Tiger and Bunny

Yeah, everyone was waiting for the classic 'Boku wa Bunny ja nai!' XD It was a relief to see that things worked out so fast, since I was kinda worried that their fighting might carry on all the way until the end. I for one refuse to believe Barnaby really hates that nickname. It was a love trigger damn itXD

The whole robot thing is interesting, and I'm kinda like whoa about the heroes being locked up with the neck collars. I didn't really see the horror movie survival sort of angle coming, but that's ok. Just as long as Sunrise pulls in her claws with all of it.

I read over in the main thread that Barnaby has still never had Kotetsu's rice...

I like this series although I'd love it more if it was more tragic, sad, angsty. XD

All kidding aside, I don't think Barnaby hates the nickname either! I SERIOUSLY doubt this show is trying to suggest that "HATRED" is the one thing that can trigger memory. I think it's love. Of course the creators are always shocked and dismayed when they learn that fujoshi watch this show *snort* so they clearly mean that love to be platonic. Poo on them, I say! It's very odd for two straight men to have that kind of an intense relationship with one another, with the possible exception (as someone mention) that Kotetsu sees Barnaby as his son. But that is bizarre because Barnaby is a mere 10 or so years younger than Kotetsu. Of course, he does baby Kaede, as someone pointed out, but he babies Kaede because his memories of Kaede are a bit warped since he hasn't spent significant time with her and hasn't seen her grow up. He met Bunny as an adult and started calling him Bunny on purpose. It's an affectionate nickname.

I don't want to nay say the creators; I mean, they know their own narrative and their own characters! But Kotetsu and Bunny's relationship makes no sense LOL I cannot imagine feeling that intensely about another woman unless it were a really close family member, and then only my mom or sister. However, I can easily see myself falling for a guy in the span of a year and feeling that same way. Very bizarre.

Kotetsu's rice...? What's that mean?

OMG why so predictably terrible! T______T And what made it worse was that Barnaby confessed that HE was learning to make fried rice!!!!! That nearly tore me apart 0_0;;; I just hope things end up ok, or at least we get some decent closure.

Yeah, with a relationship like that there's no keeping the fujoshi away. Even though there was the 'friendzoned' line, but I honestly didn't even notice it. Because Kotetsu went from 'Hey, you're kinda close' to 'You got some long eyelashes.' XD

I mean come on! That hardly ended friendzoned!

Well, with the "friendzoned" line, I took it to mean, "Hey, Bunny, be careful, you're starting to act like you're really in love with me, haha." So it's like, a playful, slightly embarrassed warning perhaps? Like, "You do realize how close you are to me, and what this looks like, right?" *wink* It seems from what everyone has said and saying that the creators are trying their hardest to show that Kotetsu and Bunny are "more than friends" but "less than lovers," as they said in the main thread. The problem? This is not a realistic portrayal of a relationship lol

Perhaps this is something that only exists in Eastern or even Japanese culture. But to my knowledge, here in the west, there is friendship and there is romance. I can be friends with a boy or I can be attracted to him and want to be with him. There's no middle ground. Maybe this is a middle ground that has been "invented" to specifically cater to same-sex romances that are posing as friendships. But I suppose at this point it's only speculation on the part of the writers; we still don't even know what the end result will be.

Right, Kotetsu commenting on Bunny's eyelashes ... how can we interpret that? Complimenting someone on his or her physical appearance is usually a romantic line ... usually. For example, I could tell my brother-in-law that the shirt he's wearing looks good on him. But I would not in a million years tell him that he has very long eyelashes, or that his eyes are pretty, or that his hair is soft LOL You don't make those kinds of compliments to someone that is not a romantic interest. Maybe, again, this is an attempt to disguise the same sex attraction Kotetsu has for Bunny.

The other possibility is that our Western point of view is so homophobic that it seeks to make clear and definitive lines between what is FRIENDSHIP and what is ROMANCE so that the two are never confused. Whereas in Japanese culture, it's okay to blur those lines.

Pfffffff soft hairXD That cracked me up. You make some really good points Artemis!

The portrayal of their relationship seems to have really stirred up a lot of controversy. I wonder if in fact there is some sort of "invented" relationship style that's going on right now. The Japanese need to give it a name so we can use it. Some sort of acronym like yaoi or a term like fujoshi with similarly demeaning intentions behind itXD "Fallen friends" or "Incapable lovers" or whatever. I for one aren't homophobic (haha really?!), or overly anxious to slap labels on things (even though I am a fangirl, I usually require some sort of solid proof for a true pairing), but I can't help but feel there is some sort of romantic interest between them. The rice and the eyelashes etc. etc. I seriously doubt ANYone could watch all that and still view their relationship as 'normal'.

Maybe this type of relationship is being invented to keep fans on all sides happy? They're just friends for the het fans, but more than friends with the quote hidden potential to someday be lovers for the slash fans. Who knows. It really starts to get confusing. Blurring the lines is fine and good, but if my fangirl senses start tingling then there's not much else I can do but go on the proof I have. Half the fun of watching shows like this is hunting out the possibilites between the characters. By the time the series is over you have all sorts of evidenceXD

But seriously though. I just can't see the Sunrise writers and staff throwing around some of those lines and not even flinching about it. Yeah, this is just stuff really really good friends say to eachother! There was that other thing I read in the main thread too, like that porn line they slipped in to Bunny's script. I can't remember what it was...

