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).
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Roger Smith (ロジャー・スミス Rojā Sumisu) is the series protagonist. He is the Negotiator (ネゴシエイター Negoshieitā). 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] Despite this, he displays a certain aversion to the Paradigm Corporation, and takes the jobs he gets from them only if they happen to involve a threat to the city itself or are of personal interest to him. 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]
Roger is voiced by Mitsuru Miyamoto (Japanese) and Steven Blum (English).
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!" However, as the series progresses, most of his cases either require an investigation before actual negotiations can proceed, or they coincide with a police investigation. Thus, he ends up doing considerably more detective work than negotiating. Also, as the series progresses, the sort of stand-alone episodic casework is dropped in favor of an overarching theme (uncovering the truth of "The Event"). This ends up causing many of his issues to not involve clients at all, but to become personal investigations on his part. 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] In terms of personality, he starts off the series as a very arrogant, witty, sarcastic, and seemingly unconcerned individual to the point of being almost snide. In situations involving his work however, he is professional to the extreme, masking any hint of potentially emotional behavior. He values logic above almost all other qualities, and hates to feel out of control of either his emotions or whatever situation he is in. Thus, during negotiations, he maintains as best he can a calm, collected and pleasant attitude. As the series progresses however, many of these traits are ironed out of his character, and he begins to exhibit a much more compassionate and open-minded attitude, learing how to cope with emotional issues and people instead of just ignoring them. Some interesting incongruities pop up about his character as the story progresses. It is implied by Gordon Rosewater that Roger was alive before the Event and was not one of Gordon's genetically created children. Both he and Gordon refer to Roger having "lost memories" even though he appears to be in his mid twenties. Gordon specifically mentions a contract that he made with Roger prior to the Event. His flashbacks and hallucinations during the series would seem to indicate that he was a member of the military before the Event occurred, apparently holding the rank of Major, and was Big O's pilot even then. These flashbacks also seem to support Gordon's position that Roger was indeed alive prior to the Event, and a photograph taken of Roger and a younger Gordon seem also to lend credence to the theory. Though these theories are never brought to light.
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:
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 (グリフォン Gurifon), a black luxury sedan comparable to the Batmobile 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.
Big O is transported around Paradigm City and out into the country via underground railway tunnels aboard the massive, quad-engine carrier train called the Prairie Dog, which has a telescoping chute that can deploy and recover Big O on the surface. It apparently operates via remote, as Roger's butler Norman deploys it to different parts of the city from the mansion when his master has need of it. When not in use, it rests in an underground railway junction beneath Roger's mansion. In the manga, it is revealed that this transport also carries interchangeable arms for Big O that can be exchanged easily, something that is not shown in the anime.
In addition to these tools, Roger has exhibited extraordinary physical conditioning throughout the series, and has been shown may times to be much more physically capable than most humans. Of particular note is his strength; he has been able to carry Dorothy on several occasons, once even holding her while jumping down around 15 feet, while it has been shown that any other character in the series who has attempted to so much as move her can hardly even budge her. Also, during his brief hand to hand fight with Alan Gabriel (who has been shown to have superhuman capabilities), he was able to not only hold his own, but floor the cyborg during their initial exchange.
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 and presumably deceased 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] In occasional episodes, Dorothy accompanies Roger in his work as a negotiator.
Dorothy stands just under 5 feet (150 cm) tall, has red hair, chalk-white skin and much more body weight than her slender appearance reveals. Her forehead houses an illuminated CD ROM drive, which is loaded from a drawer made to resemble a hair ribbon. While capable of normal human facial expression, in film-noir tradition she typically maintains a pouty contour and a mildly sarcastic personality, described by Angel as being "perpetually foul-tempered". Her dry wit is best reflected by her catchphrase "You're a louse, Roger Smith," her teasing response to Roger's sometimes unreasonable demands. She and Roger maintain playful retorts throughout the series, with Dorothy often going out of her way to irritate Roger or otherwise rattle his cage. Regardless, she has shown hints of romantic feelings towards Smith. Offsetting her straightforward attitude is her general likability; she gets along rather well with virtually everyone, even those with whom she harbors suspicion. From her conversation and behaviour, it is evident that Dorothy has the capacity for human emotions. She has shown genuine fear on a number of occasions, and reveals jealousy toward Angel's relationship with Roger and satisfaction from its failure to become romantic.
