Anime Big O (and season II)

[JC Goodwin]

I saw Big O for the first time last night on toonami and i was a bit unsure about it but in the end i thought it was great.What was the name of the main character? I thought the animation was great and the BIg O looked better than any other mobile suit i ever seen ( Including Gundams ). Anyway i cant wait for the next epidsode 2nite :D

[James P. Galvatron]

Big O is a good show its been came to the U.S. down here in the South that song is great Big O Big O Big O Big O dadadadadd Big O Big O if you love a repetitive them song I already saw the first season I heard season 2 was good I have only watched a few episodes and I must know where Dagger gets his information its very good and suprising. I have to get back to watching AS haven't watch it in a while since they have mostly been showing reruns and new episodes won't air till April when they get Miguzi and replace Toonami and Toonami goes to Saturdays and Thursdays become action night and Sundays become Comedy with or American cartoons how funny they are.

[Dagger]

o_O .... Watch those run-on sentences, Inuyasha7271. They make your post rather difficult to read. Commas and periods are a godsend--please try to use them accordingly. As a full-fledged member, you should know that OtakuBoards values coherency.

Anyway, since you seem to be curious, I get most of my information from watching the series. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I own the first thirteen episodes of Big O. I've seen them several times, both on TV and DVD, but I only watched the second season when it originally became a part of Adult Swim's Sunday line-up. Once Bandai releases a Season II box set, I'll be the first in line to buy it. ^_~

James Goodwin: The main character's name is Roger Smith. I agree with pretty much everything you said; Big O has some impressive animation, especially considering that Season I was produced back in 1998.

Does anyone else notice some [i]slight[/i] artistic similarities between Witch Hunter Robin and Big O? Their character designs are obviously rather different, but both have a muted palette and realistic look, without the shiny highlights seen in numerous other anime. Both are serious, mature shows made by the studio Bandai, which may be part of the reason that I like to compare them.

~Dagger~

[yogi bear]

When I saw the much anticipated ending for Big o I was very disappointed do'nt get me wong I love big black Megadueses as much as the next guy but the ending was so confusing it gave me so many questions like [spoiler]what was above Paradigm City? way did It all get erased during the fight with Big O and Big Duo? and exactly why did Angel become an new Megadues named Big Venus? but the most confusing part was at the very end of the episode it ended like the series started with so many cliffhangers[/spoiler] could there be another Big O in the works, or just a ripe tomato gone bad? :(

[COLOR=#503F86][SIZE=1][b]I merged your thread with the other Big O thread and added 'spoiler' tags, heh.

Try and work on your post quality, please. Paragraphing, punctuation and spelling goes a long way -Solo[/COLOR][/SIZE][/b]

[Dagger]

[quote name='yogi bear][spoiler]what was above Paradigm City? way did It all get erased during the fight with Big O and Big Duo? and exactly why did Angel become an new Megadues named Big Venus? but the most confusing part was at the very end of the episode it ended like the series started with so many cliffhangers[/spoiler'] could there be another Big O in the works, or just a ripe tomato gone bad? :([/quote]

I'd appreciate it greatly if you rephrased your first question. You're going to have to be more specific, because I can't tell exactly what's confusing you. [spoiler]Are you referring to the sequence during Roger's final flashback (in which an armada of Big Duos flies over Paradigm City)?[/spoiler]

Anyway, the entire [i]point[/i] of Big O is that [spoiler]everything comes full circle in the end. Angel doesn't destroy the world; she re-writes it, and so we return to episode 1. Yet there are subtle changes... most importantly, both Angel and Dorothy seem slightly different. Although the visuals consist mainly of footage from the first episode, the sound effects which accompany them have changed noticeably.[/spoiler]

Big O's religious symbolism reaches a fever pitch in "The Show Must Go On." [spoiler]Angel is, as her name suggests, a fallen angel. "A bird whose wings have been plucked will shed all its feathers and turn into the beast it was before it evolved into a bird. Just look at the scars on Angel's back. Does "B666" ring any bells? In the book of Revelations, the number 666 is described as being the mark of the beast.

Angel is both a Lucifer figure and the metaphorical director. Big Venus could be thought of as her true form.... it endows her with the power to recreate reality.

