List of The Big O characters

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The fictional characters of The Big O anime series were designed by series creator Keiichi Sato, who also designed characters for the City Hunter series. Because of union rules,^[1] most of the English voice cast for the first season were credited under pseudonyms;^[2] the only ones who used their real names were Lia Sargent (R. Dorothy Wayneright), Wendee Lee (Angel), Michael McConnohie (Schwarzwald) and William Knight (Gordon Rosewater).

Contents 1 Main characters 1.1 Roger Smith 1.2 R. Dorothy Wayneright 1.3 Norman Burg 1.4 Dan Dastun 1.5 Angel 2 Villains 2.1 Alex Rosewater 2.2 Alan Gabriel 2.3 Vera Ronstadt 3 Recurring characters 3.1 Big Ear 3.2 Jason Beck 3.3 Schwarzwald 3.4 Gordon Rosewater 4 Minor characters 4.1 Timothy Wayneright I 4.2 R. Instro 4.3 Sybil Rowan 4.4 R.D. 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Main characters

[edit] Roger Smith

Roger Smith (ロジャー・スミス, Rojā Sumisu^?) is the series protagonist. He is the Negotiator. His job entails finding a resolution for the troubles of Paradigm City, the "City of Amnesia". He'd negotiate anything for anyone, but he is a professional and expects the parties to behave professionally.^[3] When memories betray the people and force them to reawaken monstrosities of the city's past, Roger's only option is to fight back with a monstrosity of his own, the black megadeus Big O.^[4]

The character, originally envisioned as a private eye, shows influences from Batman, James Bond and Giant Robo's Daisaku Kusama.^[5] He is voiced by Mitsuru Miyamoto in the Japanese-language version, and by Steven Blum in the English version.

Creation

In 1996, Keichii Sato and Kazuyoshi Katayama began work on what would become The Big O. Looking to create something distinguishable from the Gundam franchise, they used as a basis old super robot series and American TV shows. Sato's original concept was a giant city-smashing robot piloted by a man in black, Roger Smith. Inspired by detective shows like Oretachi wa Tenshi da! (We Are Angels!) and Tantei Monogatari (Detective Story), Roger was to be a private eye.^[6] However, the creators thought this to be too ordinary, and turned him into a Negotiator. With a negotiator, it would be "made sure the negotiations never work out... so, it's guaranteed the robot always trashes the place!" Contrary to other robot shows, the protagonist is not a young boy but a "cool adult". Sato's reasoning behind the decision is he wanted to give young viewers someone to look up to, and older viewers someone to identify with.^[7]

Roger's Rules

The Negotiator is portrayed as very methodical and strict. He has a number of rules and policies that dictate all aspects of his everyday life; from how people must behave in his house to the way he performs his job:

• "I have a special house rule that only lovely young women can unconditionally enter this mansion." (Act:01)

• "If you stay [in my house], then you wear black." (Act:02)

• "It's not my style to carry a gun." (Act:03)

• "I value women and the elderly. It's one of my policies." (Act:05)

• "If someone lacks courtesy and sincerity, I ask them to leave." (Act:05)

• "The most important rule of all is under no circumstances must anyone touch my desk!" (Act:08)

• "The basic rule of negotiating is to consider and respect the other person's feelings." (Act:08)

• "If you want to live a happy life in this city, leave memories alone when they pop up. That's Roger Smith's Rule No. 1." (Act:11)

• "You have to use your pent-up energy to fight through the harshness of reality. That's Roger Smith's Rule No. 2." (Act:11)

• "A Negotiator only uses force as a last resort." (Act:18)

• "Something else that goes against my policies--using violence against women." (Act:25)

Tools of the trade

Roger considers side arms unbecoming a gentleman, so he avails himself of a number of gadgets to aid his job.^[8] Inspirations for the equipment include characters such as Batman, James Bond and Dick Tracy; and shows like Thunderbirds, Giant Robo, and The Avengers.^[9]

Roger's vehicle of choice is the Griffon, a black luxury sedan comparable to the Batmobile, The Green Hornet's Black Beauty and James Bond's Aston Martin. The car comes equipped with armor for the wheels and windows, missile launchers, a communications station, Browning machine guns behind the front indicators, electrochromatic camouflage, and a police scanner.

