These are the characters from The Big O.

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Protagonists

Roger Smith

Negotiator

Voiced by: Mitsuru Miyamoto (JP), Steve Blum (EN)

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...

Androids and Detectives: Roger’s occasional partner and live-in maid is an Android named R. Dorothy Wayneright.
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.
Badass Bookworm: Considering he's always dressed to the nines, has the distinction of being Paradigm City's top negotiator, and that he and his Megadeus are their first line of defense against Alex Rosewater and the Union? Yeah, we'd say so.
Badass in a Nice Suit: Roger's typical attire. Not only the typical black formal wear with a tie The Men in Black typically wear but a few other varieties too.
Badass Longcoat: Roger sometimes dons a black overcoat or topcoat.
Berserk Button: Don't mess with Dorothy on his watch. Even his patience has limits.
Charles Atlas Superpower: He's remarkably fit for a negotiator - enough that he's able to leap impressive heights and was able to lift R. Dorothy, despite struggling with her weight, whereas Dastun struggled to drag her for even a few feet.
Composite Character: He's equal parts Bruce Wayne combined with 007.
- Like Bruce, his cover identity is that of a wealthy socialite, but they're secretly crime fighters. Both also have close ties with a member of the Gotham/Paradigm City police departments, yet they have tentative love interests on the opposite side of the law.
- His similarities to James are more noticeable. Such as Roger being more of an undercover agent, than a negotiator, complete with high-tech gadets, an armored car that's been outfitted with hidden weapons, and he routinely faces off against foreign agents (i.e. The Union). He'd be right at home working for MI6.
Cool Car: The Griffon (Roger's answer to the Batmobile.)
Cultured Badass: From swank suits, to owning a lavish condominium that comes complete with a Battle Butler and a robo maid.
Dark Is Not Evil: As a contrast to Rosewater's Light Is Not Good.
Dating Catwoman: Played with during season 1, which implied a growing attraction between him and Angel, but it's ultimately subverted in the following season when he fails to respond when she comes onto him.
Deadpan Snarker: He's based off of the Film Noir traditions of heroes like Sam Spade.
Doesn't Like Guns: He feels they're unbecoming of a gentleman. Not that he'll ignore their occasional necessity, since there are a pair of them in the headlights of his Cool Car.
Everyone Can See It: Norman is the first who becomes aware of it and actively supports the idea; believing Dorothy would be good for Roger. Angel eventually comes to realize it herself during season 2, when Roger doesn't respond to her love confession. So does Alan Gabriel, who throws it in her face several episodes later, when she holds him at gunpoint in an attempt to save Dorothy.
Gabriel: [snickering at Angel] Don't you think it'd be better if I got rid of this robot he loves more than anyone?
Angel: More than... anyone.
[Angel's resolve crumbles and lowers her gun]
Expy: Of Bruce Wayne, particularly as he appears in Batman: The Animated Series, which was a prominent influence on the series (in fact, Sunrise was previously a subcontractor studio for Batman).
Falling into the Cockpit: Seriously played with by way of Fridge Logic. The flashback/hallucination etc. showed it.
Full-Name Basis: Everyone addresses him by his full name, except Norman who addresses him as, "Master Roger". What Dorothy calls him depends on her mood, but she'll often refer to him by his full name as well.
Grappling-Hook Pistol: In his wristwatch. In the final episode he even uses it as a garrote. He's also got one shaped like a small briefcase that makes instant wire bridges.
Honor Before Reason: The 'no guns' thing, in keeping with him being a Batman Expy. However, when he's piloting his Megadeus, then he has no problems with guns as he's been shown to be using its ranged weapons.
Informed Ability: 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 as to be obtrusive, but DAMN. Paradigm must have some dumbass criminals. One website called him the worst negotiator since Kevin Spacey.
Instant Expert: A trope analyzed across the entire series and a constant source of consternation for Roger Smith as the story goes on. Roger Smith can identify that Big O chose him as its Dominus, and subsequently it means Roger Smith is meant to pilot the Big O, but how he got his skills with the mech despite clearly not being of an age where he could have lost his memories like everyone else forms his personal arc for the back half of the series, and nearly brings him to a mental breakdown twice.
Invocation: A justified trope, given the Megadeuses' response to their masters' voice commands. The following could be anything Roger wanted (presumably; the backstory is complicated).
- "Big O! It's SHOWTIME!"
- "Big O! ACTION!"
The Man Behind the Man: If Gordon Rosewater's picture means anything, then he is the reason that everyone lost their memories.
Man in Black: It's one of the rules he establishes early on: everyone at his condominium wears black. No exceptions. The parts about conspiracies and Roger possibly being an agent, are covered in Multiple-Choice Past.
Multiple-Choice Past: As he's officially 25 years old, he couldn't possibly have memories of before 40 years ago, right? 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 mass-produced Megadeus pilot robot. Or none of this actually happened because there were no memories! This has 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.
Not a Morning Person:
- Shown to wake up at 1 PM in one episode.
- Also played with as several episodes have shown (and Roger outright stated) that he has no problem with getting up early if he's working. If he's not then he should be able to sleep in as much as he damn well likes.
Private Eye Monologue: In the early episodes he would mull things over to himself.
Older Than He Looks: Maybe. He's supposed to be 25, but he's possibly a "tomato", or one of the people behind the Event. It's hinted late in the series that he helped Gordon Rosewater start the Paradigm project but willfully erased his memories of doing so. If so, he'd be well over 60. However, this doesn't line up with memories from his childhood or the timeline of the series.
Robosexual:
- First lampshaded and discussed between him and R. Dorothy at the end of episode 9:
  Roger: Earlier, you said you wanted to ask me something, but said it would be difficult to answer. I'm curious. What was it?
  R. Dorothy: [cryptic smile] You really want to know?
  [Roger nods]
  R. Dorothy: Alright then: If you and I had met under different circumstances and I were human, would we have fallen in love?
  Roger: [stunned] I... well that's...
  R. Dorothy: I told you it would be difficult.
- It's eventually revisited near the end of season 2, when he finally gives his answer after she's been deactivated by Beck stealing her memory component.
  Roger: You once asked: "Had you and I met under different circumstances, and you were human, would we have fallen in love?" At the time, I wasn't sure how to respond. The thought had never occurred to me. Now that I've had time to think about it, I'd like to answer that. Yes. I believe we would have. I'll understand if that's unsatisfactory, but it's the best that I can do.
Sharp-Dressed Man: He wears black because it looks so damned good on him. He's a negotiator.
Ship Sinking: Despite the implied UST between him and Angel, she's stunned by the realization that Roger had feelings for Dorothy instead. Angel doesn't take it well.
Ship Tease: The series heavily implies the attraction between him and R. Dorothy, from her questioning him about it at the end of episode 3, to the lyrics of "And Forever". Near the climax of the final episode, Roger complains that Dorothy used her oxygen tank to resuscitate him instead of giving him mouth-to-mouth.
Talking the Monster to Death: How he deals with Angel's rampage in the final episode. Negotiator indeed.
Tall, Dark, and Handsome: All three points in a film noir gentleman style.
Tomato in the Mirror: Zigzagged. At the end of the series, it's still not clear if he's one of the Tomatoes, the tomato grower, or both.
Tsundere: His interactions with Dorothy is sometimes laced with Belligerent Sexual Tension or aloofness.
Unusual Eyebrows: They're like...windshield wipers, or something.
Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?: He PAYS for them, using hired labour.
Wise Beyond Their Years: Inverted and Enforced version. Word of God stated that they didn't want a Kid Hero so they made Roger into a young man. The point was for the target demographic to look up to him instead of identify with him.
Wouldn't Hit a Girl: As a general rule. That said, he'll make an exception if he has to in order to defend himself.

R. Dorothy Wayneright

Android

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (JP), Lia Sargent (EN)

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. That is, until the final episodes reveal at least one other character was an android all along as well.

