These are the characters from
The Big O.
Roger Smith
The top negotiator in Paradigm City and
The Hero of the story. A
Batman analogue, he's committed to the well-being of the citizens of Paradigm, especially children and the elderly. He controls the Megadeus he calls Big O, though he's not sure why he has this power. In fact, he never seems to dwell much at all on his own youth, or how he came to possess so many
amazing capabilities...
Tropes associated with Roger:
- Actor Allusion: "I don't know who you think I am. I'm not a bounty hunter, you know."
- Angst Coma: In the first episode of the second season, Roger goes introspectively catatonic as he struggles to figure out just who — and what — he is. Mind Screw ensues.
- Character Alignment: Lawful Neutral —> Lawful Good —> Neutral Good
- Cool Car: the Griffon (Roger's answer to the Batmobile.)
- Cultured Badass Normal: A small example would be how easily he carries Dorothy. Beck's lackey couldn't do it, and Dastun only managed to get her to get to prone position. Granted, he did say she "must weigh a ton". He can also break off iron shackles by simply pulling his limbs as long as he has enough leverage.
- Dark Is Not Evil: As a contrast to Rosewater's Light is Not Good.
- Deadpan Snarker: He IS based off of the Film Noir traditions of heroes like Sam Spade, after all.
- Doesn't Like Guns: He feels they're unbecoming of a gentleman.
- Man in Black: Even more so in that he has a rule that everyone living in his home wear black, plus he drives a black car and pilots a black Megadeus. As for the "Memories" and "Conspiracy" and "Government Agent" parts....see Mind Screw.
- Expy/Composite Character: Of Bruce Wayne and Batman, depending on how much you view the two as the same or different characters.
- Falling into the Cockpit: Seriously played with by way of Fridge Logic.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: In his wristwatch. In the final episode he even uses it as Razor Floss! He's also got one shaped like a small briefcase that makes instant wire bridges.
- Honor Before Reason
- Informed Ability: Especially in the early episodes, you have to wonder at this skill as a negotiator when he has to pull out his ace in the hole so damned often. Not so glaring to be obtrusive, but DAMN. Paradigm must have some dumbass criminals.
- Well, one of the criminals is Beck (who showed up in the first two episodes of a 13 episode series).
- Also, most of the cases we're shown involves a Megadeus. Not exactly something you negotiate with.
- In the Name of the Moon: "Big O! ACTION!" A justified trope, given the Megadeuses' response to their masters' voice commands.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold/Tsundere: His interactions with both Dorothy and Angel hint at subtle (and hilarious) Belligerent Sexual Tension.
- Multiple Choice Past: He can't be more than his late 20s or so, right? So he couldn't possibly have memories of before 40 years ago. No wait, before the event he was a cop who decided to leave his job and become a vagrant possibly because a megadeus was unearthed, and he cannot be more than 40 years old. And then he became Big O's pilot, holding the rank of major, and they've known each other since before the event. No, wait, he was a a mass-produced megadeus pilot robot. Or none of this actually happened because there were no memories! Has actually caused him to have a Heroic BSOD or two, but overcoming this may be what allows him to successfully negotiate with Angel in the Grand Finale. Maybe.
- When Gaiou tried to offer knowledge of Roger's past in Saisei-Hen, Roger respectfully refuses.
Gaiou: We meet again, Black Megadeus.
Dorothy: You're familiar with Big-O?
Roger: Looks like it was related to his lost memories.
Gaiou: Would you like to know about it? Your past, that is.
Roger: No, it's fine.
You and I have both already abandoned our pasts.
Roger: But if you plan to shroud the future of this world in darkness, my Rules say that I'll stop you!
Gaiou: That's good, Negotiator! This battle has nothing to do with the past! The present just belongs to you and me!"
- Not a Morning Person: Shown to wake up at 1 PM in one episode.
- Private Eye Monologue
- Rich Idiot with No Day Job: Negotiating must be QUITE a gig to keep his digs looking so fine.
- Sharp Dressed Man: He wears black because it looks so damned good on him.
- Talking the Monster to Death: How he deals with Angel's rampage in the final episode. Negotiator indeed.
- The Man Behind the Man: If Gordon Rosewater's picture means anything.
- Tomato in the Mirror: Zigzagged.
- Unusual Eyebrows: They're like...windshield wipers, or something.
- Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: Subverted in the second season. He PAYS for them, using hired labour.
- Wise Beyond Their Years: Inverted and Enforced version. Word Of God stated that he wanted to avert the Kid Hero so they made Roger into a young man. They wanted the target demongraphic to look up to him instead of identify with him.
R. Dorothy Wayneright
This young lady happens to be an android, who ends up as Roger's live-in maid after negotiations to rescue her from kidnappers results in the death of her creators. Built from a pre-Event design, her sophistication rivals that of the other androids seen around the city, and she carries the distinction of being the only one capable of passing for a human under casual inspection.
.. until the final episodes reveal at least one other character was an android all along as well.Voiced by:
Akiko Yajima (JP), Lia Sargent (EN)
Tropes associated with Dorothy:
- Action Girl: She has to be if she's going along with Roger.
