City of Amnesia

Illegal Residential Sector => Smith Mansion => Topic started by: Yuko-san on June 01, 2010, 07:21:31 PM



Title: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: Yuko-san on June 01, 2010, 07:21:31 PM
So for this thread I am going to group the anime and magna together to ask one very simple question.
WHY?
Or more precisely, why has no one noticed these things/ commented on these things before?
And yes, I realize sharp is going to have a field day with these.

Why:
Does Dorothy stand on the railing? Does she have a death wish? Or is she like one of those gargoyles? And why do Norman and Roger seem ok with it?
And speaking of which, why are the gargoyles from Disney's "Gargoyles" cartoon in the first episode of Big O. You can see three of them plainly on the side or Rogers house, in the exact same position as when they sleep in the old cartoon. Was Big O meant to be an even bigger cross over then it was?
Is Megaman in Paradigm City? In the manga, vol. 1 within the first 20 pages, Big Ear is reading A news paper with a headline saying "Rockman saves the day", and a picture of Megaman legends style Rockman, with a pic of legends style Roll, are on the cover.
On one note this could have been a marketing ploy, as Megaman legends came out around the same time Vol. 1 hit shelves. Viz also owns rights to both comics. However the appearance of Rockman, how ever fleeting, leads me to believe there are Reploids and Mavericks in Paradigm city. This would certainly explain RD's erratic and violent nature towards humans, as she could very well have been sane to start with, but turned insane from the event of either her fathers death or being abandoned, as RD herself claims she was.

If Paradigm City is the last bastion of human civilization then why does Norman have a British accent? Does this mean that the UK is still around, but very much in ruins?
If this is the case then the appearance of foreign Megadui (is that the plural form?) would easily be explained.
Why are all the union members French? Not Canadian French, but actually from France French. And why, if this is the case, are union members angry about being throw out of Paradigm, when they never lived there to begin with?
Why does no one have eye color? Were the animators just lazy, or, if the factory produced Roger theory is to be believed, did all the humans just up an leave? Or, using union members as an example, where the humans throw out?
If all the humans where thrown out, then, how could humans like Roy (pero), Dorothy and the Wiser child could have been born? We know that both Roy and Wiser's parents had at least one parent with black eyes, the other had brown and blue respectively.
However we know nothing about Dorothy's parents eye colors, as Dr. Waynewright wore sunglasses and we never see her mother. On this same note, why do the human Dorothy's pupils form the code gease symbol seen in dark Leleuch's eyes? Is this a homage of some sort to Big O?
For that matter where they really human? Or just hybrids born to robotic, or maybe I should say cybernetic, parents?

And finally, why does Big O look like Dorothy and Roger combined? Taking some images of what Big O would look like as a mech girl (look on gelbooru) you can clearly see traits from both, as if they were Big O's parents, in a weird round about sort of way. Or does Big O look like Roger and Dorothy because they are both important to him. Yes, even though I said mech girl earlier I assume Big O is a boy... That wears a plate skirt.


Title: Re: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: Professor Vogler on June 01, 2010, 07:53:59 PM
So for this thread I am going to group the anime and magna together to ask one very simple question.
WHY?
Or more precisely, why has no one noticed these things/ commented on these things before?
And yes, I realize sharp is going to have a field day with these.
Ignore Sharp, he doesn't count.

W
Quote
hy:
Does Dorothy stand on the railing? Does she have a death wish? Or is she like one of those gargoyles? And why do Norman and Roger seem ok with it?
And speaking of which, why are the gargoyles from Disney's "Gargoyles" cartoon in the first episode of Big O. You can see three of them plainly on the side or Rogers house, in the exact same position as when they sleep in the old cartoon. Was Big O meant to be an even bigger cross over then it was?
I think that scene was more of an artistic moment. There are homages to other American shows which influences the art style of Big O (batman, gargoyles) but that scene is more to present R. Dorothy as something above human.

