Tiger & Bunny

Before it came out, I saw the title and a poster art, and I figured it would be Playboy-esque. Or about Mafia. Then on a fansub site, I saw it tagged as a shounen mecha with action and comedy. Now I was confused. But whichever it was (about Mafia or mecha) it wasn't gonna be good. Then I saw that episode 1 was on Hulu. HULU? Was this legitimacy? OK, so I watched it. It was not what I was expecting. It's not about Mafia or mecha. It's about SUPERHEROES! Why couldn't somebody just comeout and say so? But mind you, this isn't like the other Japanese superhero animes that are re-makes revolving around American-made characters. This ain't Wolverine or Iron Man, folks. No, this is good stuff. GOOOOOOD. Just count how many times I use "awesome" and "cool" in this review. Here we have bright and saturated visuals, comedy, some pretty sweet action sequences, loveable characters, and enough drama and melodrama to keep a sieve full. And an interesting twist on athlete sponsorship. SYNOPSIS: This is Stern Bild, the bright city of the (American) future, where citizens are kept safe by the troop of the city's resident heroes. But these heroes aren't freelancers or government employees. No, they're privately sponsored. After all, it takes big bucks to get those suits done at the dry cleaners. But that sponsorship doesn't just mean they get corporate logos slapped all over them like a biker or racecar. No, they have to let camera crews follow them around, to broadcast their feats in reality-TV style. Our main character is one of these heroes, Kotetsu, whose hero name is Wild Tiger. Back in the day, he was cool. But now he's older, and has lost his shine. And his tween daughter thinks he's an absolute dweeb. When his current hero company goes under, he gets transferred to another, where they aren't too thrilled about having an old has-been hero. So they make the unusual decision to partner him up with another hero, and sell them to audiences as a team. They pick one that has the exact same superpower as Wild Tiger. And it happens that this guy's everything that Kotetsu is not: fresh, new, young, arrogant, no sense of humor, dutiful to the sponsors, and he uses his real name for his hero work. Everyone knows that heroes are supposed to have a secret identity! Young upstart. So Kotetsu's partnership with Barnaby Brooks Jr. gets off to a rough beginning. And it stays that way for a loooooong time, while Kotetsu keeps trying to loosen "Bunny-chan" up. (Yes, Barnaby is the 'Bunny' in Tiger & Bunny.) But Bunny isn't a hero just to do good. He has a specific goal in mind, and he won't let Kotetsu's goofiness distract him. It turns out they will both need to learn a lot about each other to get this partnership to work. MOST EVERYTHING ELSE: I tried a few minutes of some of the animes based on Marvel characters. I didn't like them. And judging by their low MAL ratings, most other people don't either. But this is an original story. Fresher, brighter, and with no comic book (or manga) to compare it to. But you can still see classic superhero roots, in the villains particularly. They're generally very flashy, unlike real criminals. And hey, we even get a mad scientist. Even though Tiger and Bunny are our main characters, there is a whole cast of heroes that they work alongside: ice-caster Blue Rose (who has a crush on Tiger), the fire-shooting Fire Emblem, wind-warping Sky-High, hunky Rock Bison, tomboyish Dragon Kid, and Japanophile Origami. And there's non-hero characters. Kotetsu's daughter Kaede, his mom, his former boss Ben. His suit-maker, Saito, with the quiet voice (he gets his own subtitles, since apparently Tiger is the only one who can hear him). Agnes, the producer of HERO-TV, the reality show that follows the heroes around. Legend, the hero that saved Kotetsu as a kid, and encouraged him to become a hero himself. The rogue Lunatic, dispenser of vigilante justice, who I think most people wanted to get more screentime. (I wanted to see more of him too; after all, he's the only guy whose suit had bell-bottoms. BELL-BOTTOMS.) It has a couple of story arcs. Some are as short as one episode, and give us a close-up look at the life of one of the heroes in the story. Other arcs span several episodes, as our heroes battle the villain of the moment. But there are clues scattered throughout the series that are used later. The action scenes are generally pretty cool. There isn't one every episode, but when they come, they are, like, AWESOME!!!! There's comedy aplenty, of the light kind. But what's at the core of the show is DRAMA. Lots of it. If the scene involving the little boy and the trading cards doesn't impact you some way, then you should just stop watching, because that's the melodramatic slant in this show. There's the drama of a dad trying to get his kid to say he's cool. Promising to meet with her, but