Roger Smith is the series
protagonist and the for Paradigm City, also known as the "City of Amnesia." Roger's job is to resolve Paradigm City's troubles, but his personal feelings about Paradigm Corporation cause him to accept only jobs that interest him or that involve a threat to Paradigm City. When memories betray the people and force them to reawaken monsters from the city's past, Roger's only option is to fight back with a monster of his own, the black
megadeus Big O. The Roger Smith character, originally envisioned as a
private eye, shows similarities to
Batman,
James Bond, and Daisaku Kusama from
Giant Robo. ;Creation and Characterization In 1996, Keichii Sato and
Kazuyoshi Katayama began work on what would become
The Big O. Looking to create something distinguishable from the
Gundam franchise, they looked to old
super robot series and American TV shows for inspiration. Sato's original concept was a giant city-smashing robot piloted by a man in black, Roger Smith. Inspired by detective shows like
Oretachi wa Tenshi da! (
We Are Angels!) and
Tantei Monogatari (
Detective Story), Roger was to be a
private eye. However, the creators thought this to be too ordinary and turned him into a Negotiator. With a negotiator, it would be "made sure the negotiations never work out... so, it's guaranteed the robot always trashes the place!" However, as the series progresses, most of his cases either require an investigation before actual negotiations can proceed or they coincide with a police investigation. Thus, he ends up doing more detective work than negotiating. Unique among robot shows, the protagonist is not a young boy but a "cool adult". Sato's reasoning behind the decision is he wanted to give young viewers someone to look up to and older viewers someone to identify with. In terms of personality, he starts off the series as a very arrogant, witty, sarcastic, and seemingly unconcerned individual to the point of being almost snide. In situations involving his work, however, he is professional to the extreme, masking any hint of potentially emotional behavior. He values logic and hates to feel out of control of either his emotions or whatever situation he is in. Thus, during negotiations, he maintains a calm, collected, and pleasant attitude. As the series progresses, however, many of these traits are ironed out of his character, and he begins to exhibit a much more compassionate and open-minded attitude, learning how to cope with emotional issues and people instead of ignoring them. Some interesting incongruities pop up about his character as the story progresses. It is implied by Gordon Rosewater that Roger was alive before the Event and was not one of Gordon's genetically created children. Both he and Gordon refer to Roger as having "lost memories" even though he appears to be in his mid-twenties. Gordon specifically mentions a contract that he made with Roger prior to the Event. His flashbacks and hallucinations during the series would seem to indicate that he was a member of the military before the Event occurred, apparently holding the rank of major, and was Big O's pilot even then. These flashbacks also seem to support Gordon's position that Roger was indeed alive prior to the Event, and a photograph taken of Roger and a younger Gordon also seems to lend credence to the theory. ;Roger's Rules The Negotiator is portrayed as very methodical and strict. He has a number of rules and policies that dictate all aspects of his everyday life, from how people must behave in his house to the way he performs his job: :* "I have a special house rule that only lovely young women can unconditionally enter this mansion." (Act:01) :* "If you stay [in my house], then you wear black." (Act:02) :* "It's not my style to carry a gun." (Act:03) :* "I value women and the elderly. It's one of my policies." (Act:05) :* "If someone lacks courtesy and sincerity, I ask them to leave." (Act:05) :* "The most important rule of all is under no circumstances must anyone touch my desk!" (Act:08) :* "The basic rule of negotiating is to consider and respect the other person's feelings." (Act:08) :* "If you want to live a happy life in this city, leave memories alone when they pop up. That's Roger Smith's Rule No. 1." (Act:11) :* "You have to use your pent-up energy to fight through the harshness of reality. That's Roger Smith's Rule No. 2." (Act:11) :* "A Negotiator only uses force as a last resort." (Act:18) :* "Something else that goes against my policies--using violence against women." (Act:25) ;Tools of the trade Roger considers
side arms unbecoming a gentleman, (though he has used them as tools, rather than weapons, on occasion) so he avails himself of a number of gadgets to aid his job. Inspirations for the equipment include characters such as
Batman,
James Bond and
Dick Tracy; and shows like
Thunderbirds,
Giant Robo, and
The Avengers. Roger's vehicle of choice is the , a black luxury sedan comparable to the
Batmobile and James Bond's
Aston Martin. The car comes equipped with armor for the wheels and windows, missile launchers, a communications station,
Browning machine guns behind the front indicators,
smart glass camouflage, and a
police scanner. The Negotiator's second most important
weapon is his
wristwatch, the tool for summoning the Big O. By calling the megadeus' name into the watch, Roger informs the giant it is "Showtime!" and it comes to its master's side. The watch also works as a remote control to the Griffon and includes a grappling cable, a
laser cutter and a two-way communicator. Roger's greatest weapon is the megadeus Big O. A metal behemoth that, unlike the giants of other robot anime, does not exhibit speed nor grace. But what it lacks in agility, it more than makes up for in power and sheer tenacity: The Big O is equipped with armed missiles, pile-driver powered punches, machine guns and laser cannons. Big O is transported around Paradigm City and out into the country via underground railway tunnels aboard the massive, quad-engine carrier train called the
