Paradigm City. A City of Amnesia. Forty years ago, everyone lost their memory... but humanity continues to survive. They've learned to operate machinery, produce electricity, and go on living each day at a time. Still, there's something missing in a town with no past, no history of what has come before. Roger Smith is a Negotiator, hired to negotiate disputes between parties. With the power of a wondrous piece of technology known as the Big O, Roger Smith keeps Paradigm City from the nightmare of memories.

Packaging:

One of Bandai’s “brick” releases, the series comes as a double-size DVD case, featuring holders for 4 discs. The artwork on the front features Roger with the all-important tomato, Dorothy, Norman and the Big O ready for battle in front of a Paradigm skyline.

The menus are taken from the startup sequence for the Big O. It appears in place of the cockpit view screen. The menu choices are invisible, but pressing the directional keys will turn the respective choice visible. Behind the choices are various clips from the show, put to the opening theme. Well-done menus. The menu is the same for all four discs, with different clips.

Audio/Visual:

Presented in Dolby Digital stereo, the sounds of this release are easily audible and well done. Voices are both tracks are likewise audible and easy to understand, assuming you know some Japanese. The music is one of the many things that the series is known for, and this release doesn’t disappoint. The background of any given scene will present great pieces, ranking from orchestra to jazz to blues and back again. The music is just as audible, but doesn’t drown out the voices either. Originally airing in 2001, the series looks great in this release and the transition to DVD is very well done. Looks and sounds excellent.         

Extras:

Compared to more recent releases, the extras on the disks are relatively meager. You’re presented with the standard clean OP and ED on the first two discs, as well as a modest selection of trailers. Disc 1 features an interesting interview with the creator; however, it’s just a written feature with no audio or video. The subsequent discs contain production art, which is nice to look at. The creator interview is continued on Disc 2, 3 and 4. The case comes with an insert listing the episodes.

Content (beware, contains spoilers):

Disc 1 – The first two episodes merely serve as the set-up for the story, introducing us to all of the main characters as well as the structure of Paradigm City. The third episode introduces the elusive Angel, and details what it’s like on the outskirts of the city. The fourth episode is where the main story comes into play, introducing Schwartzwald and a mysterious underground cavern.

Disc 2 – The three episodes on this disc are mainly filler, though they still have their own interesting sub-plots. Episode 7 is perhaps the most interesting, as we find out about the mysterious sea and what may have happened to Paradigm City forty years ago.

Disc 3 – More filler, though these episodes are much more interesting. Episode 9 in particular contains the return of Beck and is a largely amusing episode that shouldn’t be missed. Episode 10 comes back to the main story and gives Dastun his own episode.

Disc 4 – Hoo boy, this is the reason you bought the set. Episode 11 is somewhat filler as well though contains some touching moments. Also, we see more of the show’s future main villain. Episode 12 is where everything in Paradigm City is shot to heck. It begins with the return of Schwartzwald and he’s brought along his own Megaduece – Big Duo! Questions are answered, only to bring more as the episode culminates in one of the best mecha battles in anime, in my opinion. Finally, Episode 13, the season finale continues part of the story from he previous episode as we are introduced to the enigma Gordon Rosewater who claims to know what really happened forty years ago. It doesn’t help that a serial killer on the hunt for memories has placed Roger at the top of her hit list…