Superhero Zoo: Tiger & Bunny

Initially I was a bit reluctant of watching Tiger & Bunny after watching the promo images and material of the show. Mecha's? Not my cup of tea. Superheroes? Has been done so many times before. Character stereotyping? Eehh....

However... After forcing myself to give the show a chance and watching the first episode I decided I was horribly wrong with my judgement. First things first: Tiger & Bunny has absolutely nothing to do with big giant robots... and the superhero spin? Brilliantly executed with an original twist.

Tiger & Bunny easily became one of my favorite anime this year, and I will tell you why:

In the city of Sternbild people with superpowers are commonly called NEXT. Some of these people have made it their duty to use their special abilities to help and protect people, somtimes even against other NEXT. Pretty normal so far now right? Well, think again. Being a superhero is not a walk in the park. While solving cases and saving lives these heroes have a serious reputation to maintain: they need to cater to the needs and image of their sponsors (think on the scale of Amazon and Pepsi) by being as popular as possible and flashing off their sponsors logo's on national television. That's right: every hero's activity gets heavily documented in total reality-tv style on Hero TV, the most popular program in Sternbild, which also chooses the "King of Heroes" through a yearly ranking... Talking about pressure.

Work that thing baby.

The story starts with Kotetsu, a veteran hero who goes by the name of Wild Tiger. He has always been operating on his own, that is, until his sponsor company decided to quit. Luckily for Kotetsu his ex-boss is a good bloke and leaves Kotetsu in the hands of Apollon Media where they just have the "perfect" job for him. Much to the annoyance of Kotetsu he has to team up with the rookie Barnaby Brooks jr. who can increase his physical strength 100 times for 5 minutes, which is the same power Kotetsu has. His alter ego Wild Tiger gets a total make-over and together with Barnaby they get marketed as the first superhero "team" in the history of Hero TV. (In reality, Kotetsu gets casted as Barnaby's sidekick to boost Barnaby's popularity, leaving him even more out of the spotlights as usual)

Both hero's also have quite different views on what it means to be one. Kotetsu steadily holds on to the old superhero principles such as making dramatic entrees (and destroying things in the progress), keeping a secret indentity (the mask doesn't really hide much though) and being generally kindhearted and helping everyone in need. Barnaby finds Kotetsu's views terribly old fashioned and aims for the top, making no secret of his identity, even to the point of doing talkshows and photoshoots.

In the beginning their conflicting views put a strain on their partnership, but as the series progresses their teamwork gets better and their relationship grows, although with their ups and downs. It's this relationship, together with those of the other characters, that makes the series really enjoyable. One of the things I really found silly and endearing is Kotetsu's nickname for Barnaby which he continues using for Barnaby, much to Barnaby's annoyance. "Because you hop around and have the ears of a cute bunny rabbit" he decides to call him Bunny-chan.

        

My favorite characters

Tiger & Bunny has a lot of memorable characters, which makes it really hard to not like them all. I do have a few favorites however. :)

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi (Wild Tiger)

Kotetsu is your typical loveable goofball. He cares more about helping other people than receiving points for his good deeds. This is probably why he's not afraid to break some property if it means getting the job done, much to the frustration of his sponsors who have to pay for the damage. As a young child he resented his powers, but the legendary superhero mr. Legend showed him that he had what it takes to be a hero.  He eventually got married but lost his wife to an illness, leaving him and his only child behind. His wife supported him to the very end, hoping he would be continue being a hero she could be proud about. After that he left his daughter in the care of his mother on the countryside to fullfill his wife's wish and even though he tries to keep in contact with his child, their relationship has watered down as his daughter has no idea of his work as a superhero.

His biggest dream is to hear his daughter say that her dad is cool.

Barnaby Brooks (Barnaby/"Bunny")

Barnaby is the newest hero around the block in Sternbild City and is quite an unconventional one at that too. While he is certainly not coldhearted, he doesn't share the views of his partner Wild Tiger, whom he calls an "Old Man" because of his old fashioned views. Barnaby quickly becomes one of the most liked heroes because of his handsomeness and coolness.

Barnaby has lost his parents at a very young age. They were renowned scientists and were conducting revolutionary research on the field of robotics. His memories about how he has lost them are quite vague however. The only thing he knows is that someone has killed his parents and he has been living a solitary life ever since.

Although Barnaby is the complete opposite of his partner, Kotetsu eventually breaks through his stoicness and cool demeanor and Barnaby manages to enjoy himself more. It quickly becomes clear however that Barnaby remains emotionally unstable whenever his parents death is concerned.

Keith Goodman (Sky High)

Keith is probably the most positive and goodhearted person you will ever meet, like his name suggests. He places a lot of emphasis on being polite and is the former King of Heroes. He's very gullible however and a bit of an airhead as he often repeats himself and his catchphrase is "Arigato, soushite arigatou". (Thank you, and again, thank you) The producer of Hero TV finds this one of his charms though.

He has the ability to make strong gusts of wind and makes use of a jetpack attached to his suit to maneuver in the air.

He also has a dog called John.

Nathan Seymour (Fire Emblem)

Nathan is transgendered and is alway seen wearing distinctive make-up. He likes to call himself "one of the girls" and openly flirts with the other male heroes. He's very flamboyant and also has his own sponsor company called "Helios Energy".

He's shown to be a skilled driver, as he drives a highly maneuverable race car and he has the power to generate and control fire.

Although he has a flashy personality he's seen as one of the more mature characters in the series, quickly catching on on people's worries and problems.

Saito

Saito is the head engineer of Appolon Media and the builder of both Tiger's and Barnaby's suits. He's very quiet in person and only Kotetsu seems to be able to understand him. This is entirely a different case when he speaks through a phone or telecom, where he is incredibly loud to almost screaming. He also installed the "Good Luck Mode" in Tiger and Barnaby's suit which enlarges part of Tiger's hand and part of Barnaby's foot. Being amazed by this feature Barnaby asks Saito if the Good Luck Mode enhances their performance,  but Saito said it was designed because it looked cool.

         


Conclusion
Although Tiger & Bunny makes use of some old and sometimes overdone concepts it really makes those concepts its own and gives an interesting twist on them so it doesn't become boring. The characters and the wonderful voice acting sucked me in right away. It's also nice to see an older hero steal the spotlight as Kotetsu is somewhat in his mid thirties and has a child he has to worry about, as opposed to the standard young shounen anime hero. I could also really appreciate the humor and little nuances of certain things which made me chuckle multiple times.

Tiger & Bunny might not be the most amazing anime but it is highly entertaining and amusing, certainly for young adults. The ending was satisfactory but leaves the door open to a second season, I for one am hoping there will be more. ^^