28 replies to this topic

[Gavin]

The series takes place in the year "NC 1978" in a fictional, re-imagined version of New York City called Sternbild City, where 45 years before, superpowered individuals known as "NEXT" started appearing and some of them became superheroes. Each of the city's most famous superheroes work for a sponsor company and their uniforms also contain advertising for real-life companies. Their heroic activity is broadcast on the popular television show "Hero TV", where they accumulate points for each heroic feat accomplished (arresting criminals or evacuating civilians, for example) and the best ranked hero of the season is crowned "King of Heroes". The story mainly focuses on veteran hero Kotetsu T. Kaburagi aka Wild Tiger who is assigned with a new partner, a young man named Barnaby Brooks Jr. However, Barnaby and Kotetsu usually have trouble working together as they have conflicting opinions on how a superhero should act while at the same time trying to crack the mystery of the murder of Barnaby's parents. In addition, the appearance of a homicidal vigilante NEXT named "Lunatic" stirs up the public and makes them question the meaning of heroes.

Since being introduced to the series a few days ago by SeDoc, T&B has gone on to become one of my favourite light-heated animes, and indeed one of my favourite animes in general. An eclectic mix of comedy, the superhero genre, mecha and the exploration of the (super)human condition it's kind of like the Neapolitan icecream for nerds/geeks/otakus. Sunrise has done a great job with the art, provided the series with some of Japan's best VAs and topped it off with a plot that is composed of various enticing strands of story goodness threaded together into something which evolves on an episodal basis. Probably the worst thing about the series is getting into it so late, it's a pain having to wait for the next episode.

Anyway, discuss, what you like, what you don't like, favourite characters (Sky High) etc.

[Edit] Seeing as it's completely legal, here's a website where you can watch T&B for free in standard definition.

Edited by Gavin, 03 September 2011 - 05:56 PM.

[Sangome]

It's also on Hulu, ANN, and Viz for those in North America.

Anyways, I had been staggering around in the anime fandom for a long time -- in the past two years, I'd only seen two shows to completion [Sasameki Koto and PASWG]; people would try to get me into other shows and I just wasn't feeling them.

But this, oh my gosh. This revitalized my love for anime and kinda swept me off my feet. Everything about this show is great -- the art is amazing, the characters are lovable and endearing [most of them anyway], the soundtrack is kickin', and it's just 24 minutes of joy and awesome each week. Sunrise definitely seemed to learn their lessons after their past major offerings that I saw [Code Geass, Gundam 00] and has made me laugh, cry, and RAGE. It feels good. It feels really good.

My main complaint, though, is that anyone not Kotetsu and Barnaby kinda gets shoved to the wayside. A handful of the cast got episodes to themselves, yes, but other than that, there's still a lot we don't know about them. If this rumored season 2 comes to fruition, then hopefully they can fix some of that. [Although I hope they don't make a season 2 a pile of confusion and trainwreckery like those two aforementioned Sunrise shows got...]

Also Viz needs to hurry up and just announce they've got the DVD distribution license already -- they've got streaming rights and merch rights for the states. I just want an official confirmation. I'd buy the DVDs into oblivion. And they need to put it on TV because oh my gosh that'd be amazing.

/fangirl

Edited by Sangome, 03 September 2011 - 06:00 PM.

[Kei]

For me, Tiger & Bunny is something I've been waiting for. There are a lot of series that tries to approach the whole superhero genre in a new and innovative way and fail in terms of either believability or plain interest. T&B managed to do both well, and it's so, so refreshing.

As Gome has said, the art and music are lovely for the series (save for Ep. 19, holy ****). The characters are pretty much amazing, though I do agree that the others could stand with a little more development. In all the episodes, the only one that hasn't gotten at least a little bit of backstory/side story love is Nathan/Fire Emblem, though I have a feeling that's due to the fact that he's gay (the producers actually had trouble finding a company that would be willing to have their logo advertised by him in the series when they were hunting around prior to production).

T&B offers a lot of light-hearted fun while re-imagining just about all of the superhero staples. You can find references to past major superheroes just about anywhere you look (Superman, Batman, X-Men, just to name a few), but they don't feel trite at all. If anything, the show only suffers during the moments they slip into melodrama, but fortunately, it doesn't stay there very long.

All in all, I would say that it just might be a show to break someone's gums on. There's action, comedy, drama, and an interesting world going for it. It's tons of fun and I will actually be sad when this season comes to an end.

In closing, Kotetsu is a boss. That is all.

[Gavin]

Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing a Fire Emblem or Rock Bison centred episode seeing as pretty much all the rest have got their own ones (even if poor Sky's was horribly downer-ending and he didn't realise it) seeing as they're the only two so far who haven't really been developed (outside of Rock's drama CD). Maybe even a Saito episode would be funny, just to see the world from his perspective. Just out of curiosity is anyone else thinking

Spoiler

Kotetsu's older brother is going to make his appearance as the NEXT who provided Kaede with her magnetic powers?

[Edit] I've also added a poll, so vote as you will.

Edited by Gavin, 04 September 2011 - 05:34 AM.

[chibi-master]

Gavin, as soon as you introduced me to this show, you ruined any chance I had of actually doing well in school.

Honestly, I like Fire Emblem the most. I feel like he's a bit underrated, really. Though I think that problem stems from another issue: It seems to me that the series just has too many superheroes at once.

This leads to an unfortunate competition for screen time between the heroes, and I think that sometimes takes a toll on their development as characters.

