Tiger & Bunny

It amuses me that Lunatic has an evil lair. Like, horribly-lit, medival weapons on the wall, pipe organs and tomes of eldritch lore evil.

Also, Barnaby is a giant tsundere and he knows it. And Kotetsu's new name is Brotetsu.

edited 21st May '11 7:39:20 PM by Sparkysharps

Huh, I didn't think Ivan would be so...Bishōnen.

Ivan is my new favorite character. He looked pretty cute as a depressing dork.

Did you miss his bit in the OP where he makes pouty model faces◊ at the viewers?

edited 21st May '11 7:41:36 PM by Sparkysharps

No I didn't (though I did forget about that last shot where they show all the heroes at once) the shading and thickness of the lines probably made him look less pretty. Also that's showing his face from the side which doesn't look so appealing in this art style for me.

...I also just noticed he has swords. I wonder if they're ever going to show him using them.

edited 21st May '11 7:49:59 PM by Edmania

Every time I think things can't get more gay this series proves me wrong.

On a less slash-goggled note, oh my god Lunatic's lair is so classically eviltastic I'm in love. Also, Dragon Kid looks like she's going to be unbearably adorable next episode.

I thought the same thing too. But then this episode just proved me wrong and I was perfectly content with that! XD

I also wasn't expecting Ivan to have a personality like that, but I also didn't really know what to expect and my desire to hug him made me adore him. <3 Though, it will be interesting to see if he does become more of an active hero now, rather than the passive one that he was before.

It was the little things in this episode that I really liked, such as Ivan getting bashed on his blog and trying to keep up his Origami persona. It's all so very idol like. The commercial and even somewhat political aspect at the very beginning was also a nice touch.

Moving on, the Hero Academy was interesting (it was nice to see people of all ages there, rather than just young people/teenagers), though it really makes me wonder when it was started and such (especially since Kotetsu didn't go there). It was also nice to see the different types of NEXT powers that are out there, though it also made me wonder just what happened to *cause* NEXT to exist (since those powers are rather all over the place).

Other than that...Was anyone else freaked out by the newscasters eyebrows and/or hairstyle? 'Cause I was! O.O; Also, Lunatic being into bondage (you know he is) does not surprise me. Him liking his coffee black doesn't surprise me either.

edited 21st May '11 9:53:55 PM by LilyGinnyBlack

Lunatic not having a traditionally professional hairstyle surprises me, now that I'm thinking of it. And reminds me of Arthas-post-villain-ugrade's hair. I think we should send Lunatic some conditioner and, maybe, once his hair is silky smooth instead of looking kind of like it hasn't been properly groomed since he left behind the color palette of the world of the living he'll turn out to be a swell, less murderiffic guy.

I wonder if Ivan changes the physical shape or only strictly appearance.

I mean I know he himself said only appearance but that could just be because he doesn't actually know what advantages shape and stuff alone could do.

Well, Ivan X Edward didn't take long.◊ (worksafe)

The fanartists have been getting a lot of speed-drawing practice from their weekly "turn everything Kotetsu says into a porno scenario" game.

Eugh, I didn't really like this episode. The art seemed kinda wonky and the populace embracing Lunatic fairly implausible. And what's up with playing Lunatic's fire up as super hot and then having unarmored Kotetsu take two hits with no burn wounds? Unless his super mode literally makes him invincible.

He did have to go to the hospital afterwards.

Me, I just enjoyed the way the universe wasn't conspiring against Kotetsu this episode. The students idolize him, Ivan takes his advice, and Barnaby starts being less of an asshole towards him.

The populace embracing Lunatic made sense to me. They don't have capital punishment, which means that when it comes to murderers and such they have no death penalty to use on them. So murderers and whatnot can only get life in prison. While I, personally, have no problem with this, in the real world a large majority of people always seem pleased when they hear that a murderer got their just deserts, so to speak. So, I think it's sorta realistic that the populace is cheering for Lunatic, since he is like their death penalty.

