A huge thanks and thanks again to you for taking part in the birthday party for Kotetsu! Below, under the cut are all the pictures and birthday wishes!

From Cathy M. “Barnaby is practicing his cooking skills for Kotetsu’s birthday, but Kotetsu gets over excited and Barnaby has to remind him to calm down. I’m glad to show off the T&B merchandise I got for Christmas!”

From Orin. “Happy Birthday, oji-san!”

From Ves. “Happy Wild Birthday my dear Kotetsu~ I wish you love and happiness this year and in the upcoming years~ <3″

From @PansyChubb. “Fried rice in honor of Kotetsu’s birthday!”

From Baka King. “Homemade birthday/Valentines cookies for Kotetsu <33″

From Kusari Shelong. “Happy Birthday from Italy Kotetsu-san <3″

From @Miku_Chan01. “Happy Birthday to everyone’s favourite old fashioned Hero! \(^o^)/”

From risk-k.

And finally, our cake from the party we held for Kotetsu at Desucon Frostbite. We even sang Happy Birthday to him! Happy Birthday, Kotetsu!

More photos from Desucon Frostbite in our Facebook album.

Next party? I guess we have to wait until Barnaby’s Birthday… Which leaves plenty of time for planning! See ya!

Even though we don’t know when Kotetsu’s birthday officially is, that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate, right? The Japanese side of the fandom has decided on a date to celebrate his birthday, with the following reason: Kotetsu is wearing amethysts (associated with February in general), and Tiger’s eye (the color of his eyes) is the birthstone of February 17.

So February 17th it is!

If you’ve taken part in the previous events, you know how this goes. Make some birthday goodies and take photos of them, then send the photos to us. This time you can send in digital fan art, pictures of traditional art or handicrafts, and as always in T&B style, pictures of food. Fried rice is always acceptable, and birthday cakes are a given. Include Kotetsu in the picture in some way to show the presents (or the party if you decide throw one) is for him!

Please send your pictures to mail[at]thisissternbild.com by February 18th.

(If you happen to be coming to Desucon Frostbite on the birthday weekend, you can meet T&B fans there and enjoy some cake. Just let us know if you’re coming so we can bring enough cake for everyone!)

This is Sternbild (or at least the derpchan half of it) is going to Desucon Frostbite on February 16th to 17th, in Lahti, Finland. Because this weekend lands on Kotetsu’s unofficial birthday, we’ve planned a celebration! We (meaning myself, Mineko, Soro and a few others who are already on board) are going to enjoy some birthday cake on Saturday, February 16th at 14:00 at the tables in the main hall of Sibeliustalo. This time is subject to change if it interferes with the guest of honor appearance. (It’s Wakamoto Norio, you don’t just not go see him.)

If you want to join, please let me know here, or on our Facebook or Twitter. There’s already a post in IRC-galleria about the birthday party, if you’ve replied to it that you’re coming, then you don’t have to do anything!

We’re getting the cake from a bakery in Lahti, so if you’re joining the party, please reserve a few euros to chip in for it. Any drinks with the cake can be bought from the Sibeliustalo restaurant.

See ya at the con!

(And the same in Finnish because why not?)

=

Tämä puolikas This is Sternbildiä menee Lahteen Desucon Frostbiteen 16.-17.2. Sattumoisin tuona viikonloppuna on myös Kotetsun epävirallinen syntymäpäivä, joten pistämme kekkerit pystyyn. Me (eli minä, Mineko, Soro ja muutama muu jo ilmoittautunut) syömme synttärikakkua lauantaina 16.2. klo 14:00 jossain päähallissa olevista pöydistä. Ajankohdalle pidätetään muutosvaraus jos kunniavierasohjelma menee sittenkin sen päälle. (Wakamoto on pakko nähdä.)

Jos haluat mukaan juhlimaan, kerro se tässä tai Facebookissa tai Twitterissä. IRC-galleriassa on jo postaus tästä, joten jos olet ilmoittautunut siinä, ei sinun tarvitse tehdä mitään muuta.