then having to break his promise because he has been called to an assignment. There's the drama of a man whose goal is to take revenge for his parents who were murdered. You almost wonder if Barnaby suffers from depression, since he keeps getting bogged down in melodramatic angst, and takes it out on anybody who tries to get close to him. And the one who tries to do that is our very own Kotetsu. Barnaby is in serious need of some professional counseling. Incidentally, there is a bit racial variety. Which is unusual for anime, but was probably obligatory since the story is set, after all, in a place much like the United States. We have a couple of black characters: The mayor of Stern Bild (à la Obama, I'm sure); Ben, who is Kotetsu's former boss and current mentor; and Fire Emblem (a lot of viewers chew out his character because he is the cliché gay character you see a lot in anime; oh well, the makers are still Japanese after all). And Kotetsu and his family, and Saito are Asian...or more specifically, Japanese. No other kinds of Asians around apparently. And all the other characters are probably white. The animation is very awesome. The setting is often the sparky-lit city at night. Outlining is done in brown instead of the usual black, so the everything looks "warm" and alive. Action scenes are done well. And there's lots of CGI. Which makes some purists mad. The suits are where you see it most. Some people squawk at this, which isn't fair, because it's usually done pretty well, especially for the chunky suits that Tiger and Barnaby wear. The only place where it doesn't work very well is Fire Emblem's skin-tight suit. Though his cape with the creeping-flames pattern is cool. I'd want one of those myself. Style. There's lots of style. There's something about this that almost says "superheroes are a fashion statement." Well, that and the fact that Tiger and Bunny almost ALWAYS wear the same clothes. It's just begging for people to cosplay them. And the music seems to fit in with the style. The music is cool. Awesomely awesome. It varies from jazz to opera and places in-between. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Pixar movie "The Incredibles." Something about that retro-esque heroes-in-real-life feels very similar to this. MAKE SURE to watch after the ED in each episode. Often, there's a little bit of extra story at the end before the previews roll. And by then you might as well watch the previews too, since they're usually narrated by either Tiger or Barnany, and begin with him saying "Hi, I'm Tiger, the member of Tiger and Bunny who wears a beard!" or something else idiotic. Also, the episode titles are all in English, and based off some proverb. Tiger doesn't even try to say the next episode title, but Barnaby does, and sound pretty horrible. Some people said it was worth it to watch each episode just to hear Barnaby's Engrish at the end. Some viewers felt that the final arc in the series was a bit lame. I wouldn't say it was terrible, but it definitely did go for the cliche situations of "superhero meets the big boss" and more. Not necessarily bad, but it raised the bar pretty high for itself by then. But fans are waiting to see if there will be a second season…. WHAT IT'S NOT: It's not primarily action. We don't get a full-blown action sequence every episode. It's not primarily comedy, unless you want to laugh at Barnaby's childish attitude, or Kotetsu's blunders. Which ARE funny. There's very little ecchi. Unless you count Blue Rose's costume. There's little romance. Blue Rose obviously has a thing for Kotetsu, even though he's a generation older than herself. (It's OK Blue Rose, I sorta do too.) Yaoi fans may be disappointed that nothing goes on between our two main characters. (Though that hasn't prevented scores of Yaoi doujinshi from being made.) It's also not hugely….intelligent. I have to say this for people who are expecting an amazingly intricate and solid plot. While the story overall is good and throws a few cureveballs, there are some mental goofs. But that is all forgiven because the drama is SOOOO feel-good, and the characters are so loveable. CONCLUSION: I can say I'm very happy to see this show as popular as it is. I wrote a review after seeing episode 4, when the show's MAL rating was below 7. Now it's above 8. I'm happy it's getting love. Unlike most shounen series which are primarily about an action or suspense-driven story, Tiger and Bunny's partnership, or attempt at a partnership, is the main draw. You care about them, and the other characters. You REALLY CARE. You might even say this is meddling in seinen territory. Which is probably why this attracts viewers from all sorts of demographics. If you like drama, and a little action, comedy, nice music and animation, and an interesting setting, please, please give this a try. But beware. You might just get hooked.

