TIGER & BUNNY is a Japanese anime series created in 2011 by director Keiichi Sato and produced by Sunrise Studio. The first season had a total of 25 episodes, which aired in 2011. Two additional movies, a spin-off series (although only loosely related), and several OVA (special) episodes have been released in the meantime. A second season is set to premiere in April 2022. In preparation for that fact, we are going to bring you a complete watch order for the TIGER & BUNNY series.
How many seasons does TIGER & BUNNY have?
The TIGER & BUNNY anime series has, as of April 2022, two seasons. The first season, consisting of 25 episodes, aired in Japan from April 3, 2011 to September 18, 2011. A second season premiered on April 8, 2022 on Netflix, with a first 13-episode batch. It was just the first half of the second season of the show, with the second, 12-episode batch to be released at a later date.
How many TIGER & BUNNY movies are there?
As for the movies, as of April 2022, there are two TIGER & BUNNY movies. The first one, Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning, was released on September 22, 2012, and contained the recap of the first two episodes of the anime, as well as an additional story set immediately after episode two of the anime. The second movie, Tiger & Bunny: The Rising, was released on February 8, 2014, and was an original story.
TIGER & BUNNY watch order
TIGER & BUNNY Season 1 – Episodes 1 & 2
The first two episodes can be watched separately, or as part of the first movie (see below). The movie recaps these two episodes and provides us with an additional short story set after episode two, before episode three.
| No. | Title | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “All’s Well That Ends Well.” Transcription: “Owari Yokereba Subete Yoshi” (Japanese: 終わりよければすべてよし) | April 3, 2011 |
| 2 | “A Good Beginning Makes A Good Ending.” Transcription: “Hajime ga Kanjin” (Japanese: はじめが肝心) | April 10, 2011 |
Tiger & Bunny: The Beginning
The first half of the film retells the events of the first two episodes of the series TV. After the events of the second episode, Kotetsu “Wild Tiger” Kaburagi tries to arrange a meeting for Barnaby “Bunny” Brooks Jr. to get along with the other heroes, which ultimately fails because they consider each other rivals.
Quickly, the heroes are called in to hunt down a thief named Robin Baxter who has stolen a statue depicting the importance of heroes. The heroes track him to an amusement park, but he is nearly impossible to catch because he has the NEXT ability to instantly change places with anyone he sees, leading to some fights between the heroes.
When Robin makes his way to the observation deck, where he can use anyone in the city he can see to escape, Barnaby gets the idea to use his suit as a decoy to catch Robin by preventing him from seeing anyone he can switch places with. The next day, Barnaby learns that it was Kotetsu who convinced the other heroes to let Barnaby go alone because he trusted him.
TIGER & BUNNY Season 1 – Episodes 3-25
The anime takes place in the fictional Sternbild, a city where there are individuals called “NEXT” (an acronym for Noted Entities with eXtraordinary Talents), people who have special abilities. Some of them use their powers to protect the population, but, because of the volume of superpowered beings in this world, being a hero has become a job supported by several companies that seek to promote their brands.
They now fight crime and save lives so they can use the sponsors’ logo, get more points, and have their heroic activities broadcast on the popular entertainment show, Hero TV, which chooses through a ranking who will be known as the “King of Heroes”.
In the story, we follow the protagonists Kaburagi T. Kotetsu and Barnaby Brooks Jr., two characters who live in the city of Sternbild and work as superheroes for completely different reasons. Kotetsu has always thought about helping other people, just like he did when he was rescued by Mr. Legend from a bank robbery. After his wife died of a terrible illness, Kaburagi almost gave up on continuing to work as a hero, however, Tomoe made him promise that even after his death, he would still work saving people, as that was the big reason for his life to become the Wild Tiger.
Barnaby seeks revenge for the death of his parents in a Christmas Eve fire caused by a mysterious criminal group called Ouroboros. However, Brooks Jr. couldn’t see the killer’s face though, he noticed the culprit had a strange tattoo of a snake eating its own tail. Since then, Barnaby has been training hard to increase his strength and get the revenge he craves, to fulfill that desire, he became a hero.
By an act of fate, these two were forced to work together, even though they have divergent goals, as Wild Tiger thinks about saving people, while Barnaby wants to be the number one hero to get the attention of the Brooks family’s group of assassins.
