[Sackett]

Originally Posted by kuromitsu

^Yeah, pretty much.

Spoiler for episode 24:

I seriously wonder why people are even considering the possibility that Kotetsu is dead. I appreciated the drama and the emotional scene, and as a fan of Morita Masakazu I really appreciated his performance as Bunny, but seriously, if Kotetsu is really dead-- and he stays dead-- I'm going to eat my favorite hat.

Also, I wonder if the animation team was crying as well while animating the scene - I'm usually not one to dwell on off-model animation unless it's truly horrible, but here it was very distracting.

Spoiler for Why it could happen:

There is just one thing that makes me think it possible (not probable, but well within the realm of possibility).

Kotetsu's arc is pretty much at an end. He's done everything he was set down as needing to do:

1: Earned Barnaby's respect
2: Realize his family is more important then hero work
3: Earned Kaede's respect
4: Mentor Barnaby past his issues
5: Save everyone at the end before retiring
6: Inspire all the other Heroes to be true heroes
7: Scrub the Heroes system of it's corruption and make it what it ought to be

What is left for Kotetsu to do? There has been zero hints for an way of him getting out of the fact his powers are declining. What are they going to do with him?

Sure, they could do lots of things. They could have him be the retired hero mentor figure. But truthfully he's completed his character arc.

If there was ever a moment in the show to have him die- this would be it. A handing of the torch to the next generation. An Obi-wan moment.

Actually... now that I think about it this could be a good way of looking at the story it's not a traditional hero story, it's the story of an Obi-wan character mentoring the hero.

This is actually pretty classic Buddy Cop show stuff. Usually it doesn't end in death. Men In Black had it end with retirement. Lethal Weapon hinted at a death scene, and then subverted it. But some of them do kill off the older cop at the end of the movie, just before the final confrontation with the mastermind, usually after defeating the Dragon.

So I expect a subversion, and that Kotetsu will survive. But if they are going to kill him off, this is the moment to do so.

The final episodes are Barnaby taking up Kotetsu's mantle, defeating Maverick, and then the epilogue (setting up season 2).

Kotetsu dying could work. So I think it is possible, if improbable.