Various things

Finally starting part-time summer job tomorrow; huzzah. Now I'll actually have, like, moneys.

In other news, I've been watching Big O lately(it's going to be featured in SRW Z, and is one of the shows on my list of "should have seen but didn't so will try to soon", along with Cowboy Bebop, Trigun, and Hellsing), and I must say, it's been extremely impressive so far. The art style is so earthy, and a far cry from most of what you see in anime these days. The main character, Roger Smith, is practically my hero now, and Dorothy has all the greatest one-liners.

Anyways, it was a nice after watching the SEED Destiny compilation movies to see how Roger operates. Not only does he beat the living crap out of anything attacking Paradigm City, but he does it with style and flair. The Big O itself is also totally different from any mech I've seen before, and I'm loving it. One thing that impressed me about it in particular is the control system - too many times, you see mecha series either taking the easy way out with total motion sensor system or simply not bothering to portray how it works(this is one of the reasons I also like the robots in Fafner). The entire cockpit of the Big O is extremely well drawn, and you can see clearly exactly how Roger controls the robot's limbs and such.

In addition to all this, the story is very much like a western detective novel in a lot of parts, and the whole thing(the theme of the color black, Roger's sedan, gadgets, etc.) reminds me of the animated Batman cartoon series.

Also, no silly Japanese high school culture gets in the way here. It's the professional "negotiator", the android, and the awesome butler in a city that was apparently based on New York City. This is, needless to say, an extremely refreshing change from most of the stuff I've been seeing lately. Also of note is the technological level of the Big O compared to other Super Robots - this one is a Real Robot in disguise, it seems. Its most advanced weapons are the lasers that it can shoot out of its eyes. Most of the time, it just kinda bashes through everything with raw power, though. It also apparently has a beam gatling gun inside one arm. There is that one part where it did something on its own, though... so I have a feeling I'll be seeing more stuff like that soon enough.

Oh, and did I mention, the music is incredible? It was composed by Sahashi Toshihiko, the same composer who did the music for Gundam SEED and Full Metal Panic!. I am a really big fan of his work.

Another thing that has been good so far is the dub. Most anime-nerds know this, but most anime that is licensed and dubbed in English is done terribly. However, The Big O is one of the few exceptions. Now, I really do not know voice actors, whether Japanese or American, but I think Roger Smith's VA has played a few other big roles, I'm just not sure what(and can't be bothered to look it up).

In any case, I'm 17 episodes in, and most of the mysteries that the first few presented to the viewer are beginning to be unraveled. Pieces are clicking together, and at this point, we really don't know much more than the main character does about what's going on.