VGA Manga and Anime Resources

ROLEX

Rolex is a mysterious being who works for Gokuraku. He is very tall and always appears in a trench coat. His face is angular, as if chiseled from granite and his appearance is slightly inhuman, with features like pointed ears and slanted eyes.
Rolex's position within the Gokuraku organization was not clearly stated in the story, but it can be deduce that he occupies a very high position within the hierarchy, possibly just one step beneath the Owner, Mr Barutekku. He deals mainly in the design and creation of Video Girls. His role could be described as some kind of scientist-inventor, as well as being the CEO of Gokuraku Japan. His subordinate, the old man, once called him a 'genius' and it is indisputable, from the incredible nature of his creations, that he is indeed one.

Rolex is a cold and unfeeling being. Incapable of pity, compassion and sympathy, he is utterly ruthless in carrying out his personal agenda. Those who gets in his way are crushed, mercilessly and without remorse. It would be wrong, however, to describe him as being total emotionless. He displays a curiosity that is common among scientists, such as the instance where he let the faulty Video Girl Ai exist on the real world for more than a year just because he wanted to have a chance to study her.

He is also subjected to rare but terrifying explosions of rage. This occurs when his plan are thwarted or if someone would so much as mention the word 'love' in his presence. Whenever that happens, all hell would break loose. Rolex is also characterized by an all-consuming obsession with perfection. He is zealous when seeking to attain perfection in his creations or in eliminating imperfection, such as his prosecution of Amano Ai. Finally, he has another character complex, and that is his strange revulsion of the unique human emotion of love. He is not merely contemptuous of love, which he feels to be a weak and debilitating emotion, but has a strong and implacable hatred of it. It is an inexplicable irony that he decided to name one of his Video Girls 'Ai' or 'love'.

Rolex might be inhuman in appearance as well as in his lack of emotions but the one thing that definitely sets him apart from normal humans is his supernatural powers. Rolex has the ability to teleport, appearing anywhere he wants instantaneously. He could perform this in both the real world and the Video World. He could also shift between the two worlds at will. He appears to be almost omniscient. Coupled with his power of teleportation, there is effectively no way his enemies could hide from him. His abilities also includes some destructive powers. In Manga vol. 12, he almost attacked Youta with some energy that he conjured up, shown glowing on his palms. In Manga vol. 13, he summoned a glowing sphere of light that surrounds his body, expanding outwards. This energy field instantly incapacitated Ai when it touched her. He performed a more powerful variant of this attack in OVA 6 of the Anime which he used to blast Youta. I have difficulty in thinking of a suitable description for it, so it is best that you see it for yourself. Very impressive...

Rolex is an integral part of the story line in Video Girl Ai, being Amano Ai's creator. When Ai began to malfunction (i.e began to show human emotions), after being played on Youta's faulty VCR, she naturally became the target of Rolex's attention. Intolerant of the slightest imperfection in his creations, he regarded Ai as a rogue Video Girl, spoilt goods that must be rectified... or destroyed. In addition, she has the misfortune to fall in love with Youta. Love is the emotion which Rolex reviled above all others and it is also the emotion which he programmed his Video Girls specifically to be immune from. It is therefore inevitably that he takes on an antagonistic role towards Ai and Youta. His presence in the story is like an oppressive shadow that constantly hovers over Ai and Youta, threatening to tear them asunder at any time. It is thus that Rolex introduced suspense and an element of danger into the story.

Though he is the 'bad guy' in the Manga and Anime, I hesitate to term him 'evil'. Though he had almost killed the old man and caused much suffering to Ai and Youta in his attempts to fulfill his perfectionist goals, he was not shown to be needlessly cruel in the story. He left Ai alone when she did not go against his wishes such as the time when he agreed to extend her running time so that she could help Youta complete his illustrated storybook (Manga vol. 12). Even when he was determined to destroyed Ai, he did not do it out of malice, but more out of a twisted sense of duty as a perfectionist. He also did not harm those who were not involved in this affair. In fact throughout the story, only Ai, Youta and the old man knew of Rolex's existence.

Back to Character Profile
Back to Index