Prairie Dog, which has a telescoping chute that can deploy and recover Big O on the surface. It apparently operates via remote, as Roger's butler Norman deploys it to different parts of the city from the mansion when his master has need of it. When not in use, it rests in an underground railway junction beneath Roger's mansion. In the manga, it is revealed that this transport also carries interchangeable arms for Big O that can be exchanged easily, something that is not shown in the anime. In addition to these tools, Roger has exhibited extraordinary physical conditioning throughout the series, and has been shown many times to be much more physically capable than most humans. Of particular note is his strength; he has been able to carry Dorothy on several occasions, once even holding her while jumping down around 15 feet, while it has been shown that any other character in the series who has attempted to so much as move her can hardly even budge her. Also, during his brief hand-to-hand fight with Alan Gabriel (who has been shown to have superhuman capabilities), he was able to not only hold his own, but floor the cyborg during their initial exchange. This level of physical ability is never explained, but the final episode of the show suggests, in one of several flashbacks that are themselves never explained, that Roger is himself an android not unlike Dorothy, designed for the purpose of piloting Big O.
R. Dorothy Wayneright is Roger's
personal assistant. Introduced in Act:01 as Dorothy Soldano, the kidnapped daughter of rich scientist Miguel Soldano, she is later revealed to be an
android constructed by him. Her actual "father" would be Timothy Wayneright, the man who commissioned her construction and father of the
real and presumably deceased Dorothy Wayneright. Roger rescues R. Dorothy, and to show her gratitude, and as a form of payment for Roger's help, she decides to move in with him and help out Norman with the chores. In occasional episodes, Dorothy accompanies Roger in his work as a negotiator. Dorothy stands just under 5 feet (150 cm) tall, has red hair, chalk-white skin and much more body weight than her slender appearance reveals (about 130 kg or approximately 287 lbs.). Her dress is a size three and forehead houses an illuminated CD ROM drive, which is loaded from a drawer made to resemble a hair ribbon. While capable of normal human facial expression, in film-noir tradition she typically maintains a pouty contour and a mildly sarcastic personality, described by Angel as being "perpetually foul-tempered". Her dry wit is best reflected by her catchphrase "You're a louse, Roger Smith," her teasing response to Roger's sometimes unreasonable demands. She and Roger maintain playful retorts throughout the series, with Dorothy often going out of her way to irritate Roger or otherwise rattle his cage. Regardless, she has shown hints of romantic feelings towards Smith. Offsetting her straightforward attitude is her general likability; she gets along rather well with virtually everyone, even those with whom she harbors suspicion. From her conversation and behavior, it is evident that Dorothy has the capacity for human emotions. She has shown genuine fear on a number of occasions and reveals jealousy toward Angel's relationship with Roger and satisfaction from its failure to become romantic. An annoying habit (at least to Roger) is that she plays the piano loudly when he oversleeps, mostly due to his late nights on the job. Dorothy is quite durable and much stronger than any human, able to punch down a brick wall with one blow or leap several dozen feet into the air. She has amazing balance, as seen during her moments of contemplation while standing precariously on the edge of Roger's balcony. R. Dorothy can run or bicycle at superhuman speed and does not require oxygen to operate. She shows superhuman coordination, performing effortless gymnastics and is able to steer a car with her foot while standing on the hood. That she takes regular meals with Roger indicates she can consume food and beverages, although she admits in episode 11 "Daemon Seed" not being able to taste. As she is fully mechanical, it is unknown if eating contributes to her operation. Dorothy also seems to have an unexplained connection to Big O itself. In eps. 20 and 21, when Dorothy is nearly destroyed by Alan Gabriel, Big O apparently senses this and shuts down in order to facilitate her rescue by Roger. In the final Act, she activates Big O's Final Stage weapon by plugging herself directly into the megadeus. She shows self-awareness and capacity for learning; throughout the series she exhibits talents at performance singing and virtuoso piano. It's suggested that the show's closing song "And forever" is R. Dorothy performing with a male vocalist, who may or may not be Roger. (In episode 8 "The Missing Cat" she can be heard humming it.) ;Creation and Characterization The character of R. Dorothy Wayneright is a creation of the series head writer,
Chiaki J. Konaka. Until Konaka's involvement with the project in 1999, R. Dorothy was only known as "the android girl who lives with Roger." Her design was considerably changed, and the characterization followed suit. Series creators Keiichi Sato and Kazuyoshi Katayama call her "edgy" but "loveable", and the "R" initial is for "Robot", a naming convention used by
Isaac Asimov in his works. Her name may also be a reference to
Dorothy Wainwright, a character from the 1980s British sitcom
Yes, Prime Minister, of which Konaka is a fan.
