Editing The Big O (section)

===Style===
[[File:Shadowcasting (Big O).JPG|thumb|240px|The shadows of [[Venetian blinds]] cast upon the protagonist, a signature visual of ''[[film noir]]''.]]
''The Big O'' shares many of its themes, diction, archetypes and visual iconography with ''film noirs'' of the 1940s like ''[[The Big Sleep (1946 film)|The Big Sleep]]'' (1946).<ref name="animeAU">{{cite web|url = http://www.anime.org.au/main/staticpages/index.php?page=20040918172616306|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070807004721/http://www.anime.org.au/main/staticpages/index.php?page=20040918172616306|archive-date = 2007-08-07|title = The Big O|publisher = anime and manga for Australia|access-date = 2008-06-30 }}</ref> The series incorporates the use of long dark shadows in the tradition of ''[[chiaroscuro]]'' and [[tenebrism]]. ''Film noir'' is also known for its use of odd angles, such as Roger's [[low-angle shot|low shot]] introduction in the first episode. ''Noir'' cinematographers favoured this angle because it made characters almost rise from the ground, giving them dramatic girth and symbolic overtones. Other disorientating devices like [[dutch angle]]s, mirror reflection and distorting shots are employed throughout the series.<ref name = "influences"/><ref name="animeAU"/>

The [[List of The Big O characters|characters of ''The Big O'']] fit the ''noir'' and pulp fiction [[archetype]]s. Roger Smith is a protagonist in the mold of [[Raymond Chandler|Chandler]]'s [[Philip Marlowe]] or [[Dashiell Hammett|Hammett]]'s [[Sam Spade]].<ref name = "March">{{cite news|url = http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/month-in-review/2002-04-01|title = The Month in Review - March 2002|last = Green|first = Scott|work = [[Anime News Network]]|date = 2002-04-01|access-date = 2008-06-30|archive-date = 2012-05-22|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120522223247/http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/month-in-review/2002-04-01|url-status = live }}</ref><ref name = "jump"/> He is canny and cynical, a disillusioned cop-turned-[[Negotiation|negotiator]] whose job has more in common with detective-style work than negotiating. Big Ear is Roger's street informant and Dan Dastun is the friend on the police force. The recurring Beck is the imaginative thug compelled by delusions of grandeur while Angel fills the role of the ''[[femme fatale]]''. Minor characters include crooked cops, corrupt business men and deranged scientists.<ref name = "influences">{{cite web|url = http://www.animeland.com/index.php?rub=articles&id=198|access-date = 2006-12-16|title = ''The Big O'', un animé sous influence|last = Penedo|first = Nicolas|publisher = AnimeLand|language = fr|archive-date = 2007-09-27|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927120347/http://www.animeland.com/index.php?rub=articles&id=198|url-status = live }}</ref>

The dialogue in the series is recognized for its witty, wry sense of humor. The characters come off as charming and exchange banter not often heard in anime series, as the dialogue has the tendency to be straightforward. The plot is moved along by Roger's [[voice-over]] [[First-person narrative|narration]], a device used in ''film noir'' to place the viewer in the mind of the protagonist so it can intimately experience the character's angst and partly identify with the narrator.<ref name = "AnimePlay"/><ref name="ANNpreview"/>

The tall buildings and giant domes create a sense of [[claustrophobia]] and [[paranoia]] characteristic of the style.<ref name="onDVD1"/><ref name="vision"/> The rural landscape, Ailesberry Farm, contrasts Paradigm City. ''Noir'' protagonists often look for sanctuary in such settings but they just as likely end up becoming a killing ground.<ref name = "influences"/> The series score is representative of its setting. While no classic ''noir'' possesses a [[jazz]] score, the music could be heard in nightclubs within the films.<ref name="jazznoir">{{cite web|url=http://www.sfjazz.org/news/2006/2006_may_17.html|access-date=2006-11-04|title=Interview with Eddie Muller|date=2006-05-17|publisher=SFJAZZ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001033635/http://www.sfjazz.org/news/2006/2006_may_17.html|archive-date=2006-10-01|url-status=dead }}</ref> Roger's recurring theme, a lone saxophone accompaniment to the protagonist's narration, best exemplifies the ''noir'' stylings of the series.<ref name="animeAU"/>

[[Amnesia]] is a common [[plot device]] in ''film noir''. Because most of these stories focused on a character proving his innocence, authors up the ante by making him an amnesiac, unable to prove his innocence even to himself.<ref name="holiday">[[Terrence Rafferty|Rafferty, T]]. (2 November 2003) The Last Word in Alienation: I Just Don't Remember. ''[[The New York Times]]''.</ref>