[Insert obligatory pretentious quote here] #3deep5me I have been told that I recommend this anime a bit too much. That's because it's so underrated. Every time i tell someone to watch it, they give me shit like "I don't watch mech" or "Looks gay" IT IS NOT FUCKING MECH. Learn to read the damn tags. As for the gay part, people can ship whichever characters they want, doesn't make it canon. As long as you avoid the doujins, you're good. Unless of course you like that kind of stuff, which is perfectly fine. I do admit the banner doesn't look too appealing. Trust me, the anime looks much better.Story- Anime about people with special abilities are far from rare. But they are rarely done well. Tiger & Bunny is about people with special abilities called NEXT. Some of these NEXT are chosen by sponsors to be superheroes. These superheroes are in a competition on live TV. Hero TV is the most popular show on TV. The hero with the most point at the end of the season is crowned as the 'King of Heroes' I found the idea of commercialised superheroes to be really fresh. What is more important, the competition or people's lives? The story explores the main duo. It highlights the contrast in their views of justice and what it means to be a superhero. Another notable character is a vigilante, Lunatic, who believes that all criminals must die. He also happens to be my favourite character, his backstory was really touching. I actually gave a shit about him, and I'm a sociopath. It's no just a mindless action, comedy though. It does make you think a bit. Since I didn't open with a real quote, here you go- "The justice you speak of is truly weak and frail." Art- The character designs are unique and I quite like them. The costumes/suits are all very different. The visuals are stunning, even Redline pales in comparison. There's just a slight problem when the characters are in their costumes, the CGI is a bit jerky and looks weird. But this isn't a major problem and is only noticeable in a few scenes. Other than that Eyegasm. Sound: The two openings were very different from each other, but both were excellent. Orion wo nazoru is a cheerful song while Missing Link is a more emotional. The first ending was decent and the second was even better. The voice actors did a brilliant job, especially Hirata Hiroaki. I also checked out the english dub, but I wasn't too impressed. I didn't think Yuri Lowenthal was able to pull off Bunny's character very well. So I recommend sticking to the sub. The OST is absolutely brilliant. Characters- This is one of the major strengths of Tiger & Bunny. Each and every character is well written. We are shown the backstory of all relevant characters. There is a considerable amount of development in most characters. The supporting characters especially standout. Tiger is a 40 year old man, with a teenage daughter. This is one of the things which sets Tiger & Bunny apart. The main character isn't a perfect teenager. He has several existing problems. Including his relationship with his daughter. Bunny is a cliched character. But that's one of the reason he stands out. cause he's the only one like that. Lunatic is my waifu. Enjoyment- Well we all love superhero movies and we all love anime. Why wouldn't we love this. The show really has something for everyone. Even a tad bit of fanservice, which you won't specifically notice unless you want to. It's pretty funny. And was a fun ride altogether. Overall- It's a 10/10 Masterpiece you will love it. Now stop reading this shit and go watch it.

