Thought Dorothy not having her memory disk at the end also played into the theme of not relying on memories too much. Beck was shocked she didnt have her memory disk
I agree. I think the show as making commentary on the power of human emotional memory (Dorothy's love for Roger) over the power of literal memory (her memory disc)
Even though Wikipedia has been changed to minimize this, it was Cartoon Network in the US that funded the second season and strongly encouraged the writers to pursue a the more meaningful aspects of the storyline than the first season.
the series is an unofficial sequel to the real world book "metropolis" (this is a VERY long comment so get ready lol) no, im not talking about the 1927 silent film, or the book adaptation written by thea von harboumade of the same name (yes, her book was published before the movie came out, but it is in fact based off of the films screenplay and the film was delayed so her book was published before the film saw a theater. this is why many people assume she is the original author) im talking about the original book that preceded them and is what the silent film is based on and what i assume this show is a sequel to. i actually got my hands on a copy and read it before i watched Big O when it ran on Toonami. the silent film and the book adaptation by harbou are fairly accurate to the original book, but have wildly different endings. if you want more details on the book and its story i will gladly share if you ask me, but for now ill just try and focus on its relevance with how the anime ends and what my take away was. the main premise of the story is humans are living in a future where cities cover the entire world and these cities have many layers above and below ground with all the poor people and the critical machines and systems underground with the elites up on top. domes are mentioned to cover the skies and protect from pollution, but it wasnt important in the book. the leader of the entire world is a guy named rosewater. one day his son alex finds and falls in love with a girl from the low levels. she turns out to be more or less a figurehead of the lower classes. alex ends up siding with her and the plight of the lower classes and eventually things escalate to a full world war between alex and his father. it describes vaguely that giant war machines in the image of man rampage the cities. at one point after the woman alex fell in love with dies, his father has the scientist schwarzvald create a robot replica of her to manipulate the people but it works better then planned and she "seduces" mankind (some kind of allegory i think was intended by the author?) lots and i mean lots of crazy stuff goes down until finally the war is near its end and mankind pretty much destroyed the world. the book is written as if its a journal from the perspective of alex and it ends with a god machine having been built deep underground and somehow his father managed to make his way to it on some kinda elevator. alex is writing in his journal about riding the elevator down following his father and wondering what the climax / confrontation will be. then it just ends with a few blank pages in the book (which was kinda cool imo) theres a LOT more that i could talk about with the book both in its story, its themes, and oddly enough the real world author and the interesting history and story around it (if your not familiar with it or its connection to the industrial revolution and the world wars its very juicy for history nerds like me lol) anyway- my take away is the anime is a "sequel" where maybe whoever got to the god machine simply had everyone forget what happened / lose their memories. the ending we have with rosewater taking angel down in an elevator to a machine deep underground was giving her access to the god machine. from there she resets things-? (im not entirely sure myself- its an ambiguous ending) all that being said- i do think that the writer(s) of the anime werent completely sure what they were going for and sorta mixed a few ideas together including the "its all a stage and the characters are all actors in angels play" i mean this is the same studio that did evangelion if im not mistaken (a show i despise lol) i just kinda feel like they wanted to emulate that shows ending with trying to be deep and throwing random bullshit at the wall and hope they will be applauded for it instead of being called out on it it might seem like im bashing big o like most of the handful of us that actually watched it, but no not at all- its literally my favorite anime and show of all time. i LOVE the themes, the music, the concepts, the vibe, the scene compositions / directing of the first half is incredible- so much i am in love with- honestly i think maybe i see more in this show then what was intended to be there- it has some flaws and some seriously bad moments, but its charm and its high points more then make up for that imo (for me at least) i JUST found your video after posting this exact comment / explanation on another video that explored the ending of this show- so i figured id copy and paste it for ya- anyway- if you actually managed to read all this, congratulations lol- and i hope this was in some way insightful or if nothing else helps your algorithm thingy or whatever- again, if you have any questions about the book feel free to ask me and i do the best with what i remember- have a great day / night- "we have come to terms"
Very in depth analysis- I’m gonna check it out. I do believe metropolis is one of the most amazing films and the story pretty much is relevant. So many cartoons and movies are predicting our future- I think AI is a great tool- so many are scared?
I really love this series, and it has a special place in my heart. Thank you for helping to clarify it. While I love philosophy, I do prefer my fiction to be reality-based and not dipping into "it was all a dream" territory, and as such BigO kind of left me reeling a little from that ending. More succinctly, I do prefer things more black and white, like real life: can't just imagine myself a raise, or that I can fly, I need to comport with objective reality to accomplish goals ... anything less gets you a straight jacket and 300units of thorazine! Lol! But as you explain it, I can better see it's value as a plot device. As an added point, Cowboy Bebop came out a few years prior, and Faye was built around the idea that "i have no memory" and Spike (same voice actor as Roger, interestingly) says early on to Faye's complaint of no memory that "you have a future, that's all that counts". That line clearly stuck with me, but in the context of your thesis, I wonder if the focus on "memory" is more a cultural thing from Japan in general, or maybe something in the zeitgeist at the time? This was also a theme in Trigun (also concurrent with BigO and Cowboy Bebop) that Vash had somehow lost his memory of who he was, and ended up rediscovering to fight Knives in the end. Anyway, I'd appreciate any other thoughts you might have. Fantastic work!
