A bath of sentimentality that tickles with bubbles of noir, goth, campiness and some deep themes. This series hasn't quite taken off, but it maintains a steady height … and certainly is better than the sum of its parts.

Melodrama passes for character development and Megadeus battles pass as story, but Dorothy shines in this triptych. Roger, as over-confident and smarmy as always, slips in a few seconds of compassion when dealing with his ward and his best friend, but the bulk of the episodes deal primarily with the second bill characters.

Dark, gothic flare mixed with a distinctly Japanese ability to capture beauty in the most unlikely of places, the art of The Big O steals the show. It's as if the story is really told throughout rather than precipitous of the action.

As cheesy as ever, the acting and translation certainly capture the tone of the show, though the script sometimes kowtows to the lowest common denominator, incessantly explaining obvious plot points, reminding the audience of the grand mystery at work and making Roger Smith seem more like a character outline than a fully fleshed figure in this unfolding drama.

It's dark, and it might confuse the younguns, but The Big O is harmless. Even a scene that depicts a couple riddled with bullets tastefully side-steps being grotesque.

Continuation of a text-based roundtable with the series' writers. Interesting because it dives into character, but standard, surface level fare. The disc, as always, is easily navigated.

If Roger and Dorothy become romantically involved, I'll … I'll, well, I'll go out and find a jailbait sheath made of titanium and tell her who's her daddy.

Now, Roger Smith, being the paradigm of non-violence, never kills, refusing to use a gun in episode 8 to halt guards after Angel and him, preferring instead to puncture pressurized pipes above the guards to distract them. Ah, bliss. Of course, he has no scruples about sending his Megadeus up through the ground and plunging into giant robot battle in the middle of crowded streets. It's fortunate that everyone is able to vacate the buildings fast enough; otherwise people might get killed.

Unable to work it into the review, I have to mention that incredible editing job on this series. Cuts are imaginative, original and sharp, adding as much to the tone and story as the art and the script.

Love it? Hate it? Buy it.