question: super sentai and demography audience

[live jetabare]

i've read in some thread that at some time (starting oerhaps with Gaoranger), Super Sentai swiched from a "family" show, that was supposed to be watched by kids with their parents to a "show only for kids"; and as a result, the tone, how the series were written, the characters, the storyline, the violence, the fanservice have been influenced by that as a result.
Is that true? and how? and I'm surprised, since, I feel that even now, Super sentai can appeal an adult fanbase, at least, not less than before Gaoranger; of course, some seasons are less appealing for adults (Goseiger being an example) but it was also true before (Fiveman and Zyuranger for example).
(Of course, I know Super sentai is a kid show )

If someone can help me about that topic, it'd be great

 

[lazycoconut]

I don't know what the audience for older Sentai was like, but Megaranger is when it moved into its current Saturday morning slot along with all the other kids' programming. When Hideaki Tsukada was the producer of Gekiranger, he said in an interview that Sentai's target audience is three to five year old boys. (Pretty Cure is marketed to girls of the same age.)

There's also a negative attitude in Japan towards adults watching Sentai, that's why Akibaranger presents it as a huge problem that Nobuo is a Sentai fan into his 20s/30s - because adults aren't supposed to do that and it makes him an otaku, on a level with guys who have body pillows of their anime waifu and whatnot. It's also why some actors try to downplay their role in Sentai or pretend they weren't in it.

 

[live jetabare]

I don't know what the audience for older Sentai was like, but Megaranger is when it moved into its current Saturday morning slot along with all the other kids' programming. When Hideaki Tsukada was the producer of Gekiranger, he said in an interview that Sentai's target audience is three to five year old boys. (Pretty Cure is marketed to girls of the same age.)

There's also a negative attitude in Japan towards adults watching Sentai, that's why Akibaranger presents it as a huge problem that Nobuo is a Sentai fan into his 20s/30s - because adults aren't supposed to do that and it makes him an otaku, on a level with guys who have body pillows of their anime waifu and whatnot. It's also why some actors try to downplay their role in Sentai or pretend they weren't in it.

yeah; in quite a paradox, some of the least kid friendly sentai series (GogoV and Timeranger) aired during that kid morning slot; which implies that airing time transfer hasn't been the key element which influenced how sentai series were written.
btw, it's quite a paradox that even if Japan has a negative attitude about adults watching sentai, a company has decided to broadcast a show (Akibaranger) meant for those same people, with a protagonist being shown in a very sympathetic way despite being an adult sentai fan.

 

[KingRanger]

yeah; in quite a paradox, some of the least kid friendly sentai series (GogoV and Timeranger) aired during that kid morning slot; which implies that airing time transfer hasn't been the key element which influenced how sentai series were written.
btw, it's quite a paradox that even if Japan has a negative attitude about adults watching sentai, a company has decided to broadcast a show (Akibaranger) meant for those same people, with a protagonist being shown in a very sympathetic way despite being an adult sentai fan.

There are no "least kid friendly" sentais. We are talking about a Japanese series. There are cultural differences.

 

[live jetabare]

There are no "least kid friendly" sentais. We are talking about a Japanese series. There are cultural differences.

I was meaning it in a "relative" way; even if all sentai are supposedly "kid friendly", one could argue that Zyuranger, with its fairy tale setting, many "kids of the week", dinosaurs, is more kid friendly than Timeranger, which deals with social issues with heroes facing hardships of earning their lives in a unknown environment, another one who wants to clmb into a company using unethical means (Naoto).

 

[RaiDK]

There's also a negative attitude in Japan towards adults watching Sentai, that's why Akibaranger presents it as a huge problem that Nobuo is a Sentai fan into his 20s/30s - because adults aren't supposed to do that and it makes him an otaku, on a level with guys who have body pillows of their anime waifu and whatnot. It's also why some actors try to downplay their role in Sentai or pretend they weren't in it.

That's pretty surprising to me. I would have thought there was a huge gap between watching a superhero show and creepy stuff like hug pillows.

 

[lazycoconut]

That's pretty surprising to me. I would have thought there was a huge gap between watching a superhero show and creepy stuff like hug pillows.

The hug pillows is a bit of an extreme example, but being an adult fan of Sentai in Japan still fits in under the "otaku" label, along with the despised anime/cosplay/video game nerd. Sure, Akibaranger had a lot of self-parody and a sympathetic approach to the characters, but then adult fans of Sentai are who's buying the collector figures ...

 

[Hell Kaiser Andy]

The hug pillows is a bit of an extreme example, but being an adult fan of Sentai in Japan still fits in under the "otaku" label, along with the despised anime/cosplay/video game nerd. Sure, Akibaranger had a lot of self-parody and a sympathetic approach to the characters, but then adult fans of Sentai are who's buying the collector figures ...

And they are the demographic Akibaranger aimed for.

 

[Jacky392000]

It's also why some actors try to downplay their role in Sentai or pretend they weren't in it.

not true. as far as I know, Nagai Masaru and Tamayama Tetsuji are the only "desperately wanna be a serious actor" peeps who doesn't want to be associated with Sentai. most of the Sentai actors who have gained a place in the J-drama industry still acknowledge their Sentai roles and are still proud to be part of it. I'm also happy to know that there are girls who love Sentai over here.

 

[Toku Prime]

From what I've read in various places, Changeman was the first to have a more serious "for all ages" tone, which lasted until the end of Jetman. Then it took a step in a more "lighthearted" direction for Zyuranger (they were going to go back to being more serious with Ohranger, but real world circumstances meant that the show was more successful when it was kept lightweight and happy). With Megaranger it got shifted from an eveing slot to it's current Sunday morning 'kids TV' slot. They then went even further into "kiddy" territory from Gaoranger onwards. These are meant to be general trends though. Timeranger is usually recognised as being darker than the shows around it. Having seen all of Dairanger I'd say it gets darker and more mature as it goes along.

Nowadays sentai is pretty much regarded as being for kids. True, they (much like Kamen Rider) might throw in characters designed to appeal to another member of the family who watch TV with that kid. But that's a peripheral demographic.

Otaku does not mean geek. It goes way beyond that. Otaku are reclusive shut-ins who spend all their money on their obsession and are regarded as outcasts by Japanese society. Nobuo is a very idealised depiction of otaku, but Akibaranger is aimed at real otaku (who wouldn't need episode notes to get all the references).