@@nathanlevesque7812 lol, who knows? I guess it could be a dream, but I guess it could also be some elaborate simulation like a holodeck: The ending of the series sure made it seem that way, though early on in the series it is said the underground 'gets newer the deeper you go' indicating that maybe the "new" cityscape is manufactured below and pushed up with every reboot? Or maybe that was just a way of saying it was left completely undisturbed, though it should have still been dirty even without humans present. Then we also see Roger and Big Ear being "mechanical" beings with springs and cogs in the beginning of S2, but that could the psychotic break OP mentions in this video essay.
I was mind fucked when I saw Roger be a robot. I was like no way. How has he been eating this whole time? Also how did beck not find out he was a robot. 😅
Was just talking to a girl about anime’s and had mentioned how good Big O was as a kid, haven’t seen it in ages and stumble upon this. Bro i am subscribed now you freaking KILLED it.
Excellent video. The Big O is in my top 3 anime of all time. I think people don't understand it because of massive tonal shift from season 1 and 2. S1 was more villain of the week with light world building. S2 dives DEEP into the metaphysical meaning of life. Most people probably go into this thinking it's like Gundam, very basic war with giant robots. Not expecting that it will turn into a Evangelion mindfck instead.
It was as real as the person we choose to be. Characters are bound to a metaphysical loop. Their world 'being a show' is an allegory that gives it a clear visual concept. "Pythagoras said this world was like a stage."
Thank you for making this video. I watched The Big O when it started 20 yrs ago, and several times a year I often watch an episode before bedtime. It’s a beautiful, thoughtful anime with a timeless message ad universal themes.
I just finished watching this anime w/my stream and it's quickly entered my top 5 mecha anime of all time-- the fusion of noir and giant mechs to discuss the philosophy behind the purpose of memories is just so compelling, I'll be thinking about this show for a very long time.
I love The Big O for being one of the alumni of late 90's series that visually manifested man's trepidation over its relationship with, and growing dependence on- technology.
This was a very philosophical series...admittedly I wasn't ready going into it, but I adapted [ or matured] to understand what was really going on. Loved it...right down to the closing credits song. Just seeing this in 2024
Bro thank you! This series is so underrated and your analysis is brilliant! I used to hate the ending as a kid when it was aired on Toonami, but over the years I began to appreciate it more and more. Your video really helps show that The Big O is much more than a simple mech anime with a confusing story.
Thank you! I've also struggled with understanding some parts of the show but I really love it, so I've began to search more information about it. You've explained it perfectly, thanks again, the video is great
Just realized that Roger in the end of the series after the "reset" no longer has his watch, not sure if this was intentional. If you go back and compare scenes, in the first episode you see the reflection of the watch on his sunglasses, but in the final scene of the series, there's no watch shown. If intentional, then the new reality really isn't a straight copy of the original and there aren't any Megadeuses, or at least Roger doesn't have Big O. Not sure if this has been pointed out before, just thought I'd mention it.
Your video made me wish to rewatch it all over again for the nth time. Great job, really one of the most completed analysis I've ever seen on the show. You put into words intangible vibes I'd been getting since the first time I discovered the show on Toonami. Wow just wow, and thanks a lot!
Many viewers were disappointed that the mystery of The Event was never definitively resolved, but really... could any answer possibly be satisfactory? Besides, watching characters cope with an existential crisis seems far more interesting than knowing why it happened in the first place. There's a six-volume manga you might want to track down, too. Its characters, settings, and themes are the same ("Better to dream about the future than the past," says the last page of Vol. 5), but mostly follows original stories, including a character arc for Beck that's a lot less funny.
While I think Beck's comedic presence is overdone in the anime, it's also used to great effect in the one scene he has with Alex. Alex absolutely HEAPS praise onto Beck, even going so far as to say Beck is a genius who understands how to truly use power. The irony being that Beck is a clown and a simple crook. The show is illustrating to us that not only is Alex a simple crook himself, but he's even more a clown than a character as ridiculous as Beck
@@AddyLovestar I have to admit missing a lot of Alex's spoiled nature the first time I saw the show, so it took me by surprise in the final episode when he clutches the seat of Big Fau like a child who doesn't want to share his toys. It seems more obvious in hindsight though.
14:00 moment. The message of Big O to me was to let some things go. Just go forward and be good. Some things don't have an answer. Some things need to be let go.
I have to be honest, even after your retrospective, I really did not enjoy this show. By the end, I mostly understood everything in the show (thank you for explaining the meaning of the red balloon tho, I missed that one). And you're right, a lot is fully explained at the end. But, a lot is also not explained, or left very ambiguous. Maybe I'm just a Neanderthal with no taste in art, but just because there are themes and eventual explanations doesn't mean its a enjoyable experience to watch. Perhaps it comes together at the end (and that'll vary on who you ask), but while I was watching it it just felt incoherent, random, and even nonsensical. Then the reset ending just made me go, "umm, okay. What was the point of that?" I definitely respect others tastes and opinions. If someone else enjoyed this show, that's great. I'm glad they got something out of it. But, at the end of the day, its just not for me. Thanks for making this video. P.S. I did love the music and the corny dub voice acting! 😄
Yeah I kinda agree. I fully understand what the intent was behind all of the imagery and symbolism, but I feel like it veered too far into the show being too in love with its own existential clusterfuck. When you're at the point of "all of life is a show", "memories are unreliable/don't matter", etc, it just makes for an unsatisfying ending... when all of this world was created on a whim, why would a reconstructed world at the very end be any better? Perhaps for a nihilist the show's ending might've landed better, but I ended up feeling like ultimately... what is the point? I could almost argue that the "normal" world created at the end is inferior because it lacks the raw creative fire and unpredictability of a world that had mecha and mysteries and mayhem. A lot of it felt like someone who had watched Evangelion with Shinji accepting/refusing human instrumentality and thought "hey I can do that too!" but getting caught up too much in literal representations of things in the process. If anything I think it just proves how subjective a less literal, abstract story like this can be for a viewer... some people embrace it, while others won't, I particularly bucked against the tone of this video that implies people that disliked it are wrong on some level; I understood what the show was doing and STILL didn't care for it, despite liking the visual style. But at least they tried something different; I can definitely credit them for that.
