Behind the Scenes of Samurai/Super Samurai http://www.rangerboard.com/showthread.php?t=179581 http://www.denofgeek.com/us/tv/power-rangers/261159/power-rangers-samurai-lost-in-translation
Kamen Rider and Super Sentai are ingrained in the Japanese culture since they began It's like their Batman and Superman in the culture
They are the equivalent of long running Saturday Morning Cartoons. The closest equivalent to SS in America would probably be something like Transformers, a long running franchise primarily used to sell toys, but with SS being much more kids oriented and generally less an expectation to be complex in terms of storytelling and development. It's generally well known and parodied (the ginyuu force from DBZ is probably the most well known parody of the trope), but not really respected in contrast to its counterpart Kamen Rider (Mask Rider).
Huh? Transformers has always been kid-oriented, and what I've seen of it has been no more complex than what I've seen of Super Sentai. (My experience with TF is mainly the original '80s series, which I thought was pretty dumb for the most part; Beast Wars/Beast Machines, which was fairly sophisticated; and Transformers Animated, which was kind of smart but definitely very, very kid-oriented. My experience with SS is mainly Jetman and GoBusters, which were great, Dairanger, which was mediocre, and part of Zyuranger, which was so silly and kid-oriented that I lost interest.) From what I've seen, I don't think Japanese franchises are necessarily committed to maintaining a constant age-appeal level. If anything, some of them seem to make a point of having different incarnations targeting different age groups. For instance, the first four versions of the Digimon franchise all varied wildly from each other in tone, complexity, and maturity. I also don't think Transformers is anywhere near as big in America as SS seems to be in Japan. TF is more of a niche thing. I mean, we don't have big press events announcing the cast of the next Transformers series.
They absolutely are committed to being kid friendly. Shows like Gobusters much like Beast Machines are flukes. They are not standard fare and GB for example was considered a disaster (and the guy who wrote Jetman was fired from the writing job after his term was up). The norms are shows like Zyuranger or Zyuohger being more kid friendly and less serious in terms of plot or having protagonists children can relate to. Super Sentai isn't big. You may cite the press conferences. But the other metrics such as tv ratings and merchandising or even the actual prestige attached to the franchise is low. What drives the franchise and defines success is largely toy sales much like Transformers.
But kid-friendly shows can have plenty of sophistication and appeal for adults as well -- e.g. Avatar: The Last Airbender or The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle. It's always been a myth that kid appeal and adult appeal are mutually exclusive. After all, lots of adults watch TV with their kids and discuss the content with them -- and of course the makers of the shows are adults and have an incentive to make the experience enjoyable for themselves. Plus, good storytelling is good storytelling. The idea that children's programming needs to be dumbed down is a disservice to children, whose developing minds need to be stimulated and challenged. A well-made kids' show can appeal to adults with the creativity and intelligence of its writing and characterization, even if it doesn't have sex or violence or cuss words in it. The reason I'm a fan of so many kids' shows at my age is because many of them are smarter and more thoughtful than a lot of the "adult" programming out there.
Uhhhh....originally Star Trek, but now that you mention it, Mask of the Phantasm was rather "adult" in its themes. I'd have to rewatch the Batman animated series to refresh my memory about its content.
B:TAS is a classic example of a show that was targeted at teens and preteens, yet smart and sophisticated enough to be enormously popular with adults. It was subject to FOX Kids' fairly tight restrictions on violence, forbidden to depict death and barely able to get away with showing any blood (which is part of why it was one of the few Batman adaptations not to depict the Wayne murders directly). Since Mask was a theatrical feature, it was able to go farther in its depiction of violence, as was the later New Batman Adventures on Kids' WB. But part of my point is that violence alone doesn't make a story mature. That makes it inappropriate for children, but what makes something suitable for adults isn't just whether it has blood or death or sex, it's about whether it's smart and sophisticated and has complex characters and themes. And there's no reason a show suitable for children in terms of sex, violence, and language can't have those things too.
I absolutely agree. Going back to ST:TAS, when I was watching that last year, I was sometimes amazed that it was a children's show in the 70s. I didn't expect that level of forward-thinking and intellectually challenging storytelling. I don't think I gave kids enough credit.
Well, what people today rarely realize is that TAS was developed and promoted as the first Saturday morning cartoon for adults, essentially. It was, of course, made to be safe for kids, with the sex and violence toned down, but it wasn't otherwise targeted at kids. A number of its episodes were based on premises developed for TOS.
I am sure they can. That is not the formula and philosophy that guides the creation of these shows. Toys, sales numbers and ratings and such ultimately guide them. The people who ultimately control the direction of the story are not even the writers themselves, but the producers so story is just one aspect they have to manage aside from everyday logistics, the talent and how to shill the toys. In that sort of environment where the entire show is treated as an investment venture, there is a reason why something like Zyuranger is considered a success while shows like Gobusters were labelled failures that apparently nobody watched (judging by the ratings data we have).
^I understand the corporate pressures that drive these shows, but what I'm saying is that I don't agree it has to be an either-or choice. Few things in life are. A show can be heavily toy-driven and very intelligent and sophisticated at the same time. For instance, Digimon Tamers, aka the third season of Digimon: Digital Monsters. In concept, it was intensely marketing-driven; it was set in a world where Digimon was a computer game and collectible-card game, and where the first two seasons were actually a TV show within the third season's universe. The main characters played the game and traded cards in-story, and much of the plot was about them acquiring special rare cards to power up their Digimon. It was practically one big toy commercial. There was even an episode where two of the main Digimon characters had a lengthy conversation while standing in front of a huge Bandai billboard. And yet they were well-developed characters having a conversation with substance, and the storyline was very smart and sophisticated and eventually quite compelling.
I watched MMPR from the start. I thought it was dumber than a pile of bricks in the first season, but Amy Jo Johnson was one of the most gorgeous women I'd ever seen in my life, and also a remarkably good actress, so I stuck around for her -- and for Thuy Trang, who was also quite lovely and charming. And I was impressed by the stunt work and the Ranger costume/Zord designs. Over the years, the writing got less stupid, though the later cast members were rarely as good as the originals. I've been a fairly steady viewer ever since, though there were a few seasons here and there I mostly tuned out of, like Ninja Storm and S.P.D.
I have to recommend you to early Heisei Kamen Rider series. The franchise restarted in 2000 with Kamen Rider Kuuga. It was part JDrama and scifi mystery. There are multiple forms for riders but some are quite useful and tactile After 2006 they started to become like sentai with more kid friendly elements but kept some darker material Different Kamen Rider's die in the series. One just died in Kamen Rider Ex-Aid. I recommend Kamen Rider Kabuto Christopher https://vk.com/videos-77153771 Looking forward to hearing your reviews on it!
Judging by a newly revealed toy it looks like the movie's Spoiler: Goldar in the new movie Goldar will actually be controlled by Rita rather than an independent character. .