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Information

• Member: Brakus
• Title: The Hero You're Dreaming Of
• Premiered: 2013-08-11
• Categories:
  • Fun
  • Romance
  • Sentimental
• Song:
  • Peter Cetera Glory of Love
• Anime:
  • Tiger & Bunny (TV)
• Participation:
  • Animethon 20, Animethon 2013 AMV Contest (2013-08-09)
  • Animefest 2013, Animefest 2013 AMV contest (2013-08-31)
  • AnimeUSA 2013, AnimeUSA 2013 AMV Contest (2013-09-13)
• Comments: At Anime Weekend Atlanta 2012, Daniel (DW) Chang's "Glory of Love" AMV to Escaflowne played in the VAT. I commented to another editor, "I am going to do my version of this video with Tiger & Bunny." We tried to stifle our laughter as I came up with certain scenes that I wanted to go with certain lyrics. Deep down, I love Tiger & Bunny, the anime and the eponymous duo, albeit I prefer Kotetsu/Wild Tiger overall. But I really, REALLY wanted to make this video and have it premiere at Otakon's 20th convention in 2013. It didn't make finals at Otakon, but it still premiered that same weekend at Animethon's AMV contest in Canada.
  
  Obviously this video is a love letter to Tiger & Bunny, as well as DW's series of romantic/sentimental videos that used '80s/'90s love ballads. There is very little presence of the other heroes - just a glimpse of Fire Emblem, Blue Rose, Pao-Lin, and even Lunatic. I don't make anything outright explicit; the closest I get to acknowledging the fujoshi would be during the bridge of the song when Kotetsu spends the night at Barnaby's apartment. I want the viewer to draw their own conclusion about the twosome. After all, the show's producer has stated that the "bromance" relationship is just as correct as an even deeper, personal relationship.
  
  I always thought that this song works so much better as a duet than a one-sided solo. I picture Barnaby saying one verse, then Kotetsu singing another verse. Something like that.
  
  Please note: This may be a fun video, but it was not meant to be a funny video, nor was there any intent to parody DW's Escaflowne video. When this video played at AnimeFest's AMV contest in Dallas, the coordinator lamented to me that people were thinking this was a comedy video. "Enough Boys Love material flies off the shelves in the dealer's room that I know that there's an audience for it at Animefest, but if that audience was at the viewing, it was lost in the reactions by the folks who thought you were strictly making a parody video," he said. If you are laughing at this video because you believe two men who really do love each other cannot exist anywhere, even in the 22nd century, then you completely missed the whole point of the video.
  
  Note #2: Maybe I may have been the one that was misreading the on-site account from AnimeFEST. This was in Anime USA's contest. On the Saturday showing, I was a little concerned that people were laughing and going "oh no", especially on "it breaks my heart to see you crying", but although there was moments of levity as the video played, it seemed like I kept people's attention in between the "fujoshi-bait" moments. Maybe they were expecting a funny bromantic video, but as it dawns on the viewer that I was really trying to make this work, I hope to think I won some of the viewers over.
  
  Note #3: It turns out I won enough viewers over at AUSA to win 1st place in Romance/Sentimental. I was so shocked at winning that I fainted on the spot when I saw the title of my AMV on the screen as the winner. Just making it into finals is awesome enough - I don't tend to win these things.... which explains the legit passing out. I did come to a couple seconds after I hit the ground, though, so it's all good.
  
  Comments on some scenes:
  
  Intro:
  I wanted to mirror DW's opening, with a shot of the Stern Bild skyline, then fading to Kotetsu, and then the skyline again, then fading to Barnaby.
  
  First verse:
  I love the scene during the 1st ED where the two are riding into the night, and then they stop to gaze at the stars.
  
  On "I will always love you", the first shot is of Barnaby realizing that he does love Kotetsu.
  
  Second verse:
  That first part is where the two are at the skating rink and they have their big argument. It's Barnaby that is "saying things [he] might regret". And I really wish the line was "It breaks your heart to see me crying" since that makes more sense with the scene I'm using. And unless you've seen the show a few times, you wouldn't know that some of those scenes are actually playing backwards.
  
