is Akibaranger a metaphor for real life decline of tokusatsu?

[*Jess♥]

it appears that tokusatsu is no longer about entertaining teenagers and young adults, it's more about entertaining children.

yeah.. I'm not a child. that's probably why I don't watch power rangers and why I don't feel like watching tokusatsu these days.

at least akibaranger did some good for us

wow, I just realised something.

Akibaranger seems to be communicating this very issue.

the danger of the death of tokusatsu and otaku due to various other things such as fashion etc.

could it be that this is a real issue in japan? that the people who used to watch tokusatsu into their twenties and thirties are no longer taking an interest in otaku things and are instead spending their money on fashion etc?

 

sorry, this is way off topic. if you think this is something that could be discussed more then let me know and I'll split this post into a new topic.

 

 

I think the discussion about the decline of tokusatsu merits it's own thread.

 

_{I do like the multiple Riders thing, so that's one thing Gaim/Gaimu is doing right. Before everybody goes, "This series is running out of ideas!", need I remind everybody that Den-O has a time-traveling, peach-themed genie possessing somebody and turning into a train-themed superhero and fighting other time traveling genies? Now, doesn't that sound a little ridiculous to you guys?I'll be honest and admit that  Gaimu/Gaim and it's Fruit Samurais doesn't really excite me either, but I plan on watching a couple of episodes before I make a judgment call.} 

 

 

_{i hope the action is as good as akiba rangers...}

 

_{as for melons and other fruits in this new KR, well ive pretty much become numb to crazy and zany ways for these tokkusatsu guys to henshin... i mean after seeing kyoryugers  dance to samba anything goes!!}

 

_{as for 4 Kamen Riders is this not overkill?, is this just not ''Fruity Sentai Kamen Rider'' ?}

 

_{i like the look of most of them. some of the colours are overkill but having said that the brown armour looks drab, so...}

 

_{all this being said though i must say  i get a good vibe from the poster that Odin put in post 14.}

 

 

sorry, this is way off topic. if you think this is something that could be discussed more then let me know and I'll split this post into a new topic.

 

>

I think the discussion about the decline of tokusatsu merits it's own thread.

 

 

yeah i think we could rant a bit on this topic!

ok starting a new thread for this subject. :-

is Akibaranger a metaphor for real life decline of tokusatsu?

[odin]

It could be but I don't think it is declining at all, it is just changing to something that we are not accustomed, to us it may seem weird how things are going but to them it may seem normal, if anything I would say that it is more of a clash of cultures. Toku is growing and changing as time passes and they are trying new things so they don't grow stale, sure there will be failures like Wizard but there will also be hits and to me it seems they want the new generation to know what their legacy is hence why lately it seems each series looks "childish" but to me it seems to work, look at how invested the kids are at the end of the credits of Kyoryuger for example. Also they are reviving old series and rebooting them like Gavan and Kikaider which are Metal Hero series that have not been shown for years, like i said, I don't think it is declining at all. 

[*Jess♥]

well perhaps it is not declining as a whole, but what I mean is, the otaku culture and akihabara in general. it appears that with the demographic of tokusatsu being a lower age range, it appears that they are aiming the show to children who will be more likely to ask their parents for toys rather than go out and buy them themselves. this will represent a difference in style and approach with the merchandise and therefore the presentation of the show.

we see an increase in more childish things like transforming 'familiars' and bright colourful weapons etc. instead of the old days when the design of these things would lend themselves to more prestigious products. remember when you could get the 'deluxe' henshin belts and they would be of the same build quality as high end products like mobile  phones.

this type of prestigious product would be found in a place like akihabara, but the more childish toys that may be available now would be found in general toy stores. this could i fact be seen as an increase in sales for tokusatsu related products but perhaps a reduction in revenue per sale. one could say that the popularity is increasing, but there is a decline in the type of sub culture surrounding it that we would have had 10 or 20 years ago.

[Aether]

 Toku is growing and changing as time passes and they are trying new things so they don't grow stale,

 

true enough but to me the difference between Go-Busters and Kyoryuger is night and day. just not going stale doesnt mean they have to kiddify things so much though... GB seemed to have some qualities of the quality earlier series, as times going on im enjoying Kyoryuger but it seems to be not going anywhere too soon and lacks a certain depth - i know GB wasnt incredibly deep but you know what i mean.... anyway anything they do will be be better than goseiger -    

 

well perhaps it is not declining as a whole, but what I mean is, the otaku culture and akihabara in general. 

 

one could say that the popularity is increasing, but there is a decline in the type of sub culture surrounding it that we would have had 10 or 20 years ago.

