Judging by the number of recent views, I take it most people have probably seen this during Sci-Fi's airing on 9/22/08. What an interesting OVA to show, especially followed so closely by Gurren Lagann and seen by a fanbase that has probably seen Big-O :) Anyway, there are two, maybe three important things to know before viewing this: 1.) It's intentionally done in an "old school" style and is obviously an homage to Kaiju films (i.e. Godzilla etc) 2.) It picks up after the admittedly largely forgettible and throw-away beginning. 3.) It appears to largely be an interesting tech demo with some pretty cool giant monster vs. giant mechafight scenes added.

Either way, with the whole thing being only 24 minutes long you won't waste a lot of time watching it.

Story: 6 (Fair)

The story is largely throw-away and just an excuse to get a giant monster and giant robot fighting. In the year 2025, mankind has expanded to 10 billion persons and is exploiting Mars for natural resources. A large cocoon is brought back from the red planet, which escapes from the space ship holding it and lands in downtown Tokyo. Meanwhile, an old man is remembering his lost daughter who died during an accident during the construction of a large machine he designed for terraforming. As he watches the news, a large monster emerges from the cocoon and obliterates the army. He decides to activate the machine, which turns out to be a giant mecha, and flies into action as the only remaining thing standing in the monster's way. Yes, it's admittedly cookie-cutter, but hey I guess it's besides the point.

Art: 7 (Good)

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Negadon, and perhaps its main point, is its art; the movie is entirely in CGI, but unlike other CGI works like Advent Children, there is an asserted attempt to make the CGI seem as lifelike as possible, and the details on the main hero's skin for example are pretty impressive. However, the technology clearly hasn't climbed out of the Uncanny Valley...yet....

Sound: 7 (Good)

The sound is sharp and crisp, but there's a lack of any memorable BGM or other audio mood modifiers.

Character: 6 (Fair)

The characters are pretty stock and one-dimensional, perhaps unsurprising given how much needs to be fitted into 24 minutes, and also perhaps because it's besides the point - you watch this so you can see CGI giant monster fight CGI giant mecha!

Enjoyment: 8 (Very Good)

...and that is after all what Negadon is about. Just sitting back and enjoying a good fight as you munch away on popcorn - or pocky. It's a pretty interesting and enjoyable fight, and one can't help but conjure up images of, say, Roger Smith (The Big-O) or Kamina (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) especially since the mecha's aesthetics and activation sequence look as if they've been ripped right out of Big-O (I was just about ready to shout out Cast in the Name of God, Ye Not Guilty!) and the mecha also has a big freakin' drill for a weapon (yeah, go ahead, play My Libra/Row Row Fight Da Powah! during the fight scenes, you know you want to)

...and that is why this gets an overall rating of:

7 (Good)!