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REVIEW: Tiger & Bunny 2 Episodes 1-13


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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1759
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 11:49 am Reply with quote
I'm sorry but how was Double Decker a disaster? I actually enjoyed it a lot more than I'm enjoying T&B 2 so far, which says a lot considering that I am in fact enjoying T&B 2 quite a bit so far. I know there was some confusion about Double Decker's status and its connection, or lack thereof, to T&B, but in the end the characters were charming and funny, the stories were fun, the voice acting for the leads was stellar, the show wasn't taking itself seriously whatsoever, and overall it was one of the anime highlights of my year and I'd love to see a second season even though it's probably not going to happen ever. Honestly I think Double Decker was a "disaster" only if you expected it to be something it wasn't and then kept expecting it to be something it wasn't despite the show telling you it wasn't that.

Anyway, 6 episodes in Tiger & Bunny 2 is fun and all, even though I still don't quite see the point of its existence, and the new characters are kind of neither here nor there. Oh, and the white haired villain twins annoy the hell out of me, they're like they wandered here by accident from a completely different show. Anyway, so far to me the show is basicall "more of the same" which makes for a nice, comfy watch, but it's not making me giddy the way the original show did. It's nice that it exists, I guess, but if it had to exist as a series I just wish they'd made some bolder choices (and left out the "kooky weirdo" villains, or at least hadn't had one of them voiced by Miyano Mamoru who is, again, basically doing Miyano Mamoru).
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The_Daytona_500



Joined: 14 Aug 2015
Posts: 107
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 12:00 pm Reply with quote
I love how the writer invalidated the entire review in the first line by calling Double Decker a disaster, when not only was it far from that, it was much better than any entry in the Tiger & Bunny franchise.
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everydaygamer





PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 12:16 pm Reply with quote
The_Daytona_500 wrote:
I love how the writer invalidated the entire review in the first line by calling Double Decker a disaster, when not only was it far from that, it was much better than any entry in the Tiger & Bunny franchise.


Well, this is the first time I've ever heard of it so maybe they are talking about the overall success of the project rather than its quality.

I really enjoyed season 2, way more than I expected. I actually rewatched the first season and the movies before watching season 2 since it's been 10 years since season one and I never watched the movies.

Season 2 doesn't really do anything to improve on the series but it does continue with what made the first season enjoyable. That being the exploration of the characters rather than focusing on the actual superhero stuff. It feels really familiar in a good way.

While I'm indifferent to the twins as characters I personally really enjoyed the final battle against them. Not sure what the review was talking about in terms of violence, we had blood, broken bones, sure the broken mask effect was a little weird but overall this was the most violent battle the series has ever had. Not sure what more they were expecting.

Was great to hear that most of the original English cast returned and the few replacements sound close enough to the original to not be too distracting. That said Dragon Kid was redesigned to look younger which is definitely a little distracting and Agnes is now fatter which just seems like a weird choice.

Overall if you liked Tiger and Bunny then season 2 offers up more of that with new characters that fit really well into the cast and the new buddy system which allows for some fun character interactions.

Hope we don't have to wait too long for the second half.
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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 2149
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 12:29 pm Reply with quote
The writer (who is the same from the original series) really nailed his work which I was wanting since there was a change of director and producer. Just by watching the first episode, I could already tell that the relationship between Kotetsu and Barnaby was properly developed after the tv series and movies. They act so much friendlier and natural that they actually seem like a couple. (Don't look at me, even the ending video is about the two just staring at each other while having a meal!). Still, it's kinda sad how Barnaby's social life is always associated with the villains.

The dynamic between the rest of the other heroes is also appreciated especially with the new guys although of course it's hard to live up to the expectations I had for the leads. The whole buddy system seems as a good excuse to explore more the entire cast in contrast to the first tv series where some characters weren't explored properly like Fire who was instead developed in Rising.

About the villains, they really come across as scary to the point I kept thinking of Adam and Eve from Nier Automata. Their actions are horrible but it is not until the end of the series that their characters show a bit humanity. I only watched the English dub and it's sure the actors had more liberties thanks to Netflix's rating as there was one scene where one of the villains said "little pussy cat" while punching the magic girl and leaving a lot of blood in the impact
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Stelman257



Joined: 26 Jul 2013
Posts: 312
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 12:32 pm Reply with quote
Hahaha! This reviewer came SWINGING right outta the gate and honestly I love to see it.
I prefer that over a review that showed no passion for the series at all aha. Honestly I totally missed all the doom and paranoia this reviewer felt in the leadup! Blissfully ignorant I guess!

