There’s a feature on Tiger & Bunny in the new issue of PASH! Some information from it has started to appear. I’ll update more if/when I find it.

• During the early stages of development there was an idea to kill Rock Bison in action.
• During the planning stage Barnaby had teleportation powers, while Kotetsu had memory manipulation.
• Matsui wants to see Barnaby cook fried rice. Girls in swimsuits are would be nice too.
• Jake has two powers, but only glows when using his barriers. Mind-reading is an automatic process of receiving, so the glow doesn’t activate, unlike when using active abilities.
• There are many questions about whether some other supernatural phenomena other than the usual NEXT powers exist in their world. Mind-reading could be one of them.
• NEXT powers are poorly understood. Their origin is unknown, they don’t seem to be genetic and there are no solid rules as far as their manifestations are concerned.
• The story was considerably darker during the initial planning stage.
• Matsui (about the story from episode 25 onwards): Barnaby is slightly tsun (it’s his nature), but they understand and trust each other so thoroughly that sometimes words aren’t even needed.
• There was a proposition about making Kotetsu the one who scarred Lunatic (the idea was that they had some kind of a confrontation in the past).

• Hirata sighs that after mere 6 months he lost his 10 year long reputation as the “pirate seiyuu” and has become the “ojisan seiyuu”. Morita on the other hand is now known for tsunderes and glasses.

This is just my opinion, but if they had gone with the teleportation and memory manipulation powers they had in mind first, I think T&B would have turned out a completely different series. As for the story being darker, we grew so attached to the characters because the 1st cour was light-hearted. If there had been the possibility that someone would have died then, I at least would have avoided attachment. (I seem to end up with my favourite characters always dying.)

Morita probably won’t shake off his years as Ichigo that easily, but to me he will forever be Barnaby. He’s done other great roles (my other favourite of his is Rail Tracer from Baccano!) but I think Barnaby is his best performance up to date.

(Also, Matsui should see to that fried rice scene becoming a reality. We need it.)