Review of Tiger & Bunny (2011)
In a layered art-deco New York uchronia called Sternbild (Constellation) City, superhumans fight crime while hiding their true identities. The logos of their “local” corporate sponsors are prominently displayed on their outfits and a news helicopter follows them on every job. It’s reality TV with a point system for arriving early and capturing bad guys, and a seasonal awards show. There’s even a school for young mutants who want to be Heroes too. Without all the performativity and spectacle, how would the public see all those people? On the other hand, what happens when you start to get a little too old for the superhero racket?
Superhero action. A slightly more grounded and sensible X-Men (2000). It’s nowhere near Watchmen (2009), but it’s nice to see adult main characters and the basic concept is decent, as is the 3D CGI. A whole lot of latent sexism: the initially strong females are shown as young and cute in private, while the gay male superhero never strays from his flamboyant okama stereotype, like Garfiel in Fullmetal Alchemist (2001). The commercial bumper is an in-universe Pepsi commercial.