Small Fandoms Fest

Do you like superheroes?
Do you like humor, angst, and a happy ending?
Do you like shows that go for tropes like they're trying to hit a blackout on a fic bingo card?
Do you like shows that subvert or avert typical anime tropes?
Do you like it when two people with disparate personalities are forced to work together for plot reasons and go from disliking each other to being unable to live without the other person?

Then step right up, friends, and add Tiger & Bunny to your to-watch list.



If you're in the US, all 25 episodes are available on Netflix and Hulu. (And if you love it and want to watch the follow-up movie, The Rising, just, uh, holler at me. >.> I know a gal.)

Premise:

In Tiger & Bunny, superheroes are sponsored by companies and they’re filmed as they save the city. It’s aired as a reality show called Hero TV, and the heroes earn points for things like saving citizens, arresting criminals, and being the first on the scene. The hero with the most points at the end of the season is crowned King of Heroes.

Our main character is Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, aka Wild Tiger. He’s been a hero for ten years when the series starts, but he’s not very popular nowadays because he’s more concerned with saving people than with getting points. (He also has a tendency not to worry about little things like property damage while he’s saving people, much to the chagrin of his sponsors, because they're the ones who have to pay the damage fines.)



In the first episode, his sponsor company folds and the hero division is bought out, and he ends up being partnered with a new hero, Barnaby Brooks Jr. Barnaby is very logical, by the book, and much more concerned with points, and so is basically the total opposite of Kotetsu (at least, at first glance).



I'm sure you can guess how thrilled they are to be stuck with each other.

What follows is 25 episodes of humor, angst, chasing criminals, saving the city, building trust, losing trust, getting it back, creepy stuffed bears, surprise birthday parties, accidental babysitting, and copious amounts of fried rice.

(And yes, Barnaby is the "Bunny" in the title. Kotetsu gives him the nickname. Barnaby hates it, until he doesn't.)

Characters:

Heroes

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi/Wild Tiger – Kotetsu is our main character, and he is significantly different from the main characters of most anime series in this vein. He's around 34-35 when the series starts, he's been married (his wife passed away five years earlier), and he has a 9-year-old daughter who lives with his mother. He's not the strongest or the most powerful or the most popular hero; his greatest strengths are his kindness and his moral compass, his deep-seated belief that life is precious and nobody has the right to take that away. His focus on protecting people versus pleasing his sponsors/the producers is considered old-fashioned now. His power is the Hundred Power, which increases his physical abilities a hundredfold for five minutes.

Barnaby Brooks Jr. – Barnaby is a recent graduate of the Hero Academy who joins the ranks of the First League heroes in the very first episode. Unbeknownst to everybody else, he's got an ulterior motive for becoming a hero: he's searching for the man who murdered his parents 20 years ago. Barnaby's an asshole early in the series; while he turns on the charm for the camera and the public, he's very aloof and sharp-tongued when he's around people he doesn't have to make nice with. Plus, he has enough trust and anger issues to fill a cargo plane and he's extremely frustrated with Kotetsu's comparatively laissez-faire approach to their work (although he's not as frustrated with Kotetsu himself as he makes it out to be). Barnaby also has the Hundred Power, which is one of the reasons he and Kotetsu are partnered.

Karina Lyle/Blue Rose – One of the younger heroes, Blue Rose is the closest the show comes to the traditional overly sexualized female characters. However, it's lampshaded in the series that that's how her sponsor company wants her to look, and Karina's dress/personality as a regular teenager versus her hero persona makes that very clear. She got into hero work to further her singing career, and it's clear pretty early on where her heart lies. She does develop an ill-advised crush on Kotetsu, but thankfully, it's never more than a one-sided thing. Blue Rose has ice manipulation powers and an extremely cheesy catchphrase.

Nathan Seymour/Fire Emblem – Nathan is flaming in just about every sense of the word, in that he's very openly gay and also in that he has very strong fire powers. Nathan's unique in that he owns his sponsor company, so unlike the other heroes, he doesn't have a boss that he's answering to. He's very intentionally positive and happy, and he's one of the only characters who can see through it when Kotetsu's lying about something. He is a delight, and the show generally supports his flouting of gender norms. While Nathan doesn't get an episode in the series, his subplot comes during the movie, and it's absolutely wonderful (also, bring the tissues).

Antonio Lopez/Rock Bison – Antonio is Kotetsu's best friend, and they go out drinking together after work fairly often. He's also the only hero who knew about Kotetsu's wife and daughter, because he and Kotetsu have known each other since high school. Antonio isn't one of the more popular or higher-ranked heroes, something he struggles with throughout the series and the movie, but that doesn't stop him from always trying to be better. Unfortunately, he's the only one of the main heroes not to get an episode or a subplot in the movie, which is a shame. His power is that he can make himself invulnerable, which is literally never seen in the series because he's always in his suit when he uses it.

