Toonami’s ‘Mecha-Batman’ Anime Celebrates 25th Anniversary With New Creator Artwork

A classic Toonami anime series is celebrating its 25th anniversary with new artwork by its co-creator. Keiichi Sato, the character and mechanical designer on The Big O, illustrated new artwork of the show’s Western-influenced cast for fans on social media.

Sato drew the brand-new illustrations for The Big O’s 25th anniversary and shared them on his social media account on X (formerly Twitter). The first illustration is of the three main anime characters: Norman Burg, Roger Smith and R. Dorothy Wayneright. The second illustration, also seen below, is a stunning portrait of the titular robot. Throughout the show, Roger summons Big O for battle by using his wristwatch to give the voice command, “It’s showtime!”

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’90s Sunrise Anime ‘The Big O’ Combines Mecha and Film Noir

The Big O premiered in Japan on Oct. 13, 1999. Sato and anime director Kazuyoshi Katayama developed The Big O as a throwback to classic anime mecha like Super Robot Mach Baron but with a film noir vibe. However, the biggest influence of The Big O was Batman — more specifically, Batman: The Animated Series. Roger’s playboy portrayal is based on Bruce Wayne, right down to his faithful butler. Roger and Batman refuse to carry a handgun but will fight bad guys with non-lethal, high-tech weaponry.

The Big O also shares a similar art style with Bruce Timm, the co-creator and character designer of Batman: The Animated Series. Bandai Namco Filmworks (formerly Sunrise) was among the seven major animation studios that animated Batman: The Animated Series for Warner Bros. Animation and is responsible for The Big O and other anime series like Cowboy Bebop. One memorable episode of Cowboy Bebop, “Pierrot Le Fou,” draws inspiration from the Joker and Penguin for its theatrical killer named Mad Pierrot.

Sailor Moon from the first '90s anime and Super Saiyan Goku in Dragon Ball Z

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Although The Big O was critically acclaimed, the show struggled to find an audience in Japan. However, arguably because of its strong Western influences, it caught on in North America when it premiered on Cartoon Network’s Toonami block on April 2, 2001. The positive American reception led to Cartoon Network co-funding a second season of The Big O with Bandai. The Big O Season 2 premiered on the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network on Aug. 3, 2003.

Currently, The Big O is not available for streaming, and there have been no announcements of a possible third season. However, a home media release of the complete series was made available by Sentai Filmworks in 2017. Sato recently worked on the anime TV adaptation of Go! Go! Loser Ranger!, which is available to stream in North America on Hulu and Disney+. Batman: Caped Crusader, a spiritual revival of Batman: The Animated Series by Timm, Matt Reeves and J.J. Abrams, is available to stream on Amazon’s Prime Video.

The Big O

In a futuristic city with lost memories, an expert negotiator fights threats to the city with the help of an android and his own giant robot.

Release Date: October 13, 1999
Cast: Mitsuru Miyamoto , Steve Blum , Akiko Yajima , Motomu Kiyokawa , Tesshô Genda
Seasons: 2
Studio: Sunrise
Creator: Chiaki J. Konaka, Kazuyoshi Katayama, Kei’ichi Sato, Hajime Yatate
Producer: Tsutomu Sugita, Eiji Sashida, Ohashi Chieo
Production Company: Animaze, Bandai Visual Company, CTV Television Network
Number of Episodes: 28