Storyline

Forty years ago, the minds of Paradigm City's inhabitants were wiped clean of all recollections of the past. Now, ruled by a powerful corporation and cut off from the rest of the world by desolate wastelands, Paradigm has become a virtual police state where Negotiators like Roger Smith keep the wheels of progress, commerce, and society turning.

First Aired

1999-10-13
Last Aired

2003-03-27
Creator
Genre

Animation, Drama, Action & Adventure
Seasons

1
Episodes

26
Status

Ended
Language

English, 日本語
Network

WOWOW Prime, Tokyo MX, Chiba TV

Keywords:

detective android amnesia mecha conspiracy memory loss angst anime super robot dieselpunk psychological post-apocalyptic

Stream and watch The Big O

Season 1

1. Roger the Negotiator

In the pilot episode, Roger Smith is introduced as Paradigm City's top negotiator. As the episode beg...More

In the pilot episode, Roger Smith is introduced as Paradigm City's top negotiator. As the episode begins, he is delivering the ransom for a girl named Dorothy, who had been kidnapped from her father, a rich industrialist named Saldano. After the exchange, Saldano arrives and reveals that the Dorothy Roger they had obtained was actually an android fake. When Roger realizes Beck isn't playing fair, he activates the briefcase carrying the ransom and it flies out of Beck's car.Less

25mins 1999-10-13

2. Dorothy, Dorothy

In the previous episode, Major Dastun and Dorothy looked like they were going to be crushed by Dorothy...More

In the previous episode, Major Dastun and Dorothy looked like they were going to be crushed by Dorothy One as it fell. However, when the dust cleared, Dastun was fine and Dorothy had disappeared. Roger took Big O back into the subway to escape Dastun's rage over the destruction of the fight. Then, he began to search for Dorothy. He received a tip about a nightingale in the city, which led him to a club called Nightingale. There Roger found Dorothy along with a man named Waynewright who said he was her grandfather. Dorothy sang in the club after which Beck arrived, shot Waynewright, knocked out Roger and kidnapped Dorothy.Less

25mins 1999-10-20

3. Electric City

Recently, there's been a number of power outages in Paradigm. Roger is hired by Paradigm Power Managem...More

Recently, there's been a number of power outages in Paradigm. Roger is hired by Paradigm Power Management to go to the Electric City and negotiate with the locals the reactivation of the hydroelectric power plant. They say a god lives in the water.Less

25mins 1999-10-27

4. Underground Terror

A woman named Patricia Lovejoy (the same woman called Angel in Electric City) approaches Roger Smith a...More

A woman named Patricia Lovejoy (the same woman called Angel in Electric City) approaches Roger Smith about a job with Paradigm. He is supposed to convince a reporter named Michael Seebach to hand over his manuscript, but as it turns out, Seebach had disappeared months earlier. Using his connections with Major Dastun, Roger tracks down an apartment Seebach is renting. There he discovers a typewriter and a large stack of papers, which he begins to read when gasoline pours in under the door and lights. Roger jumps out the window to escape and is confronted by Seebach, now calling himself Schwartzvald and wrapped in bandages. Seebach tells Roger to report to Paradigm that they will never see him in the city again, then disappears.Less

25mins 1999-11-03

5. Bring Back My Ghost

A military police vehicle crashes after seeing an apparition while crossing a certain bridge and it is...More

A military police vehicle crashes after seeing an apparition while crossing a certain bridge and it is apparently only the latest in a string of such accidents involving high ups in the military police. Roger is retained to work for a billionaire named Melissa Frazier who wants Roger to find her son Bonny. Bonny worked for the military police and was killed during a riot on the haunted bridge a year earlier, after which time the ghost sightings began. His body fell into the water and disappeared. Roger is tipped that Bonny may have been killed because he was going to reveal corruption in the MPs. He goes to track down one of the few remaining conspirators, a Colonel Gaust, but he has been taken to the bridge by Bonny Frazier and pushed into the water. Both Big O and Dastun attempt to attack the apparition, but their attacks appear to go through it, while it's missiles assault Big O from all directions. In a last ditch attempt, Roger tracks the origin of the missiles and shootsLess

25mins 1999-11-10

6. A Legacy of Amadeus

After waking Roger up with her piano playing, Roger decides to take Dorothy to see a friend who can he...More

After waking Roger up with her piano playing, Roger decides to take Dorothy to see a friend who can help her learn to add feeling to her playing. His friend is a robot named Instro, who was built by a scientist named Amadeus and thought of Instro as a son. Instro remembers how happy Amadeus was when Instro would play the piano for him. While Instro is giving Dorothy a lesson, a mysterious stranger arrives and reminds Instro that he needs to fulfill his creator's legacy.Less

