The previously announced Tiger & Bunny 2 anime, which is scheduled to be released in 2022, will tell a new story set after the events of the Tiger & Bunny The Movie -The Rising- anime film.

Returning cast members for the series include:

• Hiroaki Hirata is Kotetsu T. Kaburagi/Wild Tiger
• Masakazu Morita is Barnaby Brooks Jr.
• Minako Kotobuki is Karina Lyle/Blue Rose
• Taiten Kusunoki is Antonio Lopez/Rock Bison
• Mariya Ise is Pao-Lin Huang/Dragon Kid
• Kenjiro Tsuda is Nathan Seymour/Fire Emblem
• Go Inoue is Keith Goodman/Sky High
• Nobuhiko Okamoto is Ivan Karelin/Origami Cyclone

Mitsuko Kase is directing the new anime at Bandai Namco Pictures. Masafumi Nishida is returning to handle series composition, and Masakazu Katsura is returning to design the characters.

Source: ANN

The official Twitter account the Tiger & Bunny anime has announced that the anime is getting a second season that will premiere in 2022. The new season is titled Tiger & Bunny 2, and it will tell a new story set after the events of the Tiger & Bunny The Movie -The Rising- anime film.

Mitsuko Kase is directing the anime at Bandai Namco Pictures. Masafumi Nishida is returning to handle series composition, and Masakazu Katsura is returning to design the characters.

Hiroaki Hirata is reprising his role as Kotetsu T. Kaburagi/Wild Tiger, and Masakazu Morita is returning to voice Barnaby Brooks Jr.

Source: ANN

Tiger & Bunny is an anime series produced by Bandai Visual, Sunrise, and MBS. The series was directed by Keiichi Sato. The 25 episodes of the series aired on Japanese television between April 3-September 18, 2011. There were also two films released for the franchise: Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning and Tiger & Bunny: The Rising. As of this writing, VIZ Media holds the North American distribution rights for Tiger & Bunny.

Tiger & Bunny is set in the year NC 1978 and takes place in Sternbild City (which is a fictional re-imagined version of New York City). 45 years prior to the start of the series, superpowered individuals known as “NEXT” started appearing through a mysterious mutation. Some of them became superheroes, and each of the city’s famous superheroes works for a sponsor company; their uniforms contain advertising for their sponsor company. Their heroic activities are broadcast on the popular television show Hero TV, where they accumulate points for each heroic feat they accomplish. The best ranked hero of the season is crowned “King of Heroes.”

The focus of the series is on Kotetsu Kaburagi, who is the real identity for the hero Wild Tiger. He’s a veteran superhero past his prime and has a total disregard for private property when he’s trying to nab the villains. His daughter, Kaede, lives with his mother and is unaware of her father’s secret identity.

During the first episode, his sponsor company is taken over, thanks in large part to the high cost of the damage that Wild Tiger creates. His new sponsor, Apollon Media, makes him partner with a new and younger hero.

Barnaby Brooks Jr. becomes Kotetsu’s new partner, and Kotetsu gives him the nickname “Bunny.” Barnaby is given this nickname because of his armor’s earpieces and his use of long jumps and kicks. Even though Barnaby has the same powers as Wild Tiger, Barnaby relies more on strategy than brute force. When Barnaby becomes a part of Hero TV, he makes no attempts to conceal his appearance or identity. Barnaby is trying to discover who murdered his parents, and this is one of the plot points that runs through the series.

The other superheroes who participate in Hero TV are Blue Rose, Sky High, Fire Emblem, Dragon Kid, Rock Bison, and Origami Cyclone. Together, they try keep the peace in Sternbild City.

After watching the first episode of Tiger & Bunny, I was instantly hooked on the series. The concept of superheroes is unique for anime, and the producers of the series added some twists to the superhero genre that makes the series even more unique. I especially like the idea of the superhero that’s past his prime who’s trying to balance his family life with his career. I honestly believe this series could appeal to viewers who enjoy superhero stories who may not already watch anime. And as I continued the series, I found myself continuing to be hooked on the story and the characters.

The animation in Tiger & Bunny is also top notch.  Not only are the characters well-designed, but the CG utilized in this series is some of the best melding of CG and cel animation that I have personally seen.

