Hello, Heroes! Welcome to a review that was a long time coming. Way back in the halcyon days of February 2014, I was beginning what would eventually become known as my Anime Renaissance and the first step back into that deep, spiralling pit was a little show called Tiger & Bunny.

Set in a world where corporate sponsored superheroes compete in a heroic reality TV show. The series see a low-ranking veteran hero, Kotetsu T. Kaburagi aka Wild Tiger, teamed with the rookie Barnaby Brooks Jr. Together, they embark on a buddy-cop adventure of justice, revenge and what it truly means to be partners in crime-fighting.

It’s a fantastic show and I highly recommend it but one of the cool things about the show is the sponsors; most (if not all) are real brands and corporations. Naturally, Bandai produced figures of all the character in the show under their S.H. Figuarts line and we’ll be looking at the titular heroes today!

Barnaby Brooks Jr, or ‘Bunny’ as Kotetsu affectionately teases him, is the young upstart who doesn’t have a codename and has a Bruce Wayne complex like you wouldn’t believe! His toy offering is… Not good. It’s barely Marvel Legends tier and that’s a pretty low bar for a Figuarts to stoop to. The entire package includes Barnaby, a custom Tamashii stage (every T&B character gets one, which is neat) an extra forearm guard, his Good Luck Mode leg and a whopping TWO pairs of interchangeable hands.

Barnaby himself looks rather dashing in his armour, his reds, whites and translucent pink all pop vibrantly. He looks like he stepped right out of the anime on those heavy die-cast legs of his. Naturally, the extra weight has made his hips rather droopy which is a pain but this is one of the older style Figuarts so you take the rough with the smooth. If there’s one downside, it’s the collar of the armour severely restring the ball-jointed head’s movement.

Out of the box, Bunny is sporting two Crusade branded gauntlets but you can swap one of those out for an Amazon.co.jp branded one. Across his chest is a giant Bandai logo and there’s even a cute little Bunny logo that matches Tiger’s.

The Good Luck Mode special attack is one of the first times Kotetsu and Barnaby truly sync up as a duo and it’s amazing. Granted, the armour add-ons are purely cosmetic, they still look bad-ass. The plastic counterpart is a solid representation, swapping out the whole leg assembly in a rather frightening way, and even has a little bit of articulation.

Overall, Barnaby is a poor outing for the S.H. Figuarts line. That’s not to say there aren’t good points but really, he feels more like an accessory than a figure in his own right.

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi. Veteran hero. Widowed father. Goofball DILF (by Blue Rose’s reckoning) and one of my all-time favourite superheroes. Wild Tiger is a true believer and a trouble magnet, as well as a well-dressed underdog. This particular release (one of four for this particular mold) is for later in the show when Kotetsu’s powers begin to deplete to the point he can only activate them for one minute at a time. Despite the severe downgrade, he still fights one as Wild Tiger 1 Minute! His accessory count is what drew me to him, including a custome Tamashii stage, twin Wild Shoot grappling hooks and SEVEN pairs of hands, all of which are signature poses from the show and omitted from every other release.

I love the Wild Tiger armour, it couldn’t be cooler if the green parts were orange. As opposed to the lithe form of Bunny, Tiger looks like a brawler and is more built for strength than speed. His logos are for S.H. Figuarts and SoftBank and the nape of his neck boasts the exclusive title he sports toward the end of the story. Much like Bunny, Tiger is super heavy thanks to the die-cast legs.

Kotetsu’s Wild Shoot allow him to swing around Sternbild City like Spidey and to grapple enemies, rendered here in clear orange wire which refuse to straighten.

His hands are amazing and I love them all. They give the figure so much character and expressive ability, whether giving people a cheeky double thumbs-up or a Wild Roar or making fun of Barnaby and his ears.

Overall, Wild Tiger 1 Minute is a fantastic release and I’m super thankful to Josh from CollectionDX for buying this me for Christmas and all but forcing me to buy Bunny to go along with him. More than any other dynamic duo, you need both Wild Tiger and Barnaby Brooks Jr together if you’re a fan of the show and I recommend getting them, even if one half is letting the team down.

Yuri Petrov, child of a legendary hero and masked vigilante known as Lunatic is perfectly recreated in S.H. Figuarts in a very impressive release. The box itself is thick, indicating just how much stuff is packed into this release.

The packaging itself is wonderfully executed, matching the tone of the character while still following the same general aesthetic as other figures in this line. The back has lots of great images showing the figure off and even his animated civilian identity.

Straight out of the gate, Lunatic includes a Tamashii stage emblazoned with his name and alter ego. This is brilliant and it’s always nice to have a stage included with a Figuart and all the Tiger & Bunny figures include a personalised stage much like this one.

Lunatic himself comes straight out of the packaging looking spot on to his onscreen counterpart. His spindly physique is a far cry from the Sentai Figuarts I’ve reviewed before, being more slender and but the anime proportions work incredibly well to give this release exceptional poseability. One thing I marveled at was all the little details and accoutrements on the costume that I never really noticed on the show and Lunatic’s bizzare mask is beautifully bug-eyed! There’s also an alternate head for when he gets all righteous!

As with all S.H. Figuarts, the proof is in the accesories and, boy, does Lunatic come loaded! Along with fists, Lunatic comes with posing hands, trigger fingers, and two pairs of hands covered in translucent blue/green flames. One pair more suited towards combat poses and the other for intense intimidation. The flame effects are removable, maybe a little TOO removable since they like to crumble if mishandled, but it’s nice to have more alternative hands. He also comes with two versions his signature crossbow, one closed and the other for when he forms his flame into bolts. Both look freaking badass!

There’s actually a second tray of parts in this release, hence the thickness of the package (Ladies…) that includes his poncho/cloak. This iconic part of the Lunatic costume is rendered in hard plastic and attaches by clamshelling two halves over Lunatic’s shoulders. The back piece is universal but there are two front pieces, one for regular standing poses and the other for use with his crossbow or flame effect hands. The details are crisp and apart from one minor flaw where the gorgeous pearlescent white paint didn’t take on the back, it is a welcome inclusion.

Come, young hero…

…Let me see your idea of JUSTICE!

I was kindly loaned this figure to review by a friend whom I introduced to both Tiger & Bunny and to S.H. Figuarts. This was his first Figuart and was giddy when he came to show it off, so much so that he wanted me to review it so special thanks to Mitch for this opportunity!

Slow… Predictable…

You should be ashamed… But I will show you mercy…

Lunatic, as both an introduction to S.H. Figuarts and from my perspective as a fan of the line, is a fantastic figure to own. His articulation, the effect parts and accesories and the overall presentation makes this a superb example of the level of detail and love that S.H. Figuarts puts into their releases. If you’re a fan of the anime, or even just interested in awesome action figures, Lunatic is highly recommended!

HEAR THE VOICE OF THANATOS!