Action Girl: She has to be combat capable if she's going along with Roger.
Animation Bump: She's often given especially fluid animation, but this just serves to highlight her robotically precise movements. It also doesn't help much that audible whirring sounds can be heard during these sequences...
Badass in Distress: Kidnapped multiple times, but suffers no Badass Decay from it.
Battle Couple: Though she and Roger never officially hook up, she's joined him in the cockpit on more than one occasion; including during the final confrontation with Big Venus at the end of the series' finale.
Casual Danger Dialog: She and Norman rarely seem fazed by anything, even when they're under attack. One episode has them being pursued down the expressway by a gatling gun wielding mech and their only response was:
Norman: Well, it certainly seems to be taken with you, Ms. Dorothy.
R. Dorothy: It's after my memories, Norman.
Catchphrase: "You're a louse, Roger Smith." Eventually becomes "You're such a louse, Roger Smith."
Cute Bruiser: She needs no key and opens walls when doors will not suffice. She has a mean punch, too.
Deadpan Snarker: Dorothy rarely speaks above monotone, so her wit is always delivered in the form of dry humor. Such as when Roger figured it was okay to use her to draw fire from Beck's henchmen, because she was a robot. After being shot at and nearly engulfed by an explosion, she shows up covered in singe marks and her hair frazzled, and tells Roger he's a louse.
R. Dorothy: You're a louse, Roger Smith.
- After Roger tells her one of his house rules is to wear black:
  R. Dorothy: Your sense of fashion, Roger, really reeks.
Deceptively Human Robot:
- Her movements are too precise, she whirrs occasionally, and she has next to no intonation when she talks. All little things that remind you there's metal under the cute.
- It's evident that she can invoke or avert this trope intentionally, i.e. either appear and behave very human, or very inhuman. And she often does the latter to simply tick off Roger.
- There are a couple of androids in the population of Paradigm City - not many, but enough that people know what they are - and characters do remark that Dorothy is vastly more human-like in her appearance than any of them. The rest look blocky and mechanical: in dark lighting, at first glance, Dorothy might be mistaken for human.
- Dorothy's "evil twin sister" Red Destiny is drastically more emotive, both in her facial expressions and vocal intonations.
Do Androids Dream?: Roger muses about this in regards to Dorothy for a while due to his early and quickly debunked assumption that she was emotionless, or that her "simulated" emotions wouldn't be convincing. Being that she's a digital copy of the original Dorothy's mind, she doesn't appreciate it and gets back at him by playing the piano loudly while Roger's trying to sleep.
Dreadful Musician: Played with. She's very technically skilled at copying the music of other composers...like a wind-up box. She'd probably be pretty good were it not for her stubborn insistence on playing every last note perfectly, which prevents her from playing with feeling. She also tends to play loudly. She weaponizes this when Roger slights her in some way.
Emotionless Girl: She has the flat voice and expressionless face down pat, but the words she says...
The Gadfly: She has a tendency to do this from time to time.
Implied Love Interest:
- First alluded to when Dorothy directly asks Roger if he would've fallen in love with her had she been human. But he doesn't answer the question 'til just before the finale of season 2. Roger admits he likely would have.
- Further lampshaded by the lyrics of "And Forever", which plays during the end credits of each episode.
Kindhearted Cat Lover: The focus of an early episode revolves around her attachment to a kitten she rescues.
Loophole Abuse: Roger tells her she'll have to "wear black" if she's going to live with him. She feels he has bad tastes, so she gets out of it by wearing very very dark red instead.
MacGuffin Girl: The reason Beck is after her is because her memory component has data about the event that erased everyone's memories 40 years ago. Though later, he admits to Alex Rosewater that he doesn't know how he knows it. He just does.
Made of Iron: She's a gynoid. So she's built to last and resilient enough to withstand the force of a missile explosion from only a few yards away. When the smoke cleared, she walked away with only faint singe marks and frazzled hair. Also quite literally, her mechanical parts make her disproportionately heavy (she wasn't made out of lightweight plastics, etc.). On occasions when she loses consciousness, Roger and Dastun, both strong adults, have to struggle to drag her inert body just a few feet.
Meido: Justified - Roger's house rules demand she dress in black. She thinks it's tacky at the best of times. She's worn a full meido outfit in some episodes, complete with brooms and other cleaning utensils.
Nice Girl: As nice as an android can be. She is very likable and can get along with nearly everyone, even people she doesn't trust.
Noisy Robots: To emphasize her being an android, she makes whirring noises whenever she moves.
Not So Stoic: Usually comes off as nearly monotone and matter-of-fact, but her choice of words can be quite biting. Also, when she's angry enough, her speech will sound a great deal more human, making one wonder how much is an act.
Pick Your Human Half: She plays with this. One one hand, she's clearly the most human-looking out of the androids but everything else of her is pretty much robotic. At the same time, however, choice of words, penchant for playing the piano, and tendency to mess with Roger at times show that there is much to to her than just her general emotionlessness. Plus, it's suggested that her robotic nature isn't a shortcoming of her programming or construction, but the effect the death of her "Father" had on her, which would be a very human reaction.
Rei Ayanami Expy: She's a young, artificially-created woman with short hair, a mysterious past, pale skin, and little in the way of emotions; all she's missing is the blue hair.
Ridiculously Human Robot: Lampshaded by Roger several times. Every other robot in this show doesn't look nearly as human as she does.
Robot Girl: Made obvious from the start, since her introductory episode is all about how she's the robotic recreation of Dr. Wayneright's deceased granddaughter.
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.
Sci-Fi Bob Haircut: Sports one throughout the series. Partially justified that as a robot, it doesn't grow, and it fits the Sid Mead-style Zeerust aesthetic of the show.
Ship Tease: She and Roger have Belligerent Sexual Tension and UST in equal amounts.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: A natural extension her robotic nature, dry personality and ship tease with Roger is contrasting coldness and subdued affection.
The Stoic: Her body was not made for a wide expression of emotion.
Three Laws-Compliant: Being that she's a Shout-Out to Isaac Asimov, this is to be expected, although she follows this to varying levels. She's clearly First Law compliant, such as during a fight with Alan Gabriel, whose status as robot or human is unclear, when she initially fights back very little and appears to be losing. She asks him whether he's a human or a robot like her, and he answers jokingly, "I'm the boogeyman!" Apparently taking this as a literal statement that he's not human (and therefore violence against him would not violate the First Law), she finally starts fighting him (for reference, Alan is later revealed to be a cyborg). She also is presumably Third Law compliant as well, and she's generally quite loyal and helpful (if sarcastic). But when she gets it in her head to do something like play loud piano to wake up her oversleeping employer, no amount of Second Law cajoling will stop her.
Tin Man: She's not particularly expressive, but there's definitely something going on underneath the non-emotive surface. She goes out of her way to claim she wasn't programmed with emotions, which makes you wonder what she's hiding.
When She Smiles: Though she claims she can't properly emote due to her robotic body and face, she has a very sweet smile that has on occasion defused Roger.
Younger than She Looks: She has the appearance of an 18-year old, but she was constructed very recently. Everyone even seems to count her age starting from when the original Dorothy was born.

Norman Burg

Butler

Voiced by: Motomu Kiyokawa (JP), Milton James (S1, EN) Alan Oppenheimer (S2, EN)

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.

Badass Biker: When he goes to pick up his master, he does so in a bike that has a rocket launcher attached.
Battle Butler: Fixes up your robot, neutralizes physical threats, and prepares your breakfast, lunch, and dinner ready on time and grilled to perfection.
Cool Old Guy: He's basically Alfred Pennyworth (who was himself quite the fighter when he needed to be) with additional badass injected. On the rare occasion he finds himself in the line of fire, he's deadly with a Tommy gun and has used a rocket launcher against a Deus.
Expy: Just as Roger Smith is Batman, Norman is Alfred Pennyworth. Amusingly, his voice actor in Season 2, Alan Oppenheimer, went on to voice the actual Alfred in Superman/Batman: Public Enemies.
Eyepatch of Power: One has to wonder; did he get it before he entered Roger's service or during?
Gadgeteer Genius: He maintains the Big O on a regular basis with some occasional help.
Gentleman Snarker: He gets his jabs in but is always polite about it.
Inksuit Actor: Unintentionally, but he bears a strong resemblance to his English VA, who wore a similar mustache for a time as well.
The Jeeves: Norman is dedicated to Roger. See Battle Butler above.
Shipper on Deck: He strongly encourages ways for Dorothy and Roger to get together.

