I will never get over the fact that Kotetsu is one of the titular characters of Tiger & Bunny and yet we only get fed the tiniest crumbs of his backstory and how frickin subtle everything we get fed about him is.
It's less about Tiger and more about Tiger's POV? Which is totally how Kotetsu is, focusing more on others than himself. I think a lot about the fact that the driving force of Season 1 is Barnaby's quest to unravel the mystery behind his parent's murder vs Kotetsu. If anything, his power loss is a B subplot to Barnaby's story. Also just the parallels of how everyone in the world knows Barnaby's backstory by the end of Cour 1 of Season 1, but Kotetsu's power loss and everything else about him is kept so tight under wraps until it can't be anymore.
It's just funny, because this is totally how Kotetsu would probably want it to be, get the spotlight away from him, don't be the main focus of attention, hero work is about protecting people, not about fame and glory and being recognized. But also like, never talk to this emotionally avoidant man about feelings because he's totally fine, don't worry about him.
I just: *shakes Kotetsu and tries to get the backstory and emotional resolution out of him*
spoilers for the new additional 6 pages of Tiger and Bunny 2 (which you can access through this post (big thanks to TLF and @tnbdirectory), i wrote a less coherent rant about this on twitter but like omg
I believe now this is the 3rd (?) time Barnaby has explicitly shown/said he wants to be with Kotetsu, with it being of his own volition
(The three times I can think of
1. when Barnaby comes out of retirement with Kotetsu end of S1
2. episode 21 of S2, in cour 2 when he wants to be partners with Kotetsu for the last time
3. the new TL'd 6 pages for post S2 ending where he really makes it clear he wants to support Kotetsu by Kotetsu's side, without any snark about it, just really requests that he stay and help even when Kotetsu tells him he doesn't need to stick around)
(I don't really count the elevator scene from S2 ep 18 and the final scene from The Rising because though it's obvious to the audience what Barnaby is thinking, I don't think it's clear enough for Kotetsu to REALLY get it. Though you could debate more with the elevator scene, I'm open to conversation lol.)
But I'm just pulling my hair out at how Kotetsu still just really wants what's best for Barnaby, when he looks at Barnaby's bangle it's feels like he's just about to say something along the lines of "can you really be here?" when he could be doing something "more important" or actual hero work.
But Barnaby doesn't even dignify Kotetsu's attempt to push him away just giving that line (that makes me insane) of how he wants to be Kotetsu's support. Also just the way Barnaby KNEW what Kotetsu was going to say.
It's so wild that it's like a mini version of their Rising situation, but this shows how far they've come. Like Barnaby does not stay silent here. I'm sure he remembers how that went down, and at least this time Kotetsu asks Barnaby instead of making the executive decision to leave him in the dust on his own. Barnaby's just so honest here? No bullshit, little snark, just here it is, all on the table. It does make me wonder if the past couple months not working with Kotetsu has made him not want to not cloak things as much and say it straight. Though this might have been something even spurred on as early as S2 ep 21 when there was real risk of their partnership being over, after his super ernest confession.
But this made me think, Barnaby's made it pretty clear to Kotetsu he wants to be partners, even in non-hero situations, but it made me realize that I don't think Kotetsu has ever reciprocated verbally? Not because Barnaby isn't important to him or that he doesn't want partners, but more because of how Kotetsu views himself as a burden/problem to Barnaby? And also because I don't think Kotetsu's love language is really through words (though I think it's important that Barnaby DOES show love through words occasionally without snark, because Kotetsu's a pretty insecure and dense guy, he needs it spelled out for him plainly).
Like Kotetsu seems more to me as an act of service love language guy, which we've seen (and @abluescarfonwaston has made a great post about here). Which makes sense how he reacts in seeing him being a potential problem for Barnaby and trying to remove himself as the problem. Which would be great... if that actually wasn't causing MORE of a problem in Barnaby's life (in that Kotetsu's not a problem at all AND PLEASE STAY FFS).
The big moments that indicate Kotetsu appreciates his partnership with Barnaby directly are basically just in ep24 of S1. Every other time he's just kinda... gone with the flow? Like it's usually Barnaby initiating or asking Kotetsu, except in the elevator scene which was a question and not really an affirmation. WE as the audience can see how clearly Kotetsu adores Barnaby, but I wonder how it comes off to Barnaby in the show when he can't see how torn up Kotetsu gets at the thought of or actually having lost Barnaby as a partner (Rising and hospitalization).
And yes, we see they can "know what each other is thinking without saying anything" but I don't think that's 24/7, as shown by a couple moments throughout S2.
Despite being the more "tsun" one, Barnaby has been more explicit and straightforward about what he wants from Kotetsu (Kotetsu in his life, whatever form it may take).
