Tiger & Bunny – 16
The Legend of Legendary Mr. Legend
My life tends to enjoy getting busy whenever amazing anime episodes start airing. Oh real life duties, how dare you intervene into my world of Japanese cartoons! To make my excuse all the more legitimate, allow me to elaborate. I’ve been going to driving school for the past few days. I chose the intensive version. I’m stuck with 10 hours of school everyday if you include my summer courses. In the end, all you need to know is I’m going to be a little slower for the next week.
This opening flashback is only one of the many jumps back in time you’ll see this episode, so brace yourself. This is NOT a happy episode. Case and point, it starts off with Yuri’s father beating his wife in the garage. For now, the man is blacked out, so it’s hard to tell who young Yuri is burning to death in order to defend his mother. But all in due time!
Back to current issues, Kotetsu and Barnaby are hot on the heels of a criminal on the run. Lunatic intervenes and tries to kill him, but Kotetsu distracts him for long enough that Barnaby can nab the criminal before then. With that capture, Barnaby beats Mr. Legend’s old record of getting the most points in a season quarter. Durinf this glorious moment, Kotetsu does his best to stay in the shadows and hide his quickly diminishing powers.
Mr. Maverick holds a little party to congratulate Barnaby on a job well done. Barnaby looks pleased with himself, although he seems to be a little confused at Kotetsu’s reclusive behaviour when the man is anything BUT a wallflower. Barnaby has a little chat with Kotetsu, but the conversation ends up being about himself instead of Kotetsu. The blond explains how Maverick took him in after his parents died and has acted like a father figure. After the suspicious flashback, they talk about their dreams. Which we all know is getting married to each other.
Why isn’t he..interested in MY sausage?
Kotetsu quietly slinks home to lament his powers slipping away. He cheers himself up with some Mr. Legend reruns, which becomes the topic of the next flashback. As it turns out, Yuri’s dad is Mr. Legend. Kotetsu’s “perfect Hero” actually beats his wife after getting drunk. He didn’t used to be like that, but he started getting depressed when his powers began to decline. Yuri still lives with his mom (or at least, he visists her), and she is delightfully delusional. She likes to pretend her husband is still alive, pretend she can still walk, and call her son a monster. Hey, don’t say I didn’t warn you about the drama.
A soap opera…but with fire!
Kotetsu has another conversation with Ben, who tells Kotetsu how Mr. Legend’s powers also declined over time. He advises Kotetsu to quit, but of course he refuses and leaves the bar in a huff. Conveniently enough, there’s a crime going on as soon as he leaves. A serial killer given the nickname Lady Killer has been finding girls and killing them…with a whip. Just as Kotetsu steps in, the guy jumps onto a train and tosses the girl off the roof to buy himself some time.
After saving the damsel in distress and ignoring a call from the Hero TV peeps to deal with a terrorist, Kotetsu chases after the Lady Killer. He’s doing fine dodging the whip and weakening the guy with a blow to the solar plexus. However, it’s all over once his powers are done. The guy simply tosses him aside with his whip and sends him plummeting into a dumpster. As Kotetsu lies there in pain, Barnaby triumphantly catches he terrorist. Without Kotetsu.
Of course, that’s not it for the Lady Killer. Although Lunatic is haunted by his father trying to teach him right from wrong (i.e. not killing every criminal in sight) he’s not ready to listen quite yet. Lunatic hunts down the Lady Killer and kills him in a club. He never stood a chance.
Bonus Dorama:
Barnaby’s alternate answer to “what’s your dream?” KISS HIM, KOTETSU, KISS HIM.
Internet disconnected…no meaning in living….
At least it matches his suit!
“Dad, will I ever have cool facial hair like you?” “No, Yuri, but you will have the lips of a girl with pneumonia”
End Thoughts: Episode 16 feels quite different from the other episodes thus far. It’s still the same Tiger & Bunny, but this time they really lay the drama on thick. There is no time for laughter, no time for triumph, and not even time for a ray of hope to shine through. It’s utterly depressing. We’re back in the serious swing of things again. Now part of this is a good thing and part of this garners a little bit of criticism.
First, the good. For the most part, this was a wonderful episode. I’m all for character development and digging up dirt about everyone’s past. The Mr. Legend twist certainly caught me off guard, and it only means Kotetsu will inevitably have to accept that Mr. Legend was a jerk. He doesn’t know what kind of man Mr. Legend was at home quite yet, but you can bet Lunatic will eventually spill the beans. That’s going to be yet another struggle for Kotetsu, who is already trying to get through losing his powers. As Renn mentioned in his post, this episode essentially sets up Kotetsu and Lunatic to be in perfect opposition. They had opposing morals before, but now they’re additionally connected by Mr. Legend. If there’s one thing Tiger & Bunny consistently nails, it’s character development. I can’t wait to see how those 2 interact and (hopefully) come to terms with their personal demons.