However, this is still probably my new second-favorite anime. It's creative and I actually really like the idea that the heroes are sponsored by corporations. I especially enjoy how it handles being light-hearted while still having some serious moments.

[Sangome]

GAVIN THAT POLL IS EVIL. I love pretty much everyone and I have no idea who to choose, ugh.

I was kinda wondering about where those magnetic powers came from, though. I'm also kinda wondering how

Spoiler

Barnaby suddenly got his memories back in this most recent episode. Was there something I missed or was it really just the whole FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!!1 deal?

[Kei]

GAVIN THAT POLL IS EVIL. I love pretty much everyone and I have no idea who to choose, ugh.

I was kinda wondering about where those magnetic powers came from, though. I'm also kinda wondering how

Spoiler

Barnaby suddenly got his memories back in this most recent episode. Was there something I missed or was it really just the whole FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!!1 deal?

From what I gather,

Spoiler

Kotetsu calling Barnaby "Bunny-chan" the way he did was enough to snap him out of the mind control. So yes, in a nutshell, Friendship is Magic.

=p More than a bit camp, but considering how things got ramped up to srs biz by the time the episode ended, I think we can forgive them that one.

[Gavin]

GAVIN THAT POLL IS EVIL. I love pretty much everyone and I have no idea who to choose, ugh.

I was kinda wondering about where those magnetic powers came from, though. I'm also kinda wondering how

Spoiler

Barnaby suddenly got his memories back in this most recent episode. Was there something I missed or was it really just the whole FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC!!1 deal?

Haha, for me it was really only a toss-up between Tiger and Sky, and in the end John the dog sold me on Keith.

I think regarding

Spoiler

bringing back Barnaby's memories

, it's pretty much as Kotetsu insinuated:

Spoiler

His dislike of the name Bunny-chan is so great it's actually physically hardwired into his brain so that when used, it triggered his dormant memories. It seems certain powerful stimuli can override Maverick's memory changes.

I do agree it was a bit cheesy but honestly, I'd have been very unhappy at any other resolution.

@Chibi: You'll be fine, it's over for the season in about 3 weeks.

[Nony]

I'll put my vote in for SKY HIIIIIGH! 'Cause he's cheesy in a really fun way.

I quite like this show as well. The very concept of it is fun.
That being said, the whole

Spoiler

Barnaby got his memories back 'cause Kotetsu called him "Li'l Bunny" was extremely cheesy; of course, better for Barnaby to have gotten his memories back than to continue on like that, but yeah.

And, like others have mentioned, the other heroes don't get much screen time, which is too bad. I realize Kotetsu and Barnaby are the main characters, but considering how frequently we see the other heroes doing various things in most of the episodes, we don't really ever get to focus on them all that much outside of maybe one episode per character. This fact makes me sad.

Edited by Nony, 04 September 2011 - 06:24 AM.

[Ellerby]

I've only watched the first 5 episodes so I can't really comment on the series as a whole but I had to vote for Dragon Kid just because everytime she shows up she wastes no time and kicks serious ass.

Such a refreshing series, though.

[Gavin]

Poor Bunny has no votes yet, so much for being the breakout hero.

[Sangome]

I eventually settled on Blue Rose. I relate to Karina a lot and have been compared to her, a comparison I don't mind, and I like the subversion of fanservice-y persona as Blue Rose [hates it but does it anyway because it means she gets to save lives]. Kotetsu comes in an EXTREMELY close second, though.

And I think the entire fandom hates Barnaby when they're not busy pairing him up with Kotetsu. I don't like him a whoooole lot, but my ire's not as great as it was towards the start of the series anymore.

[chibi-master]

I've only watched the first 5 episodes so I can't really comment on the series as a whole but I had to vote for Dragon Kid just because everytime she shows up she wastes no time and kicks serious ass.

She is one of my favorites as well for the same reason! Plus, it seems like she spends more time taking care of the safety of civilians instead of immediately going for the bad guys like the other heroes.

[CaNz]

I really like the story so far, and with the many good characters it is easy to see why so many people like the show. It was really hard to pick my favorite character, but I had to go with Lunatic because of his strong morals and very interesting back story. Plus I am a sucker for anti-heroes.

I also am a fan of Blue Rose and Wild Tiger, mostly because I think they are funny.

[Lilt]

I especially enjoy how it handles being light-hearted while still having some serious moments.

I really need to watch this then since I love shows in general that can pull that off.

I was actually going to watch Tiger & Bunny after reading about it in another thread in Anime Central, but I somehow fell into Stein's Gate instead.

Well, I'm almost done with that so I guess something funny would be perfect for me right now.

[Sangome]

So how about that Tiger & Bunny 24, huh?

Spoiler

Sunrise, if you seriously go through with killing Kotetsu off, I am never going to forgive you. You'd think that Code Geass with Euphemia, Shirley, et al and Gundam 00 with Lockon would have taught me earlier, but I GUESS NOT.

[Gavin]

No! Bad Sunrise! Don't you ******* dare!

Spoiler

I seriously almost teared up when Bunny revealed he'd been learning to cook.

[CaNz]

I liked 24, but I have seen

Spoiler

robots on Jeopardy that are scarier than H-O1

Spoiler

I think the story could go in an interesting direction if Tiger doesn't make it... but I am pretty sure he will be okay. I will be pretty disappointed if they kill off the main character before they even stop the main bad guy

[Gavin]

Definitely needs a second season surrounding Ouroboros.

[SeDoc]

Definitely needs a second season surrounding Ouroboros.

Agreed. That scene at the end was priceless