That said I’m still calling some things out! Because I love this series so much.
Quote:
Emphasis on back, because the new series has little interest in catching up new fans, or even old fans who skipped over watching the sequel movie Tiger & Bunny The Movie -The Rising-.

The Beginning and The Rising are honestly both such fun movies and should absolutely be watched by everyone checking out the show! They’re both on Netflix too! No excuses!

Quote:
Who's that asshole in the gold armor? Well, that's none other than Ryan “Golden Ryan” Goldsmith, who took over as Barnaby's partner when Kotetsu was forced into retirement. He apparently decided to stick around instead of going to work overseas. The fan response to his presence has been, “Oh, he's still here?”

As his number 1 fan I CHEERED SO MUCH that the staff decided to keep him around! Hell yessss! I adored his grandiose antics in The Rising, and his English voice actor Henry Dittman was absolutely PERFECT for the role. To quote ANN’s own review for it, because it absolutely sums it up perfectly:
Quote:
Henry Dittman nails Ryan's bombastic, aggrandizing style just right to make him come off as a likable ass.


Plus Ryan makes the transition from the movie to the series flawlessly and immediately has a great dynamic with Blue Rose, that only gets better as the series goes on. I’m so glad they kept him around and made him a series regular, and in doing so, they’ve even retroactively made The Rising much more relevant and important to the series overall, by confidentially sticking with some of the actual decisions they made in it!

I adored this first half of Tiger & Bunny season 2, and I hope the future stays bright for this series!
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all-tsun-and-no-dere
ANN Reviewer


Joined: 06 Jul 2015
Posts: 659
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 1:02 pm Reply with quote
everydaygamer wrote:
Agnes is now fatter which just seems like a weird choice.


Agnes is in her 30's. A lot of people gain weight in their 30's. I appreciated how casual the show was about it - other than a comment from Ryan (who is a known asshole) and a double-take from Saito, nobody really said anything. There was no weight-loss arc or constant shots of her eating. She was the same Agnes, just rounder.
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everydaygamer





PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 1:06 pm Reply with quote
all-tsun-and-no-dere wrote:
everydaygamer wrote:
Agnes is now fatter which just seems like a weird choice.


Agnes is in her 30's. A lot of people gain weight in their 30's. I appreciated how casual the show was about it - other than a comment from Ryan (who is a known asshole) and a double-take from Saito, nobody really said anything. There was no weight-loss arc or constant shots of her eating. She was the same Agnes, just rounder.


It's not a problem it's just weird. Like they could have tried to develop her character a little but opted for weight gain instead. I'm just worried that they are gonna use her weight as a tool for character development later which seems like an incredibly stereotypical way to develop a female character.
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Ishida_Akira(fake)



Joined: 23 Apr 2022
Posts: 113
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 1:11 pm Reply with quote
SHD wrote:
I'm sorry but how was Double Decker a disaster?

Oh , dear.. where to begin? The story made almost zero sense, many plots were started, then dropped, the characters were mostly one dimensional, the power system made no sense, and there was almost no payoff whatsoever.

Now, as for T&B 2, it's... OK. But I can't help feeling that something is missing. It's technically doing everything right (except the CG) but I'm just not very invested. I think the antagonists being so... lame, is a big part of it. In the first season we had Lunatic as the merciless vigilante and Jake. Now Jake was really good antagonist. Not only was he an actual threat, but his story tied into the revenge arc of one of the characters (or so we thought). It actually meant something when he was defeated. But here... eh...

I really hope part 2 gives us some decent villains, but I'm not holding my breath.

Oh, and I know that Taiga and Barnaby are not a couple (in spite of what Twitter insists), but come on... they're basically married at this point. And I'm loving it.