Dan Dastun

Major (and later Colonel) Dan Dastun

Officer

Voiced by: Tesshō Genda (JP), Peter Lurie (EN)

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.

Badass Normal: Somehow manages to survive all his encounters with Megadei despite his lack of one himself or anything more advanced than a tank.
Commissioner Gordon: Mixes elements of this with Vitriolic Best Buds in his relationship with Batman Expy Roger Smith. He's a poilice chief that doesn't like working with "the pilot of Big O" but recognizes that the man is better equipped to handle giant robots than himself.
Da Chief: The Head of Paradigm City's Military Police and has the temper to match the trope.
A Father to His Men: His pride in the Military Police causes him to be extremely loyal to his men.
Friend on the Force: Something of this combined with a little bit of Bullock in that he's a policeman helping the local superhero.

Expy:
- Of Commissioner Gordon, being a Reasonable Authority Figure that works with the local superhero. They even share mustaches.
- Physically for Jet Black as well, just without the cyber arm.
Generation Xerox: Eerily played with. Those kids were so cute, too.
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Good is Not Nice scars given his police service.

Hot-Blooded Sideburns: Just look at them.
Knight in Sour Armor: Despite being hampered by an uncaring bureaucracy and threats that are too powerful for him to even scratch, Dastun charges into the fight time and time again.
Reasonable Authority Figure: In a Crapsack World where money and power mean everything, Dastun stands out for putting the safety of the people before his prestige every single time, to the point where he ultimately quits the force and turns against Alex Rosewater after getting sick of his meddling.
Redshirt Army: What he basically commands since police officers and even tanks can't match up against the Megadeus. Act 10 shows us how much this would start to really affect a guy.
Turn in Your Badge: Serves as a springboard for a Moment of Awesome. As soon as he's no longer working for Alexander, he turns against the guy and a good chunk of his men follow him.
Vitriolic Best Buds: With Roger. They're old friends and former partners but their relationship can be rocky.

Angel

Voiced by: Emi Shinohara (JP), Wendee Lee (EN)

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).

Action Girl: Whether or not her agenda is sinister is ambigious but she can take care of herself either way (most prominently in season 2).
Apocalypse Maiden: One possible interpretation of her in the finale given that she was the key to activating Big Venus and erasing everything.
Artificial Human: We seem to think that this may be the case given how Gordon Rosewater calls her a Memory, as well as her revealing wings in the finale.
Author Avatar: She may possibly be this in-universe depending on how you interpret the show's Ambiguous Ending - the book Metropolis (implied to possibly be what Big O was "adapted" from) is written by someone named Angel Rosewater.
Blatant Lies: In episode 11 (season 2), she stops by Roger's flat in hopes of seeing him before she left to confront Agent 12, but meets Dorothy instead. Despite her conflicted feelings towards her, Angel tells Dorothy she doesn't hate her then leaves. When Norman asks who had stopped by, Dorothy says no one, despite Angel's wet footprints being in plain view.
R. Dorothy: I can lie too, Norman.
Broken Bird: Complete with scars on her back like a fallen angel.
Angel: [holding Vera at gunpoint] If there is such a place as Heaven, I don't deserve to be there. And neither do you, Agent 12.
Cool Car: Briefly uses a Chevrolet Bel-Air in "Electric City" to try and escape the serpent, but it gets fried during the attempt.
Double Reverse Quadruple Agent: Right off the bat Roger expects her to be a Double Agent for someone but he doesn't expect how many people and how many directions.
Expy:
- Of Fujiko Mine, from her look, to her manipulative nature and ever changing loyalties.
- As a Batman parallel. She's one for Catwoman for the same reasons; even having her own catsuit.
Fake Memories: The childhood she remembers happened on a studio set.
Faux Action Girl: In Season One where she is liable to panic despite being a secret agent. She's much more competent in Season Two.
Femme Fatale: Downplayed and eventually subverted. Angel looks and acts the part, complete with a Dark and Troubled Past, but is neither said to have any sorrdid history with anyone and her lone romantic prospect falls flat.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Angel doesn't take it well when it dawns on her that Roger turned her down, albeit gently, because he had fallen for a robot instead. It causes her mental state and her grip on reality to slowly unravel from that point onward.
Greater-Scope Villain: One possible interpretation of her in the finale is that she is the "memories" everyone is searching for and that she has the power to reset everything again like what happened forty years ago.
Manipulative Bitch: Hinted, as she is shown to possibly be the person who controls the fate of Paradigm City and the memories within it, and given the powers Big Venus has.
Ms. Fanservice: Often wears very revealing outfits that flatter her lovely figure
Mystical Waif: Almost nothing is known about her for most of the series except that she has a pair of scars on her back that she jokes are from her wings being taken. She's actually the human form of Big Venus, sort of.
Pink Means Feminine: Almost all her outfits heavily use pink. Even her mission suit is bright pink.

Promotion to Opening Titles: Is added to the opening lineup in season 2. She's given the character title of "?"
Sanity Slippage: Angel slowly begins to lose her grip on reality as her past memories start to resurface during season 2. Because Roger was an emotional anchor for her, she tries confessing her feelings for him. His failure to reciprocate, along with the realization that he had feelings for a robot instead of her, causes her mental and emotional state to deteriorate from that point onwards.
Ship Tease: With Roger. One scene has them running on the beach barefoot together and laughing. Dorothy disapproves.
Spy Catsuit: She wears a pink one whenever she's undercover, first seen in episode 4 when she was trying to reach the underwater city in hopes of finding the memories hidden there.
Statuesque Stunner: Just as tall as Roger.
Symbolic Wings: The scars on her back influence her name.
Tomato in the Mirror: She finally meets Gordon Rosewater near the end of season 2, who tells her she isn't human. When she asks what he means, he says she's nothing more than a memory and that the scars on her back are proof.

Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: In the finale when she transforms into Big Venus and rewrites reality because she was broken mentally.

Antagonists

Alex Rosewater

Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka (JP), Michael Forest (EN)

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.

Affably Evil: He starts off this way, but as he grows more unstable he becomes more Faux Affably Evil.
Big Bad: Downplayed. While Rosewater fills in his role as Roger's main "opponent" and the central antagonistic force on the show. Often times he slips into a Big Bad Wannabe as it's the mysteries that drive the show and form the conflict rather than his own actions as befitting a Big Bad. At times there are moments where he's just after answers like Roger is.
Bling of War: The Big Fau is the most elaborately decorated of the three Bigs by some margin. This plus Alex's comments about it suggest that Faus were the elites of the Big army that appears in flashbacks.
Corrupt Corporate Executive: He owns most of the major companies in Paradigm and uses the amnesia from 40 years ago to maintain control.
Cultured Badass: Sharp-dressed, owns the best of everything (or tries to), and cool enough to stand at ground zero of a giant robot fight without flinching.
Foreshadowing: When he started up Big Fau, the scrolling text stops at "Ye Not" before the monitor shuts down. He thought it was just a malfunction. It wasn't.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Played with. Alex's time with his father Gordon is the most tender we see him, hugging his senile father and crying as he orders his father's execution. His monologues suggest that he's trying to be a worthy successor to his father. Pretty much subverted once he gets his own Giant Robot and starts ranting. Seems he's got a lot of Daddy Issues.
Expy
- Although most of Roger's Rogues Gallery is comprised of various shout outs and Expies of Batman rogues, Rosewater is very much Lex Luthor.
- He also bears some similarities to Roland Daggett, a corrupt industrialist from the Batman comics who saw significant use in Batman: The Animated Series (and the show's primary inspiration).
A God Am I: The last few episodes have him go absolutely whacko.
Rosewater: This world has a NEW order now! It has a new GOD!
Hypocrite: Puts down Roger as a fake Dominus, even though he had to go to great lengths to force Big Fau to accept him as a pilot when it refused to do so normally.
Instant Expert: Him subverting this as compared to Schwarzwald and Roger is actually a major plot point; he fumbles with using Big Fau at all until he makes the mech work for him by the end of the series, indicating he has not been chosen as a Dominus. In battle, he quickly loses control in most conflicts, and doesn't have any talent for combat - his initial victory over the Big O in the final fight mostly comes down to superior technology. Once that advantage is taken from him, Roger easily turns the tide and takes out most of his weapons.
Light Is Not Good: As a contrast to Roger's Dark Is Not Evil clothing, he primarily wears white suits.
Politically Incorrect Villain: Alex looks down upon people living outside the domes as a lower class and does nothing to divert or inform of a star falling upon them. In casual conversation with Roger he also makes it apparent that he views women as beneath men.
Psychopathic Manchild: Has a tendency to throw tantrums and yell when things don't go his way. He also plays with toys while talking about business and feels like the world owes him more than he already has.
Smug Snake: Zigzagged. Playing with a toy Big Fau while boasting to Roger about how he can pull the strings controlling the entire city is kind of a dick move. To elaborate: Alex Rosewater invites his archenemy Roger Smith over for dinner, which is being cooked by Psycho for Hire Alan Gabriel, whom Roger despises. Alex plays with his toys while boasting about how he's going to rule the world. He and Alan share a laugh over Roger's distress when Roger's incapacitated by one of his flashbacks. Alex rubs dirt in the wound by mocking Roger's ignorance of his past, and hints that he knows the truth. And to top it off, Alex was already rejected by Big Fau for being unworthy one episode before! It takes a special kind of arrogance and petulance to insult the one man in the city who can literally squash him flat, but Alex Rosewater has it in spades.
Tomato in the Mirror: He is outraged to learn that he is one of the tomatoes as well.
Übermensch: See his plan for recreating the world using Big Fau. "I will reset this world with my own will and my own strength!"
Tyrannical Town Tycoon: Head of the Paradigm Corporation, and through it the city that shares its name.
Villain in a White Suit: A Corrupt Corporate Executive who always wears white suits, in contrast to Roger.
Villainous Breakdown: The first one was after Big Fau rejects him as a Dominus. The second was when he learns that he was one of the tomatoes he has utter disdain for.

