tanks. Big O is tossed into the ocean but is able to drag Big Fau in with him.

Beck ponders how Dorothy is functional without a memory.

Undersea submarine mecha battle ensues. Big Fau emerges while Big O does his impression of the Titanic. Big O offers to merge with Roger?

Norman and Dorothy head out after Roger.

Gordon takes Angel to an elevator. He claims that she has the memories before 40 years ago. Angel grows wings and flies away.

Roger has a flashback to mecha wars and sees himself being constructed on an assembly line for androids. Paradigm City has a holodeck grid above it?

Dorothy gets to Roger. Big O heads for ground.

Alex wants to finish his opponent off once and for all with flying fist punches.

Dorothy merges with Big O for its final stage, Death Blossom version of Big O for this month’s reference to the Last Starfighter. Big O wastes half of Big Fau.

Suddenly, another Big emerges. Big Venus. More holodeck grids emerge. Big Venus erases Big Fau.

Roger tries talking Angel down from Big Venus. The city is erased. Roger erased his own memories. More philosophy fu ensues.

The city of Paradigm City has Roger Smith driving in his limo into the first episode of season 1 of Big O.

What I say:

Once more onto the breech or flossing with bleach. Welcome back to Mecha Month's final review. In case you missed the past few weeks: Big O 2: Volume 1, Big O 2: Volume 2, and Big O 2: Volume 3. I only hope you recovered from any flesh eating virus that could separate you from your computer to miss Mecha Month. You may want to go back and go over those previous reviews before going any further with this review...

This month's reviews have been more of a challenge than I thought at first. Previous theme months, I've tried to at least have little wider variety of selections than just doing an entire month of the same series of movies. I wasn't expecting each DVD to be in a different genre but just going over the exact same style of movie for a month is a good reason why I try to be so random or ecleptic. I was thinking that Big O 2 was going to be more like the original series. The more episodes I watched the greater impression I got that the people responsible for Big O 2 was inspired a bit too much by Neon Genesis Evangelion and Blade Runner.

There have numerous discussions about the endings of Neon Genesis Evangelion and Blade Runner whether scholarly debate should be required on them is a question for someone far more interested in the philosophy aspects than I have. Mecha and philosophy can be mixed though it has to be done carefully or it will ruin the show. Had they just done more with Roger Smith in Big O fighting giant mecha without all the philosphical enigmas of reality and flashbacks it would have worked better for me.

I have to admit I enjoyed the first season more which has colored my judgement to some degree on this season. How much I enjoyed the first season probably has colored my opinion of Big O 2. Supposing, if I had not watched the first season, I would have enjoyed season 2 more and could probably have mangaged without feeling I was completely lost. What should iritate an fan is wasted potential. Taking an original idea that somehow becomes like a rehash of half a dozen other shows is an insult to the fans.

Now, I'll try to focus on the good. After reading the past 4 reviews, that may be a hard order for anyone to believe that I could find any. Well, what about the good? The animation of the Big O versus the other megadeus fights just get better and better. The animation is almost OAV quality, cranked up.

One thing I hate about time travel stories is how many of them think re-inventing the wheel is a creative ending to a story. How the ending creates the beginning. The movie with the dream ending that has everything just not happen or did it like in Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla is even worse. Big O 2 may not have time travel or dream ending but is awfully close to how the end opens up to the very beginning of season 1. If that isn't bad enough, we still don't get any good explanation of what happened. How the writers thought this would be a good idea is a leap in logic Evel Knievel couldn't jump if good ideas were expressed in physical distances.

No surprise that the ending was designed for the series to have another season. Unfortunately, Big O 2 didn't catch the attention of America like the original. The idea of third season has been ditched unless they try to do a manga version of it.

Quotable Dialogue
"Eternal sleep means eternal."
"I haven't felt anything this good since I half-quit being human."
"Would you hurry up nd dish up that tomato stew for me?"
"You've been a very bad girl, my dear little angel."
"This world has a new order now?"
"Crow Boy's already dead and you know it!"
"A lecherous man with curly hair told me."
Morals of the Story
Giant mechas need eyebeams.
Limos need missile launchers.
Books are bulletproof.
People can fly if they have energy wings.
Androids need oxygen to breathe.