Can anyone explain Big O's ending?

[Clayton_n]

Seriously, did anyone here read the manga or something? What was going on when Big O ended with Angel and the world being ina computer or something... please someone tell me what was going oN!

[Magician]

I don't think the ending was supposed to make sense.

[Gjallarhorn]

I don't think the ending was supposed to make sense.

The ending makes perfect sense, it just doesn't hand the viewer answers. It's not meant to provide answers, but to provide reason for thought.

The entire world and people in it were fake, created by a virtual reality program. At the end of the series the final battle between the two Bigs occurs, and the world resets itself and the people inside of it. The memories were all fake, created by the program so that whoever was operating it could see the results. Everything we interpreted as being "the show" was a psychological experiment run by unknown persons for unknown reasons.

The bigger question is what happens with each iteration of the world upon reset. Does the same story play out every time (is Roger just a "tomato"?), or do alternative paths take place? Like the series itself, it isn't about answers. It's about provoking thought on the nature of the past and the nature and importance of memories, our time on Earth, and what we can do and what the purpose of anything we can do is.

[Femme Fatale]

The ending makes perfect sense, it just doesn't hand the viewer answers. It's not meant to provide answers, but to provide reason for thought.

The entire world and people in it were fake, created by a virtual reality program. At the end of the series the final battle between the two Bigs occurs, and the world resets itself and the people inside of it. The memories were all fake, created by the program so that whoever was operating it could see the results. Everything we interpreted as being "the show" was a psychological experiment run by unknown persons for unknown reasons.

The bigger question is what happens with each iteration of the world upon reset. Does the same story play out every time (is Roger just a "tomato"?), or do alternative paths take place? Like the series itself, it isn't about answers. It's about provoking thought on the nature of the past and the nature and importance of memories, our time on Earth, and what we can do and what the purpose of anything we can do is.

Mind exploded!

[Clayton_n]

I want the answers damn it!

[nslay]

You're just struggling with the end? That anime is riddled with all sorts of mystery!

I'm still not sure what the point of RD was ... or how Angel is a memory? Or if the first episode of the second season was real, fantasy, or a different point of time (all explanation can be picked apart). Or a good interpretation of the tomatoes (I've heard several explanations). It's not even clear how Megadeuses could be construed as different cultures, religion, states of mind (like anxiety), etc...

In my opinion, it's an awesome and mind boggling anime.

---------- Post added at 09:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:26 PM ----------

The ending makes perfect sense, it just doesn't hand the viewer answers. It's not meant to provide answers, but to provide reason for thought.

The entire world and people in it were fake, created by a virtual reality program. At the end of the series the final battle between the two Bigs occurs, and the world resets itself and the people inside of it. The memories were all fake, created by the program so that whoever was operating it could see the results. Everything we interpreted as being "the show" was a psychological experiment run by unknown persons for unknown reasons.

I disagree. Alex, for example, knew about the history before 40 years ago. Remember Heaven's Day?

Also, you discount all the numerous assassinations of those who claimed to possess memories from before 40 years ago. They're also apparently required to pilot the megadeuses (which makes sense if you interpret megadeuses as some sort of past culture or idea). I don't think you can really write them off as fake.

How about the books that were ordered to be destroyed ... ?

The bigger question is what happens with each iteration of the world upon reset. Does the same story play out every time (is Roger just a "tomato"?), or do alternative paths take place? Like the series itself, it isn't about answers. It's about provoking thought on the nature of the past and the nature and importance of memories, our time on Earth, and what we can do and what the purpose of anything we can do is.

Roger was never a tomato ... Gordon even told him that. None of the main characters we saw were tomatoes. There's a superficial purpose to the tomatoes ... but I can't remember what Gordon said about them.

Strange that Roger is younger than 40, but can't remember the deal he made with Gordon (any explanation for this? Just another iteration then?).

But indeed, the series really does provoke thought. It's really easy to watch it over and over again because there's so much left to the imagination (like the mysterious divers, the city under the sea).

Any idea how Dorothy can operate without memory at the end? The whole Angel-is-a-memory is hard to grasp ...

My feeling is that the series is sort of symbolic to history repeating itself ... (sure doesn't explain all the other smaller mysteries).

[Gjallarhorn]

I disagree. Alex, for example, knew about the history before 40 years ago. Remember Heaven's Day?

Also, you discount all the numerous assassinations of those who claimed to possess memories from before 40 years ago. They're also apparently required to pilot the megadeuses (which makes sense if you interpret megadeuses as some sort of past culture or idea). I don't think you can really write them off as fake.

How about the books that were ordered to be destroyed ... ?

All the "memories" from before "40 years ago" were artificial. They were fake. The people of the world in which we saw put value on them for whatever reasons. Some tried to make a profit, some saw them as dangerous, some saw them as ways to rule the world. They became something very, vary valuable, so of course people who kill and steal and try to harm one another to either obtain them or prevent others from obtaining them. Alex "knew" because the "memories" were planted for him. The same with others. It was all apart of the virtual-reality program of which they were a part - the "memories", the ability to pilot megadeuses, every characters wealth and relationships, and the entire world around them. Every single bit of the world we saw came into being as the first episode began, and ended at the end of the final episode, where we saw it "reboot". Each instance of the world is entirely self contained, and set up with the same initial conditions. With this set-up, I think the creators of the program are seeing if the same course of events takes place each and every time.

[Clayton_n]

The least they could have done was have Rod Serling show up...


Serling: Roger Smith, a man who may not be a man. In a world of machines that may only exist inside a machine. Led by a girl who may be an angel or a figment of the imagination and another that loves him even though she doesn't have a heart. In a place where death is just a state of mind and one need not succumb if you can just hold onto yourself if not your memories. Just another group of people... in the Twilight Zone.