Tiger & Bunny – 15

Dating tips for middle-aged moe men

With all these first impressions of the summer season flying about, it’s getting hard to keep on track with the ongoing anime. I almost didn’t have time to watch my ever-fabulous Taigs and Buns. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? Luckily, I had gone through enough rigorous training at my dojo this weekend (plus learning to ride a bike. Yeah, shut up, I fell down a lot…) that I was too sore to move when I got home, resulting in plopping down on the couch and spending some quality time watching anime.

Sky High is feeling down on his luck now that he’s not the number one hero anymore. Tiger and Bunny ads are plastered all over the town and his sponsors are giving him hell for slipping all the way to second place. Second. You know, the one after first? Keith’s moping resides just a smidgen when he happens to meet a lone girl sitting on the bench. He starts talking to her, assuming that she’s some sort of NEXT and quickly falls in love.

And then I gave that bitch an apple. Bitches love apples.

As Sky High suffers from being hopelessly in love, Kotetsu and Barnaby live out their super famous lives in the best swimsuit photoshot/interview ever. They ham it up for the camera pretty much the entire episode, much to Kotetsu’s disdain. Barnaby thinks life is all sunshine and lollipops now that he got his revenge, so he doesn’t mind the constant celebrity treatment. He willingly tells people about how his parents worked in a robotics lab to make robots that could help people. Remember this, it’s important for later.

Sky High just can’t seem to win over that stoic, one-liner girl. He tries everything but fails. That uselessness transfers over to his job as a hero, where he ends up getting his head stuck in a wall during a chase on Hero TV. That’s very unlike him, to say the least. Kotetsu and Barnaby watch the whole event on their wristbands, more than a little bit peeved that their sponsor decided to give them the day off without telling them. A hero’s work is never done!

Walls: the most constant villain in this show so far

Defeated and worn out, Sky High walks around the park at night to ease his pain. He sees the white-haired girl again and as per usual, sits down beside her. He starts pouring out his heart to her, explaining all of his inner fears. She answers with “why?” which is enough for Sky High to suddenly realize how pointless his fears are. He is a gorgeous blondie who can TURN INTO A GODDAMNED TORNADO, he shouldn’t be afraid of anything. With that, he excitedly dashes off.

Left alone, the girl is taken into custody by Rudolph the red-nosed side character. Apparently she was an android he was transporting who escaped when there was a lightning strike. Her name is Cis and whenever she sees anything hero related, she goes into battle mode. An unfortunate setting for one living in a city plastered with hero billboards. It’s not long before she catches sight of one and starts tearing the city apart.

Said billboard nearly crushed Kotetsu and Barnaby as they drive home. After a day of photoshoots, they finally get some action taking down the malfunctioning android. They both activate their powers and grab hold of the mechanical mistress only to get completely blown away. As they gape at her strength, Rudolph explains how he continued Barnaby’s parent’s research to create incredibly powerful androids that could eventually replace NEXT. Kotetsu tries to stop her but his powers suddenly run out, leaving him covered in bruises. She takes off to the sky and Barnaby gives chase, powers still activated.

Before Barnaby can finish the job, Sky High jumps in. Looks like his vigilant night watch job came in handy. Sadly,  it leads him to being the one to kill his love D: He doesn’t recognize her since all her flesh, hair and clothes burned off leaving just mechanical parts. Sky High gets his confidence back, but for quite a hefty price. At the end of the episode he goes to thank Cis, but of course..she never arrives.

Bonus Screenshots:

Whoa there, nether region, where are you taking meeee?!

So, are you going to help me get up anytime soon, or…?

Forget Batman. Barnaby is the new Spiderman.

What to do when your boyfriend is more moe than you are?

End Thoughts: I liked this oneshot episode a lot more than episode 14. It’s not one of my favourites, but it’s a good, solid episode about one of my favourite characters in the show. Sky High is so adorably dedicated and loyal that dropping from first to second really hit him hard. Not so much because of the ranking system or from jealousy of the number 1 duo, but for being helpless in a situation where the entire city was at stake. Losing to Jake so quickly was a big hit to his ego and made him feel unworthy of protecting the city. I thought it was sweet that he was so selfless, and just cared about the city being safe. He even patrols at night, I mean, come on. He’s the perfect hero! How can you not love how good-natured he is?

Seeing the poor guy fall in love with an android and act so MOE over it was a little heartbreaking. Only Sky High would fall for a girl who says nothing and shows no emotion. The conclusion was surprisingly atypical as well. Instead of Sky High realizing who she was mid-battle and having to kill her while crying his eyes out, he triumphantly takes her out in one blow. It’s a moment where he regains his confidence, but to us, it’s a moment of tragedy. The sad part is when Sky High goes to wait at the park bench with a bouquet of roses, completely oblivious to what he has done. The episode ends with him smiling, but we all know what the result is going to be. I hope he somehow cheers up and makes it through for the next episode, because sad Keith makes me..well..sad.

This may be the outcome of recently befriending an android in Persona 3, but I knew that Cis was an android the second she opened her mouth. It’s no surprise that it was going to end in flames. I assumed she would die just from the preview. XD Tiger & Bunny has some very obvious twists, but it manages to throw in some real left hooks to catch you off guard as well. Just when we thought everything had been settled with Barnaby’s past, more dirt is kicked up. People are using Barnaby’s parent’s research for evil! Or maybe he parents were evil to begin with and he never knew it. That’s certainly an unexpected development. I wonder if more androids will start popping up now. (On a side note, I guess that explains the toy robot Barnaby keeps in his room! Awww.)

As for Kotetsu’s powers, I’m in denial. The show explicitly told me he is losing his powers and yet I am shaking my head, convinced they are playing some sort of trick on me. No no no no, Kotetsu can’t lose his powers. His whole life is dedicated to saving people, how could you take that away from him?! At most, I’m hoping his powers decline and he gets them back after maybe a few episodes of being Barnaby’s powerless housewife. (Bunny-chan, why do you work so late! I never see you any more!) And maybe he’ll be even stronger when he gets them back! Of course, these are the desperate words from someone who is far too attached. Yeah, he’s losing his powers and it’s only going to get worse in the next few episodes. I’m surprised Barnaby hasn’t tried to take the role as the comforting one yet, but I guess he’s too wrapped up in his own emo issues again.

Preview: Lunatic is back after being put on the backburner for so long. If the duo barely made it out alive last time, how will they fare with Kotetsu losing his powers and getting beaten up left and right? Looks like a real nailbiter!