 

maybe you are correct that the Otaku culture surrounding Sentai and KR or just Tokusatsu is dropping...

i mean its kind of the same in the west if you think about it...

if we look at Japan first all those kids who grew up from the 80's onwards had Toku in their life and even though they are kids shows its quite apparent that people literally grew up with them as entertainment from probably the first sentai they saw they kept watching every year until adulthood and then either became 'otaku' or eventually just left it behind...

these are the people who are obviously buying the retro releases of series including all the remakes of action figures etc now... i mean SH Figuarts are just bringing out KR Blade figures! so someone must be buying them...

probably nowdays with so much other forms of entertainment and popular culture the percentage of people growing up with sentai and Toku is just not the same anymore... they will probably watch it for a few years and then move on maybe?? maybe there are no more people to consume a wide age range appealing Toku and so they just dont bother and colour it up for the kids to power up their pester power for toy buying.

i think this sort of change is similar to the case of what can be seen in the west with the 80's crowd who grew up on Transformers, Thundercats, He-Man ,  etc. etc. all those people now are in their 30's and (some of them) have cash to spare on nostalgia and so all these lines have made a comeback but do you think in 20 years time the children of now will be so excited for the cartoons they used to watch on TV??

with the internet and youtube etc. i dont think so. its just a different world.

i think that bit of time and the people who grew up in it  in the west have mirrored what has been going on in Japan for decades.

think of TV when we were young even though it was fictional it was still a  glimpse into the unknown world a chance to get some knowledge of unkown things, and experience different emotions in a fun way.

kids nowadays may think thats sad... but what makes me sad are kids like our neighbours who are 12 but more like 15 and have had some sort of accelerated ''growing up'' but arent really grown at all- im affraid its a product of this new age we live in.. but anyway...

my point is that in Japan despite the ingrained otakuness of anime manga and Toku maybe the audience they are catering to has changed and so we get stuck with the declining quality of  shows..

 

if the problem is that Toku has declined to nothing but kiddie TV when it used to appeal to a wider range of kids to young adults then the solution is surely more shows like Garo that are aimed at 'adults'.

 

i mean yes Akiba rangers is aimed at adults but its a comedic look at the culture and Garo isnt a Kamen Rider but is in a similar category and its a 'serious' show... more shows like this would cater to the fans of the hey day of sentai and KR and may even bring in new older aged fans aswell.

 

having said this i really really really want to see a more adult take on Sentai a late night 'serious' Sentai show would be awesome!!

 

Edited July 30, 2013 by Aether

[*Jess♥]

what really made me want to watch super sentai in the beginning, was the same thing that keeps me reading naruto.

the characters have heart and depth and there is a cool factor. to various things such as the gouraijers and abarekiller.

then mixed in with that is the odd occasions where they tug on the old heart strings.

I think this is the sort of things that keeps people interested in the sense of 'otaku' as well. this has been made very apparent in some shows like akibaranger and also densha otoko. I think it's this 'passion' that really makes a show.

I think akibaranger highlights how this passion and imagination,  is the driving force behind a successful show or at least a show an adult would want to watch.

is this passion being lost?

maybe this passion is being replaced by 'enthusiasm.'  .. this type of enthusiasm that kindergarten teachers bring to the table.  it's bouncy, it's 'fun' but is it genuine? does it really bring a feeling of hope and positivity?

[Aether]

well thats why im saying perhaps its a different climate now, why not just seperate the kids and the adult?

if they cant put 'passion' in anymore then give us late night super sentai with all that in and let the kiddies have tonnes of 'enthusiasm'.

 

maybe its something to do with the people producing the shows?? maybe they just wernt brought up on good enough toku to want to emulate it?? or the writers simply dont have enough experience to write passion?? some of the earlier writers worked on various shows in the industry and lots ofother sentai - Noboru Sugimura worked on 17 sentai!! 9 of which he was the main writer!... maybe nowadays its just down to rookies??

the 80's era and 90's era best acomplish the things youre talking about in my opinion, for sentai at least ,as the feel of it lends itself to the drama and emotion acted with passion -it  just doesnt seem out of place despite the fact they then go on to jump about in coloured lycra and fight rubber monsters..but nowadays i think if the same scenes were played in a sentai as in the past it would seem overacted and too dramatic for what reson i do not know at this very moment...

im guessing this all changed after Dekaranger and Kamen Rider Kabuto.
 

[*Jess♥]

dekaranger and kabuto... that's a fairly keen observation. I like that.

[ZoneFighter]

The audience for tokusatsu televesion was originally children, specificaly young boys.  The shows have gone downhill in my opinion since the 1970s because the sponser, usually Bandai, had gained too much control and they changed who the core audience is, its now young women.  The original Kamen Rider ran for 98 episodes. Goranger lasted 84.  But Bandai couldn't sell enough toys when the shows didn't change every year so most tokusatsu tv got cut down to just a years worth of episodes  On the other hand, a 1970s series could also get cut short if it dropped in the ratings, but later series were always a year no matter the ratings. If you look up the ratings they drop after the original series. The original Kamen Rider had the highest ratings. Goranger has the highest ratings for a sentai.

 

The special effects have gotten better, but plots and acting have gotten worse.  I think a large part of the problem is they use younger actors.  They actors pretending to be in their 20s in the 1970s were actually in their 30s and had previous acting experience. As for tjhe special effects  I'll take black powder explosions and fireballs that you can see the wires holding up over CGI anyday.

 

Sentai means task force, its a military term and the originl sentai were military orginizations, they were also supposed to be international with the series just covering the local Japanese branch. The original Kamen Riders were cyborgs, part human, part machine. I don't know what the current ones are.

 

I find if I like the theme music I'll like the show and if I don't like the music I donn't usually care for the show it came from.  I love the 70s theme music. Can't stand the current music.

[durendal]

Don't you think that sentai has become a cliche?  The portrayal of a red ranger has become synonymous with being a goody two shoes hero.  It is always considered heroic in a strictly stereotypical way.  Please read this wiki article about a Japanese group parodying sentai to the point that a movie was made out of their skit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanjani_Sentai_Eightranger