Which makes me wonder, man would Barnaby just snap, like all the safeties are off, and just kiss Kotetsu if he ever explicitly told him that he wants Barnaby in his life? The other option is acting tsun but I think the previous option would be infinitely more fun.
also bonus thing I noticed:
Barnaby says "WHY" for the word game and Kotetsu asks if he couldn't choose another word. Barnaby refuses, but the next thing Kotetsu says is "YOU" which works out in this situation lol (dunno if this is a English TL version only thing but thought it was funny how it worked out)
also wondering why Barnaby was so stuck on keeping "WHY" 😆
I noticed and thought was interesting was how the main conflict for Kotetsu and Barnaby seem to contrast, Barnaby having more explicitly mental conflicts and issues while Kotetsu’s primarily is more physical.
The crux of Barnaby main conflict in the series comes from Barnaby unable to let go of the mystery of who murdered his parents and the memory manipulation by Maverick. Even in Rising, we see his past history called back and referred to by Lunatic, to which Kotetsu needs to explain that Barnaby isn’t just magically healed, it’s a conflict he’s still healing from and that the death of his parents’ murderer isn’t going to fix that, especially considering how deep that betrayal goes. Further emphasized in season 2 in a more progressive/healing way when we see Barnaby picking up hobbies and making friends, especially a friend who comes from a time before everything upended itself in his life.
What’s even more interesting is that Barnaby’s conflict is always much more explicitly stated. It’s basically the main conflict of season 1. As mentioned, Rising has Lunatic calling it out and Virgil as a direct parallel. Then season 2 has the whole Subaru and Yuri scenes. Not to mention how it became something forcibly aired out to the public during the Jake fights. It ties in an interesting way to me that Barnaby is more open about verbally showing his inner heart to Kotetsu than Kotetsu is to Barnaby, and is more emotional too. I think he’s even more open to his friends than Kotetsu is. We actually see him hanging out and talking to Mattia and asking for help quite a bit, like with asking to bring Kaede over to show the lab and asking for advice on Thomas. Kotetsu and Antonio as a parallel, we don’t see them having as deep conversations. We get Kotetsu lending an ear to Antonio and the reference to Tomoe, but they’ve known each other for so long that lots of words don’t seem necessary and their friendship works in a different way it feels like.
Moving on to Kotetsu, of course, there’s definitely a heavy mental toll placed on him, but his main conflicts are expressed in the series as being too old and washed up starting as early as season 1 (honestly, probably as a result of mental strain brought on by the loss of his wife and inability to juggle his work and family) and an even greater emphasis on potentially being unable to keep up physically with the loss of his powers. Rising also puts this front and center of Kotetsu not being worth keeping in Schneider’s eyes. Part of the resolution of Kotetsu’s conflict comes from figuring out that he should be learning how to time his abilities better, saving it until the final moment with Virgil. Season 2 in how it shows more of how Kotetsu’s become physically capable with some direct parallels to Season 1 (saving Kaede). Even in private, we see Kotetsu “practicing” yoga. In general, we don’t see him flubbing around much if at all, leaving out what happens in the opening of the first episode.
In the opposite way of how Barnaby was more open in explaining his past to Kotetsu, you gotta pry shit out of Kotetsu with a crowbar. Which is fitting when most of his conflict deals more with the physical compared to the mental. Kotetsu never super willingly offers up information about himself in the series. No one knows Kotetsu has a family until the mayor’s kid. Barnaby and Kotetsu fight because Kotetsu didn’t trust him to restrain himself against Jake. The ironic bit is that Kotetsu needs to tell a lie to defeat Jake (even though it was all hinged on trust). S1 part 2, Kotetsu not explaining that his powers were declining (that one fun fact about Muramasa having to distract Kotetsu to get him to talk because Kotetsu’s so LIKE THAT). Not telling Kaede that he’s a hero. Rising where he doesn’t tell Barnaby that Schneider fired him. Even S2 we have him trying to reassure others when Barnaby’s in a coma! (God Kotetsu having secrets has so much evidence, wtf).
Honestly, not sure how to conclude this since it was more just a theme than something I can really put significant meaning to. I think it’s an interesting story telling method to watch unfold, because you almost have to switch your brain a bit looking at Barnaby’s development versus Kotetsu’s. We hear a lot of Barnaby’s changes through dialogue while we almost are shown Kotetsu’s (which is another funny layer when you consider Barnaby having shit eyesight and Kotetsu using 100 power to enhance his hearing). Just think it’s neat how their conflicts contrast and if we’ll be seeing more of this in the second cour or get a sudden reversal.
Disclaimer: And of course, not saying that Barnaby doesn’t have physical conflicts or that Kotetsu doesn’t have mental ones, but just that the big overarching stuff seems to have a focus.
Side note: I wrote all the examples of Kotetsu like not spilling his heart out unless it’s talking about hero things and he’s basically -
🔓memory unlocked after reading that Tiger & Bunny STERN BILD MaG - V Residence Story Vol. 2 post (READ IT GUYS)
I wonder if Tiger's side takes place right after the Jake fight cuz he says:
"But I’ve never had a diary before and don’t know what to write. Is this really all I need to do!?"
