Halftime Break: Tiger and Bunny

I remember when I first saw the PV for this series and found out about its premise. A series about corporate sponsored superheroes who fight crime on live TV and compete for ratings all while wearing costumes emblazoned with various logos? My mind instantly shifted to the 90’s film Mystery Men starring Ben Stiller and Greg Kinnear. In the film Kinnear’s character played an obnoxious, self-promoting, celebrity Superhero with more logos on his costume than a Nascar stock car.

Check it out it's Booster Gold!

Fast forward more than a decade later and here we find ourselves with quirky cast of Tiger and Bunny. I was skeptical when first coming into this show because I figured they’d take one of two routes: 1) An endless barrage of “monster of the week” clashes wherein the heroes solve conflicts through mindless slapstick antics all the while shamelessly plugging their respective companies. 2) A brilliant deconstruction of the pervasive nature of advertising and crass consumerism in modern society and how the true villain is our own human desire for material objects. Tiger and Bunny is neither of these things but that’s okay it just means there’s a greater opportunity to surprise the viewer.

His superpower is SPONSORSHIP!

As of this moment, only 13 of the slated 25 episodes have been aired and the character introductions as well as the first major arc/villain has been taken care of. The cast of heroes consists of a tomboyish electricity using Kung Fu master (Dragon Kid), a flamboyant fire manipulating drag queen (Fire Emblem), a sexy teenage idol/ice power user who is, I kid you not, sponsored by PEPSI (Blue Rose [not to be confused with the Saubure national treasure]), a big strong guy with a costume straight out of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (Rock Bison), a clever ninja-like shapeshifter who sounds like he got ripped straight from the Sengoku period (Origami Cyclone), a theatrical, self-indulgent, good-looking airbender (Sky High) and of course our titular heroes: Kotetsu “Wild Tiger” Kaburagi and Barnaby “Bunny” Brooks Jr. both of whom have your average super strength/super speed upgraded Captain America powers. Now, this show is indeed a shounen anime but it differs in quite a few key points. for starters, there is a distinct lack of overpowered super teenagers, there are no ‘mascot’ type characters, there is no definite love interest for the protagonists to be completely oblivious to-Kotetsu himself is a widower with a 9 year old daughter to support-and most importantly, there is no school setting within which to place the characters and subject them to the comic indignities suffered by so many other anime characters.
I’ve once heard this anime be described as “A show for old men that kids should watch”. Now while the issues of some of the characters may indeed speak more to the older, in or post college generation. I wouldn’t go so far to say that this show can be directed at those kinds of people. For one, while the exposition of the heroes and their personal issues are indeed a bit more mature than your usual shounen fare, they don’t flesh the characters out enough to truly satisfy the older, inquisitive mind. This, of course, means that it also won’t bore or deter the younger viewer or those particular anime fans who just want to see “tough guys doing cool shit”.  Personally speaking, from what I’ve seen in these first 13 episodes, there is enough here in T&B to keep the casual viewer interested and give the more serious viewer something to sit back and enjoy while they give their mind a break from this week’s episode of Steins;Gate or C.

So here’s hoping that Sunrise pulls out all the stops for the second half and gives us some of that Gundam-level wtf-ery that they’ve had years to perfect.

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Aspire towards Nirvana, anime Watchers

First Thoughts on Final Impressions: Ano Hana [Minor Spoilers]

Anime is in the Ending.

It’s something I’ve always believed in and I stand firmly by this declaration whenever I consider how any piece of fiction-not just anime-has impacted me. While The journey is indeed more important that the destination, how that journey culminates ultimately brings value to it; indeed the destination is the only way to know if one has traveled in the right direction.

Which brings me to the subject of this entry, a little story by the name of Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Boku-tachi wa Mada Shiranai or “Ano Hana” for those of us who don’t get off to obnoxiously long Japanese animation titles. Ano Hana is one of those titles that can be compared to a strange little pixie that creeps up on you while you’re trapped in the mire of your own seasonal idleness and offers to take you on a relaxing afternoon walk through the park. You soon realize however that this is no ordinary stroll, and you become swept up in the not so mundane problems of the fair folk; put simply, you become a spectator in a paranormal affair and that’s exactly what happens when you watch this series.

