It’s an eventful week for Tiger & Bunny. New OP, new OD, 10 month time skip, and some new attitudes among the major characters.
This ep showed why it’s so interesting to have a hero like Kotetsu that’s so different from the normal anime leading man. Romance is more or less expected in any series, irrespective of genre. Yet Tiger is a guy pushing middle age, with a tween daughter, and that adds a whole different element to the possibility of any romance between he and any of the female cast (Blue Rose obviously being the most likely candidate). Kotestu is the greatest strength of this show for me. He’s kind, awkward, self-effacing yet undeniably courageous and a pretty good hero. It’s no wonder Blue Rose fell for him, but I really think his feelings for her are more paternal.
As we rejoin our heroes, Barnaby has won the hero competition for the previous season, with Tiger 4th (and Rock Bison dead last). They’re the talk of the town – celebrated for their great teamwork after vanquishing Jake Martinez. Bunny has turned all deredere for Tiger. He calls him “Kotetsu”, smiles all doe-eyed at him (I can hear the thud of the fainting fujoshi hitting the ground) and defends him to Blue Rose. For her part she’s now thoroughly tsundere. She’s aware that she’s fallen for Kotetsu and it bothers her, yet she can’t deny her feelings. We haven’t seen the last of this plotline.
As a way to cash in on their growing popularity T & B are teamed up with Blue Rose for a new single, to be debuted live before an adoring crowd. This offers Kotetsu a chance to worm his way further into her heart during the dance lessons she gives them, unwittingly winning her with his goofy humor (he does the worst “robot” like, ever) and his awkward generosity.
Meanwhile, the central pillar hasn’t been totally forgotten either. There’s a little side-story about the new “second team” heroes and their pursuit of a backstage theif who targets idols. but the meat of the matter is the strange way Tiger’s powers react when he chases the thief down. It wasn’t your imagination – Tiger was indeed glowing at the end of the last episode, and he does it again this week. Not only that, but his powers go all super-seiyan – he’s able to run faster and jump higher than ever – and then run out 30 seconds early.
I’ve seen it speculated that Jake Martinez’ “other” power is possession, and that he somehow managed to transfer his soul to Kotetsu’s body before the helicopter made tonkatsu out of his mortal coil. I was skeptical, but it does sort of fit. Something weird is definitely happening to Tiger, and it started right after Jake “died”. Another NEXT in his body would explain power surges, and it would also be a neat way to get Jake back into the mix of the story. With Barnaby’s parental issues unresolved it did seem off for him to be killed off just like that.
Between that mystery and Kotetsu’s love life, there’s certainly a lot to keep us busy for a while. Blue Rose is adorable, but I think Kotetsu is just too decent and honorable to go there. I just hope he finds a way to let her down easy.
Luxorcism
July 4, 2011 at 1:41 amGlad you're blogging this series. ^_^
As much as I'd love to see Jake again (his barrier power is pretty creative), I really hope not. It would undermine all the trust Barnaby has in Kotetsu because if it DID happen, Barnaby's trust in Kotetsu would look stupid to the audience. He lied about the "superhearing" to hide the mind-reading bit, and if the mind-reading was actually wrong, all the trust and characterization developed over the timeskip goes -poof-
No… what's happening here is more like Kotetsu is using his Hundred Power to unlock greater speed and strength at the cost of depleting his time reserve. This way, Barnaby is right to trust Kotetsu for deducing Jake's powers and proving himself a reliable partner.
admin
July 4, 2011 at 1:54 amYou could very well be right, but I'm not assuming anything yet.
momogoldfish
July 4, 2011 at 1:34 pmActually the thud you heard was actually all the fangirls fainting in fright because 120% dere bunny is DARN CREEPY!
Hopefully they tone Barnaby's fanboyism back a bit…this is probably the first time I thought character development was a bad thing.
Shirt
July 4, 2011 at 3:26 pmI didn't think Blue Rose would score so many points in one episode. It could be I'm just a sucker for tsundere or that she's uber hot.. but she's definitely gotten up there in my book right next to Dragon Kid. I love watching the heroes' daily ongoings when they're not fighting crime. The slice-of-life feel to it all is priceless and the interactions- golden.
Thinking back to Jake's duel powers, perhaps Kotetsu has an underlying ability that he is unaware of as well? I'm gonna agree with what was said above about the time reserves. Sounds pretty believable.
admin
July 4, 2011 at 4:35 pmRose is adorable (well, so is Kid) and I don't even like tsunderes generally. I just don't think Kotestsu is the sort of man to date a girl less than half his age. I think he sees the two girls and Origami as his surrogate kids, and I think what Rose feels for him is the equivalent of a schoolgirl crush on a favorite teacher.
Mushyrulez
July 4, 2011 at 7:14 pmI'm trying to suppress a Kodomo no Jikan reference right now…
Anyways, I sincerely doubt that would happen. Besides, Barnaby's issues still aren't resolved – Jake's obviously no more than a pawn in Ouroboros's grand schemes. There must have been a reason to kill his parents. Lunatic's still alive and perhaps a hero now (look at him in the new OP sequence), and all in all, there's still a lot more to come in Tiger & Bunny.
Also, Legend.
admin
July 5, 2011 at 12:21 amYou mean, Maverick? 😉
Vii
July 6, 2011 at 4:40 amThanks for blogging about Tiger and Bunny! And those fujoshi are definitely not fainting from excitement – dere Bunny is just not working out. It's fake and creepy, quite honestly. I thought Kotetsu and Barnaby had a good dynamic to begin with; why did they change it? ;_;
Also Blue Rose earned lots of brownie points this episode – she made up for dere Bunny with all of her tsundere antics. Not that I'm rooting for a Tiger x Blue Rose pairing, but I sure hope it ends well… I don't really want to let her heart be broken >:
admin
July 6, 2011 at 4:55 amShe's too young, and he's too much of a moralist. Never happen!