Tiger & Bunny returns to being a fun show with a bang. This episode didn’t have as clear a focus as the previous ones, but it’s probably because this was really just a set up for the rest of the story. At least, that was the feeling we got, as if it was kind of a second pilot.
14. Love is blind
「恋は盲目」
Hello! This is derpchan, the member of This is Sternbild who thinks saturdays are the best days ever! Episode 14 post coming tomorrow, after I’m done with work and stuff. In the mean time, I’ll let you in on what normally goes on with us bloggers on saturdays (aka. Tiger&Bunny days).
We’re both European, so Tiger&Bunny airs in the evening for us. I often make a long blog post to pass time (but not today, I had other things to keep me busy). We discuss what went on in the previous episodes and toss around theories to pass the time if we both happen to be around. We usually watch the episode as soon as possible after the first airing ends, once it’s available at one of our usual haunts. And then we talk some more. Tonight we spent some 4-5 hours dissecting the episode. Yes we are that passionate.
By the way, the new OP and ED songs are very nice! I’m happy to find that I like both of them again, just like with the first set. It’s pretty rare that I like both OP and ED of a series at the same time.
Tomorrow, on This is Sternbild: episode 14 post. See ya!
So who managed to snag a preorder? I sure didn’t, but it’s more due to not having the finances right now, since I’ve ordered the official books and stuff. (Also, I’m not a figure collector, I only buy figures occasionally.)
Deformeister set is still available at HLJ as a blind box set of 10. I’ve been checking other stores and seems that Toys Logic is still taking preorders not only for Deformeisters but also Wild Tiger and Barnaby. (I’ve never ordered from Toys Logic but HLJ in my experience has good service.) It’s possible there are more stores where they’re still available.
If you missed your chance on Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks Jr. figures this time, don’t despair. There’s still hope. Be ready to stalk the stores when the release dates near, because it’s possible that people cancel their preorders.
The preorders for both Barnaby Brooks Jr. by S.H. Figuarts and the Deformeister SD figure set have opened at 16:00 Japan time (which was about an hour ago as I’m writing this post). It took me 40 minutes to get through to Animate site because it was under such a heavy load that they even had to put up a notice for it.
Coincidence? I think not.
If these figures sell on preorders like the Wild Tiger figure, they’ll probably skyrocket in value once they’re finally released. Like the Limited Edition of the first BD of Tiger & Bunny – it’s now out of print everywhere I’ve checked, and I’ve seen it resold for 22,000 JPY. People have reported even higher prices, up to four times the original retail price of ~7,000 JPY. I was checking some stores yesterday and I noticed that the stocks on the LE of 2nd BD are running low in them, too.
It seems that it’s best to act fast if you want to own the LE BDs or figures, they’re flying off the shelves.
Update: Preorders have been open for 2 hours at Animate, site finally loads for me again, and both Deformeisters and Barnaby figure are marked sold out.
Update 2: Turns out Deformeisters aren’t Animate exclusives, you can find them on preorder also in other stores. For example, HLJ still has Deformeisters and Barnaby Brooks Jr. available. Amiami and Hobby Search have had them, too. (Thanks to Weslea J M for info!) I still recommend to act fast if you want to preorder, chances are that many stores will quickly run out of preorder stock.
If you’ve kept your eyes on Tiger & Bunny before the series even started, you probably noticed that Karina Lyle a.k.a. Blue Rose was featured a lot in the promos, from posters to even the two minute pilot that was as an extra on the first BD. But along the way to the actual series, something happened and she’s sunk to the background, standing out no more than the rest of the heroes. She’s still fairly popular, scoring 9th place in the recent BIGLOBE poll though nowhere near the popularity the leading men of the series have reached.
Narrator: But... but... The Hero is... idol singer?!
The pilot was obviously made pretty early. It features a lot of things that were changed to the actual series, like the setting being in the future instead of the alternate timeline, and Blue Rose’s design being different from the final. Still, she’s the first hero to be presented and named on it (although her name is misspelled) even before the actual main characters. The titular characters aren’t given names even though they put on quite a show to display where the sponsors can have their logos pasted. Seeing this, you’d probably think that Blue Rose would be the main character. But instead of being the teenage idol star of the show, she’s ended up as “just one of the heroes”. Maybe the series concept went through changes after this stage, and Blue Rose was set aside in favor of the main duo. Maybe she was there just to appeal to possible sponsors. Whatever caused her to turn into a wallflower, it’s been severe enough that even the TvTropes recap page for Tiger & Bunny feels it necessary to point out that “the woman in the corner [of the poster] is Blue Rose”. That’s pretty sad.
The logical reasoning why she’s plastered on all the promos is that she’s the only female hero that fits the bill of bringing some fanservice to a show with an otherwise powerful male cast. Pao-Lin is a bit too young and a tomboy, and Nathan is well… not really well endowed in the areas you’d need for the kind of fanservice Blue Rose can provide. We think that they could have been smarter about how to go about using her in advertising the series. If you look at one of the promo pictures (to the right) she seems out of place lounging on top of the series logo, as if she was added there as an afterthought. Wild Tiger and Barnaby’s color schemes were designed to compliment each other, she makes the picture clash. Even as a fanservice character she’s not utilized as much as you would expect. Her outfit is pretty revealing, but where many other anime would have a field trip with a character design like hers, Tiger & Bunny shows a remarkable lack of pantyshots and other camera angle play. And it seems that her chest has actually shrunk a little during the progress of the series, when it wasn’t that huge to begin with.
Karina appears several times on the preview for episode 14 but looking at the treatment she’s gotten so far, we’re betting on this being just a gimmick and a reminder that “hey guyse, there’s a female hero, too!” We feel kind of bad for her since she really is a great character. She has a good attitude, she’s no damsel in distress (despite her favourite getaway of Cutie Escape), and she does well as a hero (in the first episode when they announce the MVP she’s shown on second place after Sky High) although she has had some doubts whether or not she wants to continue. She’s also almost surprisingly level-headed for a girl of her age (which is still unknown but she’s probably around 17-18), lecturing Kotetsu a few times. It’s hinted in the series and made clear on the drama CD that shipped with the second BD that her sponsors are responsible for her image as a hero. She doesn’t enjoy her public image as a dominatrix, and gets flustered by some of the questions the listeners have sent to her in the radio show she does on the drama CD. If anything, the lack of in-your-face fanservice and presenting her private image as a normal girl with dreams has made her even more likeable to a wide range of viewers. Her characterization makes her feel more real and she’s pleasing to the eye of the male audience without annoying the female audience at the same time.
BSoD moment when Karina finds out Kotetsu has a daughter.
It’d be awesome if she got a bit bigger part in the upcoming episodes. The impromptu “Girls’ Team” from episode 13 has a lot of potential for fun scenes and it would at the same time bring out the other girls more. Kotetsu and Barnaby’s popularity is already so overwhelming that the other characters need some love, too!
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