Not That Guy - Favorite Anime OPs part 8 - Tiger and Bunny

This season contains some superb animes, in fact I'm finding it hard to track them all. Out of all the anime this season though, one sticks out in terms of quality; Tiger and Bunny. If your into anime you are likely already watching this one. Meanwhile for those of us just dipping our feet into the genre; if your going to watch just one anime this season, watch Tiger and  Bunny.

Tiger and Bunny has been receiving a lot of praise this season,and for all the right reasons. The plot is top notch, the action is thrilling, the characters are profound and above all that the animation is... well okay the CG needs some work. The theme is a bit recycled too, but thanks to a fresh spin and excellent writing, it well... works.

The anime follows a large group of superheros in the fictional city of Sternbild. In a mix of sportsTV and realityTV the heros are followed and broadcasted live whenever a crime is commited or a disaster encountered. The real audience (ie us) gets to see this from a third person perspective outside the whole system; we get to see snipits of the "live footage", we see the producers, we see the behind the scenes stuff. Upon achieving critical milestones (saving a civilian, capturing a crook) the heros are giving points in a sports like rating system. The ratings effect their popularity, and the brand they represent, yes brand. Each and every one of them are sponsored. Gotta pay the pills right? Here's the kicker though, the brands are real, but more on that in a bit.

The two main protagonist are Kotetsu Kaburagi (aka Wild Tiger, sponsor SoftBank), and Barnaby Brooks (nicknamed Bunny but no alias, sponsor Bandai). The anime will focus heavily on the other heros as well but it will be through these two that the central plot moves forward. So here is where things get a bit recycled. Due to a sponsorship buyout, Tiger and Barnaby are joined together as Sternbilds first super hero Team. Tiger is a veteran hero who acts first thinks later goes by his gut feeling and follows a high moral code. Barnaby on the other hand, is cool, collected and strategic, he is also the first super hero without an alias, everything he says is scripted and his motives are bit unclear. In any event these two get along as horribly as any other police/spy/soldier tag team combo would. and hijinks ensue (I seem to say hijinks  alot with anime). I have watched four episodes so far, and every single one has been a hit. I am willing to go out on a limb here and say this, Tiger and Bunny will be imitated, Tiger and Bunny will be the new precedent for action comedy duo's.

An actual scene from the Anime

So, branding. It is very entertaining how they incorporated real world branding into the anime and certainly worth mentioning. Every single brand (save one) is a real world company, some are heavy hitters in truth. I've already mentioned, Bandai and SoftBank (media/game companies) but there is also Ustream.tv (hosted by last years most popular hero), Calbee Foods, DMM.com, the restaurant chain Gyu-Kaku, Fujitsu and Pepsi (the pepsi link takes you to a flash game for the real product they are advertising *much fun*). The brand names, advertising and obvious product placements are so heavily integrated into the plot that I keep questioning whether this is in fact actual advertising. I mean obviously it is real advertising but I keep finding myself thinking "Is this for real?". Not only that but the production studio's have embedded real adverts into the footage. If you are lucky enough to be able to watch this on Hulu.com, or are watching from a "third party *cough* website" you will be subjected to crazy Japanese orange power juice commercials whenever hero.tv calls for a commercial break. It is one of the most seamless commercial cuts I have ever witnessed.

Her outfit reminds me babybel cheese.

So what can I say, watch this one, it is breaking new ground. The whole anime leaves me in awe every single time I sit down to watch it.


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Posted in: Anime,Editorial,Not That Guy