Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning (Movie 01)
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Tiger and Bunny returns with its first movie; a part one of a two movie set. Fond memories come rushing back as I remember how much I liked this superhero series but at the same time I didn't enjoy myself as much.
Movies that come from popular original series tend to be of one variety; retelling with some new material. This has been standard practice dating back to Gurren Lagann's theatrical releases and has been an attempt to satisfy both first time viewers and existing fans. Much like the others, Tiger and Bunny's movie left me a little disappointed though I'm sure it got some new viewers in the process.
Admittedly most of my problems stem from the first half of the movie where most of the content was from the TV series. The streamlined version of the first 3 episodes of the series just didn't do it for me, like the original did. The streamlined plot essentially glossed over/sped through the original TV content, leaving an empty feeling behind. New scenes like Kaburagi's memories of his wife were beautiful while they lasted, whilst his flashback involving Mr. Legend just felt unnecessary given how little significance it held compared to the original. Whilst the extra scenes here and there were nice, they just didn't make up for the disconnected feeling the first half of the movie gave off. I was over the moon that it was all done fro Kaburagi's point of view, but at the same time I just wasn't connecting with the movie. That alone put a damper on things from the get-go.
Luckily the second half had a little more to offer. This was when the new original plot kicked in and we got something new and shiny to enjoy. In Tiger and Bunny fashion, the criminal and the crime itself didn't have any originality or interest for that matter. It was all about the characters, in particular - I should say "as expected" - Tiger and Bunny. Since the movie showed a lot of frustration of Kaburagi's part with his fellow heroes and Barnaby's never-ending desire for points. From one perspective, this focus on the protagonists would serve as the foundation to their relationship development later on in the series. Just a little! This could pretty much be categorised as the prequel to their budding friendship that develops after 14 episodes of the TV series. It was always about the relationship between these two heroes that brought a lot of the story together nicely, so it was great to at least see more of it in movie form. In retrospect, that's what made the movie enjoyable (for me at least).
All in all, it was a decent movie. I never did expect Tiger and Bunny's first movie to blow me away, though that doesn't mean they couldn't have done a better job streamlining the plot for the first half. Main issues aside, the movie had a lot of the same charm as the original Tiger and Bunny and did make me remember the original series. As the first of two movies, it was a good effort.
Tiger and Bunny: The Rising Preview
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The second Tiger and Bunny movie is scheduled for an Autumn 2013 theatrical release. I expect subs will be released around February like they were this time.