Big O! ending

Any other Big O! fans out there? Back when Cartoon Network first aired the series, I used to sneak into the judges' chambers in the courthouse and watch it at night. I fell instantly for the retro, noir style, complete with blatantly stereotyped characters. (Yeah, I might still have a bit of a crush on R. Dorothy. . .) But even after buying the series and watching it several times over, I still don't really understand the ending. Some techno-hyped interpretation of the Bard's: "All the world's a stage," perhaps? Any ideas or suggestions?

[chefofdeath]

heh i havent seen that anime in ages i understood its ending somewhat but i will have to watch it again to give a better reply its been too long

Yeah, I watched the series straight through again over two nights in May and once again got completely lost with the last 2-3 episodes. The ending frustrates me, but it's sure fun getting there!

[chefofdeath]

yea it is .... it seems like they could of kept on going with the series but decided not to

Well, originally the series was only 13 episodes long, but it was then expanded to 26 episodes. You can see the focus of the storyline change in the newer episodes. . .

[chefofdeath]

really i never knew that ...... now that u mention it there were a lot of hidden truths behind each mysterious episode that followed after that whole swartsvold disaperance

From what I know Adult Swim liked the show so much, they actually funded the continuation. I could be wrong, but I will say I did like the series as a whole despite many people thinking the end was cheap.

[chefofdeath]

the music is very smooth i liked the x-mas episode one with that sax player ...... when i heard that i tried to find the sheet music for that song but never found it

You're right, Kana. Adult Swim was directly responsible for the series' extension. And you're right too, Chef--the series took a more philosophical turn as it progressed. At first it seemed to focus on the lost-yet-continuing technology as personified by R. Dorothy, then with the extension shifted more towards the human condition as personified by Roger Smith. I always felt that the writers missed the chance to fully address the complexities of the human/technology interaction that they introduced with Roger's and Dorothy's never-well-enough-examined relationship. Could Roger have ever reached Norman's level of acceptance of Dorothy as the person she was made to be[come]? I felt cheated of an answer. . .

[chefofdeath]

due to the fact that the story turned very philosophical the story became more complex as each character started to take drastic changes... such as alex rosewater and his dad . . . . beck...... angel..... roger in that one episode when he still had his old memories but was living another life.... even the police chief had some change in him causing him to realize that the outside world and their town was slowly going to become a waste land due to the megaduces which were constantly becoming more active

I really can't say that I agreed with the major part Angel suddenly had in the ending. While all the characters were stereotypes, Angel's was a stereotype of a stereotype, basically to the point of becoming a caricature. I'm sure the philosophical turn that the series took as it progressed was intentional to build up to the new ending. I just wish I understood that ending better!

[chefofdeath]

yeah they somewhat forced the end to be something i really shouldnt have been....... somewhat like restarting the whole anime in a sense ..... even though things were realized it seemed like the whole megaduce battles still commenced after all that had happened

I wonder if that was part of a "moral" that developed as the series evolved? That no matter how horrifying things become, mankind nonetheless has only one ultimate answer--the same answer, repeated over and over--war and destruction. Was that ultimately why the characters were stereotypes? Because in pursuing just one answer we fall into expected patterns of behavior guaranteed to provide the certain outcome of conflict? Because questioning ourselves is not enough (Roger Smith); we must also question our society and our place in it (Dorothy)?

[chefofdeath]

that is a intereisting way of putting it. . . . . with everyone pursuing 1 answer which led them to find out the truth of the world through the lost memories of 10 years ago . . .. which ultimately led the worlds out of the dome to their destruction if you think about it ...... the urge for the power to posses a megaduce and attempt to change the world through their one answer changed the whole outlook of the world and its people in it

[bemused_Bohemian]

I too bought the dvds to this show. The ending to the 2nd year looked like a quick wrap-up, as you have stated. If you guys click on Wikipedia and look up Big O I'll think their treatise of the plot and backstory will answer a lot of your questions re this show. I find 90% of Wiki's anime summations very informative, the other 10% need vast revisioning by folks knowledgeable about such series. Some of the ANN (Anime News Network) film critics' reviews can be illuminating and insightful/inciteful also.

Thanks for the tip! The article was very informative. I guess I'm just not familiar enough with gaming to have caught the idea of a "reset." But that does support my earlier suggestion of a "techno-hyped" interpretation of the Bard's "all the world's a stage." Best of all, I learned that there's an official companion book to the anime series!

[chefofdeath]

an official companion book ? really got to look that up

[Tyto]

Originally Posted by moonhawk81 (Yeah, I might still have a bit of a crush on R. Dorothy. . .)

We all still do, friend... We all do...

[chefofdeath]

u know what anime reminds me of Big O in a way was The Skull Man with no giant robots the ending was some what similar in the way it leaves more to be shown

[Kate]

So that's why I see a red like color from an opened wound. I'm actually one of those tomatoes. Strange...

Anyway, I loved Big O while growing up. I was so glad when Adult Swim brought the second half on TV. My first reaction when I first saw it was like, "IT'S BIG O!" Adult Swim was my hero at that point.