Tiger & Bunny - Episode 22

Whenever Kotetsu claims that he "has a plan", it's usually best not to expect too much of it - but has he really got what it takes to prove his innocence to his fellow heroes to turn around his current predicament?

Despite turning up in his old hero suit in a bid to jog the memories of his comrades, it seems that Kotetsu's plan is simply to make them remember their old friend before its too late by proving his knowledge of their personal secrets and quirks right in front of them - it isn't the most all-encompassing of plans, and all in all it really doesn't work too well as glimmers of recognition from the other heroes are soon replaced with yet more doubt and determination to catch this most shameful of criminals.

At this point, enter Kaede, who thanks to the most ridiculous of coincidences is now the only person with the power to unlock the buried memories of all those who came into contact with Maverick - something that she duly (if unwittingly) does to save the day.  Thus, the heroes suddenly find themselves confused as to why they were hunting down Wild Tiger before Kotetsu fills them all in on the details.... all of them except Barnaby however, who happened to be elsewhere at the time.  This means that Kotetsu's trials and tribulations are still far from over, as Barnaby refuses to listen to anybody has he seeks to wreak revenge upon who he believes to be Samantha's murderer while Kotetsu again has to try and prove his true identity to this former friend.  As for the other heroes, it seems that they have a new problem of their own to deal with...

By rights, this episode really shouldn't be any good - some of its major points of plot development are contrived almost to the point of being ridiculous.  Note the use of the word "almost" however - for all of its slightly ham-fisted way of forcing the story forward, this turned out to be another expertly concocted blend of action and humour that was hugely entertaining to watch, largely on account of Kotetsu himself, although the entire cast did their part to add to proceedings.  From beginning to end, you could argue that Tiger & Bunny is a show which utilises elements which shouldn't work together without descending into an embarrassing lump of cheese - it's borderline alchemy that the show continues to work so well, remaining as it does a firm favourite amongst the offerings currently being broadcast.