Hommaamme kakun konditoriasta ja olisi mukava jos voisit varata pari euroa osaltasi sitä varten. Juomaa kakun kaveriksi saa Sibeliustalon ravintolasta.

Nähdään conissa!

Season’s Greetings from This is Sternbild!

As always, end of the year is a busy time. Thanks to all our readers and see you guys in 2013!

(And if you want a touch of Tiger&Bunny for your holiday season, don’t forget to tune in to the special broadcast by Bandai on Christmas Day at 21:00 JST.)

The start with the dub was pretty bumpy – which I think was a combination of the voices sounding unfamiliar after seeing the original so many times (read: we lost count how many times), and the voice actors themselves still settling into the roles. By episode three that had evened out. The translation has some minor issues and a couple of derps a fan will notice, but we can forgive those. As a whole it works, and the important character chemistry is still there.

The dub cast is also really good. Wally Wingert may not sound anything like Hirata, but he’s gotten the feel of the character down. Yuri Lowenthal is excellent as Barnaby. What really blew us away was Liam O’Brien as Lunatic. Yusa Kouji was awesome in the original, but the dub version is better in our opinion. Yuri Petrov and Lunatic actually sound different in the dub, and the choice of voice and style of speech for Lunatic make him more menacing. Or as Aki put it…

Aki_the_geek: NO LUNATIC YOU SHOULDN’T SOUND LIKE YOU WANT TO BANG EVERYONE

Yeah. I was going to add some snippets of our dub watching chats here but since they mostly consist of capslock keysmashing because of FEELS, I’ll just leave it at that. The dub has gone from being an excuse to rewatch the series to something we’re looking forward to every week.

Live-Action Buddy Cops

Earlier this month, ANN posted some news about T&B’s character designer Katsura Masakazu appearing in a TV series written by Nishida Masafumi. So far we’ve seen two episodes of Jikken Keiji Totori. Nishida seems to like the age gap theme, this time the rookie is the older of the duo. For a Japanese drama, Jikken Keiji Totori doesn’t really have that j-drama feel, it’s more Western. That’s not very surprising, though, Tiger & Bunny wasn’t the first Western style thing Nishida wrote. He’s also written and directed one of the few Japanese sitcoms filmed in front of live studio audience. The acting in Jikken Keiji Totori is pretty good, too. We’re really enjoying watching it, and if you like Nishida’s writing it’s definitely worth checking out.

(I tried to keep this short and sweet, because I’ve been down with a flu for the past week and that doesn’t really enhance my ability to stay coherent.)

The English dub of Tiger & Bunny premiered a couple of days ago on Viz’s Neon Alley PS3 service. I don’t own a PS3, nor do I live in North America where Neon Alley is available. There’s a rip on the interwebs that I watched instead. This is all my personal opinion, Aki hasn’t been able to watch the dub yet.

I think that when you rate the dub, you have to take into account that the English dub actors had an advantage over the original seiyuu. The original version was recorded with the seiyuu getting only the information necessary to play their characters correctly, they didn’t get any extra information until they received the scripts. The English VAs on the other hand have had the opportunity to watch the series and build their performance from that, and there’s a lot more background material available now. The Japanese version is also more subtle, the English dub is blatant with some things compared to the original. It’s a cultural thing, Japanese language just works differently from English. I think they also added some lines to make some things clearer or to substitute things that wouldn’t have worked in English.

Individual voices

This is a short version because Kotetsu’s got the most lines in the first episode, hard to judge the others based on just a few lines.

Kotetsu: Overall, the voice works well. Wingert sounds younger than Hirata, but Hirata has an incredibly gruff voice without being too low at the same time. I’ve read a lot of comments about the dub turning Kotetsu into a jerk, but Kotetsu kind of is a jerk at the start of the series. He probably doesn’t mean it, but just think about how his career is going down the drain, he doesn’t really have any other skills than being a hero and if he has to retire his prospects aren’t good. He’s kinda bitter. This doesn’t come across as clearly in Japanese version, but the excerpts I’ve seen of the movie novelization carry that point pretty well, and I think the dub also manages this. The only thing that made me wince about Kotetsu’s voice is the way he pronounced the Japanese names.