The Negotiator's second most important weapon is his wristwatch, the tool for summoning the Big O. By calling the megadeus' name into the watch, Roger informs the giant it is "Showtime!" and it comes to its master's side.^[10] The watch also works as a remote control to the Griffon and includes a grappling cable, a laser cutter and a two-way communicator.

Roger's greatest weapon is the megadeus Big O. A metal behemoth that, unlike the giants of other robot anime, does not exhibit speed nor grace. But what it lacks in agility, it more than makes up for in power: The Big O is equipped with armed missiles, pile -driver powered punches, machine guns and laser cannons.

[edit] R. Dorothy Wayneright

R. Dorothy Wayneright (R・ドロシー・ウェインライト, Āru Doroshī Weinraito^?) is Roger's assistant. Introduced in Act:01 as Dorothy Soldano, daughter of rich scientist Miguel Soldano, she is later revealed to be an android constructed by him. Her actual "father" would be Timothy Wayneright, the man who commissioned her construction and father of the real Dorothy Wayneright.^[11] To show her gratitude, and as a form of payment for Roger's help, she decides to move in with him and help out Norman with the chores.^[12]

A running gag of sorts is Dorothy's habit of playing the piano very early in the morning. This greatly annoys Roger, because she plays it in a noisy fashion, despite the fact that Dorothy is an adequate piano player.

Her design was based partially on that of the Megadeus,^{[citation needed]} and as such she seems to have a special connection to gigantic beasts. She sympathizes with them at times, and can sense their thoughts and emotions through empathy and sometimes through what may be a form of telepathy.^{[original research?]} Such Megadueses like the Archetype and the Leviathan are drawn to her, and the Big Fau could not operate without her core memory.

Dorothy does not usually show much emotions openly but she does have them.^{[citation needed]} She was very attached to Wayneright, whom she considered to be a father, and would often sing for him. She also shows much respect and a sense of companionship and understanding towards Norman. She is also capable of kindness and compassion, as is shown when she takes in a stray cat and treats it in a maternal fashion. She forms a strong friendship with a R. Instro, a fellow android and her piano teacher.

Her relationship with Roger is complex at times. She is often confused by his irrational behavior and quirky habits, but at other times she seems to excel in areas of social interaction where Roger is lacking,^{[citation needed]} and finds his ignorance of how to deal with certain situations amusing. She often calls him a "louse" when he behaves in an inappropriate manner. Despite this, it becomes apparent that she grows quite attached to Roger,^{[episode needed]} and would risk her life to save him.^{[original research?]} She also admires his quest for the truth,^{[citation needed]} and his protection of the innocent and concern for others.^{[citation needed]} It is hinted several times in the series that she may be in love with him.^{[episode needed]} This can, at times, cause friction between herself and Angel,^{[citation needed]} Roger's other main love interest.

She is voiced by Akiko Yajima in the Japanese-language version, and by Lia Sargent in the English version.

Creation

The character of R. Dorothy Wayneright is a creation of the series head writer, Chiaki J. Konaka. Until Konaka's involvement with the project in 1999, R. Dorothy was only known as "the android girl who lives with Roger." Her design was considerably changed and the characterization followed suit.^[13] Series creators Keiichi Sato and Kazuyoshi Katayama call her "edgy" but "loveable",^[6] aiming for a realistic character rather than the idealized portrayal of females that persists in anime.^[7]

The character shares her name with Dorothy Gale of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a work Konaka references occasionally in his scripts,^[14] and the "R" initial is for "Robot", a naming convention used by Isaac Asimov in his works.^[15]

[edit] Norman Burg

Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa (Japanese), Milton James (English) in Season One, Alan Oppenheimer (English) in Season Two.

