Tiger & Bunny

Episodes 5-7

Episode 5 is a mostly forgettable vignette about a crime breaking out amidst Kotetsu's well-intentioned but ill-executed efforts to do something for Barnaby's birthday. It explores Kotetsu's meddlesome nature even further and shows another sign of what the two of them can do when they are in sync, but probably the most interesting detail to come out of it is a clearer indication that Sky High is one big, lovable dork. It is the least important and impactful episode of the first half, if not the whole series.

Episodes 6 and 7 are another story. Previous episodes have dropped minor hints about a bigger storyline, but now those little hints are starting to build towards something bigger. Flashbacks here show that Barnaby's parents were, indeed, murdered and his house burned down, and someone with the Ouroboros tattoo on his hand was responsible. Further, the bomber from episode 3 is also back, apparently with the intent of eliminating witnesses to his earlier bombing, and that means targeting Wild Tiger and Agnes (and presumably by extension the cameraman as well, though the bomber doesn't have the opportunity to get that far). What's most significant about his reappearance is that he sports the Ouroboros tattoo on his neck. That means that he has some connection to the killer of Barnaby's parents. Barnaby assumes a crime syndicate, but is that really the case? Either way, now Kotetsu and Fire Emblem, at the least, are aware of Barnaby's past.

The biggest development, however, is the debut of Lunatic. At first, he seems to be an enforcer for the syndicate – the guy who gets rid of liabilities. However, that turns out to not be the case at all. While his is definitely an antagonist, he is not so much a villain as a true anti-hero. True justice cannot be served merely by capturing criminals; they must be summarily executed instead, in this case by what amounts to hellfire. Further, his interference in Barnaby's efforts to find out more about Ouroboros seems to be incidental; the other heroes are as much in his way as he is in theirs.

Though Lunatic primarily directly battles Barnaby, he is not truly Barnaby's foil. Instead, he is Kotetsu's. As heroes go, Lunatic and Kotetsu stand as far at the polar opposite ends of the moral and ethical scale as they can be. His presence again raises the question about how outdated Kotetsu may or may not be for his era. He represents the purer ideal: that crime-fighting should not be a sport or exercise in showmanship, that protecting the people matters, and that even heroes should not be judge, jury and executioner. Lunatic, however, sees the opposite on the latter point as fitting, and he's not alone; the one boy who walks by Kotetsu and chastises him for not killing the bad guys represents a whole segment of the population which has no problem with justice being served by violent deaths. For Kotetsu, that is as much the battle as villains are.

Among other observations, doesn't Lunatic's voice sound familiar? Granted, voice actors commonly dub extra bit parts (it has happened a few times already in the English dub), but that is not the case here. He is someone that we have already seen out of costume, if you've been paying careful attention. Also, Blue Rose shows that she is not just a pretty face with ice powers; she has some slick close-combat moves as well. Her reaction to Kotetsu's quip about how she wasn't helping out because of Barnaby was also interesting. Perhaps she feels like she owes Kotetsu something? She did not seem entirely displeased by his head pat, either. The somewhat jerky way Lunatic flies – as if he's using his fire power to jet along rather than truly flying – also seems significant.

The animation quality continues to be erratic through these three episodes, but it delivers in feature action scenes. The musical score was also at its strongest during the episode 7 battles involving Lunatic. The result is a series whose entertainment value is on an upward trend.

Rating: (for episode 5)
Rating: (for episodes 6-7)

Tiger & Bunny is currently streaming on Viz.com and Hulu.