As its ending unfolds, Big O's frequent references to theatrical terminology finally start making sense. Earlier, they had some emotional relevance (i.e. Roger feeling that he can't control his destiny), but now it becomes clear that all the world is indeed a stage--or perhaps the words written in a constantly changing book... Metropolis, with its many authors.[/spoiler]

Episode 26 has no cliffhangers. Presumably everything will [spoiler]continue just as it did at the show's beginning, albeit with minor changes. Think of it as switching over to an alternate reality. Roger's last negotiation was successful; he convinced Angel to give Paradigm City a second chance.[/spoiler]

I've heard that there might be a third season, but I personally wouldn't want one. Big O's ending is simply so brilliant that I can't imagine any additional episodes being able to equal or top it.

~Dagger~

[Darktigerpack17]

Could you consider Big O as a anime? The title screen intro shows it in Japanese bit the artwork is so similar to Batman its pathetic. The storyline has the complexity of a authentic anime, but I'm not completely convinced. :smirk:

[Solo Tremaine]

[quote name='Darktigerpack17']Could you consider Big O as a anime? The title screen intro shows it in Japanese bit the artwork is so similar to Batman its pathetic.[/quote][color=#503f86]I'd hardly call it pathetic- it's called variety. It's not as if all US animations look the same. They have similar generic qualities, but something like Justice League is very different to Static Shock or Ozzy and Drix.

Similarly, Neon Genesis Evangelion is incredibly different to Shin Chan. You can't even compare the two, they're so different. If they all looked the same they'd just get boring. And besides, there are bits of Big O that have far more detail than a lot of the Batman episodes I've seen. When Roger's driving the car, for instance- the reflections on that are more akin to Outlaw Star than Batman.

I still consider it anime, but I won't go into the many reasons why. It's all convoluted, and most of it's covered in the 'Can you really call it anime when...' thread.

I love the Big O soundtrack, by the way. It's one of the few ones where I don't skip any tracks (besides the opening theme... it annoys me pretty quickly, heh). Lovely stuff.[/color]

[Dagger]

[quote name='Darktigerpack17']Could you consider Big O as a anime? The title screen intro shows it in Japanese bit the artwork is so similar to Batman its pathetic. The storyline has the complexity of a authentic anime, but I'm not completely convinced. :smirk:[/quote]

Not all anime have complex plots [i]or[/i] stereotypical artwork. Very few anime, in fact, are blessed with an interesting and well-written storyline. I suppose the answer to your question ultimately depends on one's personal definition of anime, but judging animation by its artwork alone is superficial at best--doing so means that you may miss out on quite a few shows which were made in Japan but don't look "Japanese."

Anyway, does it really matter? Would you actually think less of Big O if it had been, say, directed by an American?

~Dagger~

[EVA Unit 100]

Which was better?

I definately would say The Big O I because of it's cool film noir art, fun detective storylines, and decent pacing. The Big O II had a few good episodes as well as a bit of character development on the secondary characters, but the direction got completely lost in unsensible pacing (SEED suffered this, but it actually fixed it up) and faux-depth (one of EVA's problems, but EVA actually had good direction and some real depth behind the semi-gimmicky symbolism). I over II all the way.

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=EVA Unit 100]Which was better?

I definately would say The Big O I because of it's cool film noir art, fun detective storylines, and decent pacing. The Big O II had a few good episodes as well as a bit of character development on the secondary characters, but the direction got completely lost in unsensible pacing (SEED suffered this, but it actually fixed it up) and faux-depth (one of EVA's problems, but EVA actually had good direction and some real depth behind the semi-gimmicky symbolism). I over II all the way.[/QUOTE]

Although I thought season I was a fun romp (mostly thanks to the inimitable R. Dorothy), I personally prefer season II. I didn't think the symbolism was gimmicky; on the contrary, it both surprised me and struck me as being very valid, since it drew heavily on elements introduced at the very beginning of season I. For example, the [spoiler]stage-related[/spoiler] metaphors relate right back to Roger's initally corny catch-phrase and lend it whole new shades of meaning. Moreover, even the parts about [spoiler]original sin and Christian mythology[/spoiler] aren't just whisked out of thin air; the basis for that imagery is laid during the first thirteen episodes. [i]Everything[/i] obstensibly ordinary and simple gains significance in season II, even Angel's name.

I feel that Big O II uses repetitive symbolism almost as intelligently and effectively as Revolutionary Girl Utena, which I consider to be an even greater accomplishment than Evangelion. Most importantly, the anime never gets mired in metaphor--even when outside events turn completely abstract, the characters themselves continue to seem real and human.

~Dagger~