Tiger & Bunny

[Glitch Girl]

I'm hoping I'm not the only person watching this show...

For the uninitiated, "Tiger & Bunny" is NOT a show about cute fuzzy animals.

It's also not a typical anime series either.  I guess you could describe it as a cop buddy show....with super heroes... and corporate sponsorships.  Sort of "Top Ten" meets "The Odd Couple" with a little "NASCAR" thrown in.

Okay, maybe not.

Oh, by the way... when I said "super heroes", I'm talking comic-book styled superheroes, like Batman and SpiderMan and the like.  It's kind of a western/eastern blending of the genre which adds to the series uniqueness.

Basic premise: 45 years prior to the series present, people started getting powers*.  Now, there's an extremely popular reality show called "HeroTV" where corporate-sponsored superheroes catch crooks and save the day for points and the honor of being awarded Hero of the Year.

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, aka: Wild Tiger is an idealistic hero and has been in the business for about 10 years.  He's about 35, widower with a 9 year old daughter, and lately, he's been slipping in the rankings.  His company gets bought out, and his new sponsor decides give him a new look and to pair him with a new, up-and-coming and deeply serious hero named Barnaby Brooks Jr (who just happens to have the same powers as him and a dark secret or two).  Tiger promptly nicknames him "Bunny" because his armor looks like it has rabbit ears, and much to Baranby's initial annoyance, it sticks, hence the title of the series.

* - not all of which are actually useful.  I love the fact that there's an episode that actually touches on this.

I know a few of you immediately see the words "anime" or "subtitled" and think "ick" (you know who you are ) but please don't let that prejudice you.  If you do, I think you'd be missing out on a really good show.  What makes me recommend it so highly though is that this is a well-written character-driven series and while there's a lot of humor and comicbook superheroics, there's also some good drama that all manages to balance out surprisingly well.  You can see all released episodes here and on Hulu for free.  Currently, we're on episode 20 of about 25 or 26 and BOY has the proverbial fat hit the fan.

So again, anyone here watching the show besides me now that the boards are (hopefully) back?

Regarding the latest episode (for those of you who are caught up, spoilers ahoy!)...

Spoiler

Kotetsu's problem is that he sees the best in people, which is why I think it took him so long to become suspicious of Maverick.  He had no reason to suspect him to begin with, it wasn't until the pin turned up that anything seemed off.  Of course now he's probably starting to realize that something may be a bit off... 

I think Maverick's plan was more of a case of "hey, wouldn't it be cool (and get great ratings) if...", which is why he left so many ways for it to fail open.  For example:

• Yuri/Lunatic: obviously the biggest potential flaw in the plan.  Lunatic has taken a personal interest in Kotetsu/Wild Tiger back in ep 8 so he's likely to notice things don't fit very quickly.  Considering his rather twisted sense of justice, I'm expecting this to be a key plot point very soon.
• The Kaburagi clan: his daughter can copy NEXT powers, his brother may also be a NEXT with magnetism powers (how else would Kaede manifest magnetism powers and how else would he come up with the "she copies powers" conclusion so fast?)  I'd be very surprised if they stayed at home when all of this is going down.
• Ben: he knows Kotetsu and he knows Kotetsu's Wild Tiger and he knows the system.  Ben is also one of the few people Kotetsu might feel is safe enough to contact in his current situation. 
• Antonio/Rock Bison: They have history going back to high school and Antonio knows Kotetsu better than anyone else among the brainwashed heroes.  I'd say he's the most likely to start seeing flaws in his altered memories without some kind of trigger object
• Karina/Blue Rose: Speaking of trigger objects, she's still go that towel Kotetsu gave her back in Episode 14.  Considering she also has a pretty strong crush on him as well I'd say that's a pretty good chance of triggering true memories right there.
• Barnaby: Lessee... there's the pins (which were featured in the first half of the season's closing credits), the burnt sash from when Kotetsu took a bullet for him, the photo on his phone when Kotetsu was goofing around that may or may not still be there... lots and LOTS of little things could trigger his real memories, though I don't think we're going to get that immediately since a Tiger vs Bunny matchup would be too good to pass up
• Jake: well, we never did see a body did we? And there's still a lot about him we don't know.