  Transition from 2nd verse to 1st Chorus:
  Obviously, a shout-out to DW's flash cuts to the drumbeat. Oddly enough, I *didn't* like how DW did it in his video, and I didn't want to do it. After beta testing with a few friends, they were wondering "Where were the flashes right before the chorus?" So here I have the shot of Kotetsu in the hospital, then Barnaby getting ready to face Jake Martinez, with the flash cuts of Kotetsu getting hit by Lunatic's flame in Episode 8.
  
  1st Chorus:
  "I am a man who will fight for your honor" - I *loved* the pan-around shot of Barnaby there.
  "I'll be the hero you're dreaming of" - The scene with Barnaby saving Kaede (Kotetsu's daughter) was perfect here.
  "We'll live forever, knowing together" -- The twosome going into Good Luck Mode in Episode 5 looked great, and especially on "knowing together" the split-screen shot worked well. At the end of the chorus, Kotetsu gives Barnaby the crook, thereby giving him the points. At this point in the show, it's the perfect present for Barnaby. (Besides the bunny plushie that Kotetsu carries around in that episode.)
  
  Third verse:
  "You keep me standing tall" -- Barnaby making a record-breaking arrest makes Kotetsu feel proud. "You helped me through it all" -- Kotetsu looking at Barnaby's picture. Those that have seen the show know it's quite out of context, but I think that scene went nicely, especially considering Kotetsu's "washed up" reputation.
  
  "I'm always strong when you're beside me" -- so THAT'S the lyric I've been mis-hearing all this time! Still, I like the two shot of them from their backsides, looking at the city.
  
  2nd Chorus:
  "I am a man who will fight for your honor" -- I found this nice scene in Episode 10 of Kotetsu posing at the bridge facing the mechas, and I worked in the one long scene of Kotetsu swinging toward the camera from the end of the 1st OP.
  
  "I'll be the hero you've been dreaming of" -- Kotetsu finding and saving his daughter in Episode 17 was another perfect scene.
  
  "We'll live forever, knowing together..." -- Mostly scenes of the two riding on their bike in tandem, and then ending on a shot of the two from behind.
  
  Transition from 2nd chorus to bridge -- Deftly worked in *that* scene from the 1st ED where they both grab for the pin.
  
  Bridge:
  "Just like a knight in shining armor" -- one of the first things I pictured when planning the video was the scene where we first see Barnaby in Episode 1. And on "Just in time, I will save the day", I have Barnaby catching a Wild Tiger for the first time.
  
  Guitar solo -- This is where I throw that bone out to all the fujoshi out there. Even I knew I wanted to have scenes where Kotetsu spends the night at Barnaby's apartment here. From the moment the lights go out in his apartment, to Kotetsu sitting shirtless drinking champagne, to the two of them gazing at each other. Yep. I can just hear the fangirls screaming during that part.
  
  3rd chorus:
  On the last "I'll be the hero you're dreaming of", I had Barnaby fainting in despair in episode 13, when suddenly Kotetsu catches him. Barnaby, after all these years living alone and wanting revenge on his parents' killer, has finally found the one hero he wanted in his life.
  
  4th chorus w/the interlude:
  Scenes of the two of them during the 10-month time skip, ending with the two at the award ceremony and then the two on the talk show. Very majestic and another nice way to show that the two really are one heck of a team.
  
  "We'll live forever, knowing together" (echo)
  I put in a shot of Barnaby, then to a shot of his parents. Then a shot of Kotetsu, then to a shot of his wife. Considering that they are no longer alive at the time of the anime, their memories will still live forever in their minds. And then I have the shot of them getting into the elevator at Justice Tower, which seemed to be another proud moment for the two.
  
  Coda:
  The scene in the final episode where Kotetsu falls, and Barnaby's there to save him once again. I know I wanted to have the split screen shot at the end, and since I didn't want to mask out Kotetsu's talking, I put in the line that Kotetsu says (in English) - "It's time to let out... a wild roar." Freeze frame on the two faces, then turn to black-and-white as the song fades out. :)
  
  This video marks the first time I finished it with enough time to beta-test the video to others. We'll see how that goes.
  
  This video was submitted for consideration to premiere at Otakon 2013.