A really big indication of where anime was in America was that this second series was part funded by Cartoon Network following the original 1999 series’ success on Adult Swim. Its mix of social science fiction, Batman and giant robot fights was a winning combination and the design work had a crossover appeal lacking in more “anime” looking shows. I’ve seen the original and enjoyed it, but haven’t had the chance to see this sequel/conclusion.
Let’s note that just as the original theme was a fairly blatant (and awesome) homage/rip-off of Flash by Queen, this theme does likewise with the theme to Gerry Anderson’s UFO. It’s not the first anime to take it’s cues from UK “telefantasy” and it won’t be the last (there’s a more obvious example later in 2003).