| No. | Title | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | “Many a True Word is Spoken in Jest.” Transcription: “Usokara deta Shinjitsu” (Japanese: 嘘から出た真実) | April 17, 2011 |
| 4 | “Fear is Often Greater Than the Danger.” Transcription: “Anzuru yori Umu ga Yasushi” (Japanese: 案ずるより産むが易し) | April 24, 2011 |
| 5 | “Go For Broke!” Transcription: “Atatte Kudakero!” (Japanese: 当たって砕けろ!) | May 1, 2011 |
| 6 | “Fire is a Good Servant, but a Bad Master.” Transcription: “Hi wa Jūjun na Shimobe daga, Ashiki Shujin demo aru” (Japanese: 火は従順なしもべだが、悪しき主人でもある) | May 8, 2011 |
| 7 | “The Wolf Knows What the Ill Beast Thinks.” Transcription: “Hebi no Michi wa Hebi” (Japanese: 蛇の道は蛇) | May 15, 2011 |
| 8 | “There is Always a Next Time.” Transcription: “Kanarazu Kikai ga Kuru” (Japanese: 必ず機会が来る) | May 22, 2011 |
| 9 | “Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child.” Transcription: “Kawaii Ko ni wa Tabi o Saseyo” (Japanese: かわいい子には旅をさせよ) | May 29, 2011 |
| 10 | “The Calm Before the Storm.” Transcription: “Arashi no Mae no Shizukesa” (Japanese: 嵐の前の静けさ) | June 5, 2011 |
| 11 | “The Die is Cast.” Transcription: “Sai wa Nagerareta” (Japanese: 賽は投げられた) | June 12, 2011 |
| 12 | “Take Heed of the Snake in the Grass.” Transcription: “Kusa no Naka ni Iru Hebi ni Yōjinseyo” (Japanese: 草の中にいる蛇に用心せよ) | June 19, 2011 |
| 13 | “Confidence is a Plant of Slow Growth.” Transcription: “Shinrai to Yūki wa Ōkiku naru no ga Osoi Ki de aru” (Japanese: 信頼という木は大きくなるのが遅い木である) | June 26, 2011 |
| 14 | “Love Is Blind.” Transcription: “Koi wa Mōmoku” (Japanese: 恋は盲目) | July 3, 2011 |
| 15 | “The Sky’s the Limit…” Transcription: “Genkai wa Sora Takaku ni…” (Japanese: 限界は空高くに…) | July 10, 2011 |
| 16 | “Truth –Lies at the Bottom of a Well.” Transcription: “Shinjitsu wa Ido no Soko ni Aru” (Japanese: 真実は井戸の底にある) | July 17, 2011 |
| 17 | “Blood Is Thicker Than Water.” Transcription: “Chi wa Mizu yori mo Koi” (Japanese: 血は水よりも濃い) | July 24, 2011 |
| 18 | “Ignorance Is Bliss.” Transcription: “Shiranu ga Hotoke” (Japanese: 知らぬが仏) | July 31, 2011 |
| 19 | “There’s No Way Out.” Transcription: “Fukuro no Nezumi” (Japanese: 袋の鼠) | August 7, 2011 |
| 20 | “Full of Courtesy, Full of Craft.” Transcription: “Kuchi ni Mitsu ari, Hari ni Ken ari” (Japanese: 口に蜜あり、腹に剣あり) | August 14, 2011 |
| 21 | “Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves.” Transcription: “Ten wa Mizukara Tasukurusha o Tasuku” (Japanese: 天は自ら助くる者を助く) | August 21, 2011 |
| 22 | “Bad Luck Often Brings Good Luck.” Transcription: “Ningen Banji Saiōgauma” (Japanese: 人間万事塞翁が馬) | August 28, 2011 |
| 23 | “Misfortunes Never Come Singly.” Transcription: “Fukō wa Tandoku de wa Konai” (Japanese: 不幸は単独では来ない) | September 3, 2011 |
| 24 | “Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained.” Transcription: “Kotetsu ni Hairazunba Torako Oezu” (Japanese: 虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず) | September 10, 2011 |
| 25 | “Eternal Immortality.” Transcription: “Eikyū fumetsu” (Japanese: 永久不滅) | September 17, 2011 |
Tiger & Bunny: The Rising
Some time after the events of the series, Kotetsu and Barnaby have become part of the Second League to train new heroes. However, the Second League heroes are largely unsuccessful in their tasks, as Barnaby is the only one capable of bringing petty criminals to justice. While Kotetsu expresses his doubts about the heroics as his hundred-headedness wanes, the Second League is also in trouble as continued losses force Apollon Media to consider cuts.
The cuts are averted with two blessings: Mark Schneider, a famous CEO capable of turning even the worst company around, and foreign NEXT hero Golden Ryan. Schneider buys Apollon Media and promotes Barnaby back to the First Division with Ryan as a partner. Then he dissolves the Second League and fires all the Second League heroes – including Kotetsu.
Meanwhile, the Festival of Justice approaches, celebrating Constellation City’s Goddess of Justice. When Barnaby visits the orphanage to drop off toys and donations, one of the nuns tells the story using a picture book. The Goddess of Justice, displeased with people’s greed, has sent them curses to teach them a lesson. As the festival approaches, strange incidents occur that mimic the goddess’ curses from the legend, and three mysterious new NEXT appear.
“Tiger & Bunny: Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth”
“Tiger & Bunny: Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth” is an 18-minute special OVA episode that was released with the Blu-ray edition of the concert The Sound of Tiger & Bunny.
TIGER & BUNNY Season 2
The season is set to premiere on April 8, 2022.
| No. | Title | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 2 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 3 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 4 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 5 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 6 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 7 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 8 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 9 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 10 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 11 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 12 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 13 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | April 8, 2022 |
| 14 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 15 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 16 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 17 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 18 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 19 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 20 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 21 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 22 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 23 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 24 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
| 25 | “TBA” Transcription: “TBA” (Japanese: TBA) | TBA |
Do you need to watch TIGER & BUNNY in order?
Well, the overall structure of the TIGER & BUNNY is not overly complex. The narrative is, in most cases, linear and with just a few additions in between the episodes of the main anime series. This is why we would advise you to follow our watch order, but in case you want to follow the release order, you’re free to do that as well, as you won’t find yourself in any form of trouble.
