“Make you future†in Japan and USA.

[Kamen Rider IXA]

Wondering about how similar and different Timeranger and Time Force were, I found it interesting how similar was message in both seasons, and yet at the same how radically different they had approached it.

Time Force strictly says that deciding your future by yourself is a GOOD thing. As long as you don’t let anyone or anything decides your fate, you would eventually be able to build a better future. Your efforts will be rewarded and you’d make world better by not surrendering to the fate.

Timeranger on the other hand basically say “Be ruled by fate or have unclear and uncertain future with no guarantee, that you’d obtain anything at all, let alone a BETTER future”. Season’s philosophy says that everyone has a right to fight fate, but your efforts aren’t obligated to reward you. In fact, everything probably would be worse, compared to simply following your fate. If you are fighting your fate, you’d probably end up crushing someone else’s dream, since well, basically that’s how the world works.

So why TF takes “decide your future” so optimistic, while TR is so down to earth? What’s the cause of this difference in the approach? And which approach do you think is better?

 

[Lockon]

American vs. Japanese culture. I remind you that Japan is the country where the phrase "The raised nail gets hammered down." Also the last bit about TR, the part about crushing dreams, sounds like the common false axiom that wealth is finite.

 

[Mirage_Frost]

Because it's Time Force was a Kids show and telling kids "you can't change a damn thing, and if you try, it will probably suck" isn't a message ANY broadcast station or writer or actor or HERO would want to promote...Kids Psyche's are so malleable afterall.
Time Force brought forth Erin Cahill, Ted Mosby's still attractive sister, and that's all I remember. The one in Dino Thunder was attractive too, but disappeared.. hmm

 

[arnoldmcguire335]

I'm guessing for Timeranger, since the audience was kids, it's like a warning to all that "If you don't want to end up like Tatsuya, strive harder so your future doesn't end up like this" or so...
This also leads to the point that since there was never a Gao VS Time, Tatsuya is stuck like that for the rest of his life, lest he makes a time machine...

 

[Shogun_Master]

I'm echoing what the first guy said. Japanese culture changed between the mid to late 1800s & WW2 in the 40s to more so mimic western cultures in an effort to not be seen as barbarians or un-cultured like they were treated by the Chinese for centuries.

But, they went a little too far trying to mimic the idea of upper-class etiquette that their society ended up pretty much being ruled by an extremely strict social form & structure all through the rest of the 20th century & it's only slowly beginning to lift in recent years.

Basically, the Japanese almost feel like everyone & everything has a specific place & purpose & life tends to get pretty hard for anyone who attempts to go their own direction in any way, shape or form. Personally, I don't think it was meant to be a moral as much as the writer(s) or lead writer of the show getting into kind of a personal area when the show began to get into the area of "trying to change your fate." IE- he/ she/ they were being cynical.