Barnaby: He doesn’t have that many lines in the first episode, so I’m not going to judge much yet. I am a big fan of Yuri Lowenthal so I’m really looking forward to hearing how he plays the role.

Karina: I like her voice, and the dubbed version of GO NEXT! sounded miles better than the original. (Sorry, Kotobuki, but the original GO NEXT! is not the best use of your voice.)

Keith: Doesn’t quite carry the same enthusiasm as the original voice but otherwise very fitting.

Antonio: Pretty much spot on perfect voice.

Nathan: I’m liking it though there were too few lines to make a proper impression, might turn annoying but then again, Tsuda managed just fine without being annoying.

Ivan: Nice workarounds for those de gozarus, but can’t really say anything more based on one line.

Agnes: Great match, but I expected it from Tara Platt.

Kaede: Sounds even girlier than the original.

Ben: Totally awesome voice. Could listen to this for hours.

Lloyds: I swear I’ve heard this voice somewhere before but I have no idea where and I very rarely watch dubs. Sounds great but unexpectedly deep.

Maverick: I don’t know, I went into blind red rage while he was on screen. (╬ ಠ益ಠ)=◯)`Д°) ･ ﾟ ･ ｡

I think that was all the main voices in the first episode? Watching it again made me want to watch more, even though I’ve seen the series too many times to count.

I’m getting the UK release of the dub when it’s out. I heard France already got their own dub DVDs and the French bros informed me that it SOLD OUT. This might mean a pre-order war for the English dub DVDs (and as far as I know, the original version will also be included so it’s worth getting even if you don’t want to watch the dub).

And now a break from our regularly scheduled program – aka posts written by derpchan – to bring you some first-hand info about Tiger&Bunny: The Beginning.

First thing you need to know about the movie: it starts with fried rice.

And then it just keeps getting better.

THE NEW AND OLD

I really wasn’t sure if I’m going to like this movie. The thing that troubled me the most was the fact that it uses some footage from the TV series – so I was worried it might be just an one big recap episode instead of a “real” movie.

I was quickly proven wrong.

There are some scenes we’ve all already seen in the TV series – but the extra ones added in between them make the movie feel fresh. All of them focus on the heroes themselves – and this time, every single hero gets about the same amount of screentime. The movie doesn’t forget about the developing relationship between Tiger and Bunny – but it’s not the most important part of it. Instead, it tries to focus on giving us as much background information about the other heroes as possible. The movie shows us how each hero puts on their suits, shows them interacting between each other, and does a really good job of it. It doesn’t spoon-feed you the new information – just subtly puts it in there; sometimes new things happen in the background, sometimes they’re served to you hidden behind a joke. Personally, I like all of the heroes, so getting so much information about them at one go felt simply amazing.

Of course, the movie has more that just all that: there’s a brand new episode, featuring an entirely new villain with NEXT powers, facing our favourite heroes. I really liked the bad guy they presented us this time – he’s cheeky, and his power is what made the whole new adventure for me. I’m not going to spoil it, of course, but let me just say I had a lot of fun trying to guess what it might be and how the heroes’ are going to overcome it. This brand new episode switched the focus again to Tiger and Barnaby’s relationship – but didn’t forget about the other heroes, who still get their chance to show off (or, in some cases, photobomb).

THE EXPERIENCE

I think I should also write something about the difference I felt between watching this movie at the cinema and seeing the episodes at home. I’ve seen this movie in the Toho Cinema in Fuchuu – and I’m not entirely sure how it works in other countries, but the quality of the showing was much better than what I’m used to in my country. The animation looked stunning on the big screen – especially the close-ups on the hero suits; you could see how much work went into animating them. The new episode they prepared for the movie was simply made for the big screen. A lot of work went into the backgrounds; since the biggest part of this episode takes place in an amusement park, the design team went crazy on some locations, and it shows – the whole final “fight” is an one big eyecandy. The sound design was superb, too – I had goosebumps when they presented Barnaby’s hero suit, and Saitou’s whisper-like voice felt even creepier.

