Liking Zone of the Enders: Dolores, I

I love this series.  It's so goofy and funny.  It's a family drama at heart, but it's also good science fiction. 

A 49-year-old father working as a space trucker and estranged from his kids gets an odd cargo: a robot who sings lullabies his dead Martian wife used to sing to their children.  This robot is . . . different.  Not only is she shocking pink, but she's not merely a machine.  Dolores has a personality and is basically a ditzy, naive, sweet little girl trapped in a giant robot body.  She frustrates the people who are used to robots just being tools for fighting. 

There are intergalactice politics (Mars and Earth relations are pretty shaky), mysterious military conspiracies, lies, and betrayals.  And a totally crazed villain whose VA is having waaaaay to much fun.  Also a kitten.  (No Full Metal Panic: TSR worries here, my children.) 

The English voice acting is good.  I listen to it in English simply because of the really stellar performances James Links (Travis Dean) and Dolores (Boni Hester) turn in.  The extras are a mixed bag, but some of the interviews with the Japanese voice actors are a good time.  There's action, adventure, and intrigue aplenty, but, at its heart, this is the story of a family reforging itself through a lot of adversity. Refreshing.