Tiger & Bunny Comic Anthology Review

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Tiger & Bunny have returned but this is definitely their weakest outing. It’s not too surprising though because when you think about it, Anthologies always put you in a tough spot. You either have a story that’s really good so you’re annoyed when it doesn’t get to continue or you get a bad story that you want to finish already. It means that win or lose you are always thinking about the next story and that’s not the right way to go. On the whole the Tiger & Bunny cast is hardly one of the strongest either so a series of comedic tales for them would have a tough time landing anyway.

The 4 volume series is basically just a bunch of little stories about the heroes during downtime. It’s like the events in between the usual action scenes that you would have during the main stories. So we see how they all interact and each of their personalities are dialed up to 11 for the comedic antics. In general the idea of seeing the everyday life of the characters is fun and I’d like to see a spinoff like that for a bunch of big Shonen Jump titles but the main Tiger & Bunny show already does that.

Between the big arcs you always have the smaller adventures where they just have fun the whole time. So this isn’t really novel in that sense. Then as far as the comedy goes, the writing isn’t amazing or anything like that. You’ll have some funny stories but most of them aren’t all that funny and it boils down to the characters not being funny enough on their own. The jokes with Origami, Fire Emblem, and Bison don’t really work right out of the gate and those are 3 fairly big characters.

Blue Rose’s stories mainly revolve around Tiger and there are only so many ways you can do that one. So they are good but after a while you will notice some repetition there. I like it when Tiger is oblivious as that really fits his character and doesn’t even come across as forced the way that some of the others are. Dragon Kid and the King of Heroes probably could have had some fun stories but surprisingly they are given the shaft most of the time. I like to see them though and focusing on these two would have been a good idea for the series.

The artwork also changes a whole lot depending on the story. As a whole I would put the art below average though. It doesn’t feel like this would be the best work for any of the artists as they’re going in to do a story but you don’t see a whole lot of detail outside of that. I suppose the chibi stories are distinctive but as a whole you won’t be impressed here either. At least you can always follow along with what’s happening but as a non action title it’s not like that’s super hard anyway.

It may seem like there’s not a whole lot positive to say about this one but that’s because aside from being a filler where you get to see some wacky adventures, there isn’t much of a purpose to the collection. In fact it would be hard for me to even go into long detail about the collection compared to most other titles because there isn’t a main story or anything. It’s a bunch of short stories but ones that are so short there isn’t much to dissect in them. So this is very much a collection that you read but by the end you’re just not impressed. I think they would have been better off doing one shot volumes for various characters as spinoffs to expand the universe. That could have been more fun.

Or if you want to do a fun slice of life adventure then go all the way. I’m talking about a serious heart to heart adventure series where you have the characters just talking about things and maybe having a small adventure along the way. Season 2 did that after all and while it wasn’t my favorite adventures, at least they gave it a real effort. So forget the small anthology format and just go about it with this. Tiger & Bunny have fun banter in the show and you could certainly replicate that here. Not as a gag or anything like that but as a serious emotional story. It could work really well I’d think and is at least worth a shot over this.

If you’re going to do a comedic gag type anthology like this then the writing has to be exceptional. Unfortunately that just doesn’t happen here and it’s a lot easier said than done. It’s incredibly hard to be consistently funny, especially when you are trying to be. It’s why a lot of the funnier scenes in media tend to come from titles that aren’t even comedies because you can take your time and think of a great joke instead of stuffing 50 in and calling it a day as you hope that a few of them will land. I wouldn’t say any of the jokes in the manga really land all that well, at least not to the point of laughing while the TV show will actually have some good gags thrown in there.

Overall, I’d say you’re better off watching the show, movie, or reading the main manga over this one. The appeal would really be to Tiger & Bunny fans but with everyone basically out of character half the time or just exaggerated it misses out on actually giving you the fun day to day experience you were hoping for. It misses the boat and so you could read this one but there isn’t much reason too. I would just say to give it a skip altogether and there is no shortage of T&B titles to check out anyway so you’re good to go there.

Overall 4/10

Jonathan Kent vs Mockingbird

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This is a tribute to Battle of the Super Sons. Jonathan Kent has powers which should keep on getting more and more powerful as he develops. Mockingbird has already reached the peak of her power which is a bad sign since that means the gap will only continue to grow from this point on. She just isn’t going to be able to keep up with his speed or power so ultimately that puts her in a rough state right from the jump. This fight isn’t a winnable one. Jonathan Kent wins.

Geeta vs Leon (Pokemon)

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Geeta is the top champion in the Paldea region and so it stands to reason that she is one of the most powerful trainers on the planet. Well, be that as it may she is not going to be doing a whole lot against Leon. She wasn’t very impressive in the new Scarlet game while Leon is coming off one of the best showcases a character can have in a tournament. His Charizard should be able to clean up shop here and this fight won’t be very difficult for him. Leon (Pokemon) wins.

