A Big O character discusion: Discuss or defend your favorite character!!

Hmm, a Big Ear fan? Well this is new. I'm honored to see you at my character discussion thread! ^_^

It was hard enough voting once. Now I see I can vote three times. This is impossible. I like everybody on the list! Well, everyone except Eugene, but I think I complained about him elsewhere on these boards. I probably voted for Dorothy the first time. Now, I think I'll give a vote to Roger.

I give Roger a lot of flack for being a jerk, but that's actually part of his charm. I like a good guy who isn't that good. To me, infallible, know-it-all, Dudley DoRight heroes are boring (which is why I kinda dislike Highlander). Give me a main character with glaring flaws and something personal to overcome. Roger gets confused ane he doesn't always figure things out. He yells. He drinks. He's lousy with women. He says and does the wrong thing from time to time. All this makes him seem more real, or at least, as real as a guy with a quasi-sentient giant robot and freakish eyebrows can seem. Roger still gets some powerfully bad dialogue from time to time, but on the whole, I like the character. Batman he ain't, but his suit-- way cooler.

Personally I am a huge Dorothy Fan also a little bit of a Rodger fan as well, but all in all I really truly love all of the characters as much as I am sure that I dis or joke with them. But Dorothy all the way!


GO Dorocratics!!!!

^_^"
-Beth

Hrm. I've been watching the polls lately - and I'm dissapointed.

Roger's tied for the lead with Norman, and Beck's in fourth - right under Dorothy and Schwartzwald!!! T_T
I suppose you're all tired of my fangirlisms, but I pose a question:
WHY DO YOU ALL LIKE ROGER SO DAMN MUCH?!

There. I got it out of my system. Anywho, just curious. Oh, and I'm a Dorothy fan too, so I'm not about to complain about that.

Swarchzwald I have to say has become one of my favorite character of all over time. When I first watched Big O I wasn't to big into it but after a while I learned to love the show and Swarchzwald in his own insanity has become my favorite.

Again, I have to stick with Big Ear...
On the list though, Schwarzwald is definatly the best. Sadly, everyone loves Dorothy and Roger too much to notice good old Big Ear.

I am a major Dorocrat! ll that is good in the world has Dorothy in it. She is cool. She is smart. She is talented. She is strong. She is loving. She is lovable. Not too many anime characters can meet those attributes.

Dorothy's my favorite character, though if I'm writing fanfiction, Beck and Angel are more fun to write about. Beck because he's extravagent, selfish, and uninhibited, and Angel because she tries to look like she's all these things, but can't quite manage it.

I voted Schwarzwald.

My reasons:
-He actually knows what he's doing, he has a goal.
-He doesn't hide his goal through misaction and false-speak.
-He's so awesome, even death couldn't stop him.
-Big Duo.

quote:

Originally posted by Tony I am a major Dorocrat! ll that is good in the world has Dorothy in it. She is cool. She is smart. She is talented. She is strong. She is loving. She is lovable. Not too many anime characters can meet those attributes.

See, and this is where Dorothy turns me off slightly.

Perfect characters irk me a little. I mean, they just aren't all that interesting. Ok, so Dorothy's not perfect, but pretty close.

I love characters who are at least a little screwed up, it makes for an interesting character. God knows I wouldn't be as much of a Beck fan if it weren't for his extreme expressions, and those querks of his. Hell, we all know he's got plenty 'o' querks.

quote:

Again, I have to stick with Big Ear... On the list though, Schwarzwald is definatly the best. Sadly, everyone loves Dorothy and Roger too much to notice good old Big Ear.

*nods* Dorothy and Roger have a ton of fans, so many that people forget some of the lesser characters sometimes. Beck's one of the more recognized of the lesser characters, though there's a bunch more who are in the shadow of Dorothy and Roger fan-wise.

Hey y'all, thought I'd tell who my favorite character is.