@@ejiMemories are faulty, so make your identity own is an interesting idea. Ideally people whould make a perfect world if they left go of the past. But I then eventually time continues and a new history forms, unless we to reset history continually. It's an interesting concept, but really doesn't solve anything, as society continues people remember learn and remember things whether right or wrong.
loved this show and i recently introduced my friends to it recently we do an anime night on fridays watching 3 or 4 episodes a week and they pretty much didn't watch anything else until we finished it i think we only skipped one week for a movie instead they loved it and followed along pretty well
My takeaway from this essay: Alzheimer's is the antithesis of this show's message. Also, the big O is a full circle; start to finish the story cycles from beginning to conclusion to new beginning.
I've just finished The big I'm a Brazilian and brazilan toonami haven't big o, I just watched because I liked the bio p desing, but with 1 episode I've just loved the series Big O ShowTime!
"A new universe is born." You mean a new simulation, on the same holodeck, with characters whose existence is rendered invalid by the ending. All we are left is themes, which are fine themes, but a story isn't important to me without characters that are contextually real in a world with consequences. That is why, as one who likes the show, I just ignore that the ending happened
@@AddyLovestarcontinuity is the issue. A dream is "real" until you wake up. If a reality can just be reset, that what you do in that reality is made meaningless. Even it most video games you need had to save data to progress, underwise any progress you mean last play session is gone. There needs to be some permanence to the actions you do.
Thank you for this video! I recently rewatched this show after like a decade from when I was a kid who watched it and I definitely was confused about a couple things especially w the ending. Your video helped me to appreciate the show more so thank you :0
I am grateful for all Big-O retrospectives. I don't even know if you can "mis"understand it, if you don't pretend to understand it in the first place. I know it's complicated, and I wish the people that made the show would just explain it just a little.
That defeats the entire purpose in interpretive art, I think. If it were explained by the art itself, you wouldn't have to think critically to analyze its themes, or engage with others about said themes. There would be nothing to engage with intellectually
i have been thinking about killer7 in a similar light lately, people used to be all "whoa it has a luchador and this shit is cryptic and wacky and random lol" but it actually has a lot to say about governments, corporations, militaries, cults, spies, and conspiracies, although it's hard to pin down... exactly what that "lot to say" is saying, am i making sense?
My favorite (and the most straightforward) story in Killer7 is the one revolving around Ulmeyda. It's pretty clear that the game is making a commentary on the way people place value in transient, almost entirely false narratives purported by supposedly exceptional people. You hear about how successful Ulmeyda is, and how wild his company and city are, but it's just a collection of slogans, promises, and a literal cardboard cutout facade. The parallels to real life corporations and their lifestyle marketing is pretty apparent
I just finished watching Big O yesterday. It was a masterpiece back in 2002, now in 2023 it’s even better! And let’s not forget how great the soundtrack is.
I loved Big O. It was so, vastly, different. A Mecha Anime set in a dystopian, future, and sci-fi setting. My theory was always that Angel was the survivor of the Great Cataclysm 40 years ago. She awoke to a ruined world trying to rebuild. She was aware of certain situations that lead to said cataclysm and created a simulated world to see if there was a way to prevent the cataclysm from ever happening again. The whole Memories being erased was merely an experiment on the characters to see what could have been. At the end Angel sees the truth and cannot beat to allow the current simulation to continue this activating Big Venus and ending it. Having come to live all the characters she simply restarts the simulation without the Bigs involved to allow the characters to "live" their lives normally. Damn. I had details all worked out, but this Video gave me reason to see it differently and now I wanna revisit my own theory again. Such fun!
I'm not 100% in sync with you - but thank you for bringing this show to other people's attentions. I'm kind of glad Toonami didn't squeeze out the third season - otherwise Big O would have talked and it would have likely ended up less like a dark mecha Batman and more Trails In The X type show. This was my favorite anime as a teen. I grew up somewhere that you could only watch TV if you turned the antenna outside or if you had a giant satellite dish. My grandmother died when I was 7 and my grandfather decided to buy a double wide and move in when I was 10. When I was 13 or so, he got DISH so we could watch the Brave's together (which we always did, they will always be my MLB team). There is something about Big O and my own maturation that are linked and it is the anime that I have the fondest recollection of. Anyway, thanks for doing this Addy. I subscribed and liked, a minor token for all the time you put into this.
You got it wrong. The world was reset but as a last wish dorothy made sure the maIn character would be 'roger smith' again and he would be the exact same as he was before being erased
As a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! I saw this panel from the comic of showing BIG O with an H (you can see here at 13:00) and it struck me since OH in japan means KING like Yugi Oh is KING of games. Could the Big O mecha symbolize our own POWER? as KINGS of our own lives? Are we to be puppets, or are we able to Negotiate with Life?
