And…another week of Tiger & Bunny! This show is easy going, it’s not in a hurry to develop it’s plot and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s the kind of show I’d like to watch after a stressful day. They have a way with coming up with very well-rounded episodes and all end satisfying enough.
I love the balance between plot and humor here. Things develop, letting the creators reveal bits and pieces of the Ouroboros and Lunatic plot while introducing and developing the other heroes. This was mainly Dragon Kid’s episode, but we got glimpses of Tiger’s fatherly side and the reason for his wife’s death. We also saw the change in Barnaby’s attitude and vulnerability. The fun episodes aren’t just ‘Oh okay we have all these episodes and we need to fill ’em up with lighthearted humor and homoerotic subtext bromance! Bitches love lighthearted humor and homoerotic subtext bromance! Then, we can dedicate the other half to PLOT development! Sounds like a plan!’
They used up their budget drawing pretty Barnaby faces for you all.
Instead, you’re presented a streamlined technique that involves humor, action plus character AND plot development. Oh wait, and the homoerotic subtext bromance. I don’t know, I just can’t complain about that.
And seriously, I like how the characters are designed and given a personality that somewhat goes beyond the conventions of their design. That sounds convoluted, but let me try to put that in better way. These characters aren’t what they appear to be. In anime and manga (or media in general if your prefer), sometimes a certain physical trait can be associated with stereotype. Give her twintails and she’s a tsundere. Give him a goatie and he’s a chill kind of guy. Give him glasses and he’s a nerd.
I like being proven wrong by a show. I initially assumed Dragon Kid would be someone stuck up or constantly serious. But it turns out she’s tomboyish young girl who works hard but has the tendency to be stubborn. But that doesn’t make her a pain the butt, she’s still nice when she needs to be.
All these characters are easy to warm up to, so when they’re put in a tough situation– I actually care. Even Barnaby, who I disliked in the beginning is starting to show a softer side. BL fangirls, you can skip some episodes of Sekai Ichi Hatsukoi and watch Tiger & Bunny instead. That way you won’t have to sit through the sexual harassment and still get your fangirl motors running. Barnaby is a baka tsundere who finally realizes that Kotetsu loves him. That silly baka! So now he’s all like, mushy and nice to him and saying things like ‘You got hurt because of me.’ Moe!
Those guys were assholes for ignoring Barnaby after he volunteered himself.
Kidding aside, it was awesome that Barnaby and Kotetsu are getting along better. I think this will affect their teamwork and let them work side by side way better than they did a few episodes back. It’s actually good that Barnaby is kind of shedding the asshole front and being nice to Kotetsu for a change.
The villians here were nicely designed too, but thats what you get when you have Masakazu Katsura behind the original character designs. He’s always had some very attractive female character designs, and not the moe-uguuu kind either.
Tiger & Bunny is consistent. To me, it has the charm of those really, really good shows you stumbled upon on early 2000-something when you were a kid. I’m not so obsessed with originality as I am with entertainment value so Tiger & Bunny is right up my alley.
I’ll tell you what isn’t consistent though, the animation. Look at the number of derpy faces Ivan puts on in this episode and you’ll see what I mean.
Posting for the Ivan derp.
Hachimitsu 