In my later anime fan years, I began to become incredibly jaded with the new shows that were being released. None of them lived up to the exceptional material I saw in my youth, and seemed to be so influenced by merchandise sales and crossover popularity that nothing seemed to be done just for the art form anymore. Greed seem to color my view of the entire industry, and I felt that I should just ignore any new works coming out. But something caught my eye that changed my entire mindset, and what I am speaking of is Sunrise’s Tiger &Bunny.
The story tells that of Kotetsu, a middle aged man who is a NEXT (mutant), with the ability to gain super human strength for only 5 minutes at a time. He’s a single dad who also happens to be a superhero, known by the public as Wild Tiger, who is part of a reality competition show called HERO TV.
In the show, multiple heroes are sponsored by real life companies (ex: Bandai, Pepsi) to win the title of “King of Heroes”. Due to his age, Tiger is no where close to gaining the title, and is usually considered by most to be the weakest of the bunch. But that all changes when his sponsor recruits him to be part of a new hero team, joining up with the dashing and mysterious, Barnaby Brooks Jr.
Barnaby, by comparison, is the younger more coordinated member of the duo. He’s serious, calculating, and is doing this gig for multiple goals, but none of them related to Kotetsu’s more humble reasons.He (like Bruce Wayne) has a dark past involved the death of his parents, one that drives him to the brink of insanity at times. This leaves him hard to connect with, and when he is supposed to be part of team, it makes it difficult for him and Kotetsu to get along.
But with all that against them, how will they ever work together as partners? This is the question that leads the audience down the fun and sometimes intense ride that is the entire series.
Right off the bat, you can notice that there is something uniquely interesting about Tiger & Bunny. The character designs resemble a more vintage shonen style of series past, with a heavy inspiration from that of American Comics, such as DC and Marvel properties. The plot also falls under a similar description, reflecting more of a Western style of storytelling that pays homage to superhero tales as well as buddy action/comedy films of the 70’s and 80’s.
Another aspect worth mentioning is the cast. Aside from our leading duo, this series is full of incredibly fun and off-beat characters that have so much spark to them, it’s hard to resist not becoming a fan for at least one of them. From amazing sassy fire starters (Fire Emblem) to icy beauties (Blue Rose), all the heroes have someone unique to bring to the table.
For me personally, I am all about Sky High (aka Keith Goodman), the initial “King of Heroes” at the beginning of the series. With a design seeming to take inspiration from Tom Cruise and The Rocketeer, Keith is everything I look for in a hero and more. He’s noble, strong, sometimes not the brightest but is always be the most genuine and loyal.
If I had to chose from the duo who I preferred, I’d say I am on Team Tiger. Kotetsu is a gem of a character, one who evokes so much of the guy we as the audience feel like in real life, but also wish we would become. He’s a guy who tries his hardest to be a great dad, even if his daughter (Kaede) doesn’t know the extent of how lucky she is to have him in her life. You feel his joys and his pain, something that often gets lost in the characterization of most modern anime.
Tiger & Bunny is a show that is so far ahead of its time, yet is classic in so many areas. It reflects the joys one gets when picking up a comic for the first time, and also expands upon the reasons many of us watched anime in the first place. It’s a creative and unique cinematic ride, one that pays homage to it’s inspirations but also creates new elements one would not expect. It’s the way I got back into anime, and I have never looked back since.
The Daily Geekette 
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