The Big O Showtime: Roger the Negotiator

We begin with Episode 1, or Act: 01 as the above title card says. Right off, the praise for this show's design work is well-deserved. The character models are more simplistic than the usual in anime, but distinctive in their own way. I also appreciate how whole-hog they go on the film noir atmosphere. It doesn't have the chiaroscuro lighting but everything else looks like it emigrated straight from a Fritz Lang film.

On that note, the music is wonderful at setting that atmosphere. It's full of lonely saxophones and sad pianos that compliment Roger's noir narration. And later during the giant robot fight, it's more triumphal and still matches well. But this highlights something I noticed. I won't call it a problem, first episode and all, but it is strange. The thing is the more standard giant robot battle at the end of the episode, though still well-made, kind of clashes with the more somber noir feel from the beginning. The colors in this part are brighter and more comic-booky in contrast to the washed-out look from earlier. I'm thinking this is deliberate, showing the difference between the inside of the domes and the outside city, but again it's the first episode.



I'm ambivalent to our main character Roger Smith. I don't dislike him, but right now he seems too much like the same James Bond riff, with the gadgets and cool car, that we've seen before. I know he's supposed to be a Batman analogue, but I don't see that. Yet anyway. I did like the moment when he finds his dead client and prays for him. It's small but it adds a layer to his character. On the other hand, I connected with Dorothy right away. I'm as much a sucker for emotionless robot girls as I am for giant robots so I'm a tad biased, but I thought the writers did a good job with her. She and Roger have a funny repartee and there's enough mystery to her actions to make me interested. Oh, and there's one moment when she's caught in an explosion and her dress isn't destroyed. I was expecting the animators to use this as an excuse for cheap fanservice, but I'm glad they took the high road and gave Dorothy a funny line instead.

My only major complaint is that some things are still too vague at this point. Roger's job in particular. He says he's a "negotiator", but the writers don't explain what a negotiator is exactly. I get that he's some kind of hired professional, but the details are vague about what he can do or its legality. The setting is also ill-defined. Roger talks about how everyone lost their memories 40 years ago and there's a sort of divide between the older and younger generations, but we don't see it onscreen. And what's the deal with domes? The city is dotted with these domes and the climax takes place in one, but the writers don't explain what they are. And this may just be me, but I'm confused by how common robots are in this setting. A few people comment on how Dorothy can almost pass for human, so I gather that non-human robots are more usual. But what about the giant robots? Roger's must be known to people because the police captain is annoyed when it shows up. The other I'm not sure about though, because the cops don't seem to have any idea how to stop it.

But this is the first episode. Maybe some of my issues will be cleared up later. Right now, I'm intrigued by what's going on and interested enough to want to know what happens. And you can't ask more from a first episode than that.