One thing that amused me: Japanese people rarely make any comments or laugh out loud while watching movies in the cinema, so you kind of feel like you’re enjoying it on your own. However, during the showing I was watching, the audience actually had a noticeable oh-nope reaction when Maverick appeared for the first time.

Speaking of the audience – people of all ages came to see the movie. I’ve seen a few middle-aged ladies and gents, and a couple of elderly ladies – I met one of them again in the cinema store, buying a Barnaby plush keychain. Many people went there after the movie, actually – most of them were just browsing while discussing the movie.

Hilariously enough, most of them referred to Barnaby as “Bunny-chan”.

WHAT’S NEXT?

If the trailer shown after the movie is to be believed, the second movie will appear in the cinemas in August 2013. The trailer was very short – you could only see the heroes on the ground and the great statue of Justice being toppled over. They also left us with the ominous „The last day of Sternbild” message, so I guess the next movie is going to be a lot darker than this one.

Then again, wasn’t the same true for the TV series? Nishida seems to like the have-fun-then-suffer theme a lot.

TO GO OR NOT TO GO?

I might be a bit biased, but I think it’s a must-watch movie for every T&B fan. I can’t say if the movie is entertaining enough for a person who never seen the TV series, but if you’ve seen it and liked at least one of the heroes, you are probably going to love it. If you happen to be in Japan while it’s still airing in the cinemas – do yourself a favor and go check it out, it’s worth the crazy price they ask you to pay for a ticket over here.

RANDOM INTERESTING INFO

Just some things I noticed during the movie. You might want to skip this part if you want to notice them on your own, but I wouldn’t call them spoilery:

* Blue Rose isn’t wearing a wig. She actually uses her power to freeze her natural hair into the fancy hairstyle she wears as Blue Rose.

* Blue Rose needs to reload her water gun from time to time – she uses special clips she hides in her suit.

* There was a new PEPSI NEX scene – featuring Blue Rose, of course – inserted after the “cut to commercials” line spoken by Agnes.

* There are some new clips not included in the actual movie that appear during the credits, so I recommend paying attention. The short scenes are a mix of different parts of the movie, the TV series, and some extras.

* The movie confirms some info we already gathered from interviews and magazines: Rock Bison’s power is making his body hard as rock, and Sky High uses his to levitate, not fly – he needs his jetpack to control his movements in the air.

* The movie also confirms that the statues found in Sternbild represent the sponsors and their heroes.

* Kotetsu owns several copies of his casual outfit (5 identical trademark Kotetsu hats, anyone?)

* The opening sequence shows our heroes in trendy modern clothes (I actually found our favourite “stylish” hero’s outift hilarious).

* Different heroes use different ways of moving upwards: Blue Rose propels herself up while freezing the water shot from her guns; Rock Bison uses a special launcher prepared for him by his sponsors; Sky High, of course, just flies to his target; Barnaby jumps using the power of his suit; Kotetsu uses his line launcher; Dragon Kid simply jumps from one platform to another and Origami Cyclone… well, tries to do that, too.

* Blue Rose’s “thorns” attached to her outfit can glow/light up in the dark (at least during her commercial scene)

* The Sky Tree’s mascot is a snowflake-patterned mushroom.

It feels like it was only yesterday but Tiger & Bunny really ended a year ago… This year’s Friend Rice Week wasn’t as hectic as last year’s Friend Rice Event, but we still got lots of pictures. This time we were open also for cosplay and fan art, so there’s a lot more difference in the pictures than in the previous event. Thanks, and thanks again, everyone!

We hope everyone had fun cooking – and eating! Let’s believe heroes and support Tiger & Bunny!

On to the gallery! ->

Last year’s event was so much fun that we thought we’d cook some rice this year too (not that we need an excuse). Everyone’s welcome to join again! We’re accepting photos of fried rice in same style as last event, but also merchandise photos, cosplay photos, fan art, anything as long as it involves Tiger&Bunny and fried rice in some way.

You can send us your pictures any time between September 10th and 17th. You can email them to mail[at]thisissternbild.com or tweet at us @ThisIsSternbild. See ya in the kitchen!