Call of the Night

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Vampires? Yeah it’s always hard to make a really good adventure revolving around that element and this title is no exception. We’ve got the usual blood sucking here but additionally there aren’t a lot of hype characters to try and counter this. The main guy/heroine definitely aren’t particularly likable yet. If you have an excellent plot like Records of a Fallen Vampire then perhaps you can make it but otherwise you’re in for a tough time. If we start getting a bunch of action scenes then this title may end up improving but for now it feels like it won’t be able to get beyond the premise. I’ll have a review for the series up once I’ve completed it.

Overall 2/10

Support Your Local Gunfighter Review

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It’s time to continue the support series but this one is a decisive step down from the first one. It’s still a good movie and perhaps if the first one did not exist then it would have been great but the whole time you just feel like this one loses on every front. The main character is a massive step down but even the jokes aren’t quite as funny. The movie is just a bit more on the desperate side and could have used some more time on the writing table to really nail down. Still, if you want a film with some funny moments then you should still have a good time here.

The movie starts off with Latigo deciding that he wants to escape a train before he can become married to Goldie. The guy really doesn’t want to get married so you have to figure that Goldie is either mean or just too much for him. It’s just not easy to sympathize with the guy because it seems like he was super drunk and did make it seem like he was interested in her. In fact it seems like he is a huge flirt the whole time and it even known for this so it’s a horrible look for the guy. Well either way he escapes and heads to a nearby town where he pulls the moves on the owner Miss Jenny who likes him too now. There’s also a girl there named Patience who likes him so Latigo is having his fun.

It’s not all fun and games though as there is a big war going on between Taylor and Ames as there always seems to be in wild west country. Latigo figures he’ll make a lot of money and mess with them. One thing leads to another and he gets a guy named Jug to pretend to be the world’s greatest marksman, Swifty. Now nobody will want to mess with them but if the real Swifty shows up then it’ll all be over. There is no coming back from that, it would be game over. Still Latigo can take the money and split right? Well, he is also a gambling addict and can’t help but put all of his money in the tables. Ah great….

You can see why I can’t sympathize with the guy. Far as I’m concerned he’s basically an antagonist here. He digs himself into these holes and would not be in so much trouble if he would stop flirting and getting drunk. The fact that he makes no move to get away from these bad habits just shows that he isn’t trying to improve. He actually does seem to be good with a gun but they don’t go into that in the film much. He constantly tells Jug that he’s no good and is very slow but the film seemed to be hinting that he was only doing that to try and protect Jug. So you’re waiting for him to end up getting some kind of big fight in the climax and yet…it doesn’t happen. So what was that build up for?

Not saying it would have absolutely saved his character or anything like that but it would have been something right? Give me a reason to root for the guy a bit. Even with the gambling it’s annoying because he’s constantly talking about what a scam it is and then he falls for it anyway. The man has no willpower and then succumbs immediately. That’s not a good combination no matter how you slice it. The gambling scenes are pretty intense at least so that’s a start.

Goldie and Miss Jenny don’t make for great characters either. Jenny fell for his emotional story way too quickly and for Goldie I don’t see why she would still want to be with him when Latigo is always running away from her. Even if she were to claim him, wouldn’t that not be very satisfying knowing that he always wants to leave? Seems like it would be a waste to me at least and that’s part of why the romance here is very weak.

Latigo’s partner Jug can be decent at times at least. I wouldn’t say that he’s very likable either and he’s the classic character who is strong but not very smart. At least what I do give him credit for here is that he doesn’t back down from a fight and is ready to go in. He may not be smart but at least he doesn’t run away so easily. The two big villains Taylor and Ames are really forgettable though. Even though their war is a main plot element the whole film, you will find yourself struggling to care the whole time. It’s just not a very interesting story.

I did like the true villain Swifty though. When he shows up the characters have to take note because he has the skills to take the whole town down should he feel the urge. I would have definitely handled the climax a whole lot differently though. It makes for a decent comedic burst I guess but in this case playing the climax straight actually would have been a whole lot more effective. The ending would have been more satisfying and so the film would have benefitted as a whole.

Overall, This film is just not super funny for being a comedy and that is what hurts it here. At the end of the day you need to be funny and be funny consistently. That is the trick for making a really good comedy film. It’s just funny enough where you will have a good time either way but the lackluster characters and underwhelming climax will take away a lot of the replay value that it could have had. I’d recommend giving it a watch if you like westerns and/or comedies but you probably won’t be going for the rewatch. Just the initial viewing will be enough for you to get the full experience and then keep it moving. Still a shame that they didn’t make more movies like this though. I think there would have been a lot of potential to make several parody type films like this. When executed well you can picture just about any kind of profession working in this style.

Overall 6/10

Support Your Local Sheriff Review

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This is definitely one of the better westerns out there and starts off as a really strong title right off the bat. It has a good amount of humor and action throughout so you won’t be forgetting this one by the time you’re done. It ends up sticking the landing and so even if it isn’t perfect, the movie absolutely accomplishes what it set out to do.