Norman Burg (ノーマン・バーグ, Nōman Bāgu^?) is Roger's butler. Forty years ago he, along with all of Paradigm, lost all memories, but he wouldn't think twice before going once more unto the breach for his master. Resourceful and talented, he is also caretaker of the Big O. Norman's skills give him a purpose and a mission to accomplish for Roger. He and Dorothy keep Roger in line, so he likes having them around.^[12]

[edit] Dan Dastun

Voiced by: Tesshou Genda (Japanese), Peter Lurie (English)

Dan Dastun (ダン・ダストン, Dan Dasuton^?) is the middle-aged Chief of the Military Police, introduced in Act:01. In "Winter Night Phantom", Roger describes him as "a hard-nosed cop [...] completely devoted to the force, and he has more pride in the Military Police than anything else." He continues, "Paradigm City needs him as much as it needs [The Negotiator]." He is Roger's former commander, but they still maintain contact. Dastun resents having the force called the "watchdogs" of the Paradigm Corporation, and has expressed his disdain for its executives.^[16][17]

Dastun and Roger's relationship becomes more strained in Season 2. Dastun appears conflicted about his feelings about the Megadues, as it has saved the city in so many instances, his duty as chief and the role of the military police seems less important. He often finds himself wondering why his force are unable to protect the city themselves.

Dastun himself gets a burst of memory in "Winter Night Phantom", of a movie he saw as a child. In the movie, a police officer is arguing with a woman holding a balloon on a dock, ending with him shooting her. Her dying words are "Vous êtes si gentil"; "You are so sweet" in French. In the present, Dastun began seeing a woman that looked exactly like the actress from the movie, Sybil Rowan, but not aged a day, roaming Paradigm City setting off explosions as a means of political assassination. This culminated in Dastun shooting her on a pier while she was holding a balloon, living out the scene from the movie. Towards the end of season 2, Dastun sees two children entering a theater to see the movie, the poster of which bills him as appearing, and when he follows to investigate, he finds they are child versions of himself and Sybil Rowan.

[edit] Angel

The plot summary in this article or section is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the article. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (Japanese), Wendee Lee (English)

Angel (エンジェル, Enjeru^?) is the beautiful woman Roger encounters throughout the series. Introduced in Act:03 as Casseey Jenkins (according to the business card she gave to Roger), investigator for Paradigm Power Management, then again in Act:04 as Patricia Lovejoy, secretary for the publisher of Paradigm Press. Originally a recurring character, Angel was given top billing in Season Two.^[18] Her role is that of a femme fatale, the woman who deceptively misleads and ensnares the hero or other males in order to gain some end they would not freely help her achieve.^[19] One reviewer calls Angel a “Fujiko clone” with a “body-hugging suit [that] would give Emma Peel a run for her money.”^[20]

Angel's back features two large mysterious scars over her shoulder blades, giving the impression that she had "angel wings" which were cut off, leaving Roger to ponder if there really is some higher meaning to her name.^{[citation needed]} At first, Angel appears to be working for Alex Rosewater, and is a spy or secret agent he sends out to "acquire" needed items or information, with the aid of high-tech spy-gear. By day, she is Alex's secretary at the Paradigm Group. She often runs afoul of Roger, and there is an underlying attraction between them which forms a love triangle between Roger, Angel, and R. Dorothy. At first, the "mystery" of Angel was that her real name and past were unknown, and Roger suspected that she was working for Rosewater, though the details were unknown.

However, by the end of season 1 it was revealed that Angel was actually a member of "The Union", foreigners who were trying to infiltrate Paradigm City, and who had their own group of three foreign Megadeus robots to unleash in the finale. Within the Union, Angel was known as "Agent 340". At this point, Angel leaves Rosewater and appears to freelance for a time. However, the mystery of Angel drastically deepens when the leader of the Union appears. In the final episodes of the series, Angel ventures into the unexplored warrens of the ruined underground beneath Paradigm City, and finds an abandoned television production studio which has rooms from her childhood in it, heavily implying to her that her own memories about who she is are a fabrication. The Union leader then appears and tells Angel that she is in fact her mother, though Angel doesn't know if this is to be believed.

The final episode of the series is noted for the plot turning almost surreal and open to interpretation, and the mystery of Angel is brought to new heights: Gordon Rosewater leads Angel away from the TV production floor into an elevator leading out of the studio. Angel breaks down, saying she has no idea who she really is and if her memories are all false.

Gordon Rosewater makes the elevator descend to sub-basement level 666, and the doors open into a vast black room with simple bright grid lines on it, which looks like they are incomplete parts of reality (they look like they're in a computer). Gordon Rosewater then holds up the mysterious book "Metropolis" which Gordon supposedly wrote (but which he claims he didn't), calling upon the real writer of the book: the book, and Gordon, promptly vanish into thin air, and the author of the book is changed to "Angel Rosewater".