But in S1 cour 2 ep 16 we see him writing in what I'd call a diary or at least a journal. Which... wouldn't it be incredibly soul-crushing funny if Barnaby's attempt at getting Kotetsu to journal leads him to documenting his power loss hahahaha I'm not okay
I actually was wondering if this could be the same notebook that Kotetsu starts writing in as what's mentioned in the story, but it's mentioned to be a Wild Tiger notebook and this looks like a plain black one from what we can see in the episode, unless it's a very subtle WT notebook (maybe a logo hidden by the bottles?). I mean the pen does have green.
But anyways... imagine all these cheerful daily updates dissolving into this power loss recording 😭
On the bright side though, I do love how they show the little ways Kotetsu does take Barnaby's comments into account and try and better himself accordingly! He's listening! He's trying!
also think a lot about how much the mask and the guise of a persona means to Kotetsu and protects his privacy. like it’s put under this surface level idea that it’s just because Kotetsu’s “old fashioned” but i think not having your real name out there as a hero is really important if you are able to keep it covered up??? like with how high risk being a hero is and with how many criminals are probably out to get you, you don’t want your real name and face just out there for everyone to see. there’s a reason its a thing TM in superhero universes
it’s also really shows the disconnect between Kotetsu’s home life and Barnaby’s. like Kotetsu has a mom, brother, daughter, and now nieces he’d want to protect. but now anyone can look up his full name and history and know his powers. that’s scary. Barnaby doesn’t really have that, which even further emphasizes Barnaby’s loneliness in the series and why he gets so annoyed at Kotetsu for harping about that because he unfortunately might not be able to understand that since he’s gone so long living on his own.
there also might just be a general understanding for Kotetsu on not getting TOO personal with others even if he’s not able to quite articulate to Barnaby exactly why hero identities and personal lives should be secret, like how no one in the heroes group knew he had Kaede except Antonio who explicitly knew Kotetsu before becoming a hero. wonder if there have been any heroes in the past who ended up getting hurt because their identities were found out in the past.
so like... what if season 3 kotetsu just came back to being a hero. idk if he's actually officially retired by end of season 2, but the idea of kotetsu coming back to 1st League AGAIN after retiring, Rising, and losing his powers super funny
like what do the citizens think. is he the Miyazaki of the hero world, retiring and coming back over and over?
sometimes I just sit and think about the events of episodes 21 through 25 on Kotetsu and wonder how he got through all that without any new PTSD. like all the heroes kinda just tried to capture him and everyone thought he was a murderer. hope someone gave him some sort of compensation like damn. Kotetsu prob really needed that time off to recover both physically AND mentally AND see how far his powers would actually drop. also with the compensation thing like same to the other heroes who got memory nonsensed by Maverick. get em all therapy cuz that’s scary shit.
also wonder if the whole company scandal stuff was just brushed under the rug and people forgot about it (which is sadly kind of accurate to real world situations) or if kotetsu had to kind of stand up and say “yeah this bad stuff happened due to company corruption but please don’t blame them it’s not really their fault” and of course company corruption nonsense happened again in the Rising. [S2 SPOILER] and they reference it as well in episode 1.
wonder if that’s part of why Agnes tried to bring Kotetsu back in the Rising, if it’s because he’s the one stable point that cause people to keep believing in heroes despite all the scandals and issues. man’s just out here trying his best
Warnings: spoilers for the Tiger and Bunny 2 Cour 2 trailer! Go watch it if you haven't yet!!
wayyy too much speculation about what little I saw from the trailer. This could completely be disproven based on context from actual S2 cour 2 but for now, some thoughts
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Wonder if it's kind of an ultimate sign of trust now for Barnaby that he's letting Kotetsu drive. We see in S1 and Rising that Barnaby never lets Kotetsu drive (with him explicitly shutting Kotetsu down at the end clip of Rising when he asks). In both S1 and Rising, we see Kotetsu kind of making decisions for Barnaby when it comes to their partnership. By being overly considerate and over-thinking, he forces Barnaby into positions he might not have been in had Kotetsu allowed Barnaby to have some input.
Being in the driver's seat is having control, which is ironic when you consider that Barnaby is probably the character with the least amount of control shown in the series. Trying to grasp onto what little he has.
But in the S2 trailer, we see Kotetsu in the driver's seat in what looks to be a car chase, one of the most dangerous situations you could be in. In a way, this feels like a concrete symbol of where the two are now. Barnaby feeling secure enough to finally let Kotetsu take the wheel feels like a solid representation of how far the two have come.
This is a little less eloquent and maybe not an exact reversal, but in S2 cour 1 when we see Barnaby driving Kotetsu's van with Kaede and Sarocha as passengers, there's another level of trust from Kotetsu's side, letting Barnaby into his private life in a way he never let anyone else, to the point that Kotetsu's comfortable letting this happen even when he's not around, which I think is important when Kotetsu struggles so much with letting others in.
Anyways I'm so clearly normal about the fact that Barnaby was driving Kotetsu's car and that Kotetsu's driving in the car chase with Barnaby in the passenger's seat.