25mins 1999-11-17

7. The Call from the Past

Episode begins, Roger and Angel are trapped in a building buried under the sea, one of a string appare...More

Episode begins, Roger and Angel are trapped in a building buried under the sea, one of a string apparently created by the Event. Three days earlier, Roger is trying to negotiate to bring down the price of fish for the people outside the domes. He learns that the reason fish is so expensive is because the fishermen won't go out to fish because they are scared of a sea titan in the water.Less

25mins 1999-11-24

8. Missing Cat

Dorothy befriends a stray cat and takes it in. Roger thinks it's cute until the owners of the cat show...More

Dorothy befriends a stray cat and takes it in. Roger thinks it's cute until the owners of the cat show up. But what's more, the cat is more than what he seems to be.Less

25mins 1999-12-01

9. Beck Comes Back

Episode begins with Beck being broken out of prison by a Megadeus. Then, Roger is hired by Mr. Wise, ...More

Episode begins with Beck being broken out of prison by a Megadeus. Then, Roger is hired by Mr. Wise, a rich industrialist, to negotiate for the return of his kidnapped son, Francis. After hanging up on the kidnappers, Roger is fired by Wise, only to be rehired when the ransom is paid and his son is not returned. The kidnappers call back, recognize Roger's voice and agree to return the son if Roger brings the ransom. Roger finds Francis at the cabin he was directed to, but the police arrive believing that Roger was the kidnapper. This was a setup by the real kidnapper, Beck, to get revenge on Roger (see Roger The Negotiator and Dorothy Dorothy).Less

25mins 1999-12-08

10. Winter Night Phantom

Major Dastun has been having a recurring dream about a woman in white who is shot on a pier with her f...More

Major Dastun has been having a recurring dream about a woman in white who is shot on a pier with her final words being ""Vous Ãªtes si gentil."" The language has been long forgotten in Paradigm City, but it still seems familiar. At the same time, a toy robot crawls into a packed church and explodes. It is the latest in attacks by terrorists who are targeting retired city officials.Less

25mins 1999-12-15

11. Daemonseed

Dorothy is buying a tie for Roger at the department store in preparation for Heaven's Day. Roger snap...More

Dorothy is buying a tie for Roger at the department store in preparation for Heaven's Day. Roger snaps at her when he sees her and when he apologizes, he sees a saxophone player on the sidewalk whom he gives to generously. Later, at Roger's house, Norman explains Heaven's Day to Dorothy, one of the traditions being to give presents to those you love. When Dorothy asks Roger if he would be giving gifts to anyone, he becomes nervous and declares that he doesn't like the gift-giving. This causes Dorothy to storm out of the room. The saxophone player, Oliver, brings home some ham with the money Roger gave him and tells his blind girlfriend Laura that he would like to give her a good Heaven's Day gift. Roger consults Norman on Dorothy's reactions and Norman tells him that Dorothy's birthday is apparently on Heaven's Day. Roger asks about Dorothy's dress size and then rushes off to buy her a nice coat, which Oliver is also admiring but can't possibly afford. Oliver gets his pay fromLess

25mins 2000-01-05

12. Enemy Is Another Big

Roger is hired by Alex Rosewater to deliver a very large severance check to Michael Seebach aka Schwar...More

Roger is hired by Alex Rosewater to deliver a very large severance check to Michael Seebach aka Schwartzvald. After accepting the assignment, Roger intercepts the police radio about a new Megadeus which has appeared at JFK Mark. He goes there as Big O and is confronted by a Megadeus swaddled in bandages and controlled by Schwartzvald. The Megadei begin to battle with Schwartzvald's Megadeus wrapping Big O in his bandages. Roger fights back, burning away the bandages to reveal another Big O unharmed. The robot then vanishes, leaving only a bandage to fall from the sky. Back at his house, Angel calls Roger to give him Schwartzvald's whereabouts. Roger follows the directions to find that Schwartzvald is throwing a masquerade party. Roger talks to Schwartzvald, who is dressed as a clown, and who uses the partygoers as an example of the corruption of the city. When Roger hands over the check, Schwartzvald burns it and the masks of the partygoers burst into flame. Schwartzvald calLess

25mins 2000-01-12

13. RD

The episode begins with a mysterious woman in a red cloak and hood murdering several people, leaving b...More

The episode begins with a mysterious woman in a red cloak and hood murdering several people, leaving behind only the phrase, ""Cast In The Name Of Good Ye Not Guilty."" This is the phrase shown on Big O when activated. One of the dead is a dancer named Ellen Weight, a client of Roger's who had memories from before the Event, despite being far too young.Less

25mins 2000-01-19

14. Roger the Wanderer

Roger Smith takes on the three foreign MegaDeuses, as well as the demons in his own mind. The battles ...More