Someone mentioned that Agnes is now fatter, which is fine. But what I liked is that almost nobody in the show mentioned it. And why should they? To them, she was probably slowly changing, so they wouldn't be discussing it anyway. And you know... some people get fatter. Actually helps punctuate how time passed in that world.
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MyMasterMatthew



Joined: 16 Nov 2008
Posts: 183
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 2:27 pm Reply with quote
One of my biggest issues in the original series was the unnecessary sexualization of Blue Rose.  When I rewatched Season 1 a few weeks ago, the constant close-ups of her rear and thighs really stood out to me.  It's super cringe worthy.  Not sure if it stood out to me during my first watch through a few years ago, but I couldn't ignore it this time.  She's either 16 or 17 years old in Season 1, which makes the cringe even worse.

Although Katrina is 19 now, I was hoping they'd lay off the sexualization in Season 2.  There seemed to be less fan service, but the close ups were still present.  I get that her Blue Rose persona has a "sexy" motif, but close-ups of her butt and thighs really aren't necessary (especially when she's the only one it happens to).  Tiger & Bunny is far from the only anime to sexualize their female characters, so I'm not sure why it bothers me this much.

Anyways, I quite enjoyed Season 2 Part 1, although the overall plot felt a bit rushed. The villains, in particular, didn't get enough character development, which kinda disappointed me.  It's not often that a group of villains legitimately care about each other, so I really wanted to care about them.  Unfortunately, the post-credit scenes weren't enough to build them up as actual characters, and spoiler[when they were killed, I couldn't get myself to cry... but I wanted to].  Until I've watched S2 Part 2, I'll try to withold judgement; perhaps I'll feel differently when I've watched the whole season. However, if there's any hope for a Season 3, I think the cliffhanger we were left on would have been better served as a season finale instead of a halfway point.

Each of the heroes (minus Bison) got their own episode in Season 1, and while I'm glad the duos get a similar treatment this time around, a single episode per 2 heroes didn't feel like enough time to develop the characters. I enjoyed the plot point of Magical Cat trying to please her mom, but most of the other duo episodes were forgettable. Golden Ryan's episode, for example, had so much potential, but it kinda flopped in the end. I really liked the idea of an arrogant "selfish" character feeling vulnerable, but the source of his trauma surprised me... and it felt a bit forced. I assumed the show would tell us that Ryan was the victim of an abusive relationship, and I think that would have been more relatable. The drama was resolved too quickly in my mind, as someone with trust issues won't be satisfied that easily. It looks like Golden Ryan might play an important role in S2 Part 2, spoiler[ because the enemy he failed to capture in his previous city is the one who escaped jail], so maybe there's still a chance to turn this around.

Another complaint I have is the forgotten plot point of Kotestu losing his power.  I hadn't thought about this until I read another review, but I thought his power would continually decrease until going away entirely.  I'll be sad if he has to give up hero work (again), and I'd be annoyed if the problem is resolved via deus ex machina, but leaving him forever at "1 minute" seems a bit strange. spoiler[Considering how S2 Part 1 ended with that villain escaping with the NEXT enhancing drugs, maybe the issue of Kotestu's power decline will resume in S2 Part 2?]
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Theozilla



Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 144
Location: Oakland, California
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 2:40 pm Reply with quote
Wait were Mugan and Hugan ever identified has having albinism in the show?
Maybe I forgot, but I thought their character designs were just meant to be the stereotypical white/silver haired anime boy look?
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Ishida_Akira(fake)



Joined: 23 Apr 2022
Posts: 113
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 3:10 pm Reply with quote
MyMasterMatthew wrote:
One of my biggest issues in the original series was the unnecessary sexualization of Blue Rose. [/spoiler]

100% sure the point is that it is unnecessary. Several characters commented on it in S1, I believe.

MyMasterMatthew wrote:
Another complaint I have is the forgotten plot point of Kotestu losing his power.  I hadn't thought about this until I read another review, but I thought his power would continually decrease until going away entirely.  I'll be sad if he has to give up hero work (again), and I'd be annoyed if the problem is resolved via deus ex machina, but leaving him forever at "1 minute" seems a bit strange.[/spoiler]

But it wasn't forgotten, it was settled at the end of S1. Taiga also believed his powers would keep decreasing until they wouldn't activate at all, which is why he was going to quit being a hero. When they stopped decreasing and rested at 1 minute, he joined the 2nd league and continued as a hero. We've known that since the end of the last episode in S1. You also can't call it a dropped plot point because we were never told he was 100% going to lose his powers. Everyone just assumed because in their world this phenomenon is very poorly known and researched. For all we know, he power might still disappear.
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SHD



Joined: 05 Apr 2015
Posts: 1759
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 3:19 pm Reply with quote
Ishida_Akira(fake) wrote:
SHD wrote:
I'm sorry but how was Double Decker a disaster?

