Though the genre has been huge for decades in the West, anime takes on the American superhero concept have been fairly few and far between. This changed with hits such as My Hero Academia and One-Punch Man, though there were other anime that also capitalized on the trend. One of these was Tiger & Bunny, a hit series -- in Japan, at least -- that was a take mainly on Japanese tokusatsu heroes. It wasn't the only anime to do this, however.
Samurai Flamenco was notably similar in nature to Tiger & Bunny, from its cast to its very premise. Unfortunately, the former didn't become the cult hit that Tiger & Bunny did, and it's mainly down to quality. Unfavorably compared to its spiritual predecessor, Samurai Flamenco failed to attract fans of its own, and perhaps for good reason. Here's a look back at the lesser superhero anime of the 2010s.
What Was Samurai Flamenco?
Running from 2013 to 2014, Samurai Flamenco follows Masayoshi Hazama, a male model who wishes to become a superhero. This was always a childhood dream of his, as he looked up to and idolized the superheroes in fiction. Unfortunately he's a completely normal guy, lacking either superpowers or the means to build a powerful suit with which to become a hero. Despite these limitations, he endeavors to act as the heroic Samurai Flamenco, fighting against crime and defending the downtrodden. His unlikely ally in this mission is the police officer Hidenori Goto, who helps him after discovering his secret identity. Together they face numerous threats, including some that come right out of a comic book.
The similarities to Tiger & Bunny are pretty clear. Both feature two "heroes" working to fight crimes, even if they disagree on each other's methods of heroism. Likewise, the heroes in both shows have suits reminiscent of tokusatsu heroes such as Kamen Rider and the many colored Rangers of Super Sentai. They also both act as sort-of deconstructions of both Western and Eastern superhero tropes, inverting expectations in a way that's meant to be fresh. Unfortunately, this doesn't quite work out so well for Samurai Flamenco, and not just because of its competition.
Why Samurai Flamenco Failed to Measure Up to Tiger & Bunny
Samurai Flamenco came out about two years after Tiger & Bunny, and it's due to this that it felt like such a Johnny-Come-Lately. It didn't have much in way of originality regarding tokusatsu or Western superheroics, especially when compared to T&B. Of course, unfavorable comparisons to trend-setters are expected, and it's been a criticism thrown toward several supposed ripoffs of hits such as Neon Genesis Evangelion. Still, these criticisms wouldn't stick so deeply if the show itself didn't have other issues.
Starting out as a promising series, Samurai Flamenco almost feels like a tokusatsu version of the American comic book and movie series Kick-Ass. Unfortunately, this darkly humorous tone goes purely dark after Episode 7, where it becomes a deadly serious retread of tokusatsu monster-of-the-week stories. Despite how the series becomes even more ridiculous by this point, it abandons any sort of tongue-in-cheek quality and instead plays itself completely straight.
This jarring change is made worse by the fact that its narrative is completely unexpected. The shift isn't foreshadowed whatsoever; instead, it simply feels like the showrunners had gotten bored of what the series had been about. Many viewers dropped out after this, unable to get on board with the dramatic change in the show's tone.
There was room for more character development, though this didn't save the series. Thus, Samurai Flamenco failed to really attract a big audience -- not that it deserved one given the arguably still-niche status of the much better Tiger & Bunny. The latter is finally receiving a second season after several years, but it's highly unlikely that its wannabe counterpart will ever be continued.
