A Must-Watch

Written by thenightwanderer on May 21, 2011 at 12:50 PM

Our setting is the futuristic city Sternbild where several heroes with superhuman powers protect the peace and the citizens and work together to help the law system and the police force.

Wild Tiger, Kotetsu Kaburagi, is a veteran but not a very popular hero out of all the other ones. He is clumsy, funny and sardonic to the extreme and has a strong sense of justice who fights for the well being of people instead of pleasing the sponsors and the higher-ups who back them and their deeds to gain money out of the eventual show that occurs everytime the heros solve an incident.

Bunny, as nicknamed by Tiger, Barnaby Brooks Jr. is the new rage, handsome, classy, young and always able to steal the spotlight but he is in fact a jaded young man. His kind speech is always full of needles and pins, he is painfully realistic and opportunistic when it comes to their job and sees everything as a chance to gain more "hero points", saving lives, catching criminals are only a side attachment of his job for him.

Thus, he clashes with his partner Tiger, who has a more idealistic and romantic view of what entails them to be a hero. And this is what makes the whole show a huge success in my opinion.

The plot is really promising: Barnaby has a dark and scarred childhood, Kotetsu is like a brother figure who tries to help but is constantly refused and even ridiculed for his attempts. The question hangs in the air "What is justice?" or "Are legal ways of punishment and law sufficent to deliever justice at all, are they able to satisfy the victims and the public?" I believe that the show is getting more and more intense episode by episode as these questions are hurled at both the heros and us.

The characters are really likeable, especially Kotetsu. He is a guy you can meet anywhere anytime. He is as real and tangable as it gets, easy to empathize with. Barnaby comes across as a cold and highly professional noob but you like him and his ways as show progresses.

The animation is suberb. The detail put in the backgrounds, the fluidity of the action scenes, colors, the highly lessened number of still scenes... Very well executed. Sunrise deserves a round of applause here. Even the computerized effects don't look out of place and they are well blended with the overall animation.

I love the OP and ED; they are catchy songs. The voice actors really stand out. Especially Hiroaki Hirata(Tiger) outshines everyone and I am really happy to see Masakazu Morita (Ichigo in Bleach) as Barnaby.

The dialogue is upbeat, can make you laugh to your heart's content one time and then get you thinking. Entertainment is two thumbs up.

Overall, the show is the surprise of this Spring season and I am sure it'll become a cult, one of its kind as the time goes by. It certainly caters to the American audience with its Westernized hero concept, but it also expands the idea and brings in a new breeze to it.

I highly recommend it to shounen anime fans all around the world.