This week's instalment of Tiger & Bunny is centered on one of the resident heroes of Sternbild, Origami Cyclone. Up until this point, Origami was usually found in the background (quite literally), so it is nice to see his actual character and backstory.
Lunatic's alternative form of justice has left quite the impression on the public of Sternbild. Many seem to question the ability of heroes to do their jobs, prompting the higher-ups of the sponsor companies to launch a "Let's Believe Heroes" campaign. Although, I'm not sure how giving flowers to the elderly and picking up litter is going to help convince the public that they can be trusted to take care of crime better than Lunatic can...
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| Sweatbeard. |
Along with Origami Cyclone, our duo protagonists are stationed at Hero Academy to speak with the students. This proves to be an interesting revelation about the the world of T&B. There are actually quite a few people with NEXT powers, but their powers aren't exactly fit to become heroes. After all, there aren't many practical uses for sweating excessively and stretching your skin when trying to catch bad guys. Something else worthy of note is that the students there are of all ages, which seems to suggest that not all NEXTs get their powers at an early age. Despite the fact that most of these students won't become heroes after they graduate, I think having a place like the Hero Academy is a good idea. As seen in the episode with Tony, NEXTs can be shunned by normal people because they are different (and thus aren't as human). This academy provides a place where they can interact with each other as well as build confidence in themselves.
It turns out that Origami has the power to shapeshift into other people. Origami thinks that this power is useless for a hero, and thus he is bringing down the public's trust in heroes the most. I think that his powers are actually incredibly useful for catching criminals from the inside. Of course, this would work best in tandem with other heroes with more physical prowess.
Origami thinks that his friend, Edward, should have been, in his place, a hero instead. Cue flashback and we see that Edward attempted stop some criminals, but ended up killing the hostage accidentally, earning him a ticket behind bars, which ultimately results in Origami blaming himself for not helping. I'm definitely siding with Barnaby on this one; Edward escaping from prison to get revenge on Origami was about just looking for someone to blame, since Origami didn't do anything wrong.
Lunatic, brandishing his trademark creepy mask and his fiery crossbow, shows up to kill Edward, a sinner in his eyes. Because of Tiger's advice, Origami resolves to protect Edward from Lunatic. Tiger and Barnaby interfere and pretty much confirm that Lunatic has no affiliation with Ouroboros. Lunatic is able to make his escape once again, after a short scuffle. Lunatic is such a fun character to watch; not only does he add flare to the role of anti-villain, but he also keeps you guessing at what his future plans are because of his high political position in Sternbild.
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| Lunatic confirmed to be the judge. |
Though the quality of the visuals were lacking in a few parts of the episode, I'm surprised that T&B is giving us consistently strong episodes week in and week out. Barnaby may be softening up to Tiger, but I don't expect their interactions to change that much because of their personalities. As many of you may note, Tiger serves as a mentor or father-like figure for many characters throughout the series. Yet, that is ironic because he rarely spends time with his own daughter. Lunatic seems to have taken an interest in Tiger as well; the clash between the opposing ideals should be interesting to see. I'm looking forward to seeing the focus center on Dragon Kid in the episode next week.
-Bern