I was really glad to see that too! ^^ It was nice to see Ivan really take Kotetsu's advice to heart.

Which would be a fair point if they'd actually depicted the populace as being dissatisfied with the justice system before. If that's what they're gunning for, it's a pretty hastily introduced plot point.

Actually, thinking about it from a different perspective, the reactions we were shown looked more like they were just excited to have their first Anti-Hero type. They've already made a show out of the criminal justice system anyway so Lunatic's just an interesting new character for them. Which is kind of perverse but would mesh in well with the show's setting.

That's a fair point. Though, and while this isn't the whole populace showing their discontent with the system, in episode 7 we were specifically shown a child who told Kotetsu that the criminals were better off dead, and that he should have killed them. Since the kid was young, I wouldn't be surprised if he got that view from his parents.

Though, it is probably a mixture of reasons for why Lunatic is being so easily accepted by the populace. And, you know what, you are right. He *is* probably just seen as another character. It really makes you wonder how they perceive criminals. Are they just a Monster of the Week for them? It's really odd when you think about it like that.

edited 22nd May '11 9:45:54 AM by LilyGinnyBlack

IIRC so far we only know that robot with Lunatic-looking flames was hotter than Fire Emblem's, strictly speaking.

Nope. It was Lunatic who fried the three criminals in jail, and those flames were supposed to be pretty damned hot. Still, Kotetsu was in Hundred Power mode when he got blasted this episode. Given that the dude's shrugged off bullets before, the fact that two shots were enough to hospitalise him is, if anything, testament to the potency of Lunatic's flames.

As for our new guy's popularity with the citizenry, remember that superheroing in Sternbild is not just a public service but a source of entertainment, and they've been getting the same product for years. Of course they're going to be bored, and I don't doubt that Yuri helped fertilise the ground for a nwe, Darker and Edgier hero in his time as a judge.

Also, I'm pretty certain that Lunatic is, in part, an allegory for Watchmen and The Dark Night Returns's influence on superhero comic books. The people are going, "FUCK YEAH, 90's ANTI-HERO!" because that's basically how the comic fandom reacted in the 80s and 90s to Lunatic's sort of character.

edited 22nd May '11 11:48:10 AM by Sparkysharps

Well, The Punisher would be the most obvious influence, really. The trend had already well started by the 70s.

I agree that Lunatic and his sudden popularity are yet another American Comics homage. Remember this show is meant mainly for Japanese audiences, and while similar, their superhero tropes aren't 100% the same as ours. Plus they needed an excuse to visit the Hero Academy (another reference!)

So Lunatic is (in his scret id) a part of the alliance between companies (which I think is the actual Uroboros) But, he is also a fanatic criminal killer. Interesting...

I think it's wrong to encourage people with those kinds of silly powers to become superheroes, since as we have seen, the job IS dangerous and not just an act for the masses.

This episode felt, overall, clunky. The goals it set out to achieve -get Ivan to trust himself and Barnaby to start appreciating Kotetsu- are good, but I wasn't terribly convinced by their set-up. Besides, that NEXT sure forgot he could just PHASE THRU THE GROUND real fast, huh?

Has Ivan really decided to try to be a true hero? Or is he posturing again? We'll see soon I hope. Also, why doesn't anybody point out his enormous potantial for spy missions? He may not fight criminals directly, but infiltrating crime syndicates for the other heroes woulld be invaluable. I hope he gets a Midseason Upgrade where his powers actually help him kick but, too.

I did like seeing Kotetsu get a little respect/not being a chew toy for once, though.

edited 22nd May '11 5:27:32 PM by Sijo

One of those silly powers is quite overpowered in a certain other show.

Oh, elasticty has always been a great power, ask Plastic Man. Stretching just your face, however, not so much.

edited 22nd May '11 5:29:50 PM by Sijo

^See, is it just his face? Cuz he said he could stretch his skin, so I assumed it would include the rest of his body as well.

I was actually thinking of the other guy who stretched his arm.