I also thought about Ivan's power and the fact that he has turned into Kotetsu before, but that might be too much of a longshot there. 

I wonder how HeroTV is going to replace Wild Tiger?  I mean, it could be just a guy in a suit as far as the public is concerned, but for the heroes in question who have to interact with him, are they going to put someone else in the suit (as they have in the past with that freaky standin for Barnaby who later turned out to be a stalker), or are they going to come up with a cover story? Hmmm...

Sidenote: I'm not convinced that Maverick and Ouroboros are working together.  Maverick said he made a deal with an organization, but he never names them.  Assuming that Jake works for Ouroboros as he said he did, then why would Maverick implicate him in Barnaby's memories?  Doesn't sound like something you'd do for someone you're working for.  Personally, I think we're dealing with two groups here -the ones Maverick are working with, and Ouroboros, who have their own agenda. 

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I've actually been trying to watch more anime on hulu recently, and have been looking for another one to watch.  This one looks interesting, so I'll give it a shot.

[Pod 2.0]

I was just reading some good things about this show, I'll add it to the list. I usually wait until the dub is available but we'll see. Thanks for the tip.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Looks like I'm going to have to drop this for now.  It looks interesting, but they only bothered translating like a third of what is actually said.  When they got to the awards ceremony and only translated the first sentence of the explanation of the new guys powers, that was it to me.

If they get a better translation or a dub up, I'll try it again.

[Glitch Girl]

I'll confess, I can't understand a word of Japanese, so I couldn't tell you how much of the subtitling is accurate or not.  I do know I've been able to follow everything just fine from the hulu subs so if there was something missed, it wasn't something I noticed.

There is talk about a dub, but nothing definite yet.     

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I know nothing about Japanese either, but the subs had nearly nothing that the announcer said and has bits of some sentences without finishing them.  This was on Hulu too, and it was horrible.

EDIT  I pushed past it and kept going and it does get a bit better.  Other than that annoyance, I do like the show so far.

[Glitch Girl]

I'm starting to think that the subtitle thing is a recent bug - I was skimming another board to see if the new episode was up and several people were complaining about the subtitles being off like you described.  Looks like it's happening on all the episodes too.    Figures this happens right after I recommend it.

((sigh) [insert glitch aura joke here]

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Yeah, it's REALLY annoying.  It tends to be more the announcers being left off, but some times it does cut off parts of sentences.

I'm pretty much just putting up with it at this point.  I can catch the gist of it, even if I miss out on a lot of details.  It is a really cool anime though.  Very unique twist on superheroes that actually makes more sense than the normal take.  (I can certainly see people putting on colorful costumes and using nicknames for a reality/game show.  In fact, they actually do, just see professional wrestling/Who Wants to be a Superhero.)

[Glitch Girl]

The subs at Hulu are working again.    It was already a fun episode (ep 21 to be exact) so I didn't mind watching it a second time. 

Spoiler

I swear this is such a love letter to comics... malicious mental manipulations, secrets revealed, heroic misunderstandings, evil robot* duplicates, close calls, psychotic vigilantes with a  twisted sense of justice and who really know how to make an entrance, fun with shapeshifting, daring escapes, brassy soundtrack, and top that all off with Wild Tiger in his "silver age" spandex costume calling out his former friends for a rooftop confrontation... to be continued next week!

* - okay it's not OFFICIAL Bizarro Tiger is a robot, but with all the groundwork they've laid, I'd be surprised if he wasn't a machine

Gads I love this show. 

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I just got past the whole Jake thing, and those two or three episodes are some of the finest superhero cartoons I ever seen.  Jake's their best villain so far.  Reminds me a lot of the Joker actually, with the doll lady kindof acting as his Harlequin.  I wouldn't be surprised if they were inspired by those two characters.  Let's just say the in citizens of Stern Build City weren't the only ones won over by that epic fight.

come to think of it, the last few episodes have not had any caption problems.

[Glitch Girl]

From what I've read:
- the director of the series is a HUGE Batman fan
- the guy voicing Jake was also the dub voice for the Joker in the Dark Knight Rises.