I believe that the visual based storytelling usually cannot surpass written forms of storytelling when it comes to thought provoking aspects. In short, anime, movies, manga and television shows cannot surpass the depth of well written books. There are clear differences in between such media and they all have their strengths and weaknesses in their own forms of storytelling. However, Big - O is one of the rare masterpieces where it surpassed the limitations of an anime and went far deeper than any novels can. Hell, I would like to read the novel version of The Big - O it if there is one. Because that would be one hell of a novel that could be compared to the works of Leo Tolstoy or works of Umberto Eco. It would be a true post millennia classic.
Wait a minute, did literally every single VA mispronounce Mega-deus the entire series as Megadeuce and I just never picked up on that until now?! Me and my brother would call taking a number 2 a megadeuce back in highschool.
oh wow this video was fantastic! I need to rewatch this series and also this reminds me that I should watch Kaiba sometime since memory has always been something fascinating to me due to how fickle it is and I know Kaiba also does with the topic.
A BIG O thank you for the clear analysis - and making it fun, too ! I never grabbed all the subtilities you point ( about the memory general thema and the different goals of the protagonists ), but i did enjoy the show, anyway. So, what do you say: maybe understanding TOO, like memories, is a bit overated when it comes to love something ? I'd say yes.
No mention of Datsun and his constant battle with his own impotence/reliance on the power of gods to save people?? A pretty big oversight imo! Nevertheless, a very decent video and worth a like for sure
I dont get it. Roger is obviously less than 40 and so are children and young adults. If theyre not 40 shouldnt they have all of their memories? Or is it a constant state of never having memories which is impossible because they remember each others names.or other things like that...
I have always loved this show, probably always will. The fact that the writer behind it, Chiaki J. Konaka, is an Alex Jones-level conspiracy nut will never change what this show means to me. We will always come to terms with The Big O.
@@AddyLovestar It logically follows that those who compile into signal from noise, will find signals where there truly _is_ only noise. Like seeing faces in clouds.
@@AddyLovestarMaybe he understands a reality that very few are given access to especially the masses. Big O is like The Matrix in terms of bringing to light what is well hidden. Only those that have access to that information will truly understand. Clearly Chiaki does. I definitely do really like your interpretation and analysis of Big O. Big O has many layers of meaning.
My problem with the ending is reconciling the meta textual meaning with the physical one the show takes the “world is a stage and we’re merely players” idea literally, and it makes me question the logistics of what the reset means in universe, how can angel reset the big O even though the show already aired most of its episodes? Clearly roger (the actor not the character) was there to comfort her, etc it just muddies up what actually happened
I think Angel ,Roger and Michael are Gods of the world and angel being responsible for the judgement of it whether it's worth keeping or not and Michael and Roger are there to show her it is or isn't but to make it fair remove there memories and parts of there God hood to go about the judgement and everyone else are just players on the stage of life itself and the cycle keeps repeating in better or worse fashion after each judgement by Angel/Venus...all this being a metaphor for human history, memory and society.
@@AddyLovestar I mean, best-case scenario is a western audience won't have any idea what it means. More likely, they'll assume it's a hentai/ecchi anime and avoid it outright.
This took forever, and naturally CZcams won't let me monetize it, but it had to be made.
Thank you
Naturally, thank you
Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
Thanks! This show still impacts me in 2024. The soundtrack is still mesmerizing. The visuals still slap. *nostalgia*
Thx
Thought Dorothy not having her memory disk at the end also played into the theme of not relying on memories too much. Beck was shocked she didnt have her memory disk
I agree. I think the show as making commentary on the power of human emotional memory (Dorothy's love for Roger) over the power of literal memory (her memory disc)
Even though Wikipedia has been changed to minimize this, it was Cartoon Network in the US that funded the second season and strongly encouraged the writers to pursue a the more meaningful aspects of the storyline than the first season.
A like for properly pronouncing Megadeus
And a favorite for calling Alex a turd.
the series is an unofficial sequel to the real world book "metropolis" (this is a VERY long comment so get ready lol)
no, im not talking about the 1927 silent film, or the book adaptation written by thea von harboumade of the same name (yes, her book was published before the movie came out, but it is in fact based off of the films screenplay and the film was delayed so her book was published before the film saw a theater. this is why many people assume she is the original author) im talking about the original book that preceded them and is what the silent film is based on and what i assume this show is a sequel to.
i actually got my hands on a copy and read it before i watched Big O when it ran on Toonami. the silent film and the book adaptation by harbou are fairly accurate to the original book, but have wildly different endings. if you want more details on the book and its story i will gladly share if you ask me, but for now ill just try and focus on its relevance with how the anime ends and what my take away was.