- Akiko Yajima
- Animation Bump: She's often given especially fluid animation, but this just serves to point out her robotically smooth movements.
- It also doesn't help much that audible whirring sounds can be heard during these sequences...
- Badass Abnormal: She IS a super-powerful android, after all.
- Badass in Distress: Kidnapped multiple times (per standard MacGuffin Girl procedure), but suffers no Badass Decay from it.
- Bash Couple: Has joined Roger in battle with Big O at times, even becoming a regular copilot in Super Robot Wars D and Super Robot Wars Z.
- Creepy Monotone: More monotone than creepy, though. See Deadpan Snarker.
- Cute Bruiser: She needs no key and opens walls when doors will not suffice. And has a mean punch, too.
- Deadpan Snarker: With emphasis on the deadpan: "You're a louse, Roger Smith."
- Emotionless Girl: She has the flat voice and expressionless face down pat. But the words she says...
- Kindhearted Cat Lover: The focus of an early episode revolves around her attachment to a kitten she rescues.
- MacGuffin Girl: Being the most advanced android ever made tends to prompt a number of kidnapping attempts. When you're able to interface with Big type megadei, this should be a given.
- Meido: Justified - Roger's house rules demand she dress in black. She thinks it's tacky at the best of times. Has actually worn a full meido outfit in some episodes, complete with brooms and other cleaning utensils.
- Her dress is actually very dark red, enough to pass for black.
- Pick Your Human Half
- Ridiculously Human Robot: Even lampshaded by Roger several times.
- Robot Girl: And she's much heavier than her looks imply. Roger can still pick her up.
- Running Gag: Has a tendency to get picked up by giant industrial magnets. The first time it happens, the situation was serious. The second time, Roger forgot about her. The final time was during Beck's funniest episode...
- Sarcastic Devotee: She'll happily help Roger when working on a case. Just don't expect her to give him an easy time with it.
- Ship Tease: She and Roger have Belligerent Sexual Tension up the yin-yang.
- Sugar and Ice Personality: A natural extension of the two aforementioned tropes.
- The Stoic
- Tin Man: She's not particularly expressive, but there's definitely something going on underneath the non-emotive surface.
- Uncanny Valley Girl: Besides all the above tropes, some of her movements are...unsettling. See Animation Bump.
- When She Smiles
- Younger than They Look: She's a freshly manufactured robot, barely a couple of years old. She looks at least sixteen.
Norman Burg
Norman is Roger's butler. Though he's a faithful domestic servant in his daily routine, he's also a skilled and fearless fighter, and has been maintaining the Big O since the Event forty years ago. Apparently when the Big O accepted Roger as a worthy master, Norman did the same.
Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa (JP), Alan Oppenheimer (EN)
Tropes associated with Norman:
Major (and later Colonel) Dan Dastun
The Head of Paradigm City's Military Police, and formerly Roger's commanding officer. Technically his allegiance lies with the Paradigm Corporation, but his true loyalties are to the genuine welfare of the city and its people. Unlike Roger, he's (mostly) willing to put up with Paradigm's corporate string-pulling in order to keep serving the public trust.
Voiced by: TesshōGenda (JP), Peter Lurie (EN)
Tropes associated with Dastun:
Angel Rosewater
This lovely blonde has at least one hidden agenda, with very vague loyalties on top of that. She has a nose for trouble, which usually means she's always one step ahead of Roger. Oddly appropriate to her name, she has a pair of scars on her back — at about the place an angel's wings are usually shown sprouting from (seen in Act 7).
Voiced by:
Emi Shinohara (JP),
Wendee Lee (EN)
Tropes associated with Angel:
Alex Rosewater
The man in charge of Paradigm City and the corporation that owns it, controlling them both with ruthless efficiency. He's willing to preserve the state at the cost of its people when necessary, has no qualms about dealing with people he knows can't be trusted, and genuinely believes that anything would be better if he was in control of it.
Voiced by: UnshōIshizuka (JP), Michael Forest (EN)
Tropes associated with Rosewater:
Schwartzwald
Formerly Michael Seabach, reporter. His search for the truth of Paradigm City led him into its darkest secrets, where he witnessed...
something... and became
unhinged, to say the least. Upon his return, he begins a one-man crusade against the lies and complacency of Paradigm, and cares little for what he destroys along the way.
Voiced by: Katsunosuke Hori (JP),
Michael McConnohie (EN)
Tropes associated with Schwartzwald:
- Anti-Villain: Debatable. He wants to uncover the truth of behind the amnesia of 40 years ago. Should people have to die or the city be destroyed to let that truth be known, so be it.
- Badass Angster: Especially in a Megadeus. He's generally found less lamenting his own personal fate as he is that of the city, however. Also, his lamenting is usually accompanied by mad laughter...
- Ballroom Blitz: He infiltrates a masquerade ball for very wealthy people and rigs their masks so that they catch on fire all at once. Roger is the only one present who refuses to wear the mask as he's savvy enough to figure something is amiss.
- Bandaged Face
- Char Clone
- Conspiracy Theorist: He's also right!