Schwarzwald

Voiced by: Katsunosuke Hori (JP), Michael McConnohie (EN)

Formerly Michael Seebach, 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.

Anti-Villain: He's of the well-intentioned variety. He'd arguably be a Hero Antagonist if not for the whole "violently insane" thing that came with learning what he learned.
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: His whole head is covered in bandages due to his injuries and is pointy to boot. It makes him mysterious and sinister.
Char Clone: Has the ideology and terrorist tendencies down to the letter. Has bandages instead of a mask, though.
Conspiracy Theorist: He's also right!
Dare to Be Badass: His iconic speech in "Leviathan" is effectively one for everyone in Paradigm City, challenging them to think for themselves if they care about the future of humanity.
Schwarzwald: [...] Fear. It is something vital to us puny creatures. The instant man stops fearing is the instant the species will reach a dead end... only to sink to pitiable lows, only to sit and wait apathetically for extinction! Wake up! Don't be afraid of knowledge! Humans who lose the capacity to think become creatures whose existence has no value. Think! You humans who are split into two worlds... unless you want the gulf between humans to expand into oblivion, you must think!
Dead All Along: Angel reveals at the end of "Leviathan" that Schwarzwald has been dead for a long time, though exactly how long is ambiguous: He may have been burnt to death during Big O's fight with the Megadeus Archetype (though we only really have Angel's word to go off of for that), but a shot of one of his tattered bandages in the final episode implies that he may have died in the desert seen in "Leviathan" instead.
Defector from Decadence: Not literally, as he was a reporter for the Paradigm Corporation - but after his transformation he REALLY hates the blind, hedonistic tendencies of the Paradigm City's elite. He will do everything in his power to fight back against this apathy, including handing out flammable masks at a cocktail party, blanketing the city with tracts of his philosophy, and trashing the city itself with his own Humongous Mecha.
Evil Laugh: He does enjoy a good cackle now and then.
Expy:
- The bandages are evocative of Hush, but he wouldn't debut for another three years after this series' airing. Schwarzwald'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/Two-Face.
- His use of a motif that is traditionally a horror staple as well as his belief that fear plays a big part in the "Truth" makes him one for Scarecrow as well. Though he has an obsession with truth instead of fear he evidently believes that fear has a big part in it.
Foil: To Roger Smith.
Go Mad from the Revelation: Happened before he was introduced. It happens again when he learns that his entire world may have been a work of fiction all along.
Schwarzwald: Paradigm City... a grand, ostentatious stage... and above it, secretly looking down on the folly of human blunders... were not the ever-expected and comforting presence of gods, but only this abandoned equipment...! (lightly laughs) This is a comedy! That which I was searching for! The true memories... they were- (Big Duo explodes)
Haunted Technology: One possible explanation of Big Duo's behavior in season 2. A major contributor is his "ghost" that appears as he verbally breaks 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.
Instant Expert: Justified and lampshaded given the occasional maxim Roger provides; 'a Megadeus chooses its Dominus.' In no time at all, Schwarzwald is right at home using the Big Duo, and as revealed in the climax of the penultimate fight of the series, Big Duo itself seems to confirm it views Schwarzwald as its master, hence why it decides to execute Alan Gabriel when he tries to pilot it. Schwarzwald shows comparable skill with Big Duo as Roger does with Big O, and it's ultimately a matter of Roger outsmarting Schwarzwald in their big fight that allows Roger to come out on top.
Killed Mid-Sentence: An unusual example (since he's technically already dead), but his speech about the true nature of Paradigm City in the last episode is cut off by Big Duo crashing into a stage light and exploding.
Large Ham: None of The Big O's villains were particularly subtle, but his speech in episode 17 is deliciously bombastic.
Meaningful Name plus Gratuitous German: His name literally translates to "Black Forest", although the figurative meaning refers to an area shrouded in darkness.
"Reason You Suck" Speech: His "ghost" gives Alan one the moment Big Duo stops listening to him.
Schwarzwald: You... you possess the foolishness of both man and machine. It^noteBig Duo chooses one who controls the power of God created by man, one who is able to arrive at one truth. THAT'S NOT THE CASE WITH YOU!!
Big Duo: YE GUILTY
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. Even Roger was amazed...
Slasher Smile: The only parts of his face we get to see are his eyes (well, eye; the other eye seems to have been replaced with some sort of lens) and a rictus grin.
Straw Nihilist: He's not so bleak as to declare all life meaningless, but the speech at the beginning of Act 17 ("Leviathan") has him accusing those without curiosity towards their past of living meaningless lives (See the link in Large Ham).
Thanatos Gambit: After his death(?) midway through the second season, he manages to aid Roger with his letters.
That Man Is Dead: Michael Seebach is gone from the world. Even Paradigm Corp. executives start thinking this way.
Übermensch: His speech in "Leviathan" sets him up as this and the elite of Paradigm City as the Last Man.
Unfinished Business: Roger believes that this is how he was still around to wreak havoc and pilot Big Duo after he was supposedly killed - he was so determined to spread the truth that his spirit lingered even after his body was long gone.
Villainous Virtues: Persistence. Though more of an anti-villain, Schwarzwald's destructive tendencies means he's often hurting the people he's trying to inform. However, his principles are ironclad, and no amount of money can shake his resolve to reveal the truth of what's happening in and around Paradigm City. This even lasts beyond the grave. Depending on when he died, his ghost has nonetheless inhabited Big Duo for a while and has simply been looking for an opportunity to move again, and his notes are a major factor in getting Roger Smith up to speed with what's going on to the best of Schwarzwald's knowledge. Big Duo needs to be utterly destroyed to finally silence his ghost, and the very thing that destroys Big Duo ultimately shines a brilliant light on the reality Schwarzwald was trying to uncover for the masses.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: He seeks to overthrow the corrupt status quo of the city and free the masses from the lies of Paradigm. But to do so, he engages in a lot of violent acts. Because of the "well intentioned" part, he's the only other legitimate Big pilot besides Roger. Big Duo accepted him and must have passed a "ye not guilty" judgement on him, since it judges all its pilots like Big O does.