And the background music works so well for the characters and the world that they inhabit. In some respects, the music is almost a character in and of itself. There are several memorable pieces in the score. If you’re an anime fan who also enjoys superhero stories, then Tiger & Bunny should be right up your alley. This could also potentially be a “gateway anime” for fans of superhero comics and superhero films as a way to introduce them to anime.

Tiger & Bunny Original Soundtrack is primarily a soundtrack of background score music from the anime series.

Tiger & Bunny Original Soundtrack
Publisher: Lantis Record. Co., Ltd.
Release Date: October 19, 2011

There are 44 tracks over this two CD set. The first disc has 26 tracks, and they are all background score pieces. The second disc contains 18 tracks, and the final track is the song that Blue Rose, Wild Tiger, and Barnaby perform under the name B.T.B.

If you’re familiar with the Tiger & Bunny anime, you will instantly recognize quite a few of the score pieces that are on the soundtrack. The opening track, “HEROES N.C.1978” is the music that appears in the very first scene of the series. It also serves as the main musical theme for the series, as you hear elements from this piece sprinkled throughout some of the other pieces on the soundtrack. You can think of this as the “main theme” for Tiger & Bunny. We hear part of “HEROES N.C.1978” on such pieces as “The Ice Princess” (Blue Rose’s theme), “Roar Like a Tiger!” (Wild Tiger’s theme), and “NEXT=Power.”

The second track, “The Hero of Heroes,” is one that’s associated with announcing the winner of Hero TV, as well as other times that the heroes of the series are recognized for their achievements.

I also have a fondness for “Kotetsu” (Kotetsu’s theme song), because there’s just something about it that grabs me. “Power for the Future” is another one of the pieces that I recognize upon hearing it, because it really jumps out and makes the listener take notice. “Barnaby” (Barnaby’s theme song) is focused more on the piano and the operatic vocals in comparison to the more rock-oriented sound of the other songs in the score, which really makes this stand out. And this works well with Barnaby’s character. The musical theme of “Barnaby” also appears in “False Memory,” the final song on the first disc.

The tracks on the second disc tend to sound a little “darker” when compared to most of the score pieces on the first disc. But considering where in the series these tracks would have shown up, this makes a lot of sense.  A couple of exceptions are “The Hero Buff” and “Office Hours,” because these pieces focus primarily on acoustic guitar and piano, and they both have a more upbeat and happier sound to them.

In some respects, after having such a “darker” sound on most of disc two, it’s a little jarring at first to include the upbeat B.T.B. vocal track here. However, it’s a nice change of pace and a more uplifting way of ending the soundtrack. I’m glad to see that this track was included.

If you’re a fan of the Tiger & Bunny anime, I would recommend adding Tiger & Bunny Original Soundtrack to your anime music library. The best way to acquire this soundtrack is to look around at sites that sell Japanese import CDs and trying to find the best deal.

Additional posts about Tiger & Bunny:

• Anime Spotlight: Tiger & Bunny
• Anime CD Review: Unison Square Garden – “Orion Wo Nazoru”

Tiger & Bunny The Movie: The Rising is the second film released for the Tiger & Bunny anime franchise.

Tiger & Bunny The Movie: The Rising
Directed by: Yoshitomo Yonetani
Written by: Masafumi Nishida
Starring: Hiroaki Hirata, Masakazu Morita, Yuichi Nakamura, Hochu Otsuka, Minako Kotobuki, Kenjiro Tsuda, Taiten Kusunoki, Go Inoue, Mariya Ise, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Yuko Kaida, Daisuke Hirakawa, Koji Yusa, Rikiya Koyama, Nana Mizuki
Run Time: 90 minutes
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo
Home Media Release Date: February 24, 2015

Tiger & Bunny The Movie: The Rising is set after the end of the Tiger & Bunny anime series, and the writers of the film assume that the viewer has seen the anime series before watching this. A brief scene lets the audience know what happened with Barnaby at the end of the anime series, but that’s about it in the way of any recap.

The film introduces a new character named Golden Ryan, who becomes Barnaby’s new partner. Ryan is so egotistical and full of himself that he’s rather off-putting as a character. To be honest, he was a character that I never warmed up to during the film, because he goes through so little progression as a character. Compared to the other heroes, he comes across as a shallow and undeveloped character.

