Review: Tiger & Bunny
Posted: September 19, 2011 Filed under: Animu, Review, Tiger & Bunny | Tags: Tiger & Bunny 4 Comments
Anime: Tiger & Bunny
Animation Studio: Sunrise
Number of Episodes: 25
Length per Episode: Approximately 24 minutes
Bah, this review is coming out later than I wanted, too. Well, at least I got Bunny Drop out quickly, right? Plus, I’m staying up all night, so I may be able to squeeze in a review of Sacred Seven to pop up an hour or two after this one. Though I do also have a paper to write… but then again it’s an easy one… well, whatever. We’ll see what happens.
The first episode of Tiger & Bunny was pretty cool. It did a good job of showing the setting and how everything for the rest of the series was going to work. The second episode wasn’t as interesting, though. It was kind of a cliché episode that you’d expect from any old American superhero cartoon. A lot of people say the third one wasn’t incredible (not bad, just not impressive), too, but I actually liked it quite a bit because it had nice intensity to it that was definitely helped by an awesome piece from the soundtrack.
As I was watching it, I wasn’t sure how to describe Tiger & Bunny. Nowadays I go through shows thinking about what I’ll say about them in my reviews, but I couldn’t think of a good way to describe it. Now that I’ve gone through all of the episodes for the show, I finally know how to describe this show.
It’s like your classic Saturday morning cartoon, but a thousand times more awesome.
You guys remember waking up Saturday morning to watch all of those awesome cartoons on TV? Waking up early was totally worth it to watch some characters kick ass. Tiger & Bunny captures that feeling extremely well, but adds it’s own modern flair to it for this day and age.
Tiger & Bunny at first seems to copy the style of those cartoons by having “villain of the week” episodes, but then soon enough it’s revealed that it’s actually been setting up for a plot arc the entire time. Then when it seems like the arc was just for the first half, it winds up just a part of the arc, and the entire show is actually one gigantic arc. The way the plot unfolds is definitely one of Tiger & Bunny’s strongest points.
The characters are also all very enjoyable, each having their own unique quirks to them (except Rock Bison still never got his own episode, which is more hilarious than sad because of the way the show went about with his character) that make them interesting. Having the varied character personalities also keeps the character interactions really enjoyable.
And just like I said before, Sky High is still my favorite character.
If there’s anything negative to say about the show, it’d probably be the quirky CGI used for all of the heroes. Though it’s not much of a complaint, because it gives the show a unique look and feel, and you’re used to it by the end. The only other thing to say would be that the finale certainly wasn’t perfect, but it was still very enjoyable. The teaser at the very end was also pretty clever.
Wrapping this up, now that I’ve reviewed all of them, I can safely say that Steins;Gate, Tiger & Bunny, and Bunny Drop were my favorite shows that ended this season. Though, funnily enough, for pretty different reasons. Steins;Gate was the sci-fi thriller that you couldn’t stop watching to see where the plot and Okarin’s character went next; Tiger & Bunny was the pulse-pounding superhero show that left you wanting more and to see how it would all play out; and Bunny Drop was the feel good show on the importance of family and how having a kid/taking care of a kid can change you as a person, and also change your lifestyle.
The three powerhouses of the season, I salute you.
RATING: 10 out of 10.
Riyoga's Ramblings 
I finished SG and T&B. Both overall were really good and really well done. I thought the endings of both were exciting and consistent with the rest of the series. While the endings were more than satisfactory, as I said, it became apparent that the last few episodes of T&B were going to be a setup for any following material. Have yet to finish up Bunny Drop and am now almost done with Shana the Second!
Yeah, it was obvious that Tiger & Bunny was going to be set up for a sequel. Not sure if that was the plan from the beginning or the sales are what caused it, but oh well. I still like the teaser they used.
Bunny Drop is great and anyone who dislikes it can face my cold, harsh, sarcastic Internet-text wrath.
You’re like my favorite reader right now, because you watched Shana for me. Well, okay, maybe it wasn’t FOR me, but I still encouraged it so I’m taking the credit.
If you’re almost done, then that means you’re past the building up of the first half. My god the second half of the second season was so gooooood.
The T&B teaser was pretty enticing, plus anytime I see an ouroborus I think of FMA which is no bad thing, ha.
I finished it and it was pretty good. I watched it partly for you, partly because it’s been on my radar for a while but mostly because when the new season starts I’d like to be able to watch that as well. Like you said, some people may find it cliched but those cliches are why people continue to watch anime anyway and why we keep craving the usual characters and narratives. It’s only when a series executes all the usual tropes well, like Shana usually does that you can say it stands above the rest.
Anyway, it took me until the back half of the first series, after Shana’s back-story episodes, to become invested in the characters and really interested in the story. I for one, am not as endeared to tsunderes as you but they aren’t the worst thing about anime either. I thought the first part of the second series was actually some of the funniest anime I’ve seen almost making me think that the writers pull off comedy better than they do action (which is a compliment).
The show has a fairly good balance; it doesn’t go full otaku nor flaunt all-out action or rely too much on romance but this next installment will surely take it up a notch.
Interesting. Most people were bored to death by the first half of the second season since there was no action or anything. I mean, I thought it was funny a good chunk of the time, too, but because so many people were bored by it I usually just warn them that it’s boring. Good to see someone shares my opinion.
Oh no doubt about the next season kicking it up a notch. More like ten notches, the way I’ve been hyping it, but I have absolutely no doubts that it’ll deliver.