RD! Yep, theres alot of mysteries surroundin' her, and I love it when an android starts stomping in big clad boots all over Asimov's theory! YAY! (Also, an evil Dorothy seems oddly attractive to me...) Also, theres all this other stuff about her creation. I mean, why the heck did Wainwright create ANOTHER Dorothy? Same with that other "Dorothy" android that attacked Roger in Act 14? ---

Oops. I rambled. (gets hit by a flying car) DARM!

Okay, I'm done.

Well, my favorite is Dorothy, and I don't feel a particular need to defend the choice. She and I have very similar personalities. And she's a rare bird in anime: a female android that's her own person. Most start off as merely male wish fulfillment. Or whacked-out killers (R-D, anyone?) She doesn't hesitate to put her foot down and set Roger to rights when he treats her as less than an equal or a sentient being.

A few of my thoughts on some of the other characters:

Roger: Sorry to upset some of you by this but I am a Roger girl. There's a very intriguing dichotomy in him as to what he is and what he perceives himself to be. The ep Roger the Wanderer is a perfect example of this. I get it more and more every time I watch it. Really, how many 'perfect' cartoon heroes can have an existential breakdown right in the middle of a huge fight then come back from it even more kick-@$$ than before? He may give off the impression of being vain, aloof, and cooler-than-thou, but those who know him best (Norman/Dororthy/Dastun/Big Ear) see it for the sham it is. And when he comes to see the truth of it, too, he doesn't run from it like Angel, or go nutty like Schwartzwald, or completely ignore it like Alex. In the end he was able to embrace his existance as a Memory in a constructed world because it's still existance. He does perform an important function in Paradigm: he Negotiates its reason for being.

Angel: Her...I have some problems with. Not because of the usual fan reasons, but because I don't think the Big O writers designed her as a fully-realized character. She's just too derivitave at the beginning. Too Fujiko and a hundred other femme fatale characters I could name. I think they had written themselves into a corner with her so they threw together the whole 'Big Venus' subplot for her.

Dastun: There are plenty of older, wiser, more-experienced friend of the hero archetypes in anime, still Dastun is his own man and has a great dynamic with Roger. Their drink by the fireplace summed up the whole relationship: prickly but familar and respectful.

Schwartzwald: Very tiresome. I just want to hit the mute button when he goes off on one of his idiotic, babbling rants. He spouts about as much universal 'truth' as a used car salesman. Not a suitable antagonist for our noble hero. Why any Megadeus would let him in its cockpit I don't know.

Beck: So much fun! I don't see how a staff that could come up with someone as unique as Beck is also responsible for the lame Schwartzwald. Beck is them letting all their 70's/Lupin III/Tarentino wackiness out. And as much as he hates the Crow boy for being as uber-cool as he'd like to be, he also subliminally realizes the importance of Roger to their society and existance.

Alan Gabriel: Pure sociopath. Which is why I like him. What the Joker should be in the Batman world. And he does hold utter contempt for androids, seeing them as completely inferior dolls. You might need to listen to the Japanese version to understand these points about his personality.

the whole Rosewater subplot: tiresome but necessary. Roger needs villains actually capable of opposing him. The Big O creators have said in interviews that the Rosewaters are based on the Godfather movies. And it shows.

Vera: intriguing in her own right but the Union subplot seems tacked on to support the 'Angel' subplot.

Norman: Norman is Alfred. What more needs to be said. But I like him anyway.

Oh, back to the idea of listening to the Japanese version. If you haven't, you should! There are a lot of differations of tone, emphasis, and plain old storytelling. The Japanese are a lot more declarative in their dialog and don't depend on sarcasm as much as Americans. Its at the point that I never listen to the English version if I can help it. When I hear English Roger Smith all I can think is 'Ugh, Spike Spiegel.'

Not to be too much the contrarian, but Dorothy is my idea of wish fulfilment. I mean, seriously, think about it, isn't that kind of every guy's dream: you're rich, powerful, slick (or at least you THINK you are) and then one day a beautiful girl shows up at your house and moves in. And does all your house work Not a bad deal, eh?