To be honest, I want this whole Kotetsu losing his powers business to end. It’s not a bad storyline, it just tears at my insides to see Kotetsu lose his powers. He’s noble and therefore deserves them more than anyone. It really got bad when he was kicked into the dumpster. It was even worse when Barnaby was smiling onscreen elsewhere…Ow, my heart…I’ll be a lot more consoled when Bunny finally gets over his awkwardness to ask Kotetsu about it. He seems to sense something is up, but doesn’t have the tact to ask Kotetsu before he dodges the question with a dumb joke. In that regard, Kotetsu is even better at Bunny at keeping his distance from people.
As for Barnaby’s past, you can bet his side of things aren’t even close to being over. He’s at a high in his life and has everything to lose…of course things wouldn’t be resolved so easily! They went out of the way to explain how Maverick adopted Barnaby after his parents died, so something surrounding him is cooking up. While Kotetsu will have to accept Mr. Legend wasn’t a perfect person, perhaps Barnaby will have to do the same for his so-called father. It’s a little iffy when someone is conveniently there before and after a murder. He seems to be orchestrating a whole bunch of events for his own interests, but it’s hard to say exactly what those are at the moment.
Now the bad. Well, not bad, but improvements that could be made. We learn about Mr. Legend, Lunatic, Kotetsu and Barnaby simultaneously in the same episode, and that’s going a bit overboard. The actual stories are great, interesting and unexpected. However, put them all in one episode and it just feels way too melodramatic. If an entire episode is full of shocking, twisted things then there is no contrast and it all blends together. If someone gets murdered in an episode, you will remember it vividly. If there’s a murder, a crazy lady, domestic abuse, alcoholism and more murder…well, things don’t really stand out now, do they?
Preview: Come on Bunny, this should be a major hint that Kotetsu is losing it. He actually takes time off work to visit his family, relax, and reminisce about his wife. That’s right, the flashbacks aren’t over yet.
Hmm, wonder if I can sneak that bunny plushie back home…
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 209 comments
Man, things got real deep. It’s a pretty nice twist to the super hero story.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Who would have thought this show would get so intense. This is so NOT just a super hero anime.
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 79 comments
I really loved the way this episode tied Tiger’s power loss storyline to something bigger and completely changed the mythology of the series in one fell swoop. I don’t think that Kotetsu is going to fall like Mr. Legend did, but he’s going to need to find a way to deal with his power loss so it doesn’t consume him. Agreed about it being a really depressing storyline, too; those journal entries he wrote were just so sad.
One thing I noticed in the preview was that Barnaby called Kotetsu “old man” for the first time since the timeskip. It may be nothing, but I have to wonder…
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
The show is really exploring everything it could possibly try by going down this route. The arc makes me sad, but it’s undeniably good. The journal was really sad too.
Hopefully that doesn’t mean they’re growing farther apart…D: It’s just the preview so I wouldn’t worry too much yet though.
POWUH: 400-499 with 406 comments
I laughed so hard at the screenshot where it looks like Barnaby looks like he wants to be kissed.
I keep forgetting how Lunatic’s mask is nightmare fuel until I see it. D: <
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Sometimes my screencap timing is just perfect. This is one of those times.
I know, his mask is so creepy. Is the handprint supposed to be symbolic of when his dad grabbed his face? Because it just looks dopey <_<
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
Normally I would be against Lunatic going around and killing every single criminal on the streets.
But that Lady Killer deserved it so much I can’t blame him for killing him.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
This was one of the really interesting parts of the episode. Lunatic was very sympathetically portrayed. He truly was the hero.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
That Lady Killer deserved to be killed <_< What a sleazeball. I'm finally starting to see Lunatic in more of a grey area as opposed to "I JUST KILL CRIMINALS BECAUSE I DECIDED IT WAS COOL ONEDAY."
POWUH: Occasional (51-75) with 70 comments
it took me 3/4 the episode to realize who Lunatic’s father is. Additionally, it was MY BROTHER who pointed it out. OTLOTLOTL
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
lol that’s okay, no one really pays much attention to Mr. D Cup Moobs anyways. At least your brother told you…XD
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 99 comments
Real life always manages to get in the way of anime. xD But at least you’ll pass your driving exam with flying colors 😀
Yeah, I agree there was too much background/melodrama in this episode although, again like you, I thought most of the threads were pretty good on their own. And I was more concerned with Lunatic’s hair than with his lips, but you’re spot on. Poor guy just needs a new face in general. I’m surprised they didn’t make him more handsome considering the fujoshi audience.