The way I see it, Jake is sort of "what if the Joker had powers"  and I must admit, there were a couple of moments in that arc where I swear the voice actor was channeling Mark Hamil.  Kriem as Harley isn't much of a stretch either.

Seeing the "girls team" in action was pretty cool.  I loved the exchange as they're heading out. 

Spoiler

I confess, when Kotetsu said "he has superhearing" I thought he totally blew it for a minute or two, but it lead to a great "Hell YEAH!" moment when the flash-bang went off.  That whole ending left me pretty jazzed.

Oh yeah, have you spotted the "scarf girl" yet?  Apparently she's nearly in every episode (I think she got missed in one episode, but she's been added in the DVD release).

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I've heard of the scarf girl thing, but forgot to look for her.

Also I like how they took what is normally seen as a defensive power in Jake and showed just how uber it could be if use properly.

[Glitch Girl]

No kidding. 

I'd like to think that the image Jake etched on the wall of his cell was his way of fine tuning his power to pinpoint precision, which is why he could do some of those power stunts with his barriers.  Having that extra "ace in the hole" didn't hurt either.

Spoiler

I'm kinda sorry they apparently killed him off... though we never did see a body.  I can see him surviving the whole "dropped a helicopter on him" thing with the helps of his powers, and it would be very comic-bookish for a supposedly-dead villain to return, but I'm not counting on it at this point.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Just caught up and am looking forward to whatever comes next.

[vamp]

I really love this series thus far. Thanks for pointing it out Glitch Girl.

The lapse in subtitles in the first few episodes was irritating, but the series is worth it.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Did they have to stop there?  Now that's just cruel!

[Glitch Girl]

No, it's cliffhangery! 

Actually I was a little let down by this recent episode.  The chase sequence was pretty exciting, but some of the stuff on the rooftop was... I dunno, a little too pat.

Then again, I  couldn't stop laughing when Tiger revealed his "plan".  My reaction was much the same as Ben's but the build-up made it strangely hysterical.

Spoiler

Kaede suddenly fixing everything with a version of Maverick's power that works over airwaves just seemed very anticlimactic and way too easy (even though she missed Barnaby).  I know there's only a few episodes left in the season, so I guess it means the couldn't draw it out more but.. I dunno, a bit of a letdown after all the buildup.

And I can't believe Antonio didn't start having doubts sooner.  I mean, they're supposed to have known each other since high school, if the additional material is to be believed.  I swear, Antonio gets the short end even more than Kotetsu. Still... that bit with him blocking Barnaby a nice cool moment.

In my mind's eye, the reason all the heroes are gasping at Bizarro Tiger is that Sky High just pulled his head off while trying to unmask it.  Of course, this is assuming it's an android, which I'm almost positive it is, and it would be a fun scene if it played out that way

[Glitch Girl]

I think we're down to our final two episodes and so far we have:

• a mad scientist
• an evil mastermind
• an evil robotic duplicate
• and heroes in a deathtrap situation

Someone does indeed love the classics.

as for the previous episode (#23 I believe)...

Spoiler

I thought while Barnaby's mind fix was kind of a funny turn, it was also a little abrupt and anticlimactic.  I mean seriously, he was in mid attack and suddenly, he's chiding Kotetsu about the nickname like nothing's happened.


Maverick seems to have embraces the role of villain with gusto.  Part of me wonders if this has turned into some really elaborate ratings stunt because he's gone from being a covert manipulator to practically stroking a white cat while he gloats. 

Then again, he did leave all the deathtrapping and villainous monologuing to Rotwang.  Seeing him again was a nice surprise.  He took to the "evil mad scientist" role quite naturally.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Noooooooooooooooooooo!

That is all.

[Glitch Girl]

Seconded with an added:

Spoiler

pleaseDon'tBeDeadKotetsuPleaseDon'tBeDeadPleaseDon'tBeDeadPleaseDon'tBeDead.

Only one episode to go too.  I want my happy ending darn it!

Spoiler

This being anime and considering most of Kotetsu's things are "in order" so to speak, there is a very good chance he may actually be dead-dead (though I hope not).