As for the characters, for the most part, I like all of them. The fact that Roger and Dorothy go against so many of the typical anime stereotypes is very refreshing. I thought Schwarzvald could have been better done, but the concept is there. In a city like Paradigm, where so much is veneer and so many obvious questions are being actively and even forceably ignored, it makes sense to have a character obsessed with finding the truth. Schwarzvald is like a Roger gone out of control.

Hmm, I never thought of Alan as being like the Joker. Makes me feel kind of silly, since it fits so well, and here I'm a big Batman and a big Joker fan. The Joker was easily one of the best villains the series ever had. It was actually some Joker artwork that made me take comics more seriously. I can't remember the artist, but the picture was the Joker standing in something like a park. It was the detail that got me. The artist had drawn him in a lavender suit, but it didn't look cartoonish. It looked real, and I could imagine that if a character like that actually existed, that would be how he would look. It was really neat. If I can find it around here, maybe I'll post it sometime.

Vermillion

It's Rodger with me eventhough I do see him beyond those yucky eyebrows , and I do like Norman too. Atleast I like Spike's eyebrows better if you look at it .

*grins* Wow. We sure did get some major input here, didn't we?

On the whole note of Alan being like the Joker, my sister (who was a major batman fan when she was younger) and I were discussing that. Alan is, indeed, very much (in his own way) like the Joker. But as my sister put it, he's like 'the comic book Joker'. He's much more creepy, though in a sadistic way. I myself have never read the comic book, nor seen the show, but she also noted that almost each of the Big O characters reflect a character from Batman. Here's what we came up with (not much):

Roger - Batman. Duh. I don't even think I need to give an explanation.
Norman - Alfred. Same as above.
Alan - 'Comic Book Joker'. See above paragraph.
Beck - 'TV Show Joker'. Ok, as I said before, I've never seen the show. But I've seen snippets, and my sister's seen most of the episodes, so I'd say I've got pretty good backing on this: The Joker in the show wasn't nearly as serious, creepy, or sadistic. He was a tad more off-the-wall, and genuinely ... psycho. Of course, Beck's not completely psycho, but I DO say that the electrical shocks in episodes 9 and 18 had an effect. Plus, that SMILE ... it just MIRRORS the Joker's!
Angel - Ok, Gummibear said this one, but a tad more backing: Angel is like Catwoman. She's torn; Half of her wants the man, half of her 'hates' 'em. She trys to put up an act to hide her insecurities, but in the end, it's all just an act, and that becomes obvious at the point of her break-down.

Well? How was that?

As a major (ish) Batman fan I'd like to disagree:

Roger - Batman. Duh. I don't even think I need to give an explanation. NA, for one, Bruce W had alot more luck with the ladys , but more importaintantly, Roger isn't as dark and angsty (or as cleaver) as Batman, Roger still has alot to live for, while Battsy has alot less, not to dis the Bat of corse.
Norman - Alfred. Same as above. Norman gets away with alot more than Alfred, when Alfred 'teases' Bruse he always gets a restort, while when Norman teases Roger, Roger rarely notices, let alone restorts. Norman is a mechanic first butler 2nd, Alfred is a butler 1st, mechanic/helper of Battsy 2nd.
Alan - 'Comic Book Joker'. See above paragraph. I can't argue with this, I've never read any of the comics.
Beck - 'TV Show Joker'. Ok, as I said before, I've never seen the show. But I've seen snippets, and my sister's seen most of the episodes, so I'd say I've got pretty good backing on this: The Joker in the show wasn't nearly as serious, creepy, or sadistic. He was a tad more off-the-wall, and genuinely ... psycho. Of course, Beck's not completely psycho, but I DO say that the electrical shocks in episodes 9 and 18 had an effect. Plus, that SMILE ... it just MIRRORS the Joker's! HOW DARE YOU! COMPARING BECK! TO THE JOKER! *cough* sorry, but really, Beck is nothing like the Joker, other than they are both chrimenals.
Angel - Ok, Gummibear said this one, but a tad more backing: Angel is like Catwoman. She's torn; Half of her wants the man, half of her 'hates' 'em. She trys to put up an act to hide her insecurities, but in the end, it's all just an act, and that becomes obvious at the point of her break-down. Yeah, I do agree with this. Only Angel doesn't keep a load of cats. *lol*

I'm not one to look into the Batman comparisons too much but ones like Roger Smith and Alan Gabriel are too obvious to ignore.

