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Reviews
The Big O (1999)
Good ideas, good cinematography, and a rushed finale
Well, it is common sense that nobody understands the end of this series at first watch (the end of the second season). However, after some deliberation and reading a few articles (specifically the article "Forgetting traumatic war memory", by Naomi Chiba), I've come to understand and appreciate it a lot better. In comparison to the manga (I haven't read it fully), this anime seems to be what is often referred as neo-noir (inspired by old noir movies). It's definitely the best part of the show: the tone of the narrative put together with the mysteries regarding the Paradigm City (and the giant robots). However, I believe the script writers diverged too much from the original source (that feels a little childish next to it, but does have a clearer plot) and ended up with some plot holes here and there.
To me, this is not particularly a problem (I can ignore it with some good will). That said, I think the writers of the show were going for a Matrix-esque story with some Lovecraftian inspiration. The conclusion I've reached after watching it and reflecting would be this: after some catastrophic war, with the death of the original Roger Smith, the machines (specifically, the Big O), developed a big dome to be a stage. That is, a real simulation intended to recreate the original Roger Smith (kinda of making a clone, but as it seems to me, a cyborg who belives himself to be Roger Smith). This would be necessary for the survival of the Big O, since it seems severely restricted in what is able to do, unless it is satisfying the will of his rider (the dominus). But that's my personal interpretation since you have to figure out a lot of stuff yourself (and put the dots together). I give it a 9/10 simply because it is really entertaining and have some mind-blowing moments here and there. Worth rewatching.