the main premise of the story is humans are living in a future where cities cover the entire world and these cities have many layers above and below ground with all the poor people and the critical machines and systems underground with the elites up on top. domes are mentioned to cover the skies and protect from pollution, but it wasnt important in the book. the leader of the entire world is a guy named rosewater. one day his son alex finds and falls in love with a girl from the low levels. she turns out to be more or less a figurehead of the lower classes. alex ends up siding with her and the plight of the lower classes and eventually things escalate to a full world war between alex and his father. it describes vaguely that giant war machines in the image of man rampage the cities. at one point after the woman alex fell in love with dies, his father has the scientist schwarzvald create a robot replica of her to manipulate the people but it works better then planned and she "seduces" mankind (some kind of allegory i think was intended by the author?) lots and i mean lots of crazy stuff goes down until finally the war is near its end and mankind pretty much destroyed the world. the book is written as if its a journal from the perspective of alex and it ends with a god machine having been built deep underground and somehow his father managed to make his way to it on some kinda elevator. alex is writing in his journal about riding the elevator down following his father and wondering what the climax / confrontation will be. then it just ends with a few blank pages in the book (which was kinda cool imo)
theres a LOT more that i could talk about with the book both in its story, its themes, and oddly enough the real world author and the interesting history and story around it (if your not familiar with it or its connection to the industrial revolution and the world wars its very juicy for history nerds like me lol)
anyway- my take away is the anime is a "sequel" where maybe whoever got to the god machine simply had everyone forget what happened / lose their memories. the ending we have with rosewater taking angel down in an elevator to a machine deep underground was giving her access to the god machine. from there she resets things-? (im not entirely sure myself- its an ambiguous ending)
all that being said- i do think that the writer(s) of the anime werent completely sure what they were going for and sorta mixed a few ideas together including the "its all a stage and the characters are all actors in angels play" i mean this is the same studio that did evangelion if im not mistaken (a show i despise lol) i just kinda feel like they wanted to emulate that shows ending with trying to be deep and throwing random bullshit at the wall and hope they will be applauded for it instead of being called out on it
it might seem like im bashing big o like most of the handful of us that actually watched it, but no not at all- its literally my favorite anime and show of all time. i LOVE the themes, the music, the concepts, the vibe, the scene compositions / directing of the first half is incredible- so much i am in love with- honestly i think maybe i see more in this show then what was intended to be there- it has some flaws and some seriously bad moments, but its charm and its high points more then make up for that imo (for me at least)
i JUST found your video after posting this exact comment / explanation on another video that explored the ending of this show- so i figured id copy and paste it for ya-
anyway- if you actually managed to read all this, congratulations lol- and i hope this was in some way insightful or if nothing else helps your algorithm thingy or whatever- again, if you have any questions about the book feel free to ask me and i do the best with what i remember- have a great day / night- "we have come to terms"
Very in depth analysis- I’m gonna check it out. I do believe metropolis is one of the most amazing films and the story pretty much is relevant. So many cartoons and movies are predicting our future- I think AI is a great tool- so many are scared?
Wow I feel I learned something interesting today.
Unlike other mecha anime, this one's about how trivial concepts such as your past don't define you as a person
Yeah, it's pretty rad
I really love this series, and it has a special place in my heart.
Thank you for helping to clarify it.
While I love philosophy, I do prefer my fiction to be reality-based and not dipping into "it was all a dream" territory, and as such BigO kind of left me reeling a little from that ending.
More succinctly, I do prefer things more black and white, like real life: can't just imagine myself a raise, or that I can fly, I need to comport with objective reality to accomplish goals ... anything less gets you a straight jacket and 300units of thorazine! Lol!
But as you explain it, I can better see it's value as a plot device.
As an added point, Cowboy Bebop came out a few years prior, and Faye was built around the idea that "i have no memory" and Spike (same voice actor as Roger, interestingly) says early on to Faye's complaint of no memory that "you have a future, that's all that counts". That line clearly stuck with me, but in the context of your thesis, I wonder if the focus on "memory" is more a cultural thing from Japan in general, or maybe something in the zeitgeist at the time? This was also a theme in Trigun (also concurrent with BigO and Cowboy Bebop) that Vash had somehow lost his memory of who he was, and ended up rediscovering to fight Knives in the end.
Anyway, I'd appreciate any other thoughts you might have.
Fantastic work!
idk about it being trivial or conceptual, but yeah
@@Jayce1701It wasn't a dream though. That's metaphysics for ya.
@@nathanlevesque7812 lol, who knows? I guess it could be a dream, but I guess it could also be some elaborate simulation like a holodeck:
The ending of the series sure made it seem that way, though early on in the series it is said the underground 'gets newer the deeper you go' indicating that maybe the "new" cityscape is manufactured below and pushed up with every reboot?
Or maybe that was just a way of saying it was left completely undisturbed, though it should have still been dirty even without humans present.
Then we also see Roger and Big Ear being "mechanical" beings with springs and cogs in the beginning of S2, but that could the psychotic break OP mentions in this video essay.
Episode 14 is a mindfuck. What we knew about Roger was deconstructed in a disturbing way.
That's why I love that episode so much
I was mind fucked when I saw Roger be a robot. I was like no way. How has he been eating this whole time? Also how did beck not find out he was a robot. 😅
@@landmindssoul4636 For me, the scene with Big Ear sitting in the bar, with part of his flesh ripped apart blew my mind.
I think my favorite part was the stage play part.
Was just talking to a girl about anime’s and had mentioned how good Big O was as a kid, haven’t seen it in ages and stumble upon this. Bro i am subscribed now you freaking KILLED it.
Excellent video. The Big O is in my top 3 anime of all time.
I think people don't understand it because of massive tonal shift from season 1 and 2. S1 was more villain of the week with light world building. S2 dives DEEP into the metaphysical meaning of life. Most people probably go into this thinking it's like Gundam, very basic war with giant robots. Not expecting that it will turn into a Evangelion mindfck instead.
Oh, it's better than an Evangelion mindfuck. It actually means something.
@@nathanlevesque7812 very true!
It was as real as the person we choose to be. Characters are bound to a metaphysical loop. Their world 'being a show' is an allegory that gives it a clear visual concept. "Pythagoras said this world was like a stage."