The only thing is the real comic book version or cartoon version of the Joker for that matter would never ever work for anyone other than himself, even if he did have ulterior motives, and is almost completely and totally obsessed with Batman where as Alan could care less about Roger Smith. He's just another person to be killed. The cold and completely careless attitude towards killing people fits however, as well as the seemingly sadistic kick that he gets out of it which might explain why Dorothy's attempted murder was so long and drawn out.

Beck as animated Joker? Although he is sort of a comic relief villain, especially in "The Greatest Villain" he's not insane or homicidal. He might kidnap someone for ransom, but I don't believe he'd kill anyone. Even the cartoon Joker has no regard for life in the least. He comes off as pretty small time and if it wasn't for the Megadeuses he would definately be small time, though his uncanny ability of breaking out of prison in strange ways DOES have a subtle resemblance to the Joker in the classic Adam West Batman.

These are just my observations and I myself don't even believe they're intended. If anything Alan was just inspired by the Joker. I always saw Beck as the Anti-Roger Smith. A guy with giant robots on the other side of the law who had none of the finesse or luck as the man in black.

You guys have got some good points. As I said before, I don't know much as far as Batman goes, so this was mostly input on my sister's part.

However, when I made the Beck/Animated Joker comparison, I meant it very loosely. You're right he's not homicidal at all - and that's not what I was talking about. I've just noticed those few moments where I could see a small comparison. To be quite honest it's not very apparent, at all, I think the main thing that keyed this observation is how, at the end of the series, Beck's gone a little ... wacko, if you think about it. I mean, c'mon, compare Beck in episodes 1 and 26 - Notice how he's still the same old 'eccentric' person as usual while everyone else has gone into a much more serious nature. Sure, this could have been the creators attempting to lighten the mood, or maybe some other small detail. But this is just one example out of a bunch I've noticed after rewatching the episodes he's in for about the twenty-fourth time (Go DVDS! ).

A few others I've noticed:

1.) This is more of my theory on how the break in sanity occurred: Do you seriously think that after taking that enormous elctrical shock that he wouldn't take at least a little bit of damage somehow? I'm no genuise when it comes to that sort of stuff, but I think it's fairly safe to assume. Of course, I could be completely wrong. Anywho, compare episodes #1/#2 to #9. BIIIIIIIG difference. Skip ahead to #18, where he receives yet another dose of electrical shock. At LEAST throughout that episode, he's a teensy bit less together than he was in #9, right? While this could have just been a mishap while doing the episodes, I've began to think that this was done on purpose.

2.) Episode 9 - Beck's over-the-top gestures and emotion was at first just part of his character to me. But I started to think (GASP!), and that sort of thing only happens once in the first two episodes, and I'm fairly sure you know which one that is (hint - it's near the end of the megadeus battle).

3.) Episode 18 - Don't you even TRY to say that his eccentric go-for-the-gusto attitude isn't a bit extreme. I don't think I really need to go to in-depth, but a prime example is how he just keeps snickering, cackling or smiling. I don't know why, but ... that's just a tad much, eh?


Though this could be passed off as just being eccentric and over-the-top, I still stand firm by my on-the-verge-of-insanity theory. As I said before, he's not all-out-insane, I just think he's on the verge.

You know, I voted Roger as my first (duh), but I can't for the life of me put into words what it is I like about him.

Of course, it was hard for me to pick just three. I love all the characters from the show for different reasons. They're all so complex and different from one another. They each have their own special appeal.

quote:

Originally posted by lostmustard You know, I voted Roger as my first (duh), but I can't for the life of me put into words what it is I like about him.

Well, we can cross 'fashion-sense' off the list ...

(And yes, I know, I can't say much for Blondie in the way of fashion sense but oh well)