Alan Gabriel

Voiced by:Issei Futamata (JP), Crispin Freeman (EN)

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.

Ambiguous Robots: Dorothy has to ask him straight out whether he's an android or a human. He sarcastically claims to be the boogeyman, which ends up backfiring in his face when Dorothy takes that as permission to go all out on him because he didn't specify that he was a human.
Asshole Victim: Big Duo ends up rejecting him as its Dominus right as he's about to kill Roger, slowly consuming Alan in a swamp of wires while Schwarzwald's ghost taunts him. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
Ax-Crazy: Works as a hitman out of delight for killing, particularly enjoying slowly shooting Dorothy to hurt her before throwing his gun aside to try to torture her to death.
Badass in a Nice Suit: A villainous example - he's never once seen out of his snazzy pinstripe suit, and he's easily one of Roger's most dangerous adversaries.
Combat Pragmatist: What actually makes him a deadlier foe for Roger Smith than Schwarzwald when both go up against him in Big Duo. Big Duo Inferno forces its fight with Roger in an area where Roger can't maintain a height advantage, but even beyond that Alan is shown to have considerable skill with Big Duo for as long as he can get the Megadeus to work for him. Though he, like many others, can't beat Roger in a fair fight, he simply plays dead when Roger thinks he's scored a felling blow so he can land a decisive counter hit with Big Duo Inferno before Roger is aware he needs to keep striking the vulnerable Megadeus. It's possible Roger would have found a way to turn the tide even if Big Duo and Schwarzwald's ghost hadn't interceded, but Alan went the furthest out of any of Roger's villains in actually overcoming the Big O simply by being crafty. Only Rosewater himself ever managed to do any better, and that was after an embarassing defeat to Roger initially and through a technological advantage, not through any clever tactics.
Combat Sadomasochist: He seemed to enjoy Roger beating on him far too much to be healthy.
Cybernetics Eat Your Soul: Alan implies he used to be wholly human before he became what he is now. Roger also questions his relationship with Big Duo Inferno, claiming it's using Alan, which gets proven right when it devours him.
Dead Hat Shot: The last we see of him is his hat, entangled in a mass of wires, being expelled from the now-fully consumed cockpit of the Big Duo Inferno.
Double Agent: Despite working for Alex Rosewater he's spying on him for the Union
The Dragon: Presents as Alex's right-hand man, carrying out his assassination missions and ends up being the penultimate Megadeus battle for Roger before he can face Alex. That said, his loyalty is extremely flexible.
Dragon with an Agenda: Alan makes it no secret he'll backstab both Vera and Alex befitting of his own ends and admits to Roger he'll work for anyone as long as they let him cause mayhem.
Eaten Alive: Big Duo ends up devouring him, after deeming him unworthy of being its Dominus and stopping him from killing Roger.

Evil Is Not a Toy: "Ye Guilty". Cue being eaten by wires.
Evil Laugh: Frequently throws into hysterical pitches while maiming and killing his victims.
Giggling Villain:
Dorothy: [upon seeing his cyborg parts] What are you? man or machine?
Alan Gabriel: I'm the BOOOOGEYMAN! [titters hysterically]
- Turns out, that's the wrong thing to say to a Three Laws-Compliant Robot Girl...
Karmic Death: Trying to force Big Duo to kill Roger leads to Big Duo eating him instead.
Oh, Crap!: Several leading up to his death. First when Big Duo stops responding, second when Schwarzwald's ghost appears, third at "Ye Guilty" and finally when Big Duo eats him.
Practically Joker: The giggling, the sadism, the strange behavior, the white and red face; it's all out of the Joker's playbook.
Psycho for Hire: Lacks any grand ambitions of his own beyond getting to hurt and destroy and will side with anyone as long as they give him the backing to spread suffering.
This Is a Drill: Thanks to the cybernetic upgrades to his body, Alan is capable of transforming his hand into a drill, which he nearly uses to assassinate Alex until he offers him the chance to pilot a Megadeus.
Wild Card: Is this to the 'Union' with even Angel knowing he's far too dangerous to run around, unfortunately Vera disagrees (this led to him betraying them all). Alex was more genre-savvy however and offer him a chance to pilot Big Duo Inferno.

Jason Beck

Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka (JP), Robert Buchholz (EN)

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.

Beard of Evil: Originally clean shaven, he grew it after he got locked up the first time as pictured above. He likes it as he shaves it down to a goatee after he gets out.
Enemy Mine: He winds up siding with Alex Rosewater to weasel out of his execution. Later, he even gives technical advice to Dorothy explaining how she can interface with the Big O to activate the Humongous Mecha's Final Stage.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: While mostly glossed over in the show, in the manga it's shown that his two recurring henchmen (plus an added henchwoman) mean a lot to him, and the feeling is completely mutual. Half of a chapter is spent focusing on the three minions as they continue to put their faith in Beck and end up all the richer for it, though this being Beck, hi-jinks ensue when his crazier plans start putting them in the red. The female minion in particular is outright in love with him.
Expy:
- His status of being a genius with electronics and yet still constantly being beaten by Smith due to his general incompetence could draw comparisons with The Riddler. His wacky and pompous behaviour just takes it further.
- Word of God says he's also one of Lupin III, being a gangly, well-dressed and charismatic career criminal - though he unfortunately didn't inherit Lupin's luck with the law.
Flanderization: While his first appearance shows a competent mob boss, he just keeps getting sillier and more incompetent the more the series progresses, until the penultimate during 'The Big Flop' which name drops his failure. Ironically, he seems to return to some resemblance of his former self toward the end after being stuck in prison.
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.
It's Personal: Beck was humiliated by Roger defeating him at the start of the series, and spends the remainder of both seasons trying to get even with him. He should've found a different line of work.
Large Ham: Just having Hōchū Ōtsuka as his voice actor already counts as this, but he only gets more over-the-top as the series progresses.
Laughably Evil: It's hard to take Beck seriously as a villain with that ridiculous pompadour and his wacky behavior. Roger and Dorothy regard him as a nuisance at best, with Dorothy referring to him as 'a buffoon in a strange suit'^note.
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 Villain: 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.

Overshadowed by Awesome: He's originally a serious opponent and could more than qualify as the Big Bad, but the other major characters in the series (such as Roger, Schwarzwald, Rosewater and Alan Gabriel) have him completely outclassed.
Past-Life Memories: During season 2, it's revealed that Beck has somehow retained a fragment of his memories from the time prior to the event 40 years ago. He tells Alex Rosewater that he isn't sure how he knows it, and says he just does. Which is how he knew Dorothy's memory component contained data about it.

Starter Villain: He's the first major criminal Roger has to deal with, and even has his own Megadeus. But as the series progressed, it became clear that Beck was a small time hood with big aspirations.
Unknown Rival: Word of God suggests this is why Beck becomes increasingly unhinged through the show. With each encounter, Beck sees himself more and more as the only fitting adversary for Roger Smith and the Big O, while Roger regards Beck as just another criminal, albeit with a habit of getting farther in over his head every time. Considering he's up against the likes of Schwarzwald and Rosewater, it's no wonder Beck ultimately can't compete.
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!
- Eventually subverted in the manga, where he unearths a Gigadeus and suddenly becomes a dangerous opponent again, nearly defeating Roger. He only loses because he fails to capitalize on crippling the Big O's legs due to his loss of sanity, giving Roger enough time to get in a sneak attack.

Gordon Rosewater

The retired, reclusive founder of Paradigm Corporation, and father of Alex Rosewater. He appears to be a genial, albeit senile old man who gave up the cosmopolitan lifestyle and took up farming in his twilight years.