Up in the sky, look! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s... Billboard Man! Fighting crime, defending the innocent, an whoring himself out like it’s his first night in Hollywood! It’s the distant future for us, and a bizarre mutation has started to occur among our population. Human beings with superhuman powers are popping up everywhere, and we’ve taken to calling them Nexts... Presumably because ‘mutants’ was taken. We initially rejected these outcasts, until they decided to don costumes and assume the role of superheroes, defending the very people who judged them on live, national TV! Unfortunately forthe widowered single father Kotetsu Kaburagi, the human genome isn’t the only thing that’s been evolving. In the decades since Hero TV was established, he finds that he’s become irrelevant, with younger and more capable fighters joining to overshadow him. His rank is low amongst his co-workers, nobody ever buys his merchandise, and to make matters worse, a new superhero named Barnaby Brooks has thrown his hat into the ring, sporting the exact same power that Kotetsu has... And to keep himself from getting fired, he has to take up a new mantle as this rookie’s partner! At first glance, Tiger and Bunny seems to have one of the most tired premises in recent anime history... That is to say, a large cast of both heroes and villains who’ve mysteriously developed their own unique powers. Just off the top of my head, I can name several titles with that exact same premise... Darker than Black, the Index Franchise, Canaan, S-CRY-ED, Speed Grapher, and Getbackers, to name a few. And that view point isn’t completely unfair, since the array of powers it features is probably the least imaginative in the bunch. But where Tiger and Bunny differs from these other shows is in it’s core concept, which is essentially an amusing combination of X-Men and Nascar. The heroes are sponsored and basically controlled by wealthy real-life corporations, who tell them how to act and dress while decorating their costume with different logos. They advertise these logos by competing on Hero TV, earning points based on just how successful their defense of the city was that season. I can honestly say I’ve never seen an idea even close to that one in my entire life. The animation was produced by a company named Sunrise, a prolific animation studio with a lot of very impressive previous work under their belt. They’re known by fans as Sunrise Smooth, a reference to the fluidity of most of their efforts. Unfortunately, the same can’t really be said for Tiger and Bunny. It uses both 3D and 2D style animation, but it doesn’t blend them... The 3D is used in action scenes, or just whenever the heroes are in costume, and the 2D is used practically everywhere else. The 3D animation is actually very impressive, and yes, very smooth. It turns just about every action scene into a pulse pounding, exciting thrill ride that it should be. Unfortunately, the 3D is still in effect when our heroes are wearing their costumes outside of action, as well... Whether they’re giving an interview, lounging around the company gym, or just interacting with one another, and at times, this can sometimes look really... Really... Awkward. It’s mostly due to the fact that with so much money going into the 3D animation, the regular animation obviously took a huge budget cut. With this side of the coin, we get some of the cheapest looking animation I’ve ever encountered, from hideous walk cycles to the heavy abuse of key frames. Seeing that in the background, the three dimensional characters look out of place to an almost creepy degree. The artwork, however, almost completely makes up for it. This show is set in a fictional American city, and as such, the art and character designs have a very surprising western aesthetic to them. Aside from a few wide-eyed children, the characters almost always look more like American comic book characters than anime characters. I’m serious, too... Virtually every single frame of this show looks like it could have been taken directly from a Marvel or DC comic book, which is a touch that makes the sometimes stiff animation a lot more palatable. The backgrounds, too, are highly detailed, and the bustling metropolis known as Stern Bild looks like a dead ringer for a futuristic New York City. The architecture of this setting is beautiful and imaginative, even if some of the structures look entirely implausible in design. The characters inhabiting this city, much like they would be in real life, are racially diverse, forming a shockingly progressive melting pot with nary a stereotype in sight. Normally, if I were watching an anime that featured White, Black, Hispanic, Russian, Japanese and especially Chinese characters, I would be on the edge of my seat waiting for something offensive to happen. But aside from a few exaggerated physical traits... Nope! Every character’s given a proportionate amount of respect, with their ethnic backgrounds never even slightly becoming an issue in the story. Well, that is, except for the gay character. Granted, he’s cool and likeable, and I appreciate that they made him the only hero rich enough to own his own sponsor company, but the homophobia in his design is still pretty blatant. He talks in a throaty, effeminate falsetto and flirts with pretty much every other male character in the show... Especially Kotetsu, who already has the barely clad Blue Rose inexplicably pining for him. If