Watch it with a childhood friend

[Minor Spoilers here; Plot Synopsis]

Our protagonist Jinta Yadomi (nicknamed Jin-tan) is a sullen, jaded NEET who’s well on his way to becoming a certifiable candidate for Misaki Nakahara’s hikikomori therapy were it not one for one troublesome “Summer beast” that, quite literally, falls into his lap one lazy afternoon. It is the phantom of his childhood friend Honma Meiko (nicknamed Menma) and she has appeared to him-and only to him it seems-in order for him to grant some sort of wish that, surprise surprise, she can’t seem to remember. And so begins our little soap opera that will reunite Jinta with his now VERY estranged group of childhood friends who, for reasons both varied and yet still somehow similar, are each tied to Menma’s unfortunate passing and the fallout from the day of her demise has far-reaching consequences that become more and more apparent with each passing episode.

[/End Spoilers]

It is Ano Hana’s mastery of pacing that really makes this series shine as each episode opens slowly and then carefully unravels, picking up speed as it approaches the end only to stop at precisely the right moment, not necessarily to create patience-testing cliffhangers but rather a delicate moment of suspense. I guess it can be compared to a ball of yarn rolling down a gradually steepening incline only to settle into to a gentle undulation at the base, rocking and swaying back and forth in its hold before it makes yet another descent. The cast is populated by a diverse group of youngsters each with clearly identifiable character traits. We have The Ditz (Anal Anaru), The Jester (Poppo), The Cool/Smart Girl (Tsuruko), The Jerk-Ass Smart Boy (Yukiatsu) and of course our Fearless Leader (Jintan), (please note that these are all character nicknames and the reason I use them over their actual names is due to the fact this show makes use of them to represent an interesting shift in the group dynamics whenever they are utilized). Ano Hana’s roots as a light novel seem to show most clearly in the way that the characters are slowly fleshed out. Each time we see them, more of their motivations and desires are hinted at and the audience comes to realize that there may be just a bit more bubbling right under the surface of each character’s carefully constructed facade. This exposition however is not perfect , as certain characters seem to get a lot more attention than others and their internal conflicts feel a bit forced at times. Guilt is a major theme of this show, as well as unrequited love. Both go pretty much hand in hand and are the principle sources of the excellent drama the series provides.

This may happen to you

Drama however, can quickly become bitter when taken in large doses and must be broken up and spaced out well enough to allow the palate to recover; Ano Hana does this well for the most part  but there were times when I could literally count down the seconds to the next dramatic plot twist simply because things seemed too pleasant at the moment. Another thing Ano Hana sometimes drops the ball on is the way in which the plot rigidly defines the progression of the series. There is one moment in particular where I wondered ‘well why the hell didn’t she do that in the FIRST place?’ or ‘how come it took them this long to notice that?’; this doesn’t happen very often but when it does it leaves me scratching my head as to why the plot seemed so intent on drawing out these revelations.

In a world that's constantly asking us to grow up, isn't it nice to just be a kid again, even for a little while?

In finality, I guess the one thing that truly makes this show as good as it is, is its sense of catharsis. There is a real cleansing of the emotions that takes place within the characters and it is a real and powerful lesson to any of us who’ve ever had to deal with grief or loss. The power of letting go and moving on is one of the greatest forces moving through the world of Ano Hana and it has a real world significance that is certainly not lost in translation. Now, while most of this goes on in the final two episodes it is clear from the very first episode that moving forward with one’s life is the show’s central lesson and this lesson is cemented firmly in the viewer’s psyche by the time the final credits have rolled. On the whole, this show is a fine piece worth showing to anime fans and non-fans alike. If I were to give it a grade I guess it deserves an A for those of us who enjoy a good story with steady pacing, a B+ if you’re the type of person who demands an airtight story where the characters do not depend on the plot to accelerate their development and an A+ if you REALLY enjoy a good cry and more than your fair share of  emotional roller coasters.

I'll just leave this right here for you guys...

Aspire towards Nirvana, anime watchers.