Angel walks away from the elevator and further into the room, and glowing light surrounds her and spread from the two scars on her back, forming dazzling real angel-wings of light. During Roger Smith's subsequent hallucination-montage, the scenes intercut with Angel working in a production studio of some sort, and on the cover of "Metropolis" the "author" heading has switched from "by Gordon Rosewater" to "by Angel Rosewater". In a series of intercut scenes, Angel is shown writing in the book, working in TV sets which are exact replicas of rooms seen in Roger's home and other places in Paradigm City, and Angel is seen looking over schematics for R. Dorothy-type robots.

It is implied at the end of the series that Paradigm City might actually be a "stage" built by some higher being for the "theater performance" of the people living in it, who are really more like actors: in the second-to-last episode Big Duo keeps flying upwards uncontrollably, impossibly high for miles, until it parts through the clouds and crashes into a stage light the size of a large building suspended in the air. When Roger is sinking into an ocean trench miles below sea level in the final episode, he sees gigantic, strange machinery underneath Paradigm City, prompting him to wail "What is this world?" Gordon Rosewater kept hinting that Angel was "The Director", and in the final episode she is seen presiding over the events in Paradigm City like the "director" of the play that is Paradigm City (the final episode is even titled "The Show Must Go On"). In the end, Angel pilots the previously unknown "Big Venus" and begins to erase all of Paradigm City and the entire world into whitespace nothingness: R. Dorothy declares that this is what caused The Event that erased everyone's memory 40 years ago. Big Fau and Alex Rosewater simply vanish when Big Venus passes, along with the entire world, until only Big O, Roger, and R. Dorothy remain. As Big Venus closes in, Roger makes an impassioned plea to Angel for the sake of everyone in the city, and the world resets itself instead of vanishing: the scene cuts to Roger driving past Angel and R. Dorothy on the crowded streets of Paradigm City, performing his much needed job of Negotiator.

[edit] Villains

[edit] Alex Rosewater

Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (Japanese), Michael Forest (English) Alex Rosewater (アレックス・ローズウォーター, Arekkusu Rōzuwōtā^?) is the chairman of the Paradigm Group and the son of Paradigm City's founder. He shows great contempt, hatred even, for the poor of Paradigm and the foreigners living in the city. For Alex, Paradigm's true citizens are those within the domes.

Alex possesses an unquenchable thirst for power, and an "ends justify the means" philosophy. Despite being more or less the absolute ruler of Paradigm City, Alex harbors dreams of even greater power and will stop at nothing to achieve them. Alex sees himself as preveilaged as being the son of Gordon Rosewater, and at times acts as a "spoiled child", as observed by Vera Ronstadt. Although he appreciated the power of Big Fau, he treats as his toy, even going so far as to crafting a miniature version of Big Fau to play with as seen in Act 22.

As Season 2 goes on, Alex develops a messianic complex, believing himself to be the only person worthy enough to rule Paradigm City and the one who is tasked with the duty of saving its people from the pain of memories (by killing them); he declares that he will create a new world and destroy those who don't deserve to live in his world.

[edit] Alan Gabriel

Voiced by: Issei Futamata (Japanese), Crispin Freeman (English) Alan Gabriel (アラン・ゲイブリエル, Aran Geiburieru^?) is an eccentric psychopath, a cyborg who takes Angel's place as Rosewater's assistant and the Union's liaison in season two. Gabriel's real agenda is somewhat nebulous, though it would appear that he is straddling the fence between the Union and Rosewater, depending on who will give him the opportunity to kill the most people. He seems to have a particularly gruesome hobby of dismantling androids while they still function, as he claims to despise androids.

