Kid Characters in Tokusatsu

[SentaiRiderFan]

So, after catching up with Drive, with the most recent episode featuring a kid character, I started thinking back over previous Rider episodes and movies and how they've been handled in the past. I realized a few trends in doing this, namely that they often hog all the character development and only serve to get in the way (thanks for nothing, Yonemura). As you might guess, I'm not a fan of these stories.

I understand the logic here: heroes are icons to look up to, and the younger characters are supposed to act as the viewer's "eyes" into this world, it makes sense (at least it did back when Robin was introduced to the Batman comics back in the 1940s). Thing is, looking back on the North American shows that I watched as a kid that did similar things, at no point did I ever like these kids, even as the intended demographic. I always just wanted them out of the way so I could see the heroes kick some ass (I didn't identify with them, if anything, I was jealous). I doubt I'm in the minority there, but I won't generalize too much.

Thing is, in modern NA television, that kind of story is practically a dying art (at least from what I've seen browsing through channels in the past few years), yet it seems to be all over the place in Japanese shows (again, from my limited experience). So I'm just wondering, are kid-centered plots like these more accepted in Japan for whatever reason, is Toei just really that far behind the curve, or what?

 

[CannibalS]

Kid-centric stories are a dying art in the west, because little to nobody did it well in the west.

 

[lazycoconut]

In what way do they hog all the character development? The most common complaint I've seen regarding child characters is that they *don't* have a lot of character development and the writers think that a child is automatically endearing/appealing purely because they are a child? (I don't know if there's a word for this but the problem is typified in the episode of MST3K with "Timmy Bobby Rusty")

Really, a lot of people in this fandom seem to be automatically negative towards child characters (not always, but often) and I wonder if it isn't because the presence of children in the show reminds them they are far outside of the target audience. Black, for instance, doesn't get half as much hate for having a lot of children in it as a show like Zyuranger does, and I wonder if that's not because it feels like a much more "grown-up" series by comparison thus doesn't so blatantly remind people that what they are watching is aimed at young children. We haven't had that many child characters in Kamen Rider over the last few years and IMO when we have they haven't been that bad: Yuzuru in Wizard wasn't egregiously awful, for instance, nor was the girl in the doll episodes of W.

 

[Goty]

In what way do they hog all the character development? The most common complaint I've seen regarding child characters is that they *don't* have a lot of character development and the writers think that a child is automatically endearing/appealing purely because they are a child? (I don't know if there's a word for this but the problem is typified in the episode of MST3K with "Timmy Bobby Rusty")

He means the "kid of the week" usually steals screentime and spotlight that could be used to develop one of the main characters and explore their own personal problems instead. Or the main plot itself.
I don't like that either, but that applies for any show following a guest-based structure, really, be it a kid or not. It was a serious problem in Wizard.

 

[Shynilyte]

The concept of kid guest characters in toku predate even Kamen Rider. 1966l Ultraman had that Gomora two-parter with the "monster prince" kid.

I don't actually remember how that went as far as characterization goes.

 

[CannibalS]

He means the "kid of the week" usually steals screentime and spotlight that could be used to develop one of the main characters and explore their own personal problems instead. Or the main plot itself.
I don't like that either, but that applies for any show following a guest-based structure, really, be it a kid or not. It was a serious problem in Wizard.

I find it way worse in Double than it ever was in Wizard. Wizard had the much better pathos going with it.

 

[kamil88]

I don't mind kid characters, if they are handle correctly, but, if they are ungrateful jerks, like in Zyuranger, then it can suck all enjoyment from show.