Norman Burg is Roger's
butler. Forty years ago he, along with all of Paradigm, lost all memories, but he wouldn't think twice before going once more unto the breach for his master. Resourceful and talented, he is also
caretaker of the Big O robot. Aside from duties befitting a butler of a house, Norman is also a fine chef who makes it a point to keep hot food available for Roger no matter what time his employer's arrival home. Norman is older than Roger and has apparently lost an eye, which he keeps covered with a patch. The butler is a fatherly influence for both Smith and Dorothy, and the first defense of the Smith mansion, capable of using a number of firearms in case of attack, ranging from small handguns to high caliber machine guns. In the opening credits of the show, he's shown effectively handling a chain gun. Norman also displays a tendency to get involved in the relationship between Roger and Dorothy, "pushing" the two together for sake of the emotional good each does the other. Where Roger drives his limo, Dorothy makes use of a bicycle occasionally, Norman's form of transportation is a motorcycle outfitted with a sidecar, ridden while the butler comically wears a "
stormtrooper" (
Stahlheim) style helmet. Norman is grateful to Roger Smith for providing him a purpose and in return, Roger considers Norman his most trusted and infallible aide de camp. Dastun himself gets a burst of memory in "
Winter Night Phantom", of a movie he saw as a child. In the movie, a police officer is arguing with a woman holding a balloon on a dock, ending with him shooting her. Her dying words are "Vous-êtes si gentil" ("You are so kind"). In the present, Dastun began seeing a woman that looked exactly like the actress from the movie, Sybil Rowan, but not aged a day, roaming Paradigm City setting off explosions as a means of political assassination. This culminated in Dastun shooting her on a pier while she was holding a balloon, living out the scene from the movie. Towards the end of season 2, Dastun sees two children entering a theater to see the movie, the poster of which bills him as appearing, and when he follows to investigate, he finds they are child versions of himself and Sybil Rowan. Dastun's pride as a member of the military police puts him somewhat at odds with Roger after he resigns from the force, and he expresses an extreme amount of irritation every time Big O appears. At first this irritation is passed off as disliking the vigilante nature of the megadeus. However, as the series progresses, he reveals to Roger that his irritation stems from the fact that the military police do not have the ability to protect the city adequately due to frequent megadeus attacks. This requires Big O to step in fairly often to counter these attacks, which Dastun feels robs the military police of purpose. However, he comes to accept this during season two. He is also one of the few characters who know of Roger's affiliation with Big O, and the only such character within the police department. He was revealed to have obtained this knowledge at some point before season two but is only seen directly discussing it with Roger once.
Angel is the beautiful woman Roger encounters throughout the series. Introduced in Act:03 as Cassey Jenkins (according to the business card she gave to Roger), investigator for Paradigm Power Management, then again in Act:04 as Patricia Lovejoy, secretary for the publisher of Paradigm Press. In Act:07, it is revealed that she bears two long scars on her back, giving the impression that she once had wings; hence her name. Originally a recurring character, Angel was given
top billing in Season Two. Her role is that of a
femme fatale, the woman who deceptively misleads and ensnares the hero or other males in order to gain some end they would not freely help her achieve. Her interactions with Roger eventually force her into a somewhat different role. As the series progresses, she becomes more and more involved with Roger, even forsaking her duties to the union in order to feed him information, betraying them for Roger's sake. However, her relationship with Roger ultimately does not become romantic, as she believes him to be in love with Dorothy and, though he protests it, the opinion is further reinforced by Alan Gabriel's insistence that Roger "cares for [Dorothy] more than anyone". At the end of the series, she is shown to have some sort of special connection to whatever power controls their world, possibly even being that power herself (though this role is not adequately explained). She is also identified as one Gordon Rosewater's daughter and is identified as "Angel Rosewater" in Act:26. At the end of the final Act, a new version of her is seen (along with a new version of Dorothy) standing on the sidewalk as Roger drives to a negotiation. One reviewer calls Angel a "
Fujiko clone" with a "body-hugging suit [that] would give
Emma Peel a run for her money." ==Antagonists==