The Big O
The Big O, also known as Big O Roger or simply Big O, is an anime series featuring Action, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Psychological, and Mecha. There are many titles falling under this particular combination of genres, and they are undoubtedly a beloved aspect of anime. The stories are as numerous as the fans. They span right across time and space, taking many sizes, shapes, and forms. So what makes The Big O stand out even among so many titles?
The Big O is a 26 episode TV series that aired from the 13th of October 1999 until the 27th of March 2003, as a Fall 1999 anime. It is produced by Bandai Visual and licensed by Bandai Entertainment and Sentai Filmworks, brought to life by Studio Sunrise. It is an original show adapted from the 6 volume manga series of the same title; by author Yatate Hajime and artist Ariga Hitoshi.
The leading figures behind the anime are Producer Maseba Yutaka, Sound director Tsuruoka Youta, Episode director Nakamura Kenji and Katayama Kazuyoshi, who worked on the directing, episode directing, script, storyboard, and screenplay. It is rated PG-13 for teens 13 years of age or older.
The city of Paradigm is a mystic city of amnesia and a place of belonging. It is densely populated by forgotten pasts and their labors’ ruins due to a certain calamity that struck 40 years ago. The city is shrouded in a fog-like mystery, and it is up to the people like Protagonist Roger Smith to be a shining light amidst the thick mist.
Roger is a self-tailored ladies’ man who boasts an undying love for funeral black. At the same time, he acts as a professional negotiator and suave agent to boot. Regardless, whenever he gets too deeply involved with his clients, what starts off as simple negotiations evolves into him saving the whole of Paradigm from heinous crime and utter peril.
While in the process, Roger stumbles even deeper into the untold folds of the city of Paradigm City. But things are never what they appear to be, and working as the Gray Knight in an even grayer world, Roger has acquired bountiful allies and foes.
Standing side by side with him are Norman, a loyal and highly skilled butler, and Dorothy, a humanoid android who is deadpan snarky. Roger is armed with a jet-black relic of a mecha of immense size and weight named The Big O, and together with his trusty team, they serve rightful justice onto Paradigm's lurking villains. In the process, Roger is fated to discover the city’s truth from 40 years ago gradually.
The Big O has multiple elements, some of which are great and some of which are disappointing. Some lackluster factors are that, like most mecha anime, The Big O jumps too quickly into the giant robots and attempts to solve everything using them, ultimately ending up fighting and smashing things into oblivion. The better factors included the mysteries and romances.
The story of The Big O mostly seems vague or muddy at times and sometimes even nonsensical, but at the same time, it is not entirely illogical or ridiculous. The plot’s narrative is slightly choppy, and the continuity was rough around the edges. It’s like a few parts are missing from every occasion, making it somewhat confusing.
Viewers can still more or less understand what they are saying and what is going on, but the message is hardly ever received clearly. This significantly contributes to the loss of interest in the series. While the mecha aspects are pretty good and can keep fans hooked, and despite it also being a mystery story, it just isn't enough to hold the interest.
Most viewers will find it challenging to understand the series’s point at times, which leads to not caring about what was going on with the story and characters. Some villains seem utterly pointless to the whole series overall, aside from just wreaking havoc all over the place for some time.
At some stages, the only thing that keeps a viewer watching the show is the obligation to see it through to the end, but this feeling is inconsistent. On the bright side, the story becomes more interesting as it draws closer to the end of the series; this is typically around episode 18 or so. In the end, when looking at the overall picture, though, it's a well enough told story.
The characters of The Big O are very unique with great individuality. Each of them represents varied personalities across the same city, ranging from good, evil, and everything in between. They do have somewhat different designs from what fans are usually accustomed to as anime. They have somewhat oddly shaped designs with a lot of severe angles jutting outward, like their overly pointy fingers.
It is a given that the character designs and artwork look more like American cartoon characters forcibly turned into anime characters. As such, the charm of the anime’s characteristic style itself is lost. Apart from the central trio of characters, one of the best-supporting characters is undoubtedly Angel Rosewater.
The art and animation of The Big O are pretty disappointing. Above all else, it just seems irksome and off. It's unfortunate because it is apparent that the creators had the means to go all out with the animation if they had chosen to but had decided not to. This is evident from all the attention and detail given to the giant mecha robots, with many unique and impressive designs, some of which look like humanoid robots, dragons, or giant sea-serpents.
A decent amount of attention and detail is given to the architecture, especially to some highlighted places over others. The best example is Roger's home, which looks great and boasts a fantastic view from the city from the terrazzo. But none of these are significant; they all seem to fall short in the name of art.
They just aren't breathtaking enough, the color and shading dulling it all down to look underwhelming. The overall art makes it feel more like a cartoon than an anime. One would expect the battles with the giant mecha would be great, but even they feel lackluster.
As for the music and sounds, it's just bad. The opening is "Big-O!" by Rui Nagai and "Respect" by Sahashi. The ending is "And Forever..." by Robbie Danzie with Naoki Takao. The opening is a blatant ripoff, and it’s definitely not the “Big O” song. The ending theme sounds like it hailed from an Off-Broadway musical. The bright side is the voice acting, especially in the English dub, where the cast were the same voice actors from the infamous Cowboy Bebop. So this aspect is decent to good if nothing else.
The Big O’s positives include a unique art style in terms of anime and nice animations, especially involving the giant mecha. It may appeal more to mystery fans than mecha fans because the mecha scenes are not the best out there, but it's decent. It is a unique show with a good concept. All the city residents had their memories erased, and no one remembers what happened, but everyone does have clues hidden inside their minds.
It's a twist on the Giant Robot anime, which focuses more on the characters and story. The story was decent, with many twists and turns along the way, all in search of what happened forty years ago. The story and characters complemented each other. The music was mediocre at best, the animation was average, and the action was good. The ending was done well as well, but fans will still retain some confusion even at the end. The series is underrated and deserves a bit more attention.
Roger is, without a doubt, one of the highlights, especially when he pilots the gigantic Big O. He obviously gets swept up in a lot of espionage and secrets he shouldn't have come across. The episodes are very stand-alone in nature, with Roger continuously getting into battles with other Mecha robots, destroying the city in the process.
But by the power of anime logic, the city is back to normal by the time the next episode comes around. The many villains he faces range from being maniacal, wacky, and crazy weirdos to disastrous arsonists.
The plot feels heavier towards the end, which is packed with a lot of weirdness, craziness, and unexpected twists. The overall feel is very similar to noir Batman, so for fans of that series, The Big O is definitely recommended.
The Big O is not a series that can be recommended to any anime watcher without worry. It will surely appeal to some tastes and not others. But it can be recommended to mecha, and mystery anime lovers, no holds barred!
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