Thank you for making this video. I watched The Big O when it started 20 yrs ago, and several times a year I often watch an episode before bedtime. It’s a beautiful, thoughtful anime with a timeless message ad universal themes.
I just finished watching this anime w/my stream and it's quickly entered my top 5 mecha anime of all time-- the fusion of noir and giant mechs to discuss the philosophy behind the purpose of memories is just so compelling, I'll be thinking about this show for a very long time.
I’m really glad that you introduced me to this gem, and even more so that you helped me appreciate it so much for its beauty and meaning.
Great video! Reminds me of when I was in college and discussing this series on multiple forums. I think you nailed it!
You are probably the closest to making the ending make sense. Like I had a general idea but that helps to give it more concrete answers.
I love The Big O for being one of the alumni of late 90's series that visually manifested man's trepidation over its relationship with, and growing dependence on- technology.
This was a very philosophical series...admittedly I wasn't ready going into it, but I adapted [ or matured] to understand what was really going on. Loved it...right down to the closing credits song. Just seeing this in 2024
Bro thank you! This series is so underrated and your analysis is brilliant! I used to hate the ending as a kid when it was aired on Toonami, but over the years I began to appreciate it more and more. Your video really helps show that The Big O is much more than a simple mech anime with a confusing story.
Thank you! I've also struggled with understanding some parts of the show but I really love it, so I've began to search more information about it. You've explained it perfectly, thanks again, the video is great
Glad you feel that way. The Big O is important to me, and I'm grateful to see so many people share that passion
the original run on Adult Swim, this anime blew my mind as a kid in middle school
It is so hard to believe this series was that long ago.
Just realized that Roger in the end of the series after the "reset" no longer has his watch, not sure if this was intentional.
If you go back and compare scenes, in the first episode you see the reflection of the watch on his sunglasses, but in the final scene of the series, there's no watch shown.
If intentional, then the new reality really isn't a straight copy of the original and there aren't any Megadeuses, or at least Roger doesn't have Big O.
Not sure if this has been pointed out before, just thought I'd mention it.
That's why I mention "a world without megadeuses" at the end
"It's SHOWTIME!!!"
This video was awesome! Thank you for making it!!!! This show was so much deeper than I could understand when I first saw it as a kid!
Your video made me wish to rewatch it all over again for the nth time. Great job, really one of the most completed analysis I've ever seen on the show. You put into words intangible vibes I'd been getting since the first time I discovered the show on Toonami.
Wow just wow, and thanks a lot!
It means a lot that people connect with my analysis of the themes, thank you
1 million %. I own the physical copies. I love this series and recommend it to any who enjoy anime.
the OST is legendary 💯
Many viewers were disappointed that the mystery of The Event was never definitively resolved, but really... could any answer possibly be satisfactory? Besides, watching characters cope with an existential crisis seems far more interesting than knowing why it happened in the first place.
There's a six-volume manga you might want to track down, too. Its characters, settings, and themes are the same ("Better to dream about the future than the past," says the last page of Vol. 5), but mostly follows original stories, including a character arc for Beck that's a lot less funny.
While I think Beck's comedic presence is overdone in the anime, it's also used to great effect in the one scene he has with Alex. Alex absolutely HEAPS praise onto Beck, even going so far as to say Beck is a genius who understands how to truly use power. The irony being that Beck is a clown and a simple crook. The show is illustrating to us that not only is Alex a simple crook himself, but he's even more a clown than a character as ridiculous as Beck
@@AddyLovestar I have to admit missing a lot of Alex's spoiled nature the first time I saw the show, so it took me by surprise in the final episode when he clutches the seat of Big Fau like a child who doesn't want to share his toys. It seems more obvious in hindsight though.
Beck was my favorite. His appearance made the show fun.
2024 thank you for making this. Nostalgic as hell. Masterpiece.
14:00 moment. The message of Big O to me was to let some things go. Just go forward and be good. Some things don't have an answer. Some things need to be let go.
Just not everything
I have to be honest, even after your retrospective, I really did not enjoy this show. By the end, I mostly understood everything in the show (thank you for explaining the meaning of the red balloon tho, I missed that one). And you're right, a lot is fully explained at the end. But, a lot is also not explained, or left very ambiguous. Maybe I'm just a Neanderthal with no taste in art, but just because there are themes and eventual explanations doesn't mean its a enjoyable experience to watch. Perhaps it comes together at the end (and that'll vary on who you ask), but while I was watching it it just felt incoherent, random, and even nonsensical. Then the reset ending just made me go, "umm, okay. What was the point of that?"
I definitely respect others tastes and opinions. If someone else enjoyed this show, that's great. I'm glad they got something out of it. But, at the end of the day, its just not for me. Thanks for making this video.
P.S. I did love the music and the corny dub voice acting! 😄
Yeah I kinda agree. I fully understand what the intent was behind all of the imagery and symbolism, but I feel like it veered too far into the show being too in love with its own existential clusterfuck. When you're at the point of "all of life is a show", "memories are unreliable/don't matter", etc, it just makes for an unsatisfying ending... when all of this world was created on a whim, why would a reconstructed world at the very end be any better? Perhaps for a nihilist the show's ending might've landed better, but I ended up feeling like ultimately... what is the point? I could almost argue that the "normal" world created at the end is inferior because it lacks the raw creative fire and unpredictability of a world that had mecha and mysteries and mayhem.
A lot of it felt like someone who had watched Evangelion with Shinji accepting/refusing human instrumentality and thought "hey I can do that too!" but getting caught up too much in literal representations of things in the process.