But I know that if a really good friend of mine started acted like that towards me, I would have to assume after awhile that they liked me. The problem in this scenario is that BOTH of them are acting this way towards eachother. If it isn't friendlust then I don't know what else to call it. Is it possible to have a friend complex?XD

All I can say is, I've never felt the urge to stare meaningfully into my female friend's eyes and compliment her on how long her eyelashes are LOL

Well, even outside our perspective as fangirls, what is this sort of pseudo-relationship trying to imply? Does it indicate a fear on the part of the writers to have Kotetsu and Bunny come out as gay or bisexual? Or is it a widespread cultural thing? Do gay men in Japan frequently engage in these kinds of "friendships" that are really homoerotic relationships in disguise? Kotetsu and Bunny both are striking me as closeted gay men who can't always disguise their attraction toward one another, but at the same time, they're embarrassed and/or ashamed of that attraction. It's pretty fascinating, and in some ways troubling.

Even further, Kotetsu strikes me as a gay man who married a woman he felt devotion toward but to whom he might not have felt necessarily sexually attracted. All of the interplay between Kotetsu and Bunny, all of the banter and the teasing, we're not crazy for thinking it seems like flirting at times. But we saw none of this between Kotetsu and Tomoe. We only saw Tomoe in a bed, giving Kotetsu permission to leave her side.

At this point, Tiger and Bunny seem to me to be even more gay than canonical gay characters in literature, like, for instance, Achilles and Patrocles. Kotetsu and Bunny are gayer than actual gay men​.

Entering the conversation .

Well, I don't see that Kotetsu didn't love Tomoe. I mean, we just saw him at the very end with her and how her death and his not being there for her at the end has stayed with him as a guilt that perhaps has made him overcompensate in other ways. The guilt carries through in that he finds it hard to face Kaede, and perhaps strains his relationship too with his brother, because his brother is the "responsible" one that stays around for the family, doing his part. And yet, the guilt makes it so that those he is around and can help, he tries to be a rock for, he's there to offer support and encouragement. It's interesting to note that he doesn't really have a guilt relationship with his Mother because she is his Mom and Mom's find it hard to hold a grudge against their babies .

I just think we haven't seen enough of his past with Tomoe. I get that he loved her deeply, but he felt he had this duty to be the Hero. And she loved him enough to say, "Go." Because she knew that it was everything he wanted to be. It's like me grumbling about my husband with his acting and directing work, but then I turn around and encourage him to pursue what he wants to do with his life because I love him and I know it is what makes him complete. Regardless of what it may look like to others, Tomoe was strong enough in her faith in Kotetsu and their love together to let him go even at a time like her last moments.

Now as for Bunny and Kotetsu lol, well, I think that they are in love. There's really no other way to interpret it. I think the writers are going for slash. How can they not be. But they didn't want this anime labeled as such. Because come on! lol. They know they hook fans like us with this. Looking at it in a canon way, well, I find it hard to find it believable in even a fatherly fashion. Kotetsu is there in a supportive fashion with the other heroes, but even with Karina, he's not like this. And look at how his behavior inspired feelings in her! And it's nothing compared to how he treats Bunny. I mean, Barnaby crying because he wanted to cook him fried rice - that's love lol. And it's totally a cheap shot of the writers to throw in that eyelash line if they didn't want us thinking these things lol. It's so intentional. Now I remember watching a very good documentary on samurai awhile back and I want to research this a bit further, but there was a lot of homosexual bonds among samurai apparently. But it was dressed in the code of Bushido, as in you love your comrade basically and show him a love that you cannot share with a woman, for instance. I wonder if they are trying for something like this, if we want to look at the cultural differences as opposed to our western way of thinking.

As I understand it, it was a form of misogyny. The love between a samurai and his apprentice was more "noble" than that between a man and his wife. (Women were literally a lower class, but hey, hasn't that always been the case...) But sleeping with women was still acceptable.

I think the significant difference here is the religion. Western religion categorizes homosexuality as a sin, which I think is a foreign concept in Japan. (I'm guessing.) So in the west we've set very defined roles for GAY and STRAIGHT. Because if you're straight, there is no way in hell (literally) you want someone assuming you're gay! But in the east, those roles are not so well defined. (Perhaps.) So you can have this sort of "more than friends" but "less than lovers" relationship that we in the west would simply categorize as gay.

All speculation of course since I know so little about Japanese contemporary culture :P

In light of the recent marketing snafu that's occurred ("Say Yes to Gay YA"), I'm more inclined to believe it has to do with ratings and marketing. They're afraid, or someone up top is afraid, that having Kotetsu and Bunny come out would be bad for business I think leaving it at the "more than friends" but "less than lovers" level keeps everyone happy.

Ok! Watched the last episode....so many feelings ;_;

I think I kinda summed it up in the main thread but yeah. I liked the princess carry! What I didn't like though is how Bunny still kinda seemed like he needed affirmation at the end from Tiger, and we didn't get to see all that much. Since when did they decide Kotetsu needed to be so subtle with his feelings for Barnaby?? Episodes 1-23 he was falling all over himself about it. I guess that maybe if Tiger had acted the same way he always had the entire show, things at the finale probably would have gotten out of hand or uncomfortable for normal viewers.

So yeah, I'm pleased they're continuing on and no one is dead. I just didn't like the sudden pulling in of the reigns on Tiger's omgiamobsessedwithyoubarnaby personality.

Still a gay ass show though. I don't care what anybody says.