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That other superhero best buddy duo
Nov. 25th, 2014 06:40 pmTiger & Bunny is a really good anime. I was gonna say "TV show" but I need to get over this weird misconception of mine that "I don't like anime" (I like several animes! Lupin III, Baccano!, Cowboy Bebop, most recently I fell completely in love with Space Dandy, the list goes on). I've been binge watching Tiger & Bunny this last week; I laughed, I cried (a lot), I fell completely in love with the universe and the characters.
A superhero buddy comedy/drama? Hey, I love superheroes! And I love superhero buddies!
Furthermore I love superhero stories that aren't just pale imitations of the DC and Marvel universes. Still, when I try to explain Tiger & Bunny to others I keep comparing it to those universes because hey, these are tropes I'm familiar with ("It's a bit like X-Men, people develop powers, but they use sponsorships sorta like Booster Gold, and the drama is quite like Infinite Crisis, except, well, it's actually competently told").
First, I fell in love with the concept -- superheroes are sort of like reality TV stars, and their sleek mechanical armours are covered with logos to earn those sweet sponsorships. Second, I fell in love with the protagonist Kotetsu, a.k.a Wild Tiger -- a middle-aged deadbeat single dad with a waning superhero career (he's been in the business so long he still wears a cape!), he's a complete loser and yet so sympathetic. All of Kotetsu's superpowered friends are great in their own way (not to mention his foil, Barnaby a.k.a Bunny), and most of them get spotlight episodes that are surprisingly non-annoying amidst the major plot developments.
The thing about Tiger & Bunny as a show though -- and I'm surprised I didn't know about this considering this show was all over both LJ and other social sites when it premiered three years ago -- is that it's all fun and games with mostly self-contained episodes until the season is about halfway done, then plot threads you hardly noticed in the earlier episodes come together and it get's DARK and HEART-BREAKINGLY EARNEST. The change of direction was definitely thoroughly planned and elegantly executed, but it was quite a surprise.
In summary, Tiger & Bunny is a really good anime.
A superhero buddy comedy/drama? Hey, I love superheroes! And I love superhero buddies!
Furthermore I love superhero stories that aren't just pale imitations of the DC and Marvel universes. Still, when I try to explain Tiger & Bunny to others I keep comparing it to those universes because hey, these are tropes I'm familiar with ("It's a bit like X-Men, people develop powers, but they use sponsorships sorta like Booster Gold, and the drama is quite like Infinite Crisis, except, well, it's actually competently told").
First, I fell in love with the concept -- superheroes are sort of like reality TV stars, and their sleek mechanical armours are covered with logos to earn those sweet sponsorships. Second, I fell in love with the protagonist Kotetsu, a.k.a Wild Tiger -- a middle-aged deadbeat single dad with a waning superhero career (he's been in the business so long he still wears a cape!), he's a complete loser and yet so sympathetic. All of Kotetsu's superpowered friends are great in their own way (not to mention his foil, Barnaby a.k.a Bunny), and most of them get spotlight episodes that are surprisingly non-annoying amidst the major plot developments.
The thing about Tiger & Bunny as a show though -- and I'm surprised I didn't know about this considering this show was all over both LJ and other social sites when it premiered three years ago -- is that it's all fun and games with mostly self-contained episodes until the season is about halfway done, then plot threads you hardly noticed in the earlier episodes come together and it get's DARK and HEART-BREAKINGLY EARNEST. The change of direction was definitely thoroughly planned and elegantly executed, but it was quite a surprise.
In summary, Tiger & Bunny is a really good anime.
