Anime Review: Tiger & Bunny

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Hero, Supernatural
Episodes: 25
Aired: 2011

Producers: Sunrise, Viz Media

This title brings to mind some macho chavinistic pig (MCP) and his sexy sidekick, which probably isn't too far from the truth. Although the MCP is a clumsy, bumbling middle-aged man with a 10-year-old daughter and the sidekick is a young, good-looking newcomer breaking into the Heroes scene.

Wild Tiger is a veteran Hero in the city of Sternbild, where people with superhero powers, also known as 'Next' are masked, stamped on with sponsor brands and put on live TV as the most popular entertainment reality series. The idea is quite intriguing really, that heroic duties can become like a sport and be commercialised in this manner, and heroes themselves are commodities that advertisers buy.

Tiger and Bunny is a good old superhero story where its characters shine through. This is one of the few animes I have come across where the main protagonist really steals the show. Wild Tiger, Kaburagi Kotetsu, is genuinely likeable as a papa bear kind of guy who thinks of others before himself. He's touted as an 'old man' in the show because his comradaries, or rivals, are all young adults, but really, he looks to be just in his mid 30s.

Here - papa Kotetsu.

His dream is to save people with his Hundred powers, which is a burst of extra strength and speed for 5 minutes (after which he has to recharge for an hour).

He starts off in an ugly blue spandex hero outfit but changes into a cool-looking armour into the series.

When the show opens, he's at the bottom of the ranking, as he tends to destroy buildings and other property more than arrest criminals or protect citizens. Each good deed comes tagged with points - 200 points for each bad guy arrested and 100 points for each citizen saved. Their activities are documented on the popular programme known as Hero TV, which ranks the Heroes according to the points scored, and crowns a 'King of Heroes' annually.

The current King of Heroes is Sky High, who wields the power to control wind. In reality, Sky High is like the kind-hearted and polite popular jock, and a little of an airhead. He often repeats himself as he wants to make sure that everyone understands him, his catchphrase being "Thank you... and thank you!" which is really quite funny as it tends to annoy Kotetsu.

Barnaby Brooks Jr is the newcomer who takes over as King of Heroes as the series continue. His powers are the same as Kotetsu, and their boss teams them up together as the city's first Superhero pair. Unlike Kotetsu, Barnaby has an agenda in becoming a Hero - he's looking for his parents' murderer, and he's bent on raking in the points to take over as King of Heroes. He starts off on the wrong foot with Kotetsu and, in relation to his name Barnaby, and the fact that his Hero suit has two long protruding ears, Kotetsu calls him Bunny.

In the 25 episodes, much of the storyline revolves around Barnaby's history and his search for the killer. During which, the relationships between the Heroes play out. Kotetsu and Rock Bison, who has the strength of an ox as his name suggests, are good friends outside of their suits. Bison is another veteran who is strong and good-natured, but is usually in the background otherwise.

Fire Emblem is a flamboyant guy who thinks himself as one of the girls, and has the ability to create flames. He's constantly flirting with the guys and is the one to relieve the tension and put out the fire in most heated situations, ironically. His cape is amazingly depicted though, it looks alive as though it is really made of his flames.

Blue Rose casts ice and initially we see her doing the lightest of Hero work and staying out of harm's way. Her dream is actually to become a singing idol, but her sponsoring company has used that as a negotiating tool to make her a Hero first and Idol second. She gradually falls for Tiger and his caring ways, and begins to take her Hero responsibilities seriously. The only beef I have with her is the two 'tentacles' that protrude from her back as part of her costume. They are ugly,  useless and do not value-add in any way.

The other real girl among the Heroes is Dragon Kid, who is supposedly of Chinese descent and possesses lightning ability as well as kung-fu fighting skills. She helps Tiger understand his own daughter better, given the similarity of their age. The 2 round Mickey Mouse signboards on her head are the epitome of advertising. She's practically a walking billboard for Calbees and DMM.com.

Lastly is Origami Cyclone, who initially does nothing but show up in the background when other Heroes are being interviewed on Hero TV, in a bid to raise the profiles of his sponsors. We soon find out why: his ability is being able to transform himself into others. Given that their duties are to arrest bad guys and save people, it's not a skill that comes in handy often. One wonders how he came to be part of the Heroes in the first place.

Overall, an interesting cast led by a strong protagonist. The only oddity is probably Barnaby's 180 degree change in attitude towards Tiger in the middle of he series, without an in-depth explanation why, which would have been a boon given that this series is centred around their relationship as partners.

Still, enjoyed it very much and wish there are more animes like this.

