But before I can explain him to you, I must explain the premise of the series.
The Anime series I'm referencing is titled "The Big O." It takes place within the confines of Paradigm City, a domed metropolis situatied in a world that was affected by a cataclysmic event that happened 40 Years ago, and in the aftermath, every citizen and android lost their memories of anything that happened prior to that day. Our main character is Paradigm's top negotiator Roger Smith. He's a respectful gentleman who solves his clients' cases and essentially protects the city when the local police force can't, which is when a giant monster or robot happens to be stomping around for one reason or another. In those situations, Roger utilizes his own giant robot, referenced heavily as a Megadeus, called Big O. Together, they keep things in order. However, the character I wish to analyze is a villain of the series who tries to instill a certain kind of fear within Paradigm's citizens.
The mummy-looking man featured here goes by the name of Schwarzwald. Before he donned this persona, he was Michael Seebach, a newspaper reporter for Paradigm Press. Like Oedipa Maas, he became obsessed with finding the truth of things he was reporting; more specifically, his interest in the Event of 40 Years ago and that possibly, megadeuses were involved somewhere in the Event's process. The research nearly cost him his life, leaving him forever disfigured. He wishes to spread his findings to others in Paradigm, to expose Paradigm Corporation, the government of the city, for trying to get citizens to forget their pasts and deny the reality of the city's nature regarding the Event and for silencing him (they try to pay him off with a generous severance pay). Roger Smith is given the assignment of negotiating with him, but is called "a corrupt dog on the city's leash," for accepting the case designed to exponge his words of "Truth," something that must be known to Paradigm's inhabitants. There are three instances in the series where Schwarzwald appears:
1. In Episode 4, viewers first learn of the maniacal villain. He explains himself for diving down this apocalyptic rabbit hole, in pursuit of memories and things associated with the Event of 40 Years ago. Roger Smith is able to subdue him, but in the process, it's presumed that he dies in a fire before the episode's end.
2. In Episode 8, viewers see Schwarzwald getting serious about his claim of spreading the Truth, by inniating a Megadeus fire-fight inside a dome against Roger and Big O with a robot of his own - Big Duo. There is a significant amount of property damage. The battle ends with Big Duo being blown apart and a defeated Schwarzwald questioning a critical concept that develops later in the series regarding those giant robots.
3. In the 2nd season of the series, in Episode 17, Schwarzwald tries one more time to spread the truth, this time spreading his propoganda to the people, though he himself physically leaves the city for the wastelands of the desert, where he ultimately dies. However, from the desert comes a Megadeus associated with his propoganda: The Leviathan (After which the episode is titled). Throughout the remainder of the episode, he rants in voice-over fashion about ideals spawned from a three and a half minute speech he provides at the beginning, in a dire attempt to gain the audience he so desperately sought. The snake-like robot does make it to Paradigm City and Roger is able to defeat it before more damge can be done.
Provided below is that speech from Episode 17. Enjoy. (Note - Roger is in the Black robot, Schwarzwald in the Red one. The woman in the beach chair is a prominent female character in the series named Angel)
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