The movie starts off with a very serious funeral being interrupted as some gold is spotted so everyone gets to digging. The town is fairly well off now and so they had to quickly get the government set up but nobody wants to be Sheriff. The Sheriff is always run out of town by the Danby gang who basically run the village from the shadows. Well one day a guy named Jason appears and he is a very confident gunslinger. The mayor and his crew are glad to have Jason on board but they didn’t really think he would be as good as his confident demeanor would have you believe. When Jason begins to rock the boat and upset the Danby family they have to decide if they have his back or not.

The town is not loyal in the slightest and it all trickles down from the mayor. He may say all the right things from time to time but it’s clear that he doesn’t truly believe in Jason. If he did then he wouldn’t be so nervous about the Danbys winning. He’s constantly trying to talk Jason out of helping or to get him to leave but it’s just too late for that now. He should have thought of that before hiring the Sheriff. Additionally he could be more direct about it instead of just waiting the whole time or talking passively as he beat around the bush the whole time.

It does make for a lot of entertaining scenes of course but it doesn’t make you like the character much at all. The town really tried their best to keep getting victimized by the Danby family so you half wish Jason would just run off at some points. Even the main heroine Prudy tries to tell him that he should run away. At first you figure she’s just trying to play him by saying all of this so he would say but when the scene ends it seems like it actually wasn’t her plan and she genuinely thought it would be safer for him to leave.

Little twists like that are part of what makes this film really solid. It is able to be a smart parody of the usual wild west adventure without being too obvious about it. The best complement to the film is that it often is quite funny. I had a good time with it that’s for sure and it has a good amount of replay value so you could easily watch it over again. The writing is on point and so you have a good amount of banter between all of the characters.

If the film has one weakness it’s that the romance here is definitely on the weak side. It’s probably difficult right out of the gate to have a serious romance in a parody film so they should have probably tried to make it more of a comedic subplot. We do have the gag where something embarrassing always seems to be happening to Prudy when she meets Jason but usually you’re just waiting to get back to the action.

The Danby family makes for some decent villains. Of course they’re all greatly outmatched against Jason but they definitely don’t train as often as he does. This guy has been fighting with a gun since forever while they likely just use it for threats most of the time. Jason is always one step ahead and knows just how to intimidate them in order to come out on top. Sometimes it is directly and sometimes he has to trick them but he always comes out on top.

Jason is a huge reason as to why the film is so good. I love the boundless confidence that he has and so it always lets him have the last laugh here. Without him as the lead the movie wouldn’t be as good and the sort of sequel to this film really underscores that but I’ll get to that film soon. Jason dominates the movie right out of the jump and he gets a lot of the funniest jokes. You definitely need him in order to make this film a success.

I thought Jake was decent at times too though. At least he was the one person in town who was actually willing to defend Jason and help him out when the going got tough. You certainly couldn’t expect that out of most of the other townsfolk who were just waiting to get wrecked. Prudy gets some credit here as well since she is introduced as a fighter early on and then helps a lot in the climax. In fact she helps so much that Jason even wants her to calm down since he was hoping not to murder anyone. I thought Prudy had the right idea here though since you need to take them down for the count.

Overall, With good pacing and a lot of fun humor there isn’t really anything to dislike about the film. It certainly underscores how difficult it is to be a sheriff because everyone is against you the whole time. You have to build some strong connections and quickly or you will end up being completely run over by everyone else. There’s never a point where the movie drags on and so I would go as far as to say this was a great movie. I could easily re watch it now which speaks to how good it is. If you like Westerns or just want to watch a fun comedy then this is the title for you. There are still serious moments and fights but the film masterfully mixes and matches the different tones throughout.

Overall 8/10

Tsurugi vs Lunala

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Suggested by Sonic This is a pretty tricky one. Tsurugi has several different trance forms that he can take but I never found any of them to be all that impressive. Meanwhile Lunala is a heavy hitter and a single good energy blast can really start to turn the tides of battle here. It will take all that Tsurugi has in order to counter those attacks and he won’t be left any room to counter. Ultimately I see him being overwhelmed and running out of energy first. Lunala wins.

Zazan vs Nohime

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Suggested by Sonic Nohime has her gun and that can really come in handy during a fight but she is still not going to be able to take Zazan down. Zazan has the monster mode at the ready and is also a lot faster than Nohime. It’s just hard to be afraid of bullets when you can endure attacks that are many leagues more powerful. So ultimately Nohime doesn’t stand a chance here. Zazan wins.

Jane Foster vs Firestar (Marvel)

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Suggested by Sonic Jane Foster is extremely powerful and with the powers of Thor she can absolutely dominate the field. Firestar’s flames will not be nearly hot enough to reach her. Jane has the speed advantage as well as the power advantage. Firestar’s no slouch when moving through the air either but I would say that they are on different levels here. Jane is all around more powerful in each attribute. Jane Foster wins.

Princess Dusk vs Zeru

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Suggested by Sonic Zeru has fire abilities that can burn most opponents in an instant. He’s a fairly good matchup against Dusk because he can burn the illusions away really quickly. Princess Dusk doesn’t have too many options that she can use after that so she would be put in quite the tricky position. Ultimately I don’t see her making a comeback here and so Zeru is taking this all the way. It’s always tough for illusions to beat a natural elemental fighter. Zeru wins.