Dorothy is quite durable and much stronger than any human, able to punch down a brick wall with one blow or leap several dozen feet into the air. She has amazing balance, as seen during her moments of contemplation while standing precariously on the edge of Roger's balcony. R. Dorothy can run or bicycle at superhuman speed and does not require oxygen to operate. She shows superhuman coordination, performing effortless gymnastics and, is able to steer a car with her foot while riding on its hood. That she takes regular meals with Roger indicates she can consume food and beverages, although she admits in episode 11 "Daemonseed" not being able to taste. Dorothy also seems to have an unexplained connection to Big O itself. In Acts 20 and 21, when Dorothy is nearly destroyed by Alan Gabriel, Big O apparently senses this and shuts down in order to facilitate her rescue by Roger. In the final Act, she activates Big O's Final Stage weapon by plugging herself directly into the megadeus. She shows self-awareness and capacity for learning; throughout the series she exhibits talents at performance singing and virtuoso piano. It's suggested that the show's closing song is in fact R. Dorothy performing with a male vocalist, who may or may not be Roger.
Dorothy is voiced by Akiko Yajima (Japanese) and Lia Sargent (English).
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]
Dorothy shares a similarity in behavior, appearance and speech with the android Lal from the episode "The Offspring" from the series Star Trek: The Next Generation. 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]
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 robot. Aside from duties befitting a butler of a house, Norman is also a fine chef who makes it a point to keep hot food available for Roger no matter what time his employer's arrival home. Norman is older than Roger, and has apparently lost an eye, which he keeps covered with a patch. The butler is a fatherly influence for both Smith and Dorothy, and the first defense of the Smith mansion, capable of using a number of firearms in case of attack, ranging from small handguns to high calibur machine guns. In the opening credits of the show he's shown effectivily handling a chain gun. Norman also displays a tendency to get involved in the relationship between Roger and Dorothy, "pushing" the two together for sake of the emotional good each does the other. Where Roger drives his limo, Dorothy makes use of a bicycle occasionally, Norman's form of transportation is a motorcycle outfitted with a sidecar, ridden while the butler comically wears a "storm trooper" (Stahlhelm) style helmet. Norman is grateful to Roger Smith for providing him a purpose and in return Roger considers Norman his most trusted and infallible aide de camp.[12] In the Manga, he has a running gag where he will inquire Roger on paying him, but Roger always manages to avoid it.
Norman is voiced by Motomu Kiyokawa (Japanese), Milton James (English) in season one and Alan Oppenheimer (English) in season two.
Voiced by: Tesshō 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 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 kind"). 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. Dastun's pride as a member of the military police puts him somewhat at odds with Roger after he resigns from the force, and he expresses an extreme amount of irritation every time Big O appears. At first this irritation is passed off as disliking the vigilante nature of the megadeus. However, as the series progresses, he reveals to Roger that his irritation stems from the fact that the military police do not have the ability to protect the city adequetly due to frequent megadeus attacks. This requires Big O to step in fairly often to counter these attacks, which Dastun feels robs the military police of purpose. However, he comes to accept this during season two. He is also one of the few characters who know of Roger's affiliation with Big O, and the only such character within the police department. He was revealed to have obtained this knowledge at some point before season two, but is only seen directly discussing it with Roger once.
Angel (エンジェル Enjeru) is the beautiful woman Roger encounters throughout the series. Introduced in Act:03 as Cassey 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. In Act:07, it is revealed that she bears two long scars on her back, giving the impression that she once had wings; hence her name. 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] Her interactions with Roger eventually force her into a somewhat different role. As the series progresses, she becomes more and more involved with Roger, even forsaking her duties to the union in order to feed him information, betraying them for Roger's sake. However, her relationship with Roger ultimately does not become romantic, as she believes him to be in love with Dorothy and, though he protests it, the opinion is further reinforced by Alan Gabriel's insistence that Roger "cares for [Dorothy] more than anyone". At the end of the series, she is shown to have some sort of special connection to whatever power controls their world, possibly even being that power herself (though this role is not adequately explained). She is also identified as one Gordon Rosewater's daughter, and is identified as "Angel Rosewater". One reviewer calls Angel a “Fujiko clone” with a “body-hugging suit [that] would give Emma Peel a run for her money.”[20]
Angel is voiced by Emi Shinohara (Japanese) and Wendee Lee (English).
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 (パラダイム社 Paradaimu Sha) and the son of Paradigm City's founder. He shows great contempt for the poor of Paradigm and the foreigners living in the city; going so far as to appreciate some of the catastrophes that befall the city as they "clean up some of that abominable mess" (referring to the people outside the domes). For Alex, Paradigm's true citizens are those within the domes. Alex always wears a white suit in direct contrast to Roger Smith's black one.