[edit] Vera Ronstadt

Voiced by: Sayuri Yamauchi (Japanese), Carolyn Hennesy (English) Vera Ronstadt (ヴェラ・ロンシュタット, Vera Ronshutatto^?), introduced in Act:20, leads the Union's sleeper agents. Vera made a deal between Alex Rosewater in which the Union would deliver the parts to construct Big Fau for Alex, but he then reneged on the deal and hunted down all of the Union members. Vera sent the three foreign megadeuses to attack Paradigm City in the season 1 finale, although Angel thought it was too soon. After Big O defeated them, Alex's men removed the parts for Big Fau hidden inside them and finished construction. However, Vera and the Union took the remaining scrap parts from the three robots and combined them to make one functional megadeus, Bonaparte. Vera sent Bonaparte on a rampage in Paradigm City in reprisal against Alex, but piloting Big Fau, Rosewater was able to defeat and completely melt Bonaparte. Towards the end of season 2 Vera claimed to be Angel's mother, although given that Angel's memories of her mother appear to have been fabricated, Vera may not have been speaking literally.

[edit] Recurring characters

[edit] Big Ear

Big Ear (ビッグイヤー, Biggu Iyā^?) is Roger's informant. He hangs around the Speakeasy, always reading the newspaper. During the final episode, Big Ear is revealed to be an android, with synthetic skin applied over a crude, metallic body. It is also revealed that the paper he usually reads is one for the next day.

[edit] Jason Beck

Jason Beck (ジェイソン・ベック, Jeison Bekku^?) is introduced as Dorothy's kidnapper in the series premiere. After "being humilliated" by Roger during the kidnapping case, Beck's further appearances on the show consist of his trying to humilliate Roger back.

Beck is very uncertain. He can be seemingly uneasy and panicky at one moment, and calm himself down to regain himself the next. Despite an overtly buffoonish nature, Beck is intelligent - he can come up with his plots rather easily, and has shown great ability as a mechanical designer. In the course of the series, he was able to build his own megadeus apparently from scratch, collaborate on the design of another and create a precise working replica of Roger's torso, head and vocal cords, and was even specifically sought out by Alex Rosewater to reconfigure Big Fau. He is voiced by Robert Buchholz in the English version.

[edit] Schwarzwald

Schwarzwald (シュバルツ・バルト, Shubarutsu Baruto^?) first appears in Act:04, "Underground Terror". His real name is Michael Seebach (マイクル・ゼーバッハ, Maikuru Zēbahha^?), a reporter for Paradigm Press.^[21] As a reporter, Seebach was obsessed with bringing the truth to the people of Paradigm City, but became frustrated as the Paradigm Corporation continually censored his work. Eventually his search for the truth would become an obsession, and Seebach began living a double life. In time he became even more obsessed with his work and cut himself off from human contact, including his wife and children. But Seebach's obsession also resulted with an attempt on his life by Paradigm which disfigured his face.

Seebach eventually decided to journey into the underground of Paradigm City, where he encounters a megadeus Archetype. After Big O's fight with the Archetype, Seebach disappeared. He returns in Act:12 as the pilot of Big Duo, a megadeus of similar design to Big O but with the ability to fly. Big Duo was nearly destroyed in a fight with Big O and Schwarzwald dropped out of sight. In Act:17, he peppered the city with thousands of copies of William Blake's Behemoth and Leviathan, perhaps making a comparison between the legendary beasts and the Megadeuses. By episode's end, it is later revealed Schwarzwald was already dead. What could only be described as Schwarzwald's ghost appears to Alan Gabriel in Act:24. The apparition declares Gabriel not worthy of piloting a megadeus and Big Duo Inferno, a modified Big Duo piloted by Alan, kills him. Schwarzwald is voiced by Michael McConnohie in the English version.

Schwarzwald's final act is a letter delivered to Roger Smith. The contents of the letter are unknown, but may be the monologue on the nature of "truth" delivered by Schwartzwald in voice over. Roger Smith wondered "if [Schwarzwald] was still wandering the city relentlessly in search of his own personal truth, even after his body had perished."

[edit] Gordon Rosewater

Gordon Rosewater (ゴードン・ローズウォーター, Gōdon Rōzuwōtā^?) is often credited as the man responsible for the construction of Paradigm City. Gordon's son, Alex Rosewater, took over his father's duties when he retired. Gordon spends much of his time in a private dome of his own, growing tomatoes.

Unlike other characters in the series, such as Roger Smith or Schwarzwald, Gordon appears to be perfectly content with the uncertainties of the past, much to the dismay of those who come to him for memories, including his own son; he appears to have chosen to forget, and at one point seems unaware that he is Alex Rosewater's father. While people ask him questions about the past, it is fairly obvious that Gordon has no intention of telling anyone anything, unless they find it out for themselves.