Quote
Is Megaman in Paradigm City? In the manga, vol. 1 within the first 20 pages, Big Ear is reading A news paper with a headline saying "Rockman saves the day", and a picture of Megaman legends style Rockman, with a pic of legends style Roll, are on the cover.
On one note this could have been a marketing ploy, as Megaman legends came out around the same time Vol. 1 hit shelves. Viz also owns rights to both comics. However the appearance of Rockman, how ever fleeting, leads me to believe there are Reploids and Mavericks in Paradigm city. This would certainly explain RD's erratic and violent nature towards humans, as she could very well have been sane to start with, but turned insane from the event of either her fathers death or being abandoned, as RD herself claims she was.
First of all, I do believe Big O was an Anime "First"... with the Manga following shortly thereafter. Even if the two media forms happened simultaneously, they do not influence each other. The manga is standalone and the anime is standalone. Certain events and people remain the same, but other than that there are no other connections. The "rockman" might have been a throw away reference to Megaman, or to the artist in charge of the manga..... who made Megaman manga before his stint on Big O's manga. Just like there's a street sign for the pseudonym of the art team, it's just a shout out.

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If Paradigm City is the last bastion of human civilization then why does Norman have a British accent? Does this mean that the UK is still around, but very much in ruins?
If this is the case then the appearance of foreign Megadui (is that the plural form?) would easily be explained.
Why are all the union members French? Not Canadian French, but actually from France French. And why, if this is the case, are union members angry about being throw out of Paradigm, when they never lived there to begin with?
First, if we go by the show it's "megadeuses". If we want to get formal, the proper greek/latin plural form is "megadei". When thinking of the three foreign megadeuses, we have to see it in terms of "not from Paradigm". Which means any land outside of Paradigm City and Electric City (which is owned by Paradigm).

There's no reason why Norman can't be British. Paradigm is all that remains *now*, but that didn't stop people from other countries existing prior to the Event of 40 Years Ago. Norman retained his accent, or the old man in Act 15 is Irish. It doesn't explain Vera, though... (being brought up Canadian French is possible, but I think it's more just a casting director's choice for the "French Spy"). People can retain their native accent for quite a while if they choose to.

Quote
Why does no one have eye color? Were the animators just lazy, or, if the factory produced Roger theory is to be believed, did all the humans just up an leave? Or, using union members as an example, where the humans throw out?
If all the humans where thrown out, then, how could humans like Roy (pero), Dorothy and the Wiser child could have been born? We know that both Roy and Wiser's parents had at least one parent with black eyes, the other had brown and blue respectively.
However we know nothing about Dorothy's parents eye colors, as Dr. Waynewright wore sunglasses and we never see her mother. On this same note, why do the human Dorothy's pupils form the code gease symbol seen in dark Leleuch's eyes? Is this a homage of some sort to Big O?
For that matter where they really human? Or just hybrids born to robotic, or maybe I should say cybernetic, parents?
Umm... it's stylistic? Film noir doesn't place an emphasis on eyes unless their are heavily shadowed and/or dramatic. Japanese Anime places a lot of emphasis on eye style, color, etc. for showing character traits, but this is still a very American inspiring show sort of like Cowboy Bebop.

The plot device with Mr. Wise's (no "r") son was more of a murder-mystery clue than something over-arching in the show's style. Also... umm... I don't think that interpretation of the robotic-Roger scene is all that... err... believable. "Throwing out humans" isn't what I got out of that scene. There were two views I hold on that scene... one is more psychological, the other is more mythos conspiracy. Roger might have thought himself mass-produced (hence why he's in the picture with Rosewater), the world needs a Roger Smith so maybe he feared (i.e. the "memory") someone made him. The other way I see it, that scene could be a possible past/future Roger is being presented by Angel to choose for the world. He didn't accept the "Roger the Wanderer" world, he didn't accept the "War of 40 Years Ago", and he didn't accept the last one. What he wanted was the Paradigm he knew.

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And finally, why does Big O look like Dorothy and Roger combined?
WHAT o_o

No. Stop that.

