TIGER & BUNNY （タイガー・アンド・バニー）
Tiger and Bunny turned out to be quite a fun series, surprisingly so when you consider how it has some heavily commercialized overtones to it. Sunrise decided to try experimenting here, and plastered real-life company logos on the characters in this series, which initially sounded like a bad move. However, this series turned out to have a rather solid main cast, and although the plot got cheesy and stale at times, it’s the charming characters that kept this series fun to watch. Aside from that, the extra money from the advertising is probably the reason why the production quality was solid throughout the series, and it seems that this series was popular enough to leave an open-ended conclusion (and leave the potential for a season two).
That being said, the story itself is rather simple when you break things down; there are guys that have superpowers, and they use them to fight evil. Only, the twist is that these heroes are sponsored by corporations, and their heroic exploits are followed on TV. It’s an interesting, light satire of modern day society, where everything is commercialized in some way or form.
Nevertheless, the heroes themselves were quite charming. To be more specific, “superheroes” are portrayed as very human figures, where each balance their crime-fighting duties with their own simple little problems. Common problems such as dealing with love, single parenthood, grieving for a lost friend, and paying the bills, are all part of the cast here, and makes them rather easy to relate to. On top of that, the gradual buildup of the chemistry between the awkward main cast eventually leads up to a rather close group of “hero” friends that help each other in their times of need, where they all work together to get things done. The flawed characters, and how they try to make up for their flaws by depending on their close friends, makes for a very endearing cast, especially when you consider everybody’s individual personalities. From the goofy Kotetsu to the stoic Barnaby, from the love-struck Blue rose to the hot-headed Bison, all of the heroes mesh together well to create a rather competent cast.
Unfortunately, while the cast itself is a joy to watch, I can’t say the same for the plot. The best way to describe the plot would be that it is “very convenient and chessy”. There are many individual arcs where the heroes solve smaller crimes, which are meant to highlight some of the unique character traits to the cast (or just show everybody goofing off in some way or form, lol). Many of these arcs, while they were silly fun, were also very cliche at times. The cliche-ness did make for some great character development, and added to the charm of the cast. Therefore, I could mostly look over the cheesiness.
However, it’s really the big main arcs where the story ends up very flawed. The main arcs are very dramatic, and makes for a compelling watch. And yet, at the same time, there are just so many convenient and coincidental factors that unfold during critical moments in these arcs. That in itself is lazy writing on Sunrise’s part, and while the arcs were captivating, at the same time they have quite a few areas they could’ve significantly improved in. Sometimes the arcs would get too trite and corny, which at times would detract from the viewing experience.
In the end, Tiger and Bunny is really a showcase for it’s stellar cast, where watching the bumbling journey of Wild Tiger and Barnaby proved to be the star attraction to this show. The real charm factor to this series are the characters, and their interactions throughout all 25 episodes. I know for a fact that I followed this series until the end because of the cast, such as the rather idealistic yet clumsy Kotetsu, the stubborn and hot-headed Barnaby, the naive yet earnest Kaede, and the rest of the cast. The plot here might not be the best out there, but Tiger and Bunny is enjoyable because of it’s flaws. Tiger and Bunny is an endearing tale of an upbeat, corny, goofy, and hardworking, bunch of heroes.
Animation/Art: 8.0/10
Music: 8.0/10
Setting: 8.0/10
Characters: 9.0/10
Story: 7.0/10
Overall Enjoyment: 8.0/10
Distant Paradise 