Roger Smith takes on the three foreign MegaDeuses, as well as the demons in his own mind. The battles he fights, both internal and external, will change Paradigm City forever.Less

25mins 2003-01-02

15. Negotiations with the Dead

Roger is hired by a woman to protect her husband, a retired Senator, from an assassin. Apparently, the...More

Roger is hired by a woman to protect her husband, a retired Senator, from an assassin. Apparently, the assassin is working for the same people who controlled the "mad bomber" from Act:10 "Winter Night Phantom" and the murderous android in Act:13 "R-D".Less

25mins 2003-01-09

16. Day of the Advent

An unknown object crashes to Earth inside Paradigm City. While the general populace takes it as a good...More

An unknown object crashes to Earth inside Paradigm City. While the general populace takes it as a good sign, Roger Smith isn't so sure, especially when he is hired to perform a very unusual Negotiation--one that will bring him into direct conflict with Paradigm CEO Alex Rosewater.Less

25mins 2003-01-16

17. Leviathan

Schwartzvald rears his bandaged head again, and a new MegaDeus threatens Paradigm City. Business as us...More

Schwartzvald rears his bandaged head again, and a new MegaDeus threatens Paradigm City. Business as usual? Roger Smith sure doesn't think so.Less

25mins 2003-01-23

18. The Greatest Villian

When Beck kidnaps Roger Smith, R. Dorothy must take the case. Prepare yourself for R. Dorothy Waynewri...More

When Beck kidnaps Roger Smith, R. Dorothy must take the case. Prepare yourself for R. Dorothy Waynewright...the Negotiator. Paradigm City will never be the same.Less

25mins 2003-01-30

19. Eyewitness

Someone is killing androids in Paradigm City. After several attacks, Paradigm HQ dispatches a special ...More

Someone is killing androids in Paradigm City. After several attacks, Paradigm HQ dispatches a special agent to assist in the case: Freddy O'Reilly. But Freddy is an android himself. He and Dastun have an uneasy working relationship. When Dorothy is targeted, she manages to avoid being destroyed and is taken in for police questioning.Less

25mins 2003-02-06

20. Stripes

Roger is still having strange flashbacks. He can only assume that they are memories, but he's not quit...More

Roger is still having strange flashbacks. He can only assume that they are memories, but he's not quite sure. Frustrated, he returns to visit Gordon Rosewater, the man who built Paradigm City, on his farm. Gordon only offers vague platitudes and cryptic responses, until he gives Roger one very important clue.Less

25mins 2003-02-13

21. The Third Big

Roger Smith & Dan Dastun race to R. Dorothy's aid, while Alex Rosewater finally unveils "Big Fau". But...More

Roger Smith & Dan Dastun race to R. Dorothy's aid, while Alex Rosewater finally unveils "Big Fau". But can he control the power of a MegaDeus once it is unleashed?Less

25mins 2003-02-20

22. Hydra

Roger is unsympathetic to Alex's problems. Alex pushes his science group to reactivate the Big Fau. Un...More

Roger is unsympathetic to Alex's problems. Alex pushes his science group to reactivate the Big Fau. Underground tremors and a power outage draw attention to these tests, and the union spy Vera unleashes a three-headed giant electric eel. Once again, Roger and the Big O find themselves facing a giant monster to protect all of Paradigm City.Less

25mins 2003-02-27

23. Twisted Memories

Beck's back, with an army of annoying android assassins. Alex Rosewater deals with his Daddy Issues in...More

Beck's back, with an army of annoying android assassins. Alex Rosewater deals with his Daddy Issues in a very negative way, while at the same using Beck to kidnap R. Dorothy. And we're just gettin' warmed up...Less

25mins 2003-03-06

24. The Big Fight

Roger Smith and Big O slug it out with Alan Gabriel and "Big Duo Infern", while Alex Rosewater uses R....More

Roger Smith and Big O slug it out with Alan Gabriel and "Big Duo Infern", while Alex Rosewater uses R. Dorothy's Memories to complete Big Fau. And the Union is still out there...Less

25mins 2003-03-13

25. The War of Paradigm City

When high-altitude bombing levels Paradigm City, Alex Rosewater proclaims his "New Order". Meanwhile, ...More

When high-altitude bombing levels Paradigm City, Alex Rosewater proclaims his "New Order". Meanwhile, Roger Smith and Angel uncover the soul-shattering secrets behind the Event, and the founding of Paradigm City.Less

25mins 2003-03-20

26. The Show Must Go On

R. Dorothy rises from her deathbed, thanks (in part) to Beck. Roger Smith and Alex Rosewater stage the...More

R. Dorothy rises from her deathbed, thanks (in part) to Beck. Roger Smith and Alex Rosewater stage the Showdown of the Century, while Gordon Rosewater shows Angel her true destiny.Less