The giant robot was designed first, then the show was made to advertise the toy.


Title: Re: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: Tifaria on June 03, 2010, 08:25:12 PM
Sometimes artists and creators do things because they like how it looks, and not necessarily for any other reason.  There doesn't have to be deeper meaning in everything.  The mystery is often more interesting than the answer.   

As for things like the gargoyles, megaman, the stylistic nuances-- those are homages, so don't try to make too much out of them.  A very basic place to start learning about those is on the Big-O wikipedia page.  You'll find that many other media and previous anime series influenced the show, and that manifests itself in little things like the gargoyles, the lighting choices, color choices, and even character designs.  Those are the ways that the creators honor the things that have influenced their work. 


Title: Re: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: Yuko-san on June 04, 2010, 12:09:31 AM
This is, of course, true. But what I want to know is why those particular images and symbols.
Why the gargoyle statues? When, as far as I am aware, none of the animators from the old Disney cartoon worked on Big O. I get the Batman homages, just not gargoyles and some other symbols.

I also never can get why Roger talks to himself. Even Dorothy thinks he's pushing it a little, talking to himself, and once or twice, answering. Then again, Act 14 was a mind trip, so...


Title: Re: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: Tifaria on June 04, 2010, 11:52:53 AM
Because they liked it.  Homages don't need a reason beyond that.  Also, as evan already said, Gargoyles was also an influence to the style of Big-O. 


Title: Re: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: The Final Negotiator on June 09, 2010, 01:11:06 PM
This is, of course, true. But what I want to know is why those particular images and symbols.
Why the gargoyle statues? When, as far as I am aware, none of the animators from the old Disney cartoon worked on Big O. I get the Batman homages, just not gargoyles and some other symbols.

I also never can get why Roger talks to himself. Even Dorothy thinks he's pushing it a little, talking to himself, and once or twice, answering. Then again, Act 14 was a mind trip, so...

Talking/pondering to oneself (in the "thinking out loud", rather than the "mentally disturbed", sense), whether in the scene or in a voice-over, would be another homage to film noir. Paradigm City's past, as well as the past of many of it's residents, were shrouded in mystery, because of "The Event" that happen 40 years prior.

I noticed similar self-dialog in not only Batman (one of the big influences of the Big O), but in the late 60's Spider-Man cartoons (as in "Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can..."). There, Spider-Man not only fought villians, but also usually had to solve many mysteries to do so, accompanied by a cool, but by today's standards, dated jazz soundtrack.

Dorothy is only worried that Roger may be too concerned with the past, and thus not concentrate on the task at hand.


Title: Re: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: Sharpshooter005 on June 26, 2010, 07:24:08 PM
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And yes, I realize sharp is going to have a field day with these.

Awesome, I'm a meme.

I'll admit I skimmed your post but:

Gargoyles are an architectural feature. They were going for kinda a old-school vibe with the buildings...granted gargoyles were not a thing with the period they seemed to be aping (it looked late '30s or so, I guess?) but that was just visual.

Megaman did not have anything to do with big o, but I only played megaman x maybe I missed something

The foreigners in paradigm, I agree I wish that was more of a thing in season 2, "The union" had a leader with what I assume was supposed to be a french accent, and she made mention of other lands/cities than paradigm. I assumed there were other survivors of a cataclysm out there, and the show would head in that direction...except then they did the mind-fuck "ROGER ON AN ASSEMBLY LINE, SPOTLIGHTS IN THE SKY, ITS ALL A SET" thing so who knows

(Also the satillite with Cyrillic writing on it. I remember trying to translate a screenshot, I think it said tsar..we had a long discussion when that episode aired.)


Title: Re: Why has no one noticed these things?
Post by: Leonard Shelby on September 21, 2010, 07:53:50 AM
Very interesting points.

About the colour of the eyes I can imagine it's a kind of symbol by the authors. Meaning that those who refused (or had removed) their past are now like blind, their light is off.