Thanks for the link. :3 I like your new Gravatar! Who is in it?
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I know, it’s totally not the other way round of anime getting in the way of life. LIFE IS AT FAULT HERE. I’ll do my best to not run over people so I can make everyone proud!
They should have broken up the melodrama a bit more, definitely. It was just so overwhelming, and it could have been even better if they gave the audience some breathing room. I’m also surprised they made Yuri look like some sort of male Corpse Bride. It’s like they made him half fabulous, realized the show was already too glitzy, and had to tone it down to avoid putting fujoshi in comas or something from overdose. I DON’T KNOW.
And hey, no problem! As for my gravatar, I decided to finally move away from Izaya and give Kururu from Air Gear a little spotlight. XD
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
I loved this episode really huge story progression for some characters like Lunatic and Tiger, I did not expect to see this side of Lunatic and the reveal of his father as Mr Legend whoaaaaa! Either way damn things are starting to get so good. Can we say new arc unlocked?! Woooot!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
This was definitely one of those HUGE episodes that you can’t just skip :3 Looking forward to more!
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 305 comments
It really does look like Bunny is trying to kiss him in that screenshot XD
Geez, it’s like everything that could possibly suck for Kotetsu is happening. The only thing left is for his family to get massacred or something and he’ll officially have out-tragedied Bunny.
And speaking of Bunny, Y U NO FOLLOW KOTETSU?!?! Arrrghh it’s so obvious something is wrong.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
If Ouroboros kidnaps Kaede….<_< It's really sad that nothing is going his way meanwhile Bunny is the happiest he's ever been in his life. Yeah, if this keeps up, Kotetsu will take Bunny's role as Batman.
POWUH: 800-899 and Flying Sage with 856 comments
Like Fosh, I loved this episode. It took me by surprise. It made Lunatic kind of likable. I even like Tiger’s tragic arc, because, as you said, he really doesn’t deserve it; that makes him the right person to put through it. Face it, if Blue Rose started losing her powers, would you really care? Kicking poor Tiger, who just doesn’t deserve it gives this show some real gravitas. Loved it!
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It’s true, if Blue Rose (or the other side heroes) started losing their powers, it wouldn’t matter as much…I don’t even think I’d feel as bad if Bunny lost his powers, because at least Kotetsu would notice right away and start consoling him. This way, Kotetsu’s dealing with it alone and it’s pretty depressing to watch.
POWUH: iLurker with 14 comments
so now we know Lunatic’s reason… though the whole Mr. Legend really surprised me. i thought Maverick is Mr. Legend (one of my assumption lol)
i really like how Bunny noticed something wrong and try to probe, but ending with him explaining his own past lol ^^; sweatdrop here, bunny… how narcistic you can become? or maybe it’s kotetsu who’s good at dodging?
anyway this screencap of yours make me laughing hard ^^
Internet disconnected…no meaning in living…
so true, really (thx for cheering me unintentionally from depressing with this episode)
even its become depressing, i have to say this show become more and more interesting. i’m at the point where i can’t even predict where the plot are going to take us… such uncommon for shonen show.
pray for strengthen my heart coz i kinda weak with depressing stuff, but still wanna watch this show till end
btw the plot is thicken and i’m not sure if 25 episode could wrap it up decently…. *worried
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Yeah, Bunny needs to work on his social skills a bit more if he wants to get information out of Kotetsu. Things would be so much easier if Kotetsu just told him! Arggg…It’s so depressing this way T.T I’m glad my screencaps managed to make you happy after that crazy episode. I had to go watch something happy afterwards so I wouldn’t be gloomy all day XD
They SHOULD be able to wrap it up, but I’m always a little paranoid of rushed endings too….
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 96 comments
Uuuuuuuuu~ I really feel sorry about Kotetsu and it’s getting more complicated every passing episode~ DX I don’t like it, I DON’T LIKE IT AT ALL~ Tiger’s the personification of “Noblesse Oblige” and deserves his powers, why does that have to happen to him??? NOT FAIR, DAMNIT~ TT_TT
On Lunatic’s affairs, we finally get to see what’s behind the mask. I never expected that kind of background, I don’t even know if I should call it awesome for the plot twist or bad because of the scars that left on him…
The character development of Tiger & Bunny… I’d never even dream of such a good work! I’m so excited about this one!!!
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Critique with 1024 comments
This episode was so dark. It was amazing. Tiger & Bunny has no end to surprises, just makes me appriciate Sunrise all the more. They really are fast becoming one of my favorite studios.