you were to create a sliding scale that ranked all of the LGBT characters in anime history in terms of how offensive they were, he’d be somewhere close to the crossdresser from the Battle Royal manga. It’s a disappointing step backward for a series that’s otherwise been able to take two giant steps forward against the abundant racial homogeny of the anime medium. Ironically, though, if this show were ever adapted into live action, there’s no doubt in my mind that every single character would be Japanese. As for the other characters? Well, the main focus of the series is on the ups and downs of Kotetsu and Barnaby’s partnership, so several of the main characters got the short end of the screen time stick. Characters like Dragon Kid and Origami Cyclone are barely featured outside of having an episode each to themselves, and Rock Bison doesn’t even really get that much. Fire Emblem, Blue Rose and Sky High get a bit more than that, but they all still play supporting roles to our two mains and their families. Thankfully, it wasn’t for nothing... The titular characters are fleshed out, interesting, and very well developed. Kotetsu, or Wild Tiger as he’s publicly known, is very thoroughly portrayed as the aging veteran trying his damnedest to keep up with new ideas and techniques while still holding on to his more traditional values by the skin of his teeth. As altruistic as he may be, he’s a very flawed character, who refuses to let anybody ever worry about him... This stubborn attitude causes strain in both his professional and personal life, as he has a lot of trouble connecting not only with his partner but also with his ten year old daughter. Despite his insistence that saving people is more important than earning points or selling merchandise, he still clearly cares about his placement in the rankings. This could make a lot of leading men unlikeable, but in Tiger’s case, it just serves to make him more sympathetic. His partner, Barnaby Brooks Junior... Or Bunny, as Kotetsu irritatingly came up with... Is in many ways the exact opposite. He’s the newest super hero on the circuit, and he rejects a lot of the older notions to the point that he doesn’t even bother keeping his identity a secret. He fights with his head rather than his heart, preferring logical strategy to Kotetsu’s bold, gallant approach. He’s very direct with people, to the point where he jumps to conclusions at all the worst times. His tragic past is your typical ‘Batman’s parents’ story, but the way it’s portrayed... And the way it shaped his views on justice... is so genuine that you can’t help rooting for him. They clash a lot in the beginning, working together solely out of the interest of their employment, but as time goes on they do become closer, and they stop having to pretend to be friends. This development is shown very naturally throughout the series, and it doesn’t hurt that it’s portrayed through the outstanding, flawless performances of Wally Wingert and Yuri Lowenthal. The entire dub is very well cast, with nearly all of the actors melting seamlessly and in some cases unrecognizably into their roles, but it’s the main duo by far that takes the cake. Unfortunately, this is the part where I have to talk about the writing, and it’s not a part that I’m really looking forward to. The story in Tiger and Bunny is fast paced, well executed, and hits all the right notes, with exciting CG battles, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and just enough down time to let us form attachments to almost all of the main characters... Even the ones that don’t get a lot of screen time. However, that story wouldn’t have progressed at all without the help of inexplicably childish behavior, constant coincidences that directly challenge the suspension of disbelief, and foreshadowing so clumsily handled that a lot of the more serious plot twists can be seen coming from a mile away. There are dozens of conflicts and mysteries that could easily be solved in ways that the viewer will often wind up SHOUTING at the screen, and it almost feels insulting when the answers you come up with are put into play at the last moment for dramatic effect. Yes, timing is important in a story, but even Dora the Explorer doesn’t make the audience shout out obvious answers as often as Tiger and Bunny does. Hell, some of the villains are so obviously villains that they might as well have had the last name Palpatine. Early in the first few episodes, an astute viewer may start wondering things about the nature of Hero TV, ultimately coming to a conclusion that just has to be, and of course winds up being, one of the biggest reveals of the series. And that’s to say nothing about the lack of originality at play. While the two titular characters and the final villain have some interesting and unique abilities, there doesn’t seem to be an original idea in the bunch. Most of the heroic supporting characters have commonplace powers that manipulate ice, fire, lightning, and wind. There are also powers based on Colossus, Morph, and a lighter version of Rogue from the Xmen. As far as the villains go, you’ll find characters who’re based on Emma Frost(Or more likely the diamond woman from Speed Grapher), Sandman, The Hood, and others. Even when you put Kotetsu and Barnaby’s powers aside, the Iron Man suits they wear are just that... Iron Man suits. While the vigilante Lunatic may have a somewhat original power, think about this; He’s a judge who experienced