Though each self-contained story plumbs the depths of epic emotion, each self-contained story also resolves itself solely through the monster-of-the-week clash with Roger Smith in his mecha, Big O - an event that invariably abandons the well-crafted human element.
But however awkwardly these mecha clashes punctuate Hajime Yatate's richly textured stories, the noir tone of the series established by director Kazuyoshi Katayama and incredible design work by Keiichi Satou vitalize conceits that could easily drift into the mindless arena of mobile suit showdowns. A quirky - nearly tongue in cheek - sense of humor pervades the show, softening even the most staunchly, anti-mecha paladins … such as myself. (If nothing more, Satou's fluid, slightly retro design for Big O itself manages to quell any weaknesses in the story.)
By far the best offering in this trio of episodes is "A Legacy of Amadeus." Its highly melodramatic indulgence in the hackneyed science fiction dichotomy of art and science sounds some extremely moving chords, despite the incredible cheese factor. Dorothy shines in this episode as she whole-heartedly, but without ever changing her expression or tone of voice, embraces the learning of an ambivalent Instro.
Smith's relationship with Dorothy, always the strong point of the series, continues to grow as well, as does his relationship with the duplicitous Angel, who shows up in the final episode of the disc as a foil to Smith's preservation of the city's memories. (And in an inventive narrative twist, Yatate commodifies memories, making their market a lucrative one). Most intriguing in this last episode, Angel reveals her bare back on which two long scars run longitudinally, insinuating that her wings have been torn off. Overt symbolism like this mixed with the aforementioned heavily stylized noir conceit -- replete with overly dramatized noir music at this point -- gives the series its pleasantly campy tone.
That campy tone doesn't always land. Sometime situations grow downright insipid as the creators angle the show to be as cool as possible. But, again, the raw talent of this creative team shines through, Katayama's directing keeping the pace quick, the shots clean and the stories dramatic despite the fact that they all end the same way.