Ambiguously Evil: CloudCuckoolander? The Man Behind the Man? A Greater-Scope Villain? If he is behind some of the strange ongoings of the series it's left ambiguous as to whether he did so intentionally or accidentally. In one of his more lucid moments he told Roger that he hired him to negotiate with the 'director' of this world.
Ambiguous Innocence: He comes off as kind and grandfatherly, but it's never made clear if it's an act or if he actually mellowed out in his old age.
Ambiguous Situation: Is he actually senile? Or is he just pretending to be so he can't be held accountable for what he did? It's never made clear.
Amnesiac Dissonance: Some of his conversations have such a sinister overtone due to the fact that he is such a pleasant and kind old man who just happens to lackadaisically allude to big scary conspiracies which he might have accidentally set in motion.
Call to Agriculture: He sure loves his tomatoes!
Cryptic Conversation: Because the conversations with him are loaded with double meanings (or maybe he's just senile) and cryptic references (or maybe he's just senile!) they come off as deeply confusing and unsettling.
Expy: He's very obviously meant to resemble old age Marlon Brando.
Retired Monster: He's behind some of the darker parts of the story, but by the time it actually takes place he's a kindly old farmer growing tomatoes, and has more or less extricated himself from all the conspiracies he was once a part of.
The Man Behind the Man: Subverted. It definitely seems like he is behind the majority of the plot... but it also seems like it was all an accident due to a Gambit Pileup and he never intended for it to go the way it did. Maybe.
Medium Awareness: When he was the protagonist in his own series, he became aware that everything was just a simulation to create a show. Which would be okay for him, if the person running the show wasn't deeply troubled and driving the show - his world - straight into the ground. He waged a supernatural robot war just to depower her, which led to the current setting. Unfortunately, he's so senile and traumatized that it takes the whole series for him to remember any of this.

Vera Ronstadt

Voiced by: Sayuri Yamauchi (JP), Carolyn Hennesy (EN)

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.

Abusive Parents: Provided she was telling the truth about being the one who raised Angel. The brief snippets we're allowed to see of her childhood implies that she is. And the scars on her back her scorn towards Vera imply she wasn't always a kind 'mother'.
Beta Test Baddie: It's implied all of the Union are Tomatoes to some extent.
Double Agent: ALL of the Union are these. She leads them. Do the math.
Iron Lady: She's the Union's leader, which makes her Angel's and Alan Gabriel's direct superior and she doesn't tolerate failure or insubordination. When Angel stops reporting her progress on recovering the memories in Paradigm City, Vera takes it upon herself to find out why.
Luke, I Am Your Father: Poor Angel.
Only Known by Their Nickname: In series, she's only referred to as "Agent 12". Her name is brought up twice, however - both the first time Angel meets up with her, and the last time Angel meets up with her. She says 'Vera' so quickly, however, that a first-time viewer might not catch it.

Whip of Dominance: She is the sadistic and ruthless commander of the Union who carries a whip with her, which she effectively uses as a weapon during her confrontation with Angel in episode 25, which ends with her winning and mercilessly whipping Angel while demanding her to submit to her wishes.

Other Characters

Supporting Characters

Big Ear

An information broker with a hearing aid who is a fixture at a certain bar outside the domes. Roger frequently consults Big Ear in the course of his work. As it later turns out, there is more to Big Ear than meets the eye.

R. Instro

An android built by the scientist Amadeus using memories of his deceased son. R. Instro enjoyed playing the piano for Amadeus, and was the main attraction of his father's piano bar. He gives playing lessons to Dorothy, and later takes up work as a church organist.

Minor Antagonists

Bonnie Fraser

The second son of the rich founder of Paradigm City's largest law firm, Bonnie joined the Military Police as his family's legacy conflicted with his strong sense of justice. He later discovers corruption among his superiors, who try to silence him. He survives and discovers the Megadeus Osrail, which he uses to assassinate the corrupt police commanders out of revenge.

Giesing

A scientist who was researching destructive applications for sound waves for Paradigm Corporation. When his funding was cut off, he built the Megadeus Constanze to destroy Paradigm. He also killed his research partner, Amadeus, in order to manipulate the latter's android "son", R. Instro, into piloting Constanze.

Eugene Grant

A so-called "alchemist" with memories of advanced knowledge of genetic engineering. Originally contracted by Paradigm Corporation for a project to revive extinct and near-extinct animal species, Eugene's radical experiments and worsening god complex soon alarmed his employers. Eugene went into hiding with his research team to continue his work with the ultimate aim of using his chimeric creations to take over the city.

Ax-Crazy: Transformed a bunch of innocents and expects to be seen as a great leader for science.
Creepy High-Pitched Voice: Shrill and very menacing.
Dirty Coward: When he’s been cornered, he uses Dorothy as a hostage.
Faux Affably Evil: Speaks in a cheerful manner, but makes his depravity very much apparent.
Hate Sink: A horrible Mad Scientist with a major god complex who murdered his employers because they had enough of his depravity. To say nothing of his kidnapping of an innocent little boy who had nothing to do with his parents’ work.
Karmic Death: Has his torso crushed by one of his victims.
Kick the Dog: Kidnaps and mutated his employers’ son and when they begged Grant to give him back, he refused. If that’s not enough, when the child’s parents try to get him back, he kills them. Grant then proceeds to transform the cat into a chimera.
Knight of Cerebus: Far more depraved than most of the other antagonists.
Mad Scientist: Mutated innocents for his research.
Would Hurt a Child: Kidnaps two of his employers’ child and turns him into a cat, later chimera.

Phantom

Known only as "Phantom", this woman bore an uncanny resemblance to Sybil Rowan, an actress and anti-Paradigm Corporation political activist who died 30 years ago. Phantom was an agent of the Union and carried out a series of bombings across Paradigm City, culminating with the unleashing of the Megadeus Eumenides.

Red Destiny

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (JP), Lia Sargent (EN)

An android of the same design as R. Dorothy Wayneright. Red Destiny is a serial killer who seeks out and kills several people who claim to have memories prior to 40 years ago despite being in their twenties, always leaving the message "Cast in the name of God, Ye not guilty" written at the crime scene.

Ax-Crazy: Unlike The Stoic Dorothy, Red Destiny has a psychotic personality, very uncharacteristic for androids.
Calling Card: She writes "Cast in the name of God, Ye not guilty" in red lipstick at the scene of each of her murders. This is one of the reasons Dastun considers Roger as a possible suspect.
Evil Twin: Of Dorothy, being the same make and model, while Dorothy is a domestic maid and assistant Android to Roger Smith, Red Destiny is a ruthless assassin.
Hero Killer: Averted, but she very nearly kills Roger when chasing him in the abandoned subways, but is destroyed when Big O appears and crushes her into the ceiling.
Just Following Orders: R.D. invokes this when explaining why she's not Three Laws-Compliant:
Roger: I thought androids weren't supposed to be capable of harming humans. Are you different?
R.D.: I am doing as commanded. From the instant I came into being, those orders have rung in my ears. So I followed them. It was as natural a thing to do as opening an umbrella in the rain.
Roger: "R" stands for "Red". What's the "D"?
R.D.: That's what being commanded means.
Roger: Death? Devil? Dark?
Red Destiny: Destiny.
Little Red Fighting Hood: The assassin's main visible distinguishing features are a concealing red hood, a picnic basket, and a Hand Cannon she uses eagerly while hunting Roger down.
Small Role, Big Impact: The investigation of Red Destiny plays a role in awakening Roger's own capital-M Memories, and sets the stage for the story arcs that drive the second season.

Mecha and Monsters

Big O

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_n8o3b8f3dl1sn2hgoo1_500.jpg

The titular mecha. A black Megadeus piloted by Roger Smith, which is possibly sentient.

