The Big O

Paradigm City, a city of amnesia and a place of belonging. It remains populated by forgotten pasts and the ruins of their labors due to a calamity 40 years ago. Shrouded in a fog-like mystery, it is up to people like Roger Smith to shine a light through the mist. Acting as a professional negotiator and suave agent, Roger is a self-tailored ladies man whose only love is for funeral black. However, as he gets deeply involved with his clients, what often starts as a simple negotiation evolves into Roger saving Paradigm from crime and peril.

In the process, Roger stumbles even deeper into the untold folds of the city. As a rule, things are hardly ever as they appear. Serving as gray knight in a gray world, Roger is not without allies. By his side are Norman, a loyal and widely skilled butler, and Dorothy, a human-like android with deadpan snark. Together with the relic Big O, a jet-black mecha of gargantuan size and weight, they help Roger serve iron justice to Paradigm's lurking villains as he discovers the truth about 40 years ago.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Supporting

Ebihara, Hideto
Japanese

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Staff

Maseba, Yutaka

Producer

Katayama, Kazuyoshi

Director, Episode Director, Script, Storyboard, Screenplay

Tsuruoka, Youta

Sound Director

Nakamura, Kenji

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

	1: "Big-O!" by Rui Nagai (3-13)
	2: "Respect" by Sahashi (15-20, 22-25)

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Ending Theme

"And Forever..." by Robbie Danzie with Naoki Takao

Reviews

Feb 17, 2024

Vjestiprime

Recommended

The Big O remains as one of the most underrated anime’s of all time, incorporating the pros of the East and the West to create something truly magnificent. A grandiose, retro mecha-tale with one of the most unique and interesting worlds seen in anime. A high recommendation for fans of the golden age of mecha anime, following in the footsteps of Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion. As my last rewatch of 2024, I can happily say The Big O has moved up exponentially on my list of the finest anime’s of all time, with my current second viewing coming 2 years after my initial discovery ... of the show.

A twist of the Neo-Noir genre, The Big O takes us to the City of Amnesia, a greatly complex and unique setting unravelled as the show continues through its 26 episode run. On top of its Neo-Noir mystery, The Big O features some of the best high octane mecha action I’ve had the pleasure of viewing, however I must say it pales in comparison to its more subtle and narrative driven moments. It’s highly engaging to visit new and interesting locations within the world of the show, slowly learning its lore and backstory as its characters do the same. A masterful narrative choice for the show is its decision to make its characters basically as clueless to the lore as the audience, making its most shocking reveals and twists that much more impactful.

With some of the finest voice performances (personally I prefer the dubbed version as Steve Blum steals the show as always). Going hand in hand with its complex and expertly written characters, with subtlety being a rarity across anime, it’s a pleasant surprise to see the character arcs and overall narrative delivered with such gripping mystery through its uniquely crafted world building. The Shows protagonist ‘Rodger Smith’ is yet another addition to Steve Blums plethora of Suave and stylised characters, not reaching the popularity of the likes of Spike Spiegel, but a worthy successor in every way. However the true standout in characters is the shows lead female character ‘Dorothy Wayneright’. Who encapsulates every praise I have for the shows writing, an incredibly complex and lore filled character presented to us with such perfect pacing and execution it’s honestly quite astonishing. And on top of this, the character writing still has time to place brilliantly timed and written humour, especially through Rodger and Dorothy’s dynamic. The rest of The Big O’s supporting characters share these same positives, however it’s in its 2 leads where they truly shine.

It’s sadly rare you find an anime show with such attention to film form elements such as cinematography, but the Big O still finds the time to present its action and mystery with some spectacular shots. I cannot praise this show without mentioning Toshihiko Sahashi’s masterful composition for the show, with Sahashi being a familiar composer to fans of the mechs genre (through his work on Mobile Suit Gundam). It’s grand orchestral sound design gives its most dramatic moments the extra kick they needs to reach the heights they do.

Overall, The Big O stands as a shining example of the heights that can be reached if the talents of Eastern and Western animation collaborate, and I hope everyday someone will one day follow in its footsteps. An expertly designed show in every single way, and the best sleeper hit anime I show I could possibly recommend.

BIG O…SHOWTIME!

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Feb 25, 2024

ajc228

Mixed Feelings

The first season functions as a pastiche of noir, giallo, mecha anime and 60s tokusatsu programs. It blends elements of pulp fiction with Lovecraftian undertones. The mostly episodic adventures range from detective fiction to kaiju and climax with a giant robot battle. The robot fights are dynamic and provide novelty by having the titular mech reveal a special move or hidden weapon to defeat each enemy.
The show drops hints about the mysteries of Paradigm city and the reasons for its’ residents losing their memory. While it never answers these questions, they mainly function to evoke a certain mood. Part ...

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Aug 9, 2022

Ciaran_Zagami

Not Recommended

I really want to recommend this anime

Its got a lot going for it.

Great animation, great music, great action, good characters, an awesome and mysterious setting.

In fact everything is basically perfect.

So why the hesitation? It's not really something I can talk about with out spoiling the entire series and that is REALLY something I don't want to do.

...

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Poll: Big O Episode 6 Discussion gohdan - Feb 27, 2011	14 replies	by Phobossus »» Mar 4, 5:27 AM
A dissertation and thesis on "The Big O" LightQuill - Dec 4, 2018	9 replies	by divlyfein »» Feb 22, 8:59 PM
Poll: Big O Episode 13 Discussion gohdan - Mar 10, 2011	10 replies	by divlyfein »» Feb 17, 3:57 PM
Poll: Big O Episode 11 Discussion gohdan - Mar 9, 2011	17 replies	by divlyfein »» Feb 17, 2:49 PM
There's a rap song for Dorothy Recynon - Jan 25	2 replies	by Recynon »» Feb 6, 8:19 PM

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