Nov 13 2011

Two Tiger & Bunny movies confirmed for 2012

Hero Awards 2011 is over, and the big news is out! People had been requested to hold off posting information from the daytime show out of consideration for those who are going to the evening show so we don’t know much yet, but the movies were announced at the event with planned release in 2012. From what I could follow on Twitter, seems like the events were a lot of fun and many people were hoping they would be released on BD/DVD later. I’m hoping for that, too, because I really want to see what went on there. Also – in true TaiBani style – the official pamphlet that was sold at the main venue and the live viewing theaters actually sold out before the evening show at many of the theaters.

More on this, and also our thoughts on the movie project later!

Update: Hero Awards 2011 will be released on BD/DVD in April 2012 and it’ll also include the last episode event recording as an extra.

King of Catchphrases poll winners (full list in Japanese here):

  • Wild Tiger: “Wild Roar!”
  • Barnaby Brooks Jr.: “I’ve been learning how to make fried rice, so you have to try it someday!”
  • Sky High: “Thank you! And again, thank you!”
  • Rock Bison: “Ushi!”
  • Origami Cyclone: “All right! I made it into the background!”
  • Blue Rose: “My ice is a bit cold, but your crime has been put completely on hold!”
  • Dragon Kid: “Sorry, is it because I’m a tomboy?”
  • Fire Emblem: “Let’s show them some girl power!”
  • Lunatic: “Hear the voice of Thanatos.”

Links:

Nov 8 2011

In which we get teased again

Ozaki sure likes to tease with the “future development”. Not entirely sure which magazine this is interview excerpt is from, though. (As usual, there were Tiger & Bunny features in several magazines this month.)

There’s enough to develop with Barnaby. Even in episode 25 there was a temporary separation, but during that time there was also something he has gained. Their relationship is once again different from what it was before they reunited and I think we can depict that. Moreover, even Kotetsu has plenty of room for further growth, so it would be nice to show that as well.

That “something that he gained” could refer to what producer Matsui talked about in another interview, how Barnaby dealt with severe depression during the last timeskip while he was trying to come to terms with all the stuff that happened with Maverick. You don’t go through an experience like that without changing in some way. What exactly it could be… guess we’ll find out when these guys do their stuff and stop teasing us and tell us what they’re planning on Sunday.

Yep, Hero Awards 2011 is this Sunday. My body isn’t ready. How about yours?

Nov 6 2011

Advertising for 13 million yen – but what does it mean?

My internet was down for most of the day yesterday so the commotion this caused almost slipped past me. Yesterday, November 5th, a huge wall ad of Tiger & Bunny appeared on Shibuya’s landmark building, Shibuya 109. What’s remarkable about the ad isn’t that Blue Rose isn’t getting a bigger spotlight than she should anymore, but that it costs 13 million yen + tax for two weeks. The series is over, and although it’s currently on rerun on several channels, an advertisement like this is a bit too expensive to promote a rerun. The advertisement will stay in place until November 19th, so this might be a sign that whatever they are planning to announce at Hero Awards on November 13th is something big.

Something big, but what? We were expecting a continuation announcement already by final episode. Instead they announced NEXT Project – which by the way is a pretty brilliant way to keep up the hype while the continuation is planned, and whoever is handling the marketing for Tiger & Bunny at the moment is doing a pretty good job. They could be planning a movie, or a second season, or OVAS… Though if I had to bet, I’d put my money on NEXT Project Stage 2 – whatever it is – because I don’t think they are ready to put a S2 into production yet. I could be wrong though, but I remember Ozaki talking about “three steps” in NEXT Project somewhere – I just can’t find the quote for it right now, it could have been in some of the Japanese webcasts he’s appeared in.

By the way, the second set of official books (Official Hero Book 2 and Hero TV Fan vol.2) got pushed back three weeks from October 25th to November 16th. They’ll come out after Hero Awards 2011 event, possibly so they could include some promotion for what they’re announcing there. Even if we don’t get a confirmed continuation to the series yet, if they play their cards well they can keep us interested in Tiger & Bunny for a long time. After all, Hero Awards 2011 sold out in minutes and the live viewing event for it had even more theaters added recently.

We want more and Bandai wants our cash, so they’ll give us more… eventually.

Nov 1 2011

Review: Katsura Masakazu x TIGER & BUNNY – Original Drawings & Rough Sketches Collection

Katsura Masakazu x TIGER & BUNNY:
Original Drawings & Rough Sketches Collection
Publisher: Shueisha
ISBN: 9784087823929
Size: A4 / 176 pages
Price: 1905 JPY (Regular Edition)
Available at: [CDJapan] [Amazon.jp] [YesAsia]

Tiger & Bunny’s character designer Katsura Masakazu‘s art book comes in two editions. What I have here is the Regular Edition, Limited Edition that comes out in February 2012 ships with original coloring version (as pictured on page 122 in the book) of S.H.Figuarts Wild Tiger. Limited Edition preorders have been sold out for months and it was made-to-order, so it’ll be hard to get unless you get very lucky and manage to snatch someone’s cancelled order. I have reviewed the extra goods that come with the Limited Edition here.

My camera battery went and died so some photos have been taken with a cellphone camera. They should still be clear enough to give an idea of what the book looks like.

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