Tiger & Bunny - "A Good Beginning Makes a Good Ending"

Spoiler Level: Medium

The second episode of this series sees Kotetsu and Barnaby have their first official team-up.  Kotetsu is altruistic and inspired; Barnaby is only in it to get the most points and win the game.

It's still a good episode, but it doesn't have the edge that the first episode had, most likely because we see very little from the perspective of "Hero TV Live," the reality show the heroes are all competing in. This episode's focus is more of a straight-forward hero story, with us getting to learn about Kotetsu's past and seeing what made him become a hero, and how he clashes with Barnaby.  Kotetsu is endearing as the lovable loser, the guy who wants to do right by his daughter and help people but always seems to get it wrong.  And Doc Saito, inventor of Wild Tiger's new suit, is a very humorous character.

But I have to confess, if this had been the first episode, I wouldn't have been as taken by it. It's much more of a straight-forward anime episode. It makes sense that the whole reality-show concept would be taking a back seat to getting to know all the characters, but hopefully future episodes will be able to do that while exploring this world of reality shows gone overboard at the same time.

As of this writing, this episode is available to watch for free at http://www.vizanime.com/ep/3176-a-good-beginning-makes-a-good-ending. And remember, we're getting these episodes the same time as they're airing in Japan, so let's show them some support!