Tiger and Bunny

Based in a futuristic world heroes are given commercial value and a points scheme to make them kind of idols. People with superpowers are known as NEXT's if they choose to be a hero they'll feature on HERO TV and be in with a chance to be crowned King of Heroes but they could choose to use they're powers for evil in which case it's the heroes job to arrest him. The show focuses on the first of it's kind 'hero team' Tiger and Bunny. The team consists of old-timer 'Wild Tiger' and rookie hero Barnaby (nicknamed Bunny). But 'Wild Tiger' - or Kotetsu - is stuck in his old-fashioned ways and can't accept Barnaby's new ideals making it difficult for the two to get a long. Meanwhile Barnaby has finally found a lead on the crime syndicate Ouroboros who killed his parents in front of him when he was just a child. Wild Tiger and Barnaby have to team up successfully if they want to uncover the mysterious Ouroboros and stop the villainous NEXT Lunatic who is blowing every thing up.

It's childish, but still very thrilling. Incredibly predictable and cliched and yet, well executed. Certainly seeing the heroes being used to promote products is novel and also HERO TV is an awesome idea. Live coverage of heroes fighting criminals; it's a bit sadistic, but a nice addition to the plot nonetheless! The most annoying part plot wise is that the heroes, in general, keep their identities a secret. So how does Kotetsu keep the fact that he is Wild Tiger a secret? He wears a tiny eye mask. Same clothes, same hair, same face just a little mask around his eyes. It's like Tuxedo Mask all over again!! In fact, Tuxedo Mask's disguise is better than Kotetsu's! The other thing about Tiger and Bunny is how painfully obvious they make things. There is no subtlety any surprises are given away way before the episode. It's starting to sound a lot like sailor moon actually. But Tiger and Bunny isn't for children. It's a Seinen anime, for 18-30 year old males... So the plot does have some nice fights and it's very dramatic. Also, it'd be a lie to say that I have not been surprised by parts of the plot, it's just too childish! But it's the characters that really make it!
With out over doing it, we are given a nice amount of insight into the characters. I would say they've almost hit a perfect balance where the characters have been given depth with out the ridiculous sob stories. We are shown enough of Kotetsu's family life to feel empathy for him but it's not over done. There was also a little side story for Blue Rose, the young female hero. Her goal is to be a recognized singer and almost quits being a hero until Kotetsu and Barnaby talk to her about. It's just a cliched little 'finding yourself' and 'follow your dreams' story. But there's friendships built and the characters are given enough depth to empathize with. The only one whose back story is dramatic is Barnaby's. But since his past is part of the main plot it makes sense!
I love every one's personality too! Wild Tiger has virtues of a true hero. He doesn't care about points or recognition, he just wants to save people, all which makes him sound very cool. But he's not. He's old and unfashionable and always messes things up. He's constantly paying fees for the damage he's caused and he's totally ok with it! He's so laid back and unprofessional which makes for an entertaining contrast to Barnaby who takes his job so seriously. Barnaby doesn't have a hero alias and he sticks to the commands given to him by the people at HERO TV. That is until Ouroboros comes along of course. Then he can't control his passion! There's also Fire Emblem who is a flamboyant gay. A bit of a flirt but sincerely caring towards his friends. Also Blue Rose whose, well, a bit of a teenager. But she's fun and fresh and a totally bad ass hero. These are just my favorites but in reality the show has many many heroes with interesting personalities and none of them annoy me, which is quite an impressive feat!
Another impressive feat is the English dub. I mostly watched the Japanese dub but when I stumbled upon the English dub it really made no difference! Not only is the scripting exactly the same in some places but the voices are spot on too! The lip-syncing can be a bit off... But nothing's perfect! There's also really epic music. Totally fitting for a hero anime, it makes me feel like posing in a cape!
So the only problem with the show is the childishness of the plot. Pretend the anime is for kids and every thing is hunky dory! The fight scenes are awesome (especially if they include Blue Rose) and every one's costumes are cool (especially Blue Rose's). Did I mention the every one's hero costumes have real life sponsers on them? No? Because that's pretty awesome! Blue Rose advertises Pepsi, Wild Tiger is sponsored by Soft Bank and Barnaby's suit has Bandai logo on it. It's the little things. But why is the plot so childish? This could be so good if they didn't patronize their audience!

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