Rating: 9/10

Anime Review: Nagi no Asukara

Genre: Drama, Romance, School, Fantasy

Episodes: 26

Aired: 2013-14

Producers: Geneon Universal Entertainment, P.A Works, Rondo Robe, NIS America, Inc

Do you remember your puppy love days? This is a heart-warming story that will bring you back, set in a unique circumstance.

First let's introduce the four friends who are integral to this story: Hikari Sakishima the daring leader, Manaka Mukaido the crybaby, Chisaki Hiradaira the mature babe, and Kaname the gentleman.

They are childhood friends and are children that belong to the sea. So therein lies the unique setting: there are people who live in the sea, also known as Shioshishio, and those who have chosen to live on the surface.

At the start of the story, these four friends are on their way to a new middle school on the surface, because their underwater school had closed down. Interestingly, there is only this one village in the vast ocean ruled by the Sea God, but let's not pick on that flaw.

Due to some past events, there is tension between the folks on land and undersea. The four friends had to adjust to life on the surface as well as handle the discrimination thrown their way. Despite the odds, they became friends with surface-boy, Tsumugu Kihara, whom Manaka started to have a crush on. From here, grew the love hexagon. Manaka liked Kihara, but Hikari had a crush on Manaka, even though Chisaki had always been admiring Hikari, and Kaname had liked Chisaki forever.

Who did Tsumugu had his eyes on then?

It'd be a spoiler to reveal it now, wouldn't it? You'll know when the anime is about to come to its epic conclusion.

The light-hearted, slice-of-life mood turns dark when the story takes a dramatic turn. A catastrophe is prophesized when the Sea God became angered, one which would turn the surface into a frozen wasteland. To save the undersea village, it inhabitants have to go into hibernation until the danger has passed.

Due to a certain turn of events, Manaka becomes the sacrifice offering and both Hikari and Kaname fall into slumber along with the rest of the Shioshishio village. Five years later, Hikari and Kaname awaken to find that while time had been standing still for them, Chisaki and Tsumugu have progressed on with their lives. Along with their struggles to embrace the new reality, they seek to awaken Manaka and save both surface and undersea folks.

In general, the story is compelling even though it starts off pretty slow, and the artwork is top-notch. The only thing I don't get is Manaka's indecisive, little-girl character. Hikari falling for her feels more like sister complex than love. The rest of the cast, in my opinion, is quite strong. As a character-driven story, this hits all the right notes.

Rating: 8/10

Anime Review: Ao no Exorcist

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural

Episodes: 25

Aired: 2011

Producers: Aniplex, A-1 Pictures

Rin and Yukio Okumura are twin brothers with very different upbringing, despite having been raised together.

The younger of the two, Yukio has always been able to see spirits at a very tender age. This ability led him down a path of an exorcist - someone who dispels spirits and demons for the good of mankind.

Rin, on the other hand, lives in blissful ignorance until one day his past comes to haunt him, literally. He is actually the son of Satan (so is Yukio since they're twins, but somehow only Rin gets all the blame) and has begun to discover immeasurable powers of blue flames that only he and the Devil possess.

This is an outcome that their adopted father, Shiro Fujimoto, fears the most. But of course, he has always prepared for this day.

Looking at Shiro, no one would have guessed he is the Paladin and most powerful exorcist of the True Cross Order. 

He acts downright silly at times but is 101% devoted to his sons. I literally cried when he sacrificed himself to save Rin from Satan early on in the series. But no worries, we will see flashbacks of the old man and grow to like him even more as the story continues.

Back to the boys. With the Paladin gone, the church is no longer a sanctuary for them. Rin then joins his brother at the True Cross Academy, a school for exorcist training. Well, half of it anyway. Most of the student population are unware of this 'secret' training. Not sure why this arrangement is so odd - no reason to combine a normal school and a supernatural training academy. But it is run by an even odder principal, so there you go. 

Here, Rin has to learn to control his powers as he seeks to becomes the next Paladin. Yes, the son of Satan wants to become an exorcist. Sounds incredulous to everyone who comes to know of his identity, but no one bats an eyelid that Yukio is already a professional exorcist. Even though he, too, is the Devil's boy, albeit without the unearthly powers. Double standards is what this is.

Anyway, come the first day of school, Rin gets the shock of his life when Yukio walks into class and introduces himself as their teacher.  

At this point, it is the first time the brothers come head-to-head after their father's funeral. Yukio naturally blames Rin for the Paladin's death and a fight breaks out. This scuffle ends all too soon, however. The story would have been more interesting if their misunderstanding had dragged maybe a few episodes?

Nonetheless, they simply made a mess of the classroom and made up. Thereafter is the usual anime plot - the bonding of the cast through training, during which multiple assassination attempts are made on Rin's life but the battles only serve to make him stronger, and the final showdown with the Devil himself.

