The following article contains spoilers for Tiger & Bunny 2, now streaming on Netflix.

After 10 years spent waiting for a follow-up, Tiger & Bunny fans were finally treated to a second season in 2022 with the release of Tiger & Bunny 2. With many narrative threads still left over at the end of the first season, Tiger & Bunny 2 was the chance to finally resolve these decade-long storylines. But did it deliver?

The answer is somewhat complicated. For every lingering plot line that Tiger & Bunny 2 managed to wrap up, there were just as many it didn't, as well as introducing even more loose ends. All of this begs the question: is Tiger & Bunny 2 meant to be the end, or is Bandai Namco not quite done with the heroes of Stern Bild?

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Kotetsu's Story Came to an End in Tiger & Bunny 2

Tiger Bunny Kotetsu Tears Up and is a workaholic

Tiger & Bunny 2 ended on a conclusive note for at least one character -- Kotetsu. Ever since the first season, the veteran hero has had to grapple with his Hundred Power waning with each use and the prospect that he will one day have to stop being a hero. That day finally comes in Tiger & Bunny 2's finale, and Kotetsu decides to retire as a superhero as a result.

As the "Tiger" in Tiger & Bunny, it's difficult to see how the show could continue without one of its titular heroes on the front lines. There could be ways around his new limitations -- the series repeatedly brings up the notion that superhero culture helps perpetuate the exploitation of NEXTs, and it's an issue Kotetsu says he wants to address in the finale. A non-NEXT becoming a hero without innate superpowers ala Batman or Iron Man could help resolve that issue.

Would Kotetsu even want to become that figure, though? He seems at peace with the loss of his powers when it finally happens, and his simply finding a new way to become a superhero after contending with his eventual retirement for two seasons would cheapen the emotional impact of Tiger & Bunny 2's finale. The coda of the final episode shows a Tiger and Bunny exhibit in the Hero Museum, and the accompanying plaque includes a definitive end date for the heroes' reign, suggesting that this really is the end for the Wild Tiger.

If the story of one of Tiger & Bunny's title characters has ended, then it's easy to assume that spells the end of the series as a whole. It's not quite that simple, though -- there are plenty of unresolved plot threads that a follow-up could cover.

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Ouroboros Still Need to be Taken Down

Brahe's Ouroboros Tattoo from Tiger & Bunny 2

The biggest is the fact that the show's main villains, Ouroboros, are still at large. Tiger & Bunny's first season ended with the defeat of Maverick, and the heroes were confident they'd foiled the organization once and for all -- but the season's post-credits stinger revealed Ouroboros's operation was much larger than any of them had reckoned when a Stern Bild Dollar is dipped in water to reveal the organization's emblem.

While Ouroboros played a major part in Tiger & Bunny 2, the heroes didn't come any closer to stopping them. The season's villains, Nicolai Brahe and Sigourney Rosicky, were merely middle managers, serving Ouroboros's true top brass. Rosicky even lets slip Ouroboro's end goal to Gregory Sunshine -- a reveal the audience isn't privy to.

In the penultimate episode, Ouroboros has Rosicky assassinated for prioritizing her own agenda over theirs, making it clear that her goal of freeing the NEXTs from subjugation does not represent Ouroboros's endgame. Even after a decade of anticipation, the organization's true nature is still a mystery to fans, leaving ample room for exploration in a potential Tiger & Bunny 3.

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Lunatic's Fate Remains Unclear

lunatic from tiger and bunny 2

There are other unresolved storylines -- one being Lunatic's fate. The finale of Tiger & Bunny 2 saw the vigilante plunge off of a high ledge, seemingly to his death, right before Kotetsu and Barnaby's eyes.

However, with the aftermath never shown, there are plenty of ways to interpret this scene. After spending a season coming to terms with his traumatic past and finally resolving to follow his own sense of justice, Petrov committing suicide would be a strangely cynical note for Tiger & Bunny, and the scene is ambiguous enough for other interpretations, such as Petrov putting to rest the Lunatic persona in favor of something new.

Another season would hopefully shed light on what happened to Petrov as well as expand on other characters' futures. One Tiger & Bunny 2 episode saw Kotetsu's daughter Kaede want to go to Stern Bild's Hero Academy, but it ended with Kotetsu conflicted about it, promising her he'd make a decision about the matter later. Said decision never comes up in the rest of Tiger & Bunny 2, so it would be an opportunity for Tiger & Bunny 3 to capitalize on this plot line by showcasing Kaede's drive to become a superhero and attendance of the Hero Academy.

Kaede's story could tie into Kotetsu's desire to create a better world for NEXTs as well. After spending the first season as a background detail, prejudice against NEXTs came crashing to the forefront of Tiger & Bunny 2. Even with Rosicky's defeat, it's clear that the stigma against superpowered individuals is a nasty sticking point for the world of Tiger & Bunny, and one in desperate need of addressing if the next generation of heroes is to have a happy ending.

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What Are the Chances of Another Season?

Kotetsu and Barnaby from Tiger and Bunny.

All in all, there's plenty of material for another season to cover, but it would be difficult to make one with Kotetsu out of the limelight. Besides, was Tiger & Bunny 2 even successful enough to warrant a third season, or even a follow-up movie like The Rising?

Exact viewing figures for Tiger & Bunny 2 are hard to quantify, but based on MyAnimeList.net, only 18,000 users logged the series as watched -- less than 10% of the first season's 215,000 logs. Tiger & Bunny 2 has unfortunately not made the same waves as its predecessor, and even with that first season's popularity, its sequel spent years languishing in development hell.

As such, it's hard to know if Bandai Namco Pictures and Netflix see Tiger & Bunny as bankable enough to warrant a continuation. It's possible that this uncertainty led to Tiger & Bunny 2 being simultaneously conclusive and open-ended; should this be the end, then at least Kotetsu and Barnaby got a worthy send-off, but if not, there are still potential avenues for a Tiger & Bunny 3 to take.

For now, though, the heroes of Stern Bild return to where they spent the decade prior to Tiger & Bunny 2 -- living on in fans' imaginations. As sad as it is to say goodbye to the titular duo for what might be the last time, as long as fans continue to share their love for the series with one another, Kotetsu and Barnaby will never truly be gone.