Roger Smith has a recurring flashback of a man in a bloodstained surgeon's uniform standing before a group of children, and Roger believes this man to be Gordon Rosewater, implanting memories of the past into a younger generation. Gordon refuses to comment on this accusation directly, but, referring to his tomato crop, states enigmatically that "These tomatoes are reproduced synthetically, with only the memories of the sweet flavor from the original. If we keep repeating the process, this fruit will eventually become the real thing." Tomatoes subsequently become an important motif in the series.

Later, Alex attempts to murder him by setting fire to his dome, but Gordon was rescued by Vera Ronstadt, who had come for him in search of memories. Vera Ronstadt claims that he is the father of both her and Angel, although it is unclear whether she means this literally. Despite appearing to be senile at this point, Gordon aided both Roger and Angel in their quest for the truth behind the scenes, and takes Angel to Big Venus.

Much of Gordon's history is left mysterious, and his true history might never be known unless a third season of the series is created. There is photographic evidence of him making a deal with Roger Smith, although Roger Smith has no memory of this event, and it appears to have occurred at a time when Roger should have been a child, if he was born at all.

[edit] Minor characters

[edit] Timothy Wayneright I

Timothy Wayneright (ティモシー・ウェインライト, Timoshī Weinraito^?) is introduced in Act:02 as R. Dorothy's grandfather, but turns out to be the man who commissioned its construction using his daughter Dorothy's memories. In "Negotiations with the Dead", it is revealed Wayneright's work was being funded and supported by the Union.

In Act:14, Roger sees a younger Wayneright walking into the Nightingale club alongside the human Dorothy.

[edit] R. Instro

R. Instro (R・インストル, Āru Insutoru^?) is an android introduced in Act:06. He is a very gifted concert pianist who gives Dorothy lessons. Instro was constructed by a scientist named Amadeus, whome he cared for greatly and would often play the piano for. Amadeus' work was bankrolled by Paradigm until he was murdered by his research partner, Gieseng. Gieseng then tried to use Instro to pilot a Megadeus he created and use it to destroy Paradigm as revenge for failure to fund his projects. He tries to convinvce Instro that his actions are what Amadeus would've wanted. However, Dorothy, who has developed a strong friendship with Instro and has formed a kinship with him because of their similar backgrounds (both having loved their creators as fathers and then having them taken away, and coping with it through memories of music), convinces Instro that Amadeus would not have wished him to cause destruction, and instead, created him so he could create beautiful music. Instro listens to Dorothy and the Megadeus shuts down (killing Gieseng in the process). He continues to tutor Dorothy, and she too becomes a skilled pianist. R. Instro reappears in Act:16, now expressing his skills as an organ player in one of Paradigm City's churches.

Voiced by: Akio Nojima (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

[edit] Sybil Rowan

The name of Sybil Rowan (シベール・ロアン, Shibēru Roan^?) applies to two different characters in Act:10. The first is an actress and anti-government activist expelled from the city thirty years before. She starred in Winter Night Phantom, a movie Dastun saw as a child and now remembers as a recurring dream.

The second character is the bomber featured in the episode. She identifies herself as "Phantom" (ファントム, Fantomu^?), after Rowan's film. Her death, at the hands of Dastun, parallels that film's ending.

She is voiced by Sakiko Tamagawa in the Japanese-language version, and by Mona Marshall in the English version.

[edit] R.D.

R.D., short for Red Destiny (レッド・デスティニー, Reddo Desutinī^?), is the titular character of the first season finale. She is R. Dorothy's "evil twin", an android of the same make and model. Red is a serial killer who targets foreigners that claim to have memories of forty years prior. Her calling card is a message that reads "Cast in the Name of God, Ye not Guilty".

The character is seen again, through flashback, during "Negotiations With The Dead". In Act:25, it is revealed she was activated by Alex Rosewater.

R.D. is voiced by Akiko Yajima in the Japanese-language version, and by Lia Sargent in the English version.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Big O - Adult Swim.
• Character Profiles - Paradigm City.

v • d • e The Big O Characters • Setting • Megadeuses (Big O) • Anime episodes • Manga chapters