Tiger & Bunny 2 Part 2

So, Netflix again dumped all 12 episodes at once, but oh boy, it sure was one hell of a ride. From exploring the shows best character Lunatic in detail, to showing the growing tension between Next and Non-Next, to Kotetsu finally using the last remnants of his power and quitting as a superhero, Tiger and Bunny 2 Part 2 was a blast. Another thing which I liked was how Barnaby's injury was explored upon properly, being an athlete myself, its always frustrating to hear that you will be benched indefinitely until you get the thumbs up from the doctor. Barnaby looks like he is headed ... for an early retirement if he continues to use his powers at this rate, but whenever the situation demanded for it, he made sure to deliver.

The show maintained the similar atmosphere as earlier seasons with perfect blend of action and comedy and most importantly understanding where and when it needed to be serious or funny. The soundtrack has always been great. Now, coming to the villains, all of their interactions were great, and their powers were honestly pretty overpowered and varied, from controlling other people to making Nexts go on rampages to a freaking All Might, combined with a prison outbreak, everything was a treat for the eyes.

Now, what the show was missing was more info about Ouroboros, all we know is that they are a secret organization, thats all, the main villain, although working under them, was operating independently according to her own ideals, so the goal and ambitions of Ouroboros is still not clear, although their influence was aptly displayed as they have people all over the police force and even ministers were involved. A next season might clear things if there is ever one. Although the show reached a perfect climax like situation, as we saw Tiger and Barnaby's portrait at the end hung in Hero's Museum for the Buddy system, so the future looks uncertain, but lets hope there is a new season.

I just finished the second season of this show. I do not like it. It is just extremely easy to watch because it's so stupid and, when the characters are allowed to be characters, they are fairly endearing.

The best character is Fire Emblem, who is a Black trans icon of mythic proportions and trapped in this mediocre show. The best parts of the second movie are the sequences that explore their history visually; those are incredible. I also really like Dragon Kid, who is 1000% a baby transboy.

Neither of them got a lot of spotlight in Season 2, but one of the conceits of ... Season 2 is that all the superheros pair off into "buddy" teams of two. All but one of these is same-sex and they are ALL Extremely gay. They made a team of new characters who literally have Yaoi Chins and the black/white hair thing going on. They gave Dragon Kid a loli lesbian girlfriend and they moved in together. Fire Emblem paired off with Sky High, the superhero show's requisite Captain America expy, and they fuckin, yo. There's an entire episode about Fire Emblem feeling like Sky High is too perfect to be real. There is a point at which this is no longer subtext. It is Text with a gun pointed to your head and demanding acknowledgement. Acknowledge it I must.

But, like the first season, Tiger & Bunny 2 is content to spin its wheels and make you wait episode after episode for nothing to happen, with the main plot only coming to a head at the end of an arc. It is truly boring and devoid of good qualities for most of its runtime.

Unlike Season 1, the message Season 2 was building up to was worth hearing, though. At least, the second cour of Season 2. The first part was faff. The second half is only mostly faff.

At the end of the second half, Tiger & Bunny 2 takes a hard left into ACAB territory. There are NEXT concentration camps in response to an AIDS-scare-style metaphor, the superheroes have been relinquished of their duties in favor of the cops, when they try to catch criminals anyway the police are more concerned with stopping them than the criminals because they want the public to depend on them. The entire case is designated rogue heroes because they engaged to save the city during its darkest hour. The Final Boss is a guy name Audun who was not allowed to be an official hero during Mr. Legend's era because his father was a criminal. Audun saved people anyway, so society labeled him a rogue hero and Mr. Legend did everything he could--coordinating with the police--to lock Audun up in a supermax prison because Audun was so much more powerful and effective than himself. And the media has spent decades instructing the populace to idolize Mr. Legend's corporation-backed, for-profit heroism, which all of the hero characters chafe against because it constantly hobbles them in the field and personally, while demonizing Audun's heroism for its own sake.

The Big Bad (a completely different character) is absolutely right and she should say it:

"After [an incredibly Useful NEXT emerged], people started treating the NEXT nicer, but only as long as their powers were Useful like hers. This is all her fault!"
"So that's what this is about? You just resent Aurora for no good reason??"
"SHUT UP. You heroes are just as guilty! Your very existence made people think NEXTs have to be useful to them to exist!"
"I see your point. BUT IT'S NEVER OK TO KILL PEOPLE."

This is the cry of someone read for the fucking filth that they are, someone who has absolutely nothing to say for their own position.

Again, this show is not good, but it recognizes the true villains of real life. Moreover, it is authentically inclusive of the variety of human experience in a way that blows most other shows out of the water. It at least took the first step towards modern, Krakoan X-Men comics' Correct position that queer people have a right to exist and be respected regardless of their usefulness to """"normal"""" people, who are their oppressors.

I do not like this show, but I absolutely respect that.

It's been 11 years since the original run of Tiger & Bunny in 2011, and it shows. It definitely shows. The first season way back then ended on a spooky cliffhanger implying that the nefarious secretive terrorist organization Ouroboros was real and not something Maverick made up to manipulate Barnaby. And I think they forgot what they were trying to do with that plot point. The chief issue with this very latest season is the focus it puts on Ouroboros that ultimately goes nowhere. The primary antagonist here is explicitly a member of Ouroboros, but it's revealed in one of the last moments that she ... was acting completely independently in her schemes. The higher-ups at Ouroboros, who are shown only in silhouette profiles, end up convincing her lackey to take her out for them before disposing of him themselves. The heroes are constantly on the back foot and end up barely mattering in how the conflict resolves. The whole thing feels like filler to wait out a future season that may well never exist.

Even ignoring the failings of the overarching narrative, this season is a mess. Little Aurora, who is seen constantly in the background in billboards and such in the first half of season 2, is jawdroppingly useless. She's gifted with the power of supernatural intellect whenever she closes her eyes, but all she does is show up to be targeted by the villains and a damsel in distress, never once actually trying to think her way out of the situation. The incredibly dumb racism plot, the motivation behind our primary antagonist, feels like something the writers pulled out of thin air, pretending anti-superpower sentiment was always a thing despite no signs of it in season 1, in a society were superpowers have largely been extremely beneficial. It's funny that it ends up causing the mayor, who brings to mind the Jaws meme about why it's important to vote in your local elections, to order all the supernaturally gifted into literal internment camps, at the behest of public outcry, but no time is spent on the aftermath. I guess everyone forgot about it once the day was saved.

The main saving grace of the season is the character moments, though they don't get nearly as many chances to indulge in them compared to the first half of season 2. Kotetsu's and Barnaby's concern and care for each other as partners is always nice to see, though it does feel a bit rehashy of material we already saw in previous seasons. The other buddy hero duos do get cute enough bonding moments, if a little superficial. The most unique element of this season is Yuri, and it's nice to see him finally work through his lingering dad-related trauma, even if the execution is pretty clumsy. I'd probably watch a season 3 for more of these characters, but at this point, my expectations are rock-bottom for a satisfying plot.