Answers to the Name of God: As with the other Megadei, as detailed below in the general entry.
Boxing Battler: Roger Smith's primary tactic when using the Big O is to have it put up its arms in a typical boxing stance so the robot's arm guards can withstand some blows from whatever enemy it's facing until Roger Smith hits upon a winning strategy - typically involving haymakers and jabs from the Big O. Despite the simplicity of this approach, this simple strategy tends to also be the Big O's most consistent means of victory short of its harpoons.
Catchphrase: The words that appear on the monitor: "Cast In The Name of God: Ye Not Guilty".
Close-Range Combatant: The Big O has ranged capabilities, but they're woefully lacking overall. The lasers it fires from its eyes rarely manage to accomplish anything, and its gatling-gun hands and missiles only ever seem to work at incredibly close range. About the only reliable ranged option the Big O has are its harpoons, which it ostensibly uses to pull enemies into punching distance anyway. Roger Smith seems to have cottoned onto this throughout the course of the series, as his immediate answer to a trio of Megadei coming at him from all sides during the season 2 pilot is to immediately resort to his harpoons once he's knocked them away.
Enhanced Punch: Has this in the form of it's Pile-driver weaponry.
Gatling Good: One of the Big O's favorite finishers - second only to its pile-bunker punches - is to open up one of its arms and reveal a cavity filled with gatling guns it fires on a downed or stunned opponent until the opponent stops moving. Sometimes, the purple 'ring' of smoke formed from the gun will then converge on the target and explode.
Land, Sea, Sky: The Big O, Big Fau, and Big Duo form such a trio among the Megadei, being the three primary models. Each are made to demonstrate supremacy in their ideal environment. For the Big O, this exists in the form of its easy ability to get anywhere in Paradigm city - and even some locations outside it - in a matter of minutes using underground pathways. Its massive weight, impregnable defenses, and unrelenting melee might make it an unmatched force on land, but also put it at a disadvantage in aquatic combat and against aerial opponents.
Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Are its odd actions across the series proof of sentience or just the machine doing as programmed? We never get a clear answer.
Mighty Glacier: The Big O lacks the terrain advantages its sibling units have, being utterly incapable of aerial or aquatic combat, and while its top speed is fairly impressive, its acceleration is atrocious, meaning it can't keep up with speedier, acrobatic mechs like Glinda or the Archetype. Despite this, it typically manages to overcome its opponent in any given fight largely due to is sheer resilience. Of all the Megadei and monsters in the series, it can take the most prolonged pounding and keep working. Its arm guards could be argued to be its defining feature as a mecha, due entirely to the fact the only force that's managed to overcome them while the Big O was defending was Glinda's blade. When the Big O manages to close the distance and retaliate against an opponent, it also displays overwhelming offensive might, frequently ending fights with a single massive punch capable of crumpling anything in its path.
Only the Chosen May Ride: The Big O is unique in that it actually allows for a rider other than Roger Smith, its Dominus. When necessary, it can acquiesce to control from Dorothy, though how or why is never fully explained and Dorothy herself doesn't exhibit much skill piloting it. It's implied Big O's care for Dorothy as a potential Dominus is what causes the Big O to force Roger to stop his fight with the Foreign Megadeus and rush off to save Dorothy.
Primary-Color Champion: Though mostly black, the Big O has eye-catching red highlights here and there. The control room, located in its neck cavity, is also perpetually red.

Other Megadei

Megadeus is the name given to the robots in the series “The Big O”. Not much is known about how they are created, why they are created, or even what their original purpose is. The name “Megadeus” is primarily used when referencing the three main Megadei a.k.a. "Bigs" (Big O, Big Duo, Big Fau). Those who are able to successfully pilot the Megadei are typically considered to be a “Dominus”.

Answers to the Name of God: Beyond 'Megadeus' translating directly to 'Mega God,' as with the Big O, it's shown that Big-series Megadei all announce their presence to the people riding them with "Cast In The Name of God," followed by a verdict. As this is what judges whether or not a Dominus can ride them, they're effectively telling their pilot that they are a god and that particular god is letting them take control.
Awesome, but Impractical: A large factor in several of their defeats is that they tend to have one incredibly effective power but almost nothing else to fall back on unless they are a Big-series Megadues. While definitely threatening to various degrees (Glinda was the only Megadeus with the raw power to actually cause meaningful damage to a defending Big O, the Leviathan could reduce anything it touched to nothing, the Archetype had amazing dodging capabilities via mighty leaps, and so on), the Big O's Boring, but Practical status as a Mighty Glacier that could weather their blows and knock them back with comparatively utilitarian missiles, punches, and lasers (with the occasionally showy harpoon) meant that once Roger found a solution to their one, often rather narrow, overpowering advantage, they'd fold like paper.
Gratuitous Latin: Their heavy focus on biblical motifs extends to the terminology they use. Translated from Latin, a 'Megadeus' is a 'Mega God,' and a 'Dominus' is a 'Master.'
Only the Chosen May Ride: Big-series Megadei only allow their chosen Dominus to ride them. Otherwise, they're liable to go out of control, refuse to act at all, or even kill their rider if sufficiently angered by their rider's actions. This is the basis of the title Dominus, as the Dominuses are those chosen to ride Megadei. Certain control systems can override this feature, but nothing is really perfect unless the actual Dominus is riding; Rosewater constantly deals with delays regarding his ability to ride Big Fau because it takes so long for a control system to actually properly control it, leading him into an embarassing defeat against Big O in their initial confrontation, and Alan Gabriel is eaten alive by Big Duo's inner workings once Big Duo has enough of him and the ghost of Schwarzwald arrives to act as its voice and render proper judgment.
Super Prototype: Justified. While there are people capable of creating new type of Megadeus, due to the fact a majority of the population having amnesia, most lack the knowledge on how the original ones were created, let alone all the function. Hence why some newer models, like Beck the Great RX3, are usually weaker than the models that existed 40 years ago. Typically more progress is made by a character retrofitting a new device that improves an old Megadeus a certain way - seen with the improvements with Big Duo when it became Big Duo Inferno (it was fitted with drill hands so it had a better role when forced into grounded combat) and the control device Rosewater uses to force Big Fau to work with him.
Tragic Monster: Most of the rampaging Megadei only do so because they've been woken up through various means and are trying to find a Dominus that isn't around anymore. Roger can only pity Glinda as it's being used to fight when it should just be inactive, and Dorothy refers to the Leviathan as a ghost from the distant past.

Dorothy-1

Seen in “Roger the Negotiator” and "Dorothy Dorothy”.

Combat Tentacles: Dorothy-1's main offensive weapons are its cablelike arm extensions. While the tips of the arm extensions have functions of their own, the extensions themselves can be used to wrap opponents up, leaving them vulnerable for further attacks.
Living Battery: Run on this in its second appearance, kind of. It's younger sister, Dorothy Wayneright being used as a power regulator circuit.
This Is a Drill: Dorothy-1 can transform its arm extensions into spinning drills

The Archetype

Animal Motifs: Gorillas. It's the most human-like of all Megadei, it spends half of its fight hunched over on its knuckles, it makes clever use of Handy Feet, it's fairly clever and makes use of actual tactics in its fight with the Big O, and it hops around frequently.
Handy Feet: Its feet can actually clutch effectively at objects. During its fight with the Big O, it manages to pull the Big O down to the earth with it after the latter tosses it by grabbing the Big O's outstretched arm with a foot.
In a Single Bound: Its standout quality is that it's so lightweight (comparatively) that it can hop around like a monkey, which gives the Big O a ton of trouble. Once it's cornered, however, it's brought down relatively fast.
It Can Think: Though subtle, its one of the first Megadei to exhibit this quality. It learns throughout its battle with the Big O so that each of the Big O's significant attacks against it only works once,^{For example} and is ultimately defeated when Roger makes use of the Big O's missile launchers to catch it off guard when it predictably goes for another grapple, surprising it with a weapon it hadn't seen up until that moment in the fight.
It Only Works Once: The major difficulty Roger has fighting it is that it quickly adapts to what Roger uses against it in the Big O, and starts to dodge attacks once it recognizes just how hard the Big O can hit it. Roger's victory comes when he takes this trope to its logical conclusion and utilizes an entirely different weapon system from the Big O's punches and grabs, catching it off guard and cornering it with the Big O's chest-mounted rockets... while the Archetype is kneeling over the Big O's chest.
Uncanny Valley: The Archetype is a lot more ''fluid' in its movements than other Megadei and ends up coming off as unnerving because of this. It cricks its neck, its arms wave about like a human's would when standing up or moving, and its face is less stylized. Everything about it makes it seem like a giant-robot-sized human.
Weak, but Skilled: Its hopping ability makes it the most acrobatic and dodgiest of the Megadei, which gives Roger significant trouble until he manages to turn its attempts to grapple the Big O against it by having missiles in the Big O's chest cavity prepared to buck it off and blow it up. The first half of the fight with the Archetype, however, is the Big O continually throwing it around and sucker punching it repeatedly into the ground. The Archetype's boneheaded attempts to engage the Big O in grapples just highlights the massive strength advantage the Big O has over the enemy Megadeus, as the Big O can lift it with ease. Once it comes up with a clever strategy, it's more of a threat, but it simply can't contend with the ordinance the Big O has.