- Haunted Technology: One possible explanation of Big Duo's behaviour in season 2. A major contributor is his "ghost" that appears as he Hannibal Lectures Alan for being (seen as) unworthy as the pilot of a Megadeus, whereupon his finishing statement Big Duo flashed the words "YE GUILTY," as if to agree with his assessment.
- Defector from Decadence: While not advocating a totalitarian dictatorship to keep the populace in line, he REALLY hates the blind hedonistic tendencies of the Paradigm City's elite. He does everything in his power to fight back against this apathy, including handing out flammable masks at a cocktail party and trashing the city with his own Humongous Mecha.
- Evil Laugh: My, but he likes to do those.
- Expy: You'd be forgiven for thinking he's one of Hush, but he wouldn't debut until a few years later. Schwartzwald's really the Joker meets Char Aznable
- His background as a formerly happily married, moral man, asymmetrical facial scarring, and subsequent mental breakdown also parallels Harvey Dent/TwoFace.
- Foil: To Roger Smith.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Happened before he was introduced.
- Large Ham: None of the Big O's villains were particularly subtle, but his speech in episode 18 is deliciously bombastic.
- Meaningful Name plus Gratuitous German: His name means "Black Forest".
- Nietzsche Wannabe: He's not so bleak as to declare all life meaningless, but the speech at the beginning of Act 17 ("Leviathan") certainly carries some darker notes of existentialism (See the link in Large Ham).
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: It takes some pretty strong principles to turn down THAT level of severance pay.
- We only see the zeros. 12 of them. And they don't end there. Shit, Roger was surprised...
- Sixth Ranger: Joins the Ruina in Super Robot Wars D.
- Slasher Smile: Default expression.
- Thanatos Gambit: After his death midway through the second season, he manages to aid Roger with his letters.
- That Man Is Dead: Michael Seabach is no more. Even Paradigm Corp. executives start thinking this way.
- Übermensch: His speech in Leviathan basically set him up as this and the elite of Paradigm City as the Last Man (see above Defector from Decadence).
Alan Gabriel
All we know about Alan is that he works for Rosewater (among possibly others), he's some kind of
cyborg (which were previously unknown in Paradigm City) — and that he's
very dangerous.
Voiced by: Issei Futamata (JP),
Crispin Freeman (EN)
Tropes associated with Alan:
Jason Beck
This criminal has the distinction of being Roger Smith's first foe introduced in the series. Like any good criminal, he just wants to get rich at the expense of others... but unlike good criminals, he's equally concerned with looking as good as possible while doing it.
Might be more than he seems, if the pre-Event memories he gets after being hit by lightning are any indication.
Voiced by:
Hochu Ohtsuka (JP), Robert Buchholz (EN)
Tropes associated with Beck:
- Beard of Evil: Originally clean shaven, he grew it after he got locked up the first time as pictured above. He apparently likes it as he shaves it down to a goatee after he gets out.
- Blond Guys are Evil: He even has a blond-colored suit. He contrasts directly to the clean-shaven, black-haired, black-clothed Roger.
- Cultured Badass: He fails at this. Hilarity Ensues
- Expy: His obsession with one-upping his nemesis, style of dress, and technical savvy makes him almost fit the role of The Riddler.
- Foe Yay: He is exceedingly fixated on one-upping Roger Smith, what with the former's ability to foil his plans and all
- Genius Ditz: He's a total incompetent as a villain, but his skills at electronics and android neuroscience are second to none.
- Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: He's such a screw-up, you'd almost feel sorry for him when he gets his ass handed to him. Almost.
- Laughably Evil: Face it, the guy is so over-the-top he's out and out hilarious.
- Madness Mantra: In the manga: "Paradigm, paradise, paralyze..."
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Tries to be one, anyway. He's better at the being fashionable part than the villainous part.
- Not So Harmless: His final chapter in the manga has him unearthing a "Gigadeus" that knocks Big O around like it was a toy. Roger only wins because Beck goes totally mad from greed after seeing the old world replayed for him in the underground.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: See Foe Yay above.
- Recurring Boss
- Strange Bedfellows: He winds up siding with Alex Rosewater to weasel out of his execution. Later, he even gives technical advice to Dorothy explaining how about how she can interface with the Big O to activate the Humongous Mecha's Final Stage. He even appears as allied reinforcement in Super Robot Wars Z!
- Villain Decay: An example done hilariously right: Roger and Dorothy find him a nuisance at best, but he never ceases to be entertaining for the audience. Earlier episodes shows him succeeding to a degree with his plans, but he just gets more and more incompetent and hilarious as the show goes on. He didn't even get a real fight scene in his final appearance battling Big O!
Gordon Rosewater
Alex Rosewater's father, a kindly old man who has given up the cosmopolitan life to lead a simple life of farming.
Tropes associated with Gordon Rosewater:
Vera Ronstadt
A foreign woman who appears in the second season as a commander of the forces of the Union. Her French accent and claim to be from a country across the sea suggests there's civilizations in the world other than Paradigm City, but there's no memories to be had out there.
Voiced by: Sayuri Yamauchi (JP), Carolyn Hennesy (EN)
Tropes associated with Vera:
