Before I watched this amazing anime, I thought that this would be one of those really lame kids' show like Sesame Street or what not. After watching it I can confidently say that this is one of those really awesome kids' show. To be more honest, it feels like watching a TV version of Pixar's 'The Incredibles'.
This anime focuses on the genre of superheroes. Not animals, not mechas (if you were mislead by the artwork or title) but superheroes. Superheroes who have mutated over the last 45 years and are now saving the futuristic city of Sternbild from evil misdoings and crime. However social media and attention have been given to these superheroes and now the 8 most famous superheroes are 'owned' by companies who participate against each other in the TV show 'Hero TV Live', which ranks heroes by the number of criminals captured and the number of civilians saved. It is indeed a very interesting setting which had not been explored in many western superhero cartoons such as the X-Men or the Incredibles.
Our protagonist is an old sort-of guy called Kotetsu Kaburagi, or by his superhero name, Wild Tiger. He is one of the 8 most well known superheroes who participates in 'Hero TV'. Eventually he becomes unpopular by the masses and his company is forced to close down. Wild Tiger is 'bought' by a new company who is then forced to partner up with a guy called Barnaby, and together they bring together the first 'superhero duo', Tiger and Barnaby. However, due to the appearance of Barnaby's hero suit and his name, Tiger nicknames him 'Bunny', which is how the title of the series comes to be.
In every aspect, (and my points may be very subjective from now on), this anime ticks off what it tried to be.
Story:
The first few minutes of the first episode really captures what the anime is about. How social media and attention wraps itself around the opportunity that these "NEXTs" (The fancy word for mutants) bring with them. Later on though, the story dives into each of the 8 superhero's pasts. Not very interesting so far, but once these pasts are established and the superheroes solve a few crimes, things then get really intense. We dive into an actual tight plot which will won't go away until the very last episode. Story-wise, I think that the producers of this anime have done a fantastic job and have achieved what they have set out to do.
Sound etc:
The voice acting was done very neatly and smoothly, I didn't feel as if they weren't half-hearted into their acting. Voice acting was done pretty decently.
The OPs were pretty catchy to me too. No problems for me there. I didn't pay much attention to the EDs (my apologies)
And the background music is very distinct. It's not annoying but it will stick in your head in a good way. The music used will very much remind you of western style movies and tv shows regarding the superhero/action genre.
Artwork and Animation:
There are lot of bright and flashy colors in Tiger & Bunny, which I appreciate. It doesn't overdo the flashes either. Each of the 8 superheroes have a specific design and color for them so it wasn't hard for me to remember all 8.
The animation itself wasn't done too badly either. A lot of CGI was used to create most of the effects but that didn't hinder my experience.
Characters:
Tiger & Bunny presents a wide range of personalities. On one hand you've got Tiger, the old aged guy who cares only about saving civilians and bringing justice to criminals. On the other hand, you've got Bunny, who doesn't really care about saving civilians or bringing justice to criminals but rather accumulating points and popularity. As you can expect, partnering these two together will bring some very loose teamwork. And that's how they start off, but towards the end they demonstrate the importance of trust, friendship and teamwork. And of course there are the other 6 superheroes and other main characters whom I fell in love with thanks to their intriguing and well developed characteristics.
Overall Enjoyment:
I really, really, really, really enjoyed watching this series. It was nice to explore a new, refreshing genre other than Romantic Comedies, Normal High School Life or Action in a far distant future. Tiger & Bunny has hit the target of what the show wanted to be and I am more than happy to say that this anime has been a real enjoyment to me.
To everyone out there, this is an anime for everyone to enjoy. It isn't hard to understand the context or to fall in love with the characters. It's an anime worth watching.