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. The power that he desires is the power of the megadei, specifically the "Big" type megadei, as he believes that their pilots are "agents of the power of God". Alex sees himself as privileged as being the son of Gordon Rosewater, and at times acts as a "spoiled child", as observed by Vera Ronstadt. Although he appreciates the power of Big Fau, he treats it 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, after reconstructing Big Fau and starting to pilot it. Initially, he is rejected by the megadeus as its pilot after using it to easily destroy a Union megadeus. After the Union megadeus was dealt with, Big Fau displayed the message "Ye Not" as it fired its dorsal beams into the already damaged cityscape. He manages to get it to work properly only after rigging it with Dorothy's memory core, so it is unknown if he is indeed its true pilot. After he enters the megadeus for the second time, his mental state seems to continually degrade much like Schwarzwald's did after coming into contact with Big Duo. During the Union bombardment of Paradigm, he declares that he will create a new world and destroy those who don't deserve to live in his world, specifically the people who live outside the domes and the Union. As his battle with Roger drags on, Big Fau inserts cables into Alex's back, apparently fusing itself with him. Though half of Big Fau is vaporized by Big O's Final Stage weapon, Alex survives and aims to finish Roger off - however, before he can do so, he is erased by Big Venus.
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. After attempting to kill Dorothy and sebsequently being foiled by Roger, Alan seems to make killing Roger his top priority. In the end, he is done in by the megadeus Big Duo Inferno, as it seems to reject him as its pilot while displaying the message "Ye Guilty".
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 (ユニオン Yunion) agents within Paradigm. Vera made a deal with 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. 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.
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 metallic body.
Jason Beck (ジェイソン・ベック Jeison Bekku), sometimes referred to as Beck Gold (due to his overall appearance) is introduced as Dorothy's kidnapper in the series premiere. After "being humiliated" by Roger during the kidnapping case, Beck's further appearances on the show consist of his trying to humiliate Roger back. However, his plans continually degrade from sinister and dangerous to almost comical in nature. He also seems to have numerous memories relating to the operations and abilities of the Megadeus, including one pertaining specifically to Roger's identity as the pilot of Big O. Beck becomes Alex Rosewater's agent after Alan Gabriel threatens him with an order of execution, but is unhappy with this situation despite both a successful attack on Roger and a considerable compensation. Thus, he betrays Rosewater and ends up aiding Roger in the final Act by telling Dorothy how to activate Big O's Final Stage. Beck apparently is a satire of manga/anime character Arsene Lupin III and is voiced by Hochu Ohtsuka (Japanese) and Robert Buchholz (English).
Schwarzwald (シュヴァルツヴァルト Shuvarutsuvaruto, lit. "Black Forest") 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, with him running off after Big O's fight with the Archetype. He reappears in Act:12, as the pilot of Big Duo.
In Act:17, thousands of copies of Schwarzwald's writings, a prophecy foretelling the coming of the Leviathan, peppered the city. By episode's end, it is revealed Schwarzwald was already dead. Schwarzwald appears to Big Duo's new pilot, Alan Gabriel, in Act:24. The apparition declares Gabriel not worthy of piloting it and, subsequently, the megadeus kills him. 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."
In the Manga, his appearance before the accident is revealed. He seemed to be a middle age man with a short beard, dressed in a trench coat and hat. It also reveals the origin to his alias, as it was part of a poem his mother taught him when he was a child.
Schwarzwald is voiced by Katsunosuke Hori (Japanese) and Michael McConnohie (English).
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.
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. While many look to him for answers, Gordon typically appears to be rather senile, or at least very apathetic. However, his odd speeches about his tomatoes appear to actually be a cryptic euphemism to answer the question.
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 "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." He does not appear to have actually lost any of his memories however, as he has moments of apparently random lucidity throughout the series during which he reveals important clues to the Event. At the end of the series, he apparently regains both his mind and his interest in the city's past, explaining to Roger, Angel, and Vera several important truths about Paradigm and each of their various existences (Roger and Angel not being genetically engineered for example).
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 young Wayneright walking into the Nightingale club alongside the human Dorothy.
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 Amadeus, a scientist whose work was bankrolled by Paradigm until he was murdered by his research partner, Gieseng.
R. Instro reappears in Act:17, now expressing his skills as an organ player in one of Paradigm City's churches.
In the manga, he was arrested as a serial killer, due to the fact his hands match what an eye witness saw. It later turns out he was innocent and the crimes were being perpetrated by a cyborg who regained his memories.
Voiced by: Akio Nojima (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)
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.
Sybil Rowan is voiced by Sakiko Tamagawa (Japanese) and Mona Marshall (English).
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 same reading on the Megadeuses screens when activated. She is destroyed after Big O mysteriously reactivates and arrives to protect Roger Smith.
Though identical to Dorothy physically, Red has a more robotic, computerized voice, and displays psychotic facial expressions as she chases Roger through the subways. The character is seen again, through flashback, during "Negotiations With The Dead". In Act:25, it is revealed she was activated by Alex Rosewater.
Her overall appears strikingly resembles Little Red Riding Hood.
R.D. is voiced by Akiko Yajima (Japanese) and Lia Sargent (English).
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