Aw. To be honest, I found this to be a rather lukewarm ending. In the end, the best parts of this show were its build-up. This really was a series where it’s the journey that is important, not the destination. Both the Jake arc and this finale were the parts of Tiger & Bunny that impressed me the least. But hey, we’re getting a sequel.
The best way for me to describe this show would be “half-baked”. The creators kill off Kotetsu. Oh no wait, he’s just knocked out from the huge blast that conveniently managed to just destroy his suit. There are more androids! Oh now wait, there is a safety code now. Kotetsu is retiring. Oh no wait, he isn’t! Barnaby wants to live his own life now. Oh now, he isn’t, he’s just going to act like nothing happened!
I hate to call it, but I really think that the Sunrise executives had a role in this again. The thing with the sequel is that it wasn’t planned right from the start. The only single hint to that throughout most of the series was the fact that the entire city of Ouroboros was corrupt. My guess that originally the creators wanted to tie Maverick in with that. Instead, they were probably forced to leave open the option for a second season, which lead to the awkward plot twists in this episode that actually negated most of the character development for the different characters. These kinds of plot twists can be done well, but this was just too Ad Hoc and forced.. Because of that I’m a bit iffy about the announced continuation: I really suspect that the creators are going to have to write a completely new story on a really short notice. The last thing that happened was with Marie & Gali, whose second season was completely ruined by the inclusion of a scrappy.
Overall, I still love this show, but it didn’t make my favourite Sunrise series. My top 10 of Sunrise TV-Series probably looks something like this now:
10. Gintama
9. Seikai Trilogy
8. Witch Hunter Robin
7. Tiger & Bunny
6. Gasaraki
5. The Big O
4. Zone of the Enders
3. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto
2. Cowboy Bebop
1. Visions of Escaflowne
Rating: (Enjoyable)
You’re telling me that NO ONE has ever gotten a dollar bill wet before and noticed the ominous logo that was later plastered around the city as the symbol for a super criminal organization? Really?
Lolz, Kotetsu is the Brett Favre of Hero TV… XP
Ahah, this series has always been riding ion cliches and cheeseballs since the beginning, frankly I don’t get the surprise or disappointment. The characters made this series, the plot was a tool to display and facet them… and I happened to love these characters to bits. I don’t think any character was ‘betrayed’ or changed badly either.
—
The safety mode thing was hinted at in the previous episode, Saito was trying to crack the system to get the password for the safety mode. Guess what? He did it, just in the nick of time. And it fits with the roots of the whole android technology as their core program was still the one made by Barnaby’s parents. It makes perfect sense with Barnaby’s parents beliefs and it packed a good emotional punch also in the timeskip cemetery scene IMO.
For the epilogue I would have been fine either with permanent retirement or with what we got, honestly. The best team ever is back, and a hero is not defined by his powers alone… as long as he believes and his daughter supports him, Kotetsu won’t give up ;D. An uplifting ending with hints of sequel-y things to come.
Frankly, this is my sentimanetal favourite in many a year. Flawed but heartfelt. 90/100 and beyond ;p.
After watching Planetes, no doubts it’ll be one of your favorite Sunrise animes, Planetes is amazing, with a great cast and story
Yeah, this is the kind of anime you can just enjoy for what it is. Not a masterpiece, but at least it’s not trying to be.
Again, I wished it would have focused more on Lunatic, he was a far more interesting villain than Maverick, but I’m also glad with what we got, for the most part.
Barnaby just wanted to figure out things on his own. He’s lived his entire life as a tool to Maverick, its understandable that he wants some space to do some soul searching. While it surprised me that Kotetsu didn’t retire in the end, he’s just not suited for a quiet life and retiring wasn’t the answer to his problems. He just needed to be honest with Kaede and know that he has her back. It may have been sudden, but there was a lot to cover in 20 minutes.
I am too worried that Sunrise might meddle in, but I believe this is the original ending the creators intended. The dollar sequel hook thing was foreshadowed in as early as episode 3 (only to be fixed in the DVD release, probably because it could be interpreted as a spoiler) and the creator said he wanted to do a sequel since the beginning. Plus there was no way they could edit the ending so late in the series by the time it got popular.
Overall I enjoyed the series a lot and I expected to get a happy ending from an optimistic show.
There are nits with this episode that bothered me a little. 1. Maverick, an old man, having the opportunity to flash over to Kaede and pull a gun on her. 2. Rotwang escaping from ice in time to unleash new androids. 3. Actually, Rotwang being in more than one episode of this series at all.
I was mildly disappointed in how anti-climactic Maverick’s apology was. He never really explains his participation in the dumb parts of the last half of this arc. Still, there really was no time left in the episode if they wanted their heart-warming conclusion, and if I had to choose between Karina’s book shopping and a few more seconds for Maverick before he vegged himself, I’d choose the former.
Kotetsu not dying wasn’t unexpected. If you wanted to complain about that the time to do it was when he was shot, because the weapon blew a hole through the building, but didn’t vaporize Kotetsu. So either plot hacks or his power hadn’t actually completely faded when he was hit.
I think this last half of this arc felt tacked on. I don’t know that it was, but it always seemed a bit dumber than the rest of the show. Rotwang was a terrible character. I hope falling off a building means he won’t show up in the sequel.
I doubt very much this show would have ever ended with Kotetsu dying for real. It took some dark detours, but this show is, for the most part, about being fun. It succeeded at that better than everyone expected, and I certainly look forward to the sequel. Naturally, without any of the brain trust that are responsible for most of Sunrise’s original crap at the helm.