Reasons he may live:
- Kaede: do they really want to make her an orphan and make her watch her dad die in front of her?  Besides one of the creator's tweets mentions that Kaede wasn't going to be a hero, that her dad thought it was too dangerous.  He can't very well forbid it if he's dead.
- Barnaby: considering that everyone close to him is either dead or evil, he could really use a break.  If Kotetsu dies, all the positive progress he's made would go down the tubes
- Second Season: Admittedly the prospect didn't exist when the series started, but it is being batted around.  Can you have T&B without T? I hope not.
- Let's Believe Heroes: the recurring theme and something positive like that doesn't lend itself to a downer ending.
- He deserves a break: considering all the crap that's happened to him over the series, it would be nice if he got to enjoy time with his daughter, even if he did retire from heroing.
- Western Supehero comics: Practically the entire series is inspired by them. Revolving door of death anyone?

Reasons he may die:
- It's Sunrise: who seem to have a reputation for killing of characters in the end
- It's anime: which is more likely than western animation to kill off their leads in a dramatic and very final fashion
- It may have a second season: Quite a few anime series use their second season to completely reboot, so even if he does die, next season it's a whole new status quo.  Possibly.
- It's a good way to go out: heroic sacrifice and all, being an inspiration just like his hero (though his last words could REALLY use some work*).
- It's a good motivator: Now that we're down to our final showdown.

* the eyelash thing, seriously???  I know there's a rabid fanbase, but do you REALLY have to encourage them?  They're pretty insufferable already.

Fingers crossed that Tiger pulls through.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Spoiler

Actually at this point I'd be kind of disappointed if they went back on the whole dead thing.  Of course they do unfortunately resolve some things rather suddenly, so maybe that's what they do.

Anyhow, fantastic episode all in all.  No quick solutions here.  Lots of drama and what appeared to be a copy of the Joker bomb scene in The Dark Knight turns into something else with the mad scientists gloating, torturing and playing with the heroes.

As for how to do Season 2 without Tiger--the best way to do that in my opinion would be to reverse what you said about Kaede not being a hero.  Skip 10 years and have her taking up the mantle of Wild Tiger, with Barnaby as the verteran hero and her as the new one.

Whatever they decide to pull, I'm looking forward to it.  If they release the DVDs in the US, it's an instant buy for me.

[vamp]

Spoiler

I noticed the Dark Knight Joker thing as well. But I gotta say, the whole grab the guy and get shot thing reminded me a lot of Dragon Ball Z. All Barnaby had to say was ,"Special Beam Cannon!"

That aside, I am really hoping Kotetsu isn't dead. He is easily one of my favorite anime heroes. Especially in the "Idiot hero" category.

[Glitch Girl]

Final episode is live!

Things I learned this episode:

Spoiler

• ALWAYS check your partner's pulse before declaring him dead
• Saito rocks.
• If you work in the media, never explain your plan out loud to anyone
• Agnes frickin' ROCKS.
• There is a dating advice book on hooking a single dad 
• You can't keep a good hero down

Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the series.  It had a few rough spots and there's stuff I hope they expand on more now that there seems to be a second series in the works, but overall, it was a lot of fun.

Wonder who they'll get for the english dub ('cos you KNOW there's going to be one).

[vamp]

Spoiler

I was kinda disappointed at the end actually. While its true, Barnaby didn't check his pulse, I found it a weak excuse. Good set up for the next series, but rather a boring end to an overall awesome series.

[Uncle Yuan]

Hm.  I watched the first episode and I must say it didn't grab me.  But that's probably more me and my inability to "get" Japanese/anime story telling.  There are some subtle difference in how they approach narrative and I'm sure lots of cultural and historical references I don't get.  As I result I always find anime somewhat jarring.

[Outcast]

I've watched up to Episode 5 and so far i've been enjoying the series.

But i'm a sucker for anime...so....  

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

It was recently announced that there will be 2 Tiger and Bunny movies next year.  No word on a new season yet.

[Viking]

I only recently returned to the forums, but... yeah.  I followed this series as soon as I discovered it.  And very much enjoyed it.  I loved the NASCAR take on how heroes could operate in a city.  And Kotetsu has a heart as big as the moon, and as warm as bathwater.