emotional trauma as a kid, and grew up believing all evil doers must be killed... And he uses his powers to do just that, murdering the wicked while criticizing those who let them live. He’s basically Teru Mikami, except that he has the long white hair and shady face that have become trademarks of any obvious villain. And by comparison, he’s actually one of the better villains in the series... He’s nowhere near as obvious as the main villain, whose convoluted master plan and backstory turn the entire final story arc into a rat-king sized clusterfuck of plotholes that had me more confused than excited. It’s actually kind of amazing. Tiger and Bunny was dubbed and released stateside by Viz Media, and is reasonably priced both online and on common store shelves. Two films have also been released in the following years, but in typical anime fashion, they’re just slightly altered retellings of the series. In other words, they’re full fledged cash grabs. I haven’t seen them myself, but apparently the first one is available stateside, undubbed, and also fairly cheap. For the most part, I really enjoyed it. I connected instantly with Wild Tiger, as his story was undoubtedly and very effectively the heart and soul of the series. It’s a really fun story, with an intriguing idea, great comedy, and it has a highly diverse cast of likeable characters. It’s not very original, but it’s sincere, and it’s clear that some very real heart went into it’s creation. It looks beautiful when it tries, but it doesn’t try often enough. It’s also heavily flawed below the surface, and there’s a lot of points where you have to turn off your brain to fully enjoy it... I don’t like doing that, so there were a lot of times where I just felt alienated from the fun that I should have been having. But to it’s credit, the story is so engrossing that those problems didn’t really bother me as much until my second viewing, and even then, there’s still a lot to love about it. It’s an enthusiastic love letter to American comic book lore, and it damn well feels like it. I give Tiger and Bunny a 7/10.

I really hate it when a potentially fun premise finds itself eventually getting bogged down by the conventional elements it was seemingly trying to subvert. Tiger and Bunny's premise was unique in the fact you had superheroes on a reality show competing for points and being corporate-sponsored, which had me thinking this series would get its fun off exploiting the premise and poking fun of the absurdities commonplace with superhero formulas when I first heard about it. Instead, it creates plot development out of Kotetsu and Barnaby getting used to each other as a superhero duo when the former's company gets bought out and thetwo running into developments involving a vigilante hero and a crime organization. The series does decently flesh out both characters as the show prominently focuses on both of them and we get to learn what drove both men into becoming heroes. It also introduces some decent ideas explored such as said vigilante hero in the form of Lunatic and the idea of superheroes losing their powers, as what happens to a major character in the second half to Tiger and Bunny. In terms of visuals, Tiger and Bunny is easily one of the better-looking titles to come out for the year thus far sporting plenty of detail and color to go along with the vast environments shown through the city landscapes of Sternbild City. This same high-quality also went into creating the character designs as the costumes of the heroes are slick to look at, especially the costumes worn by Kotetsu and Barnaby. Action scenes are fluid to look at and get fairly diverse as there are chase scenes by foot and motorcycle, aerial fights and hand-to-hand combat. However, Tiger and Bunny finds itself getting bogged down quite a bit by its conventional elements which make it almost seem like a cookie-cutter shounen anime. A number of the characters are tacked on with an archetype that has been done to death in typical plot setups such as Kotetsu being the slow-witted and impulsive hero of the series, Fire Emblem your stereotypical gay man and Blue Rose a tsundere. The show also gets into the annoying habit of resorting to contrived plot developments or conveniently ditching certain points of the plot to help advance any major plot developments that the Heroes are caught up in, particularly with its major baddies in both halves of the show. I couldn't help but wonder the number of times the show resorted to deus ex machina just to force the plot into a certain direction without making sense of things, especially when the Heroes were put into situations where they were seemingly on the losing end of fights as they fought against villains who were either too powerful to be defeated easily or developed an elaborate plot that fell apart due to contrived developments. Both major plots had their potential yet the series fails to provide a solid resolution to both because things get too messy and/or cliched in their developments towards the final moments of both arcs. Overall, Tiger and Bunny had its potential yet fell flat due to it not escaping the more conventional elements that get tossed into its path. While still having some decent ideas it explores and having its moments in developments with Barnaby and Kotetsu, it still made for a fairly mediocre watch for me and I imagine enough folks will be eating up the news of the series having a sequel planned in the works.