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Introduction
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Warning: This page contain spoilers; proceed at your own risk.
There's really not that much to say about Dorothy in the manga that varies too much from the character of Dorothy as she is fleshed out in the anime. The first part of the manga series has been completed in Japan; the story is now being serialized in a new series (also by Hitoshi Ariga) called Big O: Lost Memories. As was already noted by Pero-chan on the Style page, Dorothy looks markedly different in the manga than in the anime. Unlike the anime, where Dorothy is visible from the first episode, Dorothy's first appearance isn't until the end of the first manga. In chapter #3, "Thy Name is Dorothy," Roger diffuses a hostage situation in which the hostage turns out to be an android girl named Dorothy. Sound familiar? This chapter plays out in the same manner as "Roger the Negotiator" but with a few minor changes to the timeline. The manga seems to mirror the anime for the most part, though certain episodes appear in the manga that never make it to the anime. Particularly noteworthy is Dorothy's insistence that Roger take sugar with his coffee, as black coffee is not healthy. It serves as a cute parallel to the ongoing piano wakeup call that we're also privvy to in the anime. There is also a chapter involving Dorothy being scouted by a poor artist who Dorothy takes pity on after being scolded about being kinder to people. She gives him a loaf of bread that she has bought for dinner, and the artist envisions her as an angel sent from heaven. He paints a fantastic mural of Dorothy in his shabby little flat in decadent art nouveau style that later gets demolished in a battle between Beck and the Big O. There is a lot more humor at Dorothy's expense in the manga overall. Each volume has a nifty section at the back of the book containing humorous mini-strips with scenarios involving the cast of the Big O and/or the Big O manga staff. Want to see Dorothy riding a Vespa? Going after Beck with a butcher knife? Waking up Roger with the piano? Going after Roger with Mazinger Z's trademark rocket punch? Check out the manga.
The manga itself is drawn by Hitoshi Ariga and written by Hajime Yadate (the pen name used by Sunrise staff writer). It is published by Kodansha Comics (ZKC label). There are six volumes of the first series manga available and thus far one of the new series. The ISBN#s, publication dates and chapter listings for volumes 1-6 are as follows:
1st pub. 12/16/99, reissued on 5/30/00, 216 pages. NOTE: All of these titles/chapter numbers are taken directly from the table of contents of each book. All titles were originally written in English. To order these books, contact your favorite comic book store, or visit the store/website of a Japanese bookstore such as Sasuga. |