The characters with the best arcs in this film are Kotetsu and Fire Emblem. With the acquisition of Apollon Media by a new entity and the introduction of Golden Ryan, Kotetsu finds himself removed as a hero because the new owner of Apollon Media decides to dissolve the Second League (which is where Kotetsu and Barnaby were placed at the end of the series). Barnaby is promoted back to the First League when he’s paired with Ryan. This story sees Kotetsu trying to live life as a non-hero, and how his daughter Kaede helps him find himself again. I loved seeing how much of a role Kaede had in this film.

When a mysterious new enemy starts recreating a legend that’s known in Stern Bild, Fire Emblem finds himself being put under a sleeping spell by one of the members of the new enemy. As he’s trapped in his dreams, the audience gets to see some backstory for Fire Emblem. With this story arc, we see Fire Emblem struggling with his identity. I thought this anime film handled the LGBT issue presented here in a strong manner. Considering how most anime, with the Tiger & Bunny anime series included, tend to treat being gay as more of a joke than anything else, it impressed me that this film tackled Fire Emblem’s identity issue in a serious manner.

Overall, Tiger & Bunny The Movie: The Rising was an enjoyable film, and should be watched by viewers who are fans of the Tiger & Bunny franchise. However, viewers should make sure to watch the entire anime series first before delving into this film. If they don’t, they’re going to be lost as to what’s happening, since there isn’t a true recap to remind viewers what happened before this film starts.

I watched the film on the Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack that VIZ Media released. The Blu-ray has 1080p 16×9 video, and English and Japanese 5.1 and 2.0 audio options. The DVD has 16×9 video, and English and Japanese 5.1 and 2.0 audio.

The content of the Blu-ray is duplicated on the DVD, which includes the film and the bonus features. The bonus features include an art gallery, an interview with producer Kazuhiko Tamura, as well as various trailers and promotional videos for the film. There’s also a “Theater Manners” piece that features Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks Jr., reminding theater-goers how to behave properly in a movie theater. The “TV Series Special Digest” has two pieces back-to-back, with one summarizing the Tiger & Bunny anime series, and one summarizing the first Tiger & Bunny anime film; unfortunately, having these two pieces playing back-to-back emphasized just how repetitive they were. “Weekly Movies” runs for 12 minutes, and it’s several shorts highlighting the new hero Golden Ryan, with Sky High showing him around and teaching him some of the basics about the history and world of the Tiger & Bunny franchise. There’s a short feature of the film’s U.S. premiere at the New People Cinema, with Charlene Ingram interviewing attendees afterward about their reactions to the movie. There’s a clean opening and ending, as well as trailers for other releases from VIZ Media. While the bonus features here are nowhere near as extensive as they were for the first Tiger & Bunny anime film, there’s still enough here to make the bonus features worth something.

If you’re a fan of the Tiger & Bunny franchise, I would recommend this film and buying this release in order to add it to your anime home video library.

Additional posts about Tiger & Bunny:

• Anime Spotlight: Tiger & Bunny
• Anime Film Review: Tiger & Bunny The Movie: The Beginning

Sunrise has revealed that the previously announced new anime project in the Tiger & Bunny franchise is titled Double Decker! Doug & Kirill. The anime will premiere in 2018.

The anime will star Satoshi Mikami as Doug Billingam, and Kōhei Amasaki as Kirill Vlueberry.

Joji Furuta is directing the series at Sunrise. Ryo Ando is in charge of series production, and Tomohiro Suzuki is returning to oversee the series scripts. Manga creator Masakazu Katsura is returning to design the main characters, and Norihiro Itagaki is returning from the Tiger & Bunny The Movie -The Rising- and Tiger & Bunny the Movie: The Beginning films to handle the animation character design. Yuki Hayashi is composing the music.

Source: ANN

Sunrise announced at its Sunrise & Bandai Namco Pictures panel at New York Comic Con on that Tiger & Bunny will get a live-action Hollywood film produced by All Nippon Entertainment Works and Ron Howard and Brian Grazer at Imagine Entertainment.

The project is still seeking a director and screenwriter.

The original television anime series centers around heroes for hire — super powered beings known as NEXT who wear sponsor logos while fighting crime on live television.

Source: ANN