If anything I think it just proves how subjective a less literal, abstract story like this can be for a viewer... some people embrace it, while others won't, I particularly bucked against the tone of this video that implies people that disliked it are wrong on some level; I understood what the show was doing and STILL didn't care for it, despite liking the visual style. But at least they tried something different; I can definitely credit them for that.
@@ejiMemories are faulty, so make your identity own is an interesting idea. Ideally people whould make a perfect world if they left go of the past. But I then eventually time continues and a new history forms, unless we to reset history continually. It's an interesting concept, but really doesn't solve anything, as society continues people remember learn and remember things whether right or wrong.
this was my favorite show. i own both seasons. everything about it is fantastic.
loved this show and i recently introduced my friends to it recently we do an anime night on fridays watching 3 or 4 episodes a week and they pretty much didn't watch anything else until we finished it i think we only skipped one week for a movie instead they loved it and followed along pretty well
My takeaway from this essay: Alzheimer's is the antithesis of this show's message. Also, the big O is a full circle; start to finish the story cycles from beginning to conclusion to new beginning.
I've just finished The big I'm a Brazilian and brazilan toonami haven't big o, I just watched because I liked the bio p desing, but with 1 episode I've just loved the series
Big O ShowTime!
"A new universe is born."
You mean a new simulation, on the same holodeck, with characters whose existence is rendered invalid by the ending.
All we are left is themes, which are fine themes, but a story isn't important to me without characters that are contextually real in a world with consequences.
That is why, as one who likes the show, I just ignore that the ending happened
Why does it matter if reality is real or not?
@@AddyLovestarcontinuity is the issue. A dream is "real" until you wake up. If a reality can just be reset, that what you do in that reality is made meaningless. Even it most video games you need had to save data to progress, underwise any progress you mean last play session is gone. There needs to be some permanence to the actions you do.
Thank you for this video! I recently rewatched this show after like a decade from when I was a kid who watched it and I definitely was confused about a couple things especially w the ending. Your video helped me to appreciate the show more so thank you :0
I'm glad I could offer you that!
I am grateful for all Big-O retrospectives. I don't even know if you can "mis"understand it, if you don't pretend to understand it in the first place. I know it's complicated, and I wish the people that made the show would just explain it just a little.
That defeats the entire purpose in interpretive art, I think. If it were explained by the art itself, you wouldn't have to think critically to analyze its themes, or engage with others about said themes. There would be nothing to engage with intellectually
@@AddyLovestar It has a plot though. I think it's kinda been figured out if you scour youtube, but with some missing details.
Man, I just loved the atmosphere, and the cute relationship between Angel and Roger ❤ And Big O
I always felt like the police guy was analogous to Trueman's friend
i have been thinking about killer7 in a similar light lately, people used to be all "whoa it has a luchador and this shit is cryptic and wacky and random lol" but it actually has a lot to say about governments, corporations, militaries, cults, spies, and conspiracies, although it's hard to pin down... exactly what that "lot to say" is saying, am i making sense?
My favorite (and the most straightforward) story in Killer7 is the one revolving around Ulmeyda. It's pretty clear that the game is making a commentary on the way people place value in transient, almost entirely false narratives purported by supposedly exceptional people. You hear about how successful Ulmeyda is, and how wild his company and city are, but it's just a collection of slogans, promises, and a literal cardboard cutout facade. The parallels to real life corporations and their lifestyle marketing is pretty apparent
I just finished watching Big O yesterday. It was a masterpiece back in 2002, now in 2023 it’s even better!
And let’s not forget how great the soundtrack is.
Thank you
For everything
you're welcome!
I loved Big O. It was so, vastly, different. A Mecha Anime set in a dystopian, future, and sci-fi setting. My theory was always that Angel was the survivor of the Great Cataclysm 40 years ago. She awoke to a ruined world trying to rebuild. She was aware of certain situations that lead to said cataclysm and created a simulated world to see if there was a way to prevent the cataclysm from ever happening again. The whole Memories being erased was merely an experiment on the characters to see what could have been. At the end Angel sees the truth and cannot beat to allow the current simulation to continue this activating Big Venus and ending it. Having come to live all the characters she simply restarts the simulation without the Bigs involved to allow the characters to "live" their lives normally. Damn. I had details all worked out, but this Video gave me reason to see it differently and now I wanna revisit my own theory again. Such fun!
Where did the red hooded Dorthey clone go?
I'm not 100% in sync with you - but thank you for bringing this show to other people's attentions. I'm kind of glad Toonami didn't squeeze out the third season - otherwise Big O would have talked and it would have likely ended up less like a dark mecha Batman and more Trails In The X type show.
This was my favorite anime as a teen. I grew up somewhere that you could only watch TV if you turned the antenna outside or if you had a giant satellite dish. My grandmother died when I was 7 and my grandfather decided to buy a double wide and move in when I was 10. When I was 13 or so, he got DISH so we could watch the Brave's together (which we always did, they will always be my MLB team).
There is something about Big O and my own maturation that are linked and it is the anime that I have the fondest recollection of.
Anyway, thanks for doing this Addy. I subscribed and liked, a minor token for all the time you put into this.
You got it wrong. The world was reset but as a last wish dorothy made sure the maIn character would be 'roger smith' again and he would be the exact same as he was before being erased
As a fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! I saw this panel from the comic of showing BIG O with an H (you can see here at 13:00)
and it struck me since OH in japan means KING like Yugi Oh is KING of games.