Oh , dear.. where to begin? The story made almost zero sense, many plots were started, then dropped, the characters were mostly one dimensional, the power system made no sense, and there was almost no payoff whatsoever.

The story made all the sense it needed to make for what it was, and it was supposed to be a silly dumb pastiche so if you didn't understand it you weren't paying attention; I can remember only one plot that got kind of "dropped" (I'm sure the story was retooled a bit too late to fit a shorter run); the main characters were perfectly well-written if you cared to look and also remembered that this wasn't supposed to be a character drama; and I think you probably felt that the power system made no sense because there wasn't any and yet you kept looking for it.

I can understand someone not vibing with the show for whatever reason, but to call it a "disaster" is absolutely ridiculous. And I'm really disappointed that the reviewer felt the need to do it right in the first sentence of the review of a completely different show, because one - it's just another instance of crapping on a thing to elevate another, and two - way to discourage people from checking it out.
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Ishida_Akira(fake)



Joined: 23 Apr 2022
Posts: 113
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 3:48 pm Reply with quote
I'm sorry, but the excuse that "it was fine for what it was trying to be" does not fly with me. It's like someone saying that they were only trying to do the bare minimum and that we should be OK with that. The bottom line is that we were expecting DD to be actually good, and well, it failed. The characters were really boring. If it wasn't for Bamboo Man I wouldn't have finished it. He was the only character that was wroth watching for and that was only because he was the only character not following the rules of the world.
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everydaygamer





PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 4:30 pm Reply with quote
Ishida_Akira(fake) wrote:
MyMasterMatthew wrote:
One of my biggest issues in the original series was the unnecessary sexualization of Blue Rose. [/spoiler]

100% sure the point is that it is unnecessary. Several characters commented on it in S1, I believe.

MyMasterMatthew wrote:
Another complaint I have is the forgotten plot point of Kotestu losing his power.  I hadn't thought about this until I read another review, but I thought his power would continually decrease until going away entirely.  I'll be sad if he has to give up hero work (again), and I'd be annoyed if the problem is resolved via deus ex machina, but leaving him forever at "1 minute" seems a bit strange.[/spoiler]

But it wasn't forgotten, it was settled at the end of S1. Taiga also believed his powers would keep decreasing until they wouldn't activate at all, which is why he was going to quit being a hero. When they stopped decreasing and rested at 1 minute, he joined the 2nd league and continued as a hero. We've known that since the end of the last episode in S1. You also can't call it a dropped plot point because we were never told he was 100% going to lose his powers. Everyone just assumed because in their world this phenomenon is very poorly known and researched. For all we know, he power might still disappear.


Plus the issue with his powers are still in background for S2 with Tiger worrying that his power is holding Barnaby back. With the power boosting drug out in the open I fully expect it to be a major plot point for Tiger in the second half.
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Animegomaniac



Joined: 16 Feb 2012
Posts: 4159
PostPosted: Sun May 01, 2022 5:12 pm Reply with quote
I remain undecided on the whole premise of season 2's team-up format, especially when it gets down to "pair the spares" of superhero team ups. What they could have done was cut the heroes in half then introduce a whole slew of new characters to team up with the remaining one and have the show be about that- which they did for one pair, decided it was too much work and then made one last new team based on Black and White and the personalities of Tiger and Bunny. They're... not that great.

But that's what could have been, what's here? If you consider the end of the first season as its own story and season 2 is asking the question of "now what happens?"...

"We run around chasing our own tails for 13 episodes." If the status quo is now a super hero team up for everyone, what the driving force of the story should be is a villain... can't imagine which one from the first season that would be and if I roll my eyes any harder they'd pop out of my head... finding another villain to team up with...

Was this season created by people who only read a synopsis and a cast roster?
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