Estudio De Personajes De Tiger & Bunny

Tiger & Bunny Character Study (by

orange_smaug)

The show has finished and the canon set, so I wanted to take some time and discuss two characters I think have been given short shrift by some segments of the fandom. Few would be surprised to hear that the first one is Barnaby, indisputably the most polarizing character in the show. He's not a character type I usually like, and I wascompletely uninterested in him for the first 6 episodes. Episode 7 is where he first broke the mold in some major ways, and he has since become my favorite. He is taciturn, yet volatile; aloof, yet intensely personal; difficult to read, yet emotionally honest; and his multifaceted personality renders him as far from generic as a character can be. The other character? One Kotetsu T. Kaburagi. Kotetsu, Iliked right from the beginning. How could one not? Here we have a grown man in the sea of teenaged main characters populating other modern anime, a single father struggling to balance his job and his family in a world that won't give him a break, who somehow still manages to keep a smile on his face and help the people around him. But I didn't love him, couldn't love him while I was unsure if theshow would actually deal with his faults in any real capacity. The second season thrusts Kotetsu out of his comfort zone, forces him to face the less savory aspects of his personality that were foreshadowed in the first season, and is what turns him in to a truly great character. Some flatten Barnaby in order to make him a demon, and flatten Kotetsu in order to make him a saint. The disservice thisdoes to these two wonderful characters finally got too frustrating for me to bear, and this essay is the result. Tiger & Bunny is a work that takes the principle of "show, don't tell" to heart, and I wanted to help bring to light deeper facets of the characters, the beliefs and motivations the writers masked using intentionally misleading first impressions. Please enjoy and discuss. *** Kotetsu T.Kaburagi Kotetsu initially presents himself as a hero unconcerned with the trappings of HeroTV, caring little for the fame others seek as long as he can help the people of Sternbild. It's easy to take his declaration at face value, since the very first thing he does is defy Agnes’ orders to delay his rescue attempt in order to make it more photogenic. This steadfast concern for the public isabsolutely an essential facet of his character, and remains present throughout the series. What the viewer shouldn't believe is Kotetsu's professed apathy towards fame. He denies it, but recognition is something he craves, and his lack of it at the beginning of the series weighs heavily on his mind. Someone comfortable with their circumstances would not buy multiple trading cards to try and makeothers believe Wild Tiger is popular. A certain

someone, having bought them, would not attempt to force them on fans of other heroes. A last place hero truly concerned only with helping the citizenry and not his standing in their eyes would not treat Keith Goodman as cavalierly as Kotetsu does. He sulks when Keith is announced King of Heroes for the season, protests the easy acceptance of hisheroic persona by others, mocks Keith's poor but earnest acting skills when preparing for the surprise birthday party. It's surprising how petty Kotetsu can be in his presence, and he gets away with it because the recipient of his ire is too good natured-and frankly, oblivious--to call him on it. Keith is an interesting foil, because the ability to put the public first and the ability to capture thepublic's heart both come so naturally to him. He is the hero Kotetsu wishes he could be, that his own efforts somehow always seem to fall short of, and his self-doubt in the face of Keith's success makes it hard for him to resist wanting to drag Sky High back to earth. His insecurity breeds a resentment he finds difficult to conceal. Kotetsu is, in short, someone frequently unaware--or perhaps in...