While the story is ho-hum, the ending does tie up some loose ends nicely, yet leave sufficient room for a sequel (hopefully?). Seems like there are still questions floating unanswered.

The biggest question mark lies with this guy - Mephisto Pheles. The late Paladin's trusted friend, he too is an exorcist and principal of the True Cross Academy. 

His character design reminds me too much of Xerxes Break from Pandora Hearts - from the flamboyant outfit to the flippant attitude. Also a little like Kisuke Uruhara from Bleach.

Oh, but he can morph into a cute widdle dog! His only redeeming factor.

His true identity is a demon from Gehenna, and from what I gathered, Rin and Yukio's half brother. However, throughout the series, he consistently orchestrates the fights surrounding Rin. He later reveals his hidden agenda to the Order during a trial hearing - that he was drawing out Rin's powers as a weapon against Satan. He made it seem as though this was the Paladin's reason for raising the boys, which is far from the truth. So his statement is highly suspect. But it makes for a compelling second season thus I'll let live.

The main gripe I have with the series is Moriyama Shiemi. Like, really... is she the best female protagonist to fit this series? She's timid, naive, and looks like a ten-year-old. I'm even feeling a twinge of guilt for picking on her. Just a tad.

Despite her obvious flaws, both brothers somehow fall for her. The unblossoming romantic triangle between the three is as uninspiring as it can get. From the start you get the idea that she has a crush on Yukio, but then she opens up to Rin so easily, but she blushes furiously when it comes to Yukio, but she's always so considerate of Rin... gah!

For this big disappointment, my rating for this series is lower than it deserves (if you don't mind a weak female protagonist). After all, the relationship between the characters factor hugely in my enjoyment of any anime series.

Rating: 7.5/10

Anime Review: Ga-rei Zero

Genre: Action, Drama, Supernatural, Thriller
Episodes: 12
Aired: 2008
Producers: AIC Spirits, Asread, FUNimation Entertainment

A prequel to Segawa Hajime's manga Ga-rei, Ga-rei Zero surprises with a torrent of drama superseding its thrills and spills.

What initially started out as a ho-hum ride with an anti-paranormal special forces government agency called the Supernatural Disaster Prevention Office (SDPO) quickly rolled into an exciting, emotional rollercoaster affair.

To tell the truth, the first three-quarters of the opening episode nearly bored me to tears. Graphics were great, no doubt, and there certainly was some demon-hunting action. But the setting of the story simply rambled on too long without getting anywhere.

The real action, if you must know (and even if you don't, I'm gonna tell you anyway) only began in the last 5 minutes. Just when you thought: "Oh, there's the assembly of the main cast - the cool male protagonist, the tough female counterpart, the nerd, the muscle man, etc", someone comes and kill them all off. Every single one of them.

"Huh? Wtf just happened?" I screamed, shaking my monitor furiously. Halfway through the show I had already dismissed this series as a bore and closed the window of the next episode that I had been loading. "Noooooo!"

An agonising wait for the next episodes to stream.

The actual story is about two sisters - Yomi Isayama and Kagura Tsuchimiya. Yomi is the mystery killer we see at the final seconds of the first episode, brandishing her bloodied sword.

And here she is, endorsing Pocky with her sister and looking cute as a button, one of the million times they do so in the short 12-epsiode series. Not sure if it is blatant product placement but you'd be surprised how crucial this chocolate stick is to the development of their bond.

So how did Yomi end up on the wrong side of the tracks? That brings us to the flashback of their story.

Kagura, the younger of the two, is the youngest descendant of a powerful family of exorcists, whose heirloom is a deadly white dragon theirs to command. 

When her mother dies in battle, Mr Tsuchimiya inherits the white dragon and the duty that comes along with it, and sends Kagura to live with another family of exorcists. There, she continues to grow as an exorcist with new-found sister Yomi.

Yomi is an adopted daughter of the Isayamas and is bestowed a special sword by her father, which grants her a magical lion-looking beast. She works with the SDPO and is betrothed to a guy also working at the SDPO. They bicker constantly, much to the amusement of their colleagues, but are really undercover sweethearts.

Just when everything looks rosy, Yomi begins to run into trouble. It starts with the Isayama inheritance, challenged by her uncle and seemingly more capable cousin, and everything tumbles downhill from here. This is the turning point that results in the tragic ending awaiting our two lovable leads.

"Will you kill someone you love because of love?" This question repeats endlessly and is the ultimate decision that Kagura has to make in the final episode.  

Following their story, you will feel the same happiness, pain and despair that they go through. The powerful story-telling, coupled with the fabulously understated swordplay scenes, make this series an absolute must-watch!

Rating: 9.5/10