Could the Big O mecha symbolize our own POWER? as KINGS of our own lives?
Are we to be puppets, or are we able to Negotiate with Life?
I believe that the visual based storytelling usually cannot surpass written forms of storytelling when it comes to thought provoking aspects.
In short, anime, movies, manga and television shows cannot surpass the depth of well written books.
There are clear differences in between such media and they all have their strengths and weaknesses in their own forms of storytelling.
However, Big - O is one of the rare masterpieces where it surpassed the limitations of an anime and went far deeper than any novels can.
Hell, I would like to read the novel version of The Big - O it if there is one.
Because that would be one hell of a novel that could be compared to the works of Leo Tolstoy or works of Umberto Eco. It would be a true post millennia classic.
Wait a minute, did literally every single VA mispronounce Mega-deus the entire series as Megadeuce and I just never picked up on that until now?! Me and my brother would call taking a number 2 a megadeuce back in highschool.
oh wow this video was fantastic! I need to rewatch this series and also this reminds me that I should watch Kaiba sometime since memory has always been something fascinating to me due to how fickle it is and I know Kaiba also does with the topic.
I'm flattered.
Kaiba is a favorite of mine.
@@radiokunio3738 I actually watched it last year I believe and yeah it's just so gorgeous and personal.
Thx for this retrospective :)) I'm trying to write sort of epilogue and your vid is helpful
thanks man. lot of nostalgia with this series. I appreciate the Video
one of my top animes great score, as awell, your analysis is on point
i kinda like mega duece lmao.
SIR A MEGA DUECE IS DESTROYING TOWN!!!
well what could have taken that?
A BIG O thank you for the clear analysis - and making it fun, too ! I never grabbed all the subtilities you point ( about the memory general thema and the different goals of the protagonists ), but i did enjoy the show, anyway. So, what do you say: maybe understanding TOO, like memories, is a bit overated when it comes to love something ? I'd say yes.
How did I miss this as a kid?
Its slow bebop to me still love it
It sounds like, the people who don't care about the themes of Big O are the one's actually embodying the themes of Big O.
They've disregarded memory and externalized purpose? You've lost me a bit
Appreciated this a lot.
I love Big O. Great moody anime with awesome music to boot.
No mention of Datsun and his constant battle with his own impotence/reliance on the power of gods to save people?? A pretty big oversight imo! Nevertheless, a very decent video and worth a like for sure
I considered giving him his own section, but it made the video too massive. Same with Dorothy's struggle obtaining human consciousness
@@AddyLovestar understandable
Amazing ! I'm dissapointed to realize I'm like Gordon Rosewater.. Wanted more depth as to what really went down 40 years ago etc.
legendary show
People say this show ain’t one wtf
And,to think: m.night-shamalamma dingdong gonna make a strait mint on new movie based on just this script; plagiarism,for the win.....
Excellent analysis.
Thank you
Man, this show is great!
bravo
I dont get it. Roger is obviously less than 40 and so are children and young adults. If theyre not 40 shouldnt they have all of their memories? Or is it a constant state of never having memories which is impossible because they remember each others names.or other things like that...
Classic
I have always loved this show, probably always will.
The fact that the writer behind it, Chiaki J. Konaka, is an Alex Jones-level conspiracy nut will never change what this show means to me.
We will always come to terms with The Big O.
Conspiracy theorists are often incredibly creative people, not coincidentally. He's a good writer, even if his views on reality are less than sensible
@@AddyLovestar It logically follows that those who compile into signal from noise, will find signals where there truly _is_ only noise. Like seeing faces in clouds.
@@AddyLovestarMaybe he understands a reality that very few are given access to especially the masses. Big O is like The Matrix in terms of bringing to light what is well hidden. Only those that have access to that information will truly understand. Clearly Chiaki does. I definitely do really like your interpretation and analysis of Big O. Big O has many layers of meaning.
My problem with the ending is reconciling the meta textual meaning with the physical one
the show takes the “world is a stage and we’re merely players” idea literally, and it makes me question the logistics of what the reset means in universe, how can angel reset the big O even though the show already aired most of its episodes?
Clearly roger (the actor not the character) was there to comfort her, etc it just muddies up what actually happened
I don't think what literally happened matters at all
I think Angel ,Roger and Michael are Gods of the world and angel being responsible for the judgement of it whether it's worth keeping or not and Michael and Roger are there to show her it is or isn't but to make it fair remove there memories and parts of there God hood to go about the judgement and everyone else are just players on the stage of life itself and the cycle keeps repeating in better or worse fashion after each judgement by Angel/Venus...all this being a metaphor for human history, memory and society.
Damm
I loved that show
Same
I always felt the name was a mistake. With a different localized title, maybe more of the intended audience would have found this excellent anime.
I always took "The Big O" to mean "Omega", but the name certainly isn't doing it any favors with a Western audience, I agree about that.
@@AddyLovestar I mean, best-case scenario is a western audience won't have any idea what it means. More likely, they'll assume it's a hentai/ecchi anime and avoid it outright.
It at least had some vague presence in the western consciousness because it was funded by Adult Swim, I would hope
@@AddyLovestar Yeah, I think most of the western audience found it through adult swim, alongside cowboy bebop and trigun.
Anime mech batman with female Alfred
I would say a female Robin but everything else to me was spot on.
I mean dude, it’s Batman meets pacific rim with jazz how much more based could this show possibly be?
I love you