1) Maverick sure takes his time on everything, doesn’t he?
2) Koketsu rising from the dead on camera? Epic…Fail?
3) Origami sure blew his savings for all the upgrades he got this episode. Shining/Flying shurikens? Eye candy yes, and certainly tacked on
4) Seriously?!! “1 Minute”?!! That’s so….. -_-“
I’m not sure why your complaining about the cliches of T and B. The show has been using them since the start of its inception and revels in them, the real draw was the characters and their interactions. I can honestly tell you I watched this show for the naieve Sky High, the clumsy kind heart of Kotetsu and the rough but honorable Rock Bison and not some complex and masterful plot.
In this regard the shows finale is perfect for them. Kotetsu figures out that being a hero doesn’t mean being in the spotlight, Kaede actively makes him do so, knowing that he lives to help people, the characters all change to be more caring for each other
As for the safety code that was established last episode, which you knew, which makes it strange that you would complain about it.
nope, I don’t think Sunrise had anything to do with this. In fact, Sunrise never expected this show to suceed. Even throughout production the staff for Tiger and Bunny were frequently asked to just give up on the show. Thankfully, this was a blessing in disguise, so the writers were free to do their own things for quite a while. I believe the ending is what the original writers would have wanted. I am also not surprised that Tiger did NOT die, not because it was for the sake of a sequel, but because Tiger not dying simply fits in more with the original vibe of the show, and the message it is trying to portray. Tiger and Bunny is fun, upbeat, cheesy, cliched. And that is what we’ve been given thus far; so this is a flawed, but very much lovely ending to Tiger and Bunny in its own right.
Yeah, I agree this was way too sappy and trite, even for me and my lukewarm expectations. It’s really a shame that this Tiger and Bunny’s potential wasn’t recognized until they tinkered it into near-oblivion. But it’s been fun enough to forgive a sloppy ending, and hope for a decent sequel, even if the charm’s mostly worn off.
I need to second the comment by Hades, Planetes will change those ranks for sure.
on the Planetes topic: let’s not forget psg does not care much for angst(if I remember correctly).
You know, what surprised me the most, right above Tiger and Bunny coming back to be heroes for almost no reason, was Origami Cyclone doing something about the bad guy. I feel like the entire show we never saw him actually fight, he just showed up for photo ops, and ran around after criminals, but I don’t remember him actually doing anything. That… Surprised me for some reason.
I was very happy with the beginning of the episode. Right up until we see Tiger as a hero again. But I’m just hoping the next season goes well.
Starting from your consideration about the importance of the journey and not destination I have to say Bunny & Tiger has not betrayed his style, not departing of a “comma”, even in the final that for many people may appeared to be trivial or anticlimactic, but that was been perfect in its imperfection.
Each prologue, contains in itself some of its ending, and so the25th episode was merely the prologue to the epilogue.
Reviewing Kotetsu falling into the arms of Bunny, and stay there, this time without any embarrassment, finally freed from the antagonism, mistrust, jealousy of his young age, was priceless. Kotetsu knows that the important thing is ”never give up”, he has now made peace with himself, and he is a light weight to carry for Barnaby, who considers him to all intents and purposes, a brother and a partner.
We should not dwell too much on the destination reached (happy ending), but on the journey that our protagonists have had to take to get there.
I think the better start now. Today Kotetsu has the admiration of his daughter and Barnaby that will not fight more for revenge, but to be close to his “sensei”.
The wonderful and mysterious journey, full of obstacles, who led our two heroes to discover themselves accomplices and brothers, is only the prelude to a journey even longer and more complex.
Until the NEXT PROJECT!!!
Yeah…. This was disappointing. Not that 24 and 25 weren’t enjoyable, they just… Iunno, disappointed.
Still, if the second season comes around, who cares about 2 episodes that are a little less as an excuse to make another 24 awesome episodes happen? Overall the series were very fun and interesting, I hope they can keep at it.
“There are more androids! Oh now wait, there is a safety code now.”
That’s not true, it has been mentioned before Tiger & Bunny faced off against H-01, that’s what Dr, Saito has been trying to figure out with Ben Johnston.
Confused u said show didn’t make your list buts its listed as number 7. 😀
“Tiger and Bunny” has been phonemenal: it rides on the super hero hype without being cliche: it features grown up main character that has a child, it features super heroes as commercial gimmicks, and its main villain is not over-the-top plotters. It flows naturally and the fan servicing minimally intrudes the plots.
The plots themselves are quite exceptional.
I hope they don’t suffer from GS Destiny syndrome: SEED was phenomenal, SEED:DESTINY was produced-by-committee ship wreck that caters too much to fans, sacrificing the story.
@Zenstrive: Ah, come on, Seed Destiny is awesome when taken from an intellectual perspective, as most good Gundam are: it’s a show that reflects on war and, here specifically, questions the notion of identity, self-determination and responsability(are we memories, genetics, environmentally-conditionned «social actors», thus all the clones, doubles and the trio of enhanced humans that get their memories erased and modified all the time, or the amnesic «Char clone» clone). It’s filled with some of the most thought provoking allegories out there, which are the main focus of the show and whom are supported by the story… Sadly, most people only saw the glossy meca-laserbeam-explosion sugar coating. It’s like being offered a present on Christmas,trowing away the box in favour of the paper wrapping and complaining about said paper wrapping being an unsightly laserbeam-repulsive golden plating… err color. If Tiger and Bunny, or any show, actually wanted to take things to a philosophical level like Seed Destiny did, I would be thrilled.