Keith Goodman/Sky High – Sky High is the reigning King of Heroes, the most popular and at the top of all the charts. He is also the absolute sweetest, most genuine character you will ever see, basically a golden retriever in human form. (Which is appropriate, considering he has a golden retriever named John.) He's not even remotely competitive and he considers all the other heroes his friends. He also has a tendency to repeat what he says, e.g. "Thank you, and again, thank you!" His power is wind manipulation, and he flies using a jetpack.

Ivan Karelin/Origami Cyclone – Another of the younger heroes, Ivan attended the Hero Academy around the same time that Barnaby did. His hero name has absolutely nothing to do with his powers; he can take the shape of anything that he touches, and he just happens to be stupidly into Japanese culture. He's also very subdued and down on himself in general, and he tends to be more focused on finding ways to get his sponsors airtime than anything else.

Pao-lin Huang/Dragon Kid – The youngest of the eight main heroes (she's only 13 at the beginning of the series), Dragon Kid is generally upbeat and doesn't seem to worry too much about her ranking. She's very tomboyish and doesn't care for traditionally feminine things, something that clashes with what her parents want from her (or so she thinks). Her powers are lightning manipulation, and her regular clothing is a nod to Bruce Lee's classic yellow tracksuit.

Non-heroes

Kaede Kaburagi – Kotetsu's nine-year-old daughter. She lives in Oriental Town with her grandmother and has no idea that her dad's a hero; she just knows that he keeps breaking his promises to visit her. Kaede doesn't get much screentime in the first season, but ho boy does she get to shine in the second story arc.

Agnes Joubert – The producer for Hero TV. She has a brilliant mind for determining how to get the best ratings and she's absolutely ruthless about it. It took me awhile to come around to her character but man she's fantastic.

Albert Maverick – The CEO for Apollon Media (Barnaby and Kotetsu's sponsor company) and Barnaby's guardian since his parents' deaths. Hero TV was Maverick's brainchild decades ago, and he's still very involved with the running of it.

Ben Jackson – Kotetsu's boss at Top Mag, his sponsor at the very beginning of the series. Ben and Kotetsu have known each other for years. He's one of the only people in the city who is genuinely a big fan of Wild Tiger and one of the only people Kotetsu trusts enough to go to for help.

Saito – Essentially Q (if you're a Bond fan) or Edna Mode (if you like The Incredibles) for Apollon Media. He's the one responsible for building Barnaby and Kotetsu's hero suits, along with myriad other things. Very much a little shit, especially to Kotetsu because it's so easy to get a rise out of him. Saito also has a tendency to build things just because they look cool, without any corresponding increase in functionality.

Alexander Lloyds – Barnaby and Kotetsu's boss at Apollon Media. Kind of a dick, and not above using threats of firing to get Kotetsu to do what he wants.

Lunatic – A superpowered vigilante who kills criminals that (literally) get away with murder. His appearance throws a major wrench into the public's view of Hero TV, and to say he and Kotetsu clash on the whole "killing" thing is an understatement.

The Ship:

I mean, the show is literally called "Tiger & Bunny"; are you really surprised that the two title characters are the biggest ship? And that's not by accident; the show creators intend for you to read their relationship however you want...and that includes romantically.

This is how Kotetsu and Barnaby meet for the first time:



And they're already tied up together by episode 2:



This show is many things. "Subtle" is not one of them.

There's at least one "hold my beer" moment in every single episode (that is, where the show goes "Are you shipping it yet? No? Hold my beer."), if not multiple moments. Tiger & Bunny has one of the best rivals-to-lovers storylines I've ever seen, as the series takes Barnaby and Kotetsu from "I can't believe I'm stuck with this asshole" to "Okay maybe you're not so bad" to "well shit, I care about you now and I'm not sure when that happened" to "I will literally break down in tears at the thought of living without you in my life."

And the best part is there's absolutely nothing to "no homo" their relationship. There's no random heterosexual love interest thrown in for either of them to try and shuffle their bond into something canonically platonic. In fact, despite the official line being that you can read their relationship however you'd like, a lot of the cast and crew of the series refer to them as "lovers" or "precious partners." And the official art is shippier than most fanart.

Not to mention, there are official wedding rings:



Like I said. Not subtle.

This is easily my favorite anime and one of the best TV shows I've ever seen. It's like they went into my brain, took all my favorite tropes and character types, and shoved them all into a series.

Watch Tiger & Bunny and come flail with me about hero husbands!