Osrail

Seen in “Bring Back My Ghost”.

Constanze

Seen in “A Legacy of Amadeus”.

Dagon

Seen in “The Call from the Past”.

Beck Victory Deluxe

Seen in “Beck Comes Back”.

Eumenides

Seen in "Winter Night Phantoms".

Big Duo/Big Duo Inferno

First seen in "Enemy Is Another Big". First appearance as Big Duo Inferno in "The Big Fight"

Determinator: Despite the massive pounding the Big O gives it during their second fight, the Megadeus manages to surprise everyone by its sheer willpower, managing to crawl out of the crater it was left in before finally succumbing to the damage dealt to it. This leaves Schwarzwald terrified given the implications regarding its willpower.
Fragile Speedster: For a given quality of 'speedster,' the Big Duo is nonetheless the most maneuverable and quickest of the Megadei. Its flight capabilities afford it a massive advantage, since most other Megadei don't have the proper armaments to ground it and it can get over terrain and dodge incoming attacks with ease. However, once grounded, it runs into a lot of issues regarding its overall power and sturdiness. Even with both hands being used as drills, Big Duo Inferno ends up being no match for the Big O in a straightforward dust-up, and Alan only manages to gain the upper hand over Roger Smith by playing dead and getting a cheap shot in, and it crumples about as easily as the Archetype when the Big O can get a solid hit in.
Giant Flyer: Played realistically. Its flight advantage gives it a massive tactical benefit over most other Megadei and mechs, and the ability to mostly ignore terrain means it's naturally one of the speediest robots around (only Glinda and the Archetype are shown to be faster, both at even greater costs to their resilience) but its not exactly a graceful fighter jet; the sheer size of Big Duo means it comes out looking like a bomber while in flight, and it has to make extremely wide, ponderous turns. It's fast comparatively but is still a massive hunk of steel.
Glass Cannon: The Big Duo has seriously impressive firepower, with air-to-surface missiles that can decimate a city block easily. Though not on a level with the Big O in terms of sheer strength normally, the Big Duo can overpower the Big O in a struggle if it has proper momentum backing it by coming down from a flight, first. However, it has nowhere near the destructive potential the Big O has if kept in close quarters, and likely because of its ability to fly has armor that is implied to be lighter and more easily torn through than its contemporaries.
Hoist by His Own Petard: How it's beaten in the second fight with the Big O; despite all odds, the Big O manages to gain a height advantage over the Big Duo by using the massive dome they're fighting in as an anchor point for one of its harpoons. By the time Schwarzwald realizes what's going down, the sheer time it takes for Big Duo to achieve lift-off again means it can't dodge in time before the Big O just leverages its brobdingnagian weight and gravity against the Big Duo, crushing the earth the Big Duo is standing on with its fall and leaving Big Duo helpless as the Big O simply pounds it into submission. Roger even notes this trope during his beatdown of Schwarzwald.
It Can Think: Though Roger attests to the fact that 'a Megadeus chooses its Dominus,' the Big Duo's final act during episode 12, vainly attempting to get back up again after crawling out of a crater even without Schwarzwald inside to pilot it is one of the first big moments in the show where the characters have to start asking questions regarding just how sentient the Megadei are. This leaves everyone uncomfortably shocked and forms the basis of a lot of Roger's inner turmoil in season 2.
Land, Sea, Sky: The Big O, Big Fau, and Big Duo form such a trio among the Megadei, being the three primary models. Each are made to demonstrate supremacy in their ideal environment. For the Big Duo, this exists in the form of its flying capability, which allows greater dodging abilities then either Big O or Big Fau with both its flight capabilities as well as its ability to create smoke screens. As a consequence, however, it has less armaments than the rest of its contemporaries, and shows itself to be the least resilient of the three.
Token Flyer: Though there are other mechs and Megadei capable of impressive vertical leaps and aerial acrobatics, Big Duo is the only mech on the show capable of sustained flight, taking the form of a bomber aircraft when it takes to the sky. This is also by far its greatest advantage, as it otherwise struggles on the ground against other opponents.

Carnot, Fouche, Robespierre, & Bonaparte

Glinda

Leviathan

Glass Cannon: Probably the most extreme example in the series. It's beaten in two hits, neither of them particularly powerful given the normal amount of force the Big O puts out.^{To extrapolate...} Most of the drama regarding the fight with it comes about as a result of Roger trying to make sure its falling corpse doesn't touch the Big O with its claws. This is because these claws can reduce anything to sand or slag. It's effectively the anime equivalent of Rocket-Tag Gameplay - either it defeats its foe in a single hit, or its foe beats it into the ground.
Hoist by His Own Petard: Its own power ends up reducing it to slag as Roger counters its attempt to fall on the Big O, resulting in one of its claws being maneuvered back over to itself.
Make Them Rot: Its special power. Anything it touches with its claws active quickly decomposes into sand or sludge to a certain point.
Required Secondary Powers: Averted to realistic results. Anything the Leviathan touches, it reduces to nothing, sand, or sludge, literally creating sinkholes where it fights; it's even located in a desert that's implied to have once been some carnival grounds, with sand and some rides the only objects left. It has no defense against this ability when it's on, however, and is ultimately beaten during its attempt at a suicide strike on the Big O when Roger carefully maneuvers its claws so that one of them touches the Leviathan's base.
Rule of Symbolism: It's no mere coincidence that the Leviathan ends up being the final original Megadeus utilized, at least in spirit, by Schwarzwald. Its power to delete matter ties back in to Schwarzwald's speech regarding how Paradigm City needs to wake up and no longer fear the knowledge around it; given the whole city and the world around it is one massive simulation, Leviathan's power actively strips away the veneer the simulation is trying to present to the world, even if it doesn't accomplish its goal. The biblical Leviathan was also a monster killed by God to feed the wilderness; as all Bigs answer to the will of God to judge their respective Dominus, Big O plays the part of God in the scenario where it fights the creature. To really drive the point home, it's ultimately stopped by the Big O right before it can reach a church of people singing hopeful hymns.

Beck the Great RX3

Big Fau

Adaptational Badass: It’s manga counterpart shows a lot more variance in weaponry, from launching torpedoes from its conning tower helmet, depth charges from its “kilt,” and creating whirlpools and tsunamis with its wrist propellers.
Armored But Frail: Relatively speaking, Big Fau strikes a balance between Big Duo and Big O in terms of durability; it isn't inherently much more resilient than Big Duo, but has a nearly impregnable shield it can emit to defend itself. However, without this shield, it's no match for the Big O in a traditional brawl, as it has nowhere near the actual resilience or strength the Big O has. Its ranged capabilities allow it to leverage its advantages well, but it can't handle anything that can close the distance and break through its first defense.
Land, Sea, Sky: The Big O, Big Fau, and Big Duo form such a trio among the Megadei, being the three primary models. Each are made to demonstrate supremacy in their ideal environment. The Big Fau is an aquatic mech, as it is the only model of Megadei that has any method of locomotion underwater at all that doesn't revolve around it stomping around the seabed. This gives it an easy place to escape or bring a fight to when combating other opponents. Unlike the Big Duo, it's sturdy and strong enough to be a capable combatant on the land when faced with other terrestrial machines, though the Big O notably still has the advantage given its tunneling system.
Long-Range Fighter: All its major weapons heavily emphasize the Big Fau keeping at a distance and zoning foes by using overwhelming laser barrages and powerful rocket punches to prevent opponents from ever closing the distance. Its shield and underwater mobility also aid the Big Fau in this regard.

Behemoth

Big Venus

Monsters

Eel/Hydra Eel

Chimera

The Dog Bites Back: Kills Eugene Grant, (the one who twisted them into this form).
Tragic Monster: Eugene shows Dorothy his experiments of human and animal genetic manipulation, revealing that Pero used to be a human child named Roy belonging to the family that he had just murdered and used Pero as the base of this monster. It no wonder it chose to ends it's own life...

Characters / The Big O

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