Single Girl Only Sentais - Problem or No?

[Vitor]

I would be all for male Cures. But if PreCure had one or two guys on the team every season, it's understandable that people would want to see more of them

It's essentially an argument that I heard over on 4chan's mecha board when the news of "Kyrouranger's gender insensitivity" first broke. I know how detrimental it must be to have so few strong female characters in boy's shows, but the fact that males aren't well represented in girl's show either doesn't help that much

I think both sides are a bit guilty of sexism

 

[lazycoconut]

It's essentially an argument that I heard over on 4chan's mecha board when the news of "Kyrouranger's gender insensitivity" first broke. I know how detrimental it must be to have so few strong female characters in boy's shows, but the fact that males aren't well represented in girl's show either doesn't help that much

I think both sides are a bit guilty of sexism

I agree :/ it doesn't help that there are more boy-oriented shows than girl-oriented shows out there, but the "token guy" in girls' shows always get really lame roles.

There'll Always Be Inequality (to the tune of There'll Always Be an England)

 

[PsychoGokaiger]

It's because the prevailing view in Japan is still that women should get married and stay at home with kids (although that's slowly changing, and more women are not doing either.) Thus, they don't want to show a woman who is still devoted to battle after her early 20s - by that time, she's supposed to have "grown up" and be thinking about marriage instead. It also means that female idols start their careers earlier, so the girls who audition for Sentai are probably younger than the guys; typically, Sentai casts are made up of inexperienced idols just starting out. GoseiPink's actress said that she almost wasn't cast because she was 22 and they thought that was too old

Definitely odd. And for example the Pink ranger in Kyouryuger is a 16 year old actress. Even if they don't go very far past 20, I'd at least like to see them around 20, especially when the guys typically are at least that old. Or at least 19. Ha, I mean, they're usually playing adults not students, the 16 year old is playing an 18 year old according to the wiki, just a bit odd. I know it's a cultural thing, but the older they are the more actors seem to emote and be genuinely better at acting.

 

[lazycoconut]

Definitely odd. And for example the Pink ranger in Kyouryuger is a 16 year old actress. Even if they don't go very far past 20, I'd at least like to see them around 20, especially when the guys typically are at least that old. Or at least 19. Ha, I mean, they're usually playing adults not students, the 16 year old is playing an 18 year old according to the wiki, just a bit odd. I know it's a cultural thing, but the older they are the more actors seem to emote and be genuinely better at acting.

Female idols in Japan tend to start out earlier because they know that when they get married/have kids they'll be under pressure to give up their careers. If they stay in showbiz, after 30 or so they're liable to get stuck in dull "middle aged mother" roles (obviously there are exceptions.) So they like to start out as young teenagers, when they're more in demand and can raise their profile enough that by the late teens/early 20s they can compete for prestigious drama or movie roles.

Sentai and Kamen Rider have been using very young actresses for at least the last five years now, the last Sentai with heroines over 20 was Goseiger. They sometimes play older though - KyoryuPink is supposed to be 18-19 even though the actress is younger.

 

[ChiPsiUp]

So inadditional to KyoryuGold, we got another Kyoryuger reveal:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IrKL930pJww/USsRmSEWlfI/AAAAAAAAuO4/f6ZSf4xY5qQ/s1600/kyoryucyan.jpg

KyoryuCyan! And... still not a girl. Really. Cyan is a pretty darn feminine color already.

 

[RyuSensei]

So inadditional to KyoryuGold, we got another Kyoryuger reveal:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IrKL930pJww/USsRmSEWlfI/AAAAAAAAuO4/f6ZSf4xY5qQ/s1600/kyoryucyan.jpg

Is it just me, or does that look like a J.R.R. Tolkien style dwarf? Maybe it IS female! When dealing with dwarfs, never let the beard fool you (Learned that the hard way my first year of university).

 

[Vitor]

KyoryuCyan! And... still not a girl. Really. Cyan is a pretty darn feminine color already.

We've had males as Cyan before, Ninja Blue ring any bells?

There's also Geki Violet seeing as how purple is usually seen as a girl color for some reason despite being representative of royalty and power

 

[Loghorn]

I've been living in Japan since 2007 and I've found that the general rule of thumb is that Japan is roughly 30 years behind the US in terms of gender equality.

For example, I remember a few years ago when the government passed a law allowing women to keep their maiden names after marriage if they chose (I found the reaction of "This will DESTROY the institution of marriage!" laughable).

By that metric, how many children's shows from 1983 had what we would consider non-stereotypical female characters? Back then, the very idea of an "Action Girl" like Teela or Cheetara was still a new concept. Girls were dragon-bait and little else.

Personally, I think Sentai has made some good strides in recent years with characters like Luka and Mako from Gokaiger and Shinkenger respectfully.

As for Kyouryuger, this strikes me as a very defensive sentai series. They did a lot of experimenting with the formula last year and it didn't pay off in toy sales OR ratings so this year the theme of the series seems to be, "Do what we know works." Dinosaurs, small collectibles, magic/magi-tek, and apparently taking as few risks as possible. That includes making Pink the only girl.

As difficult as it may be for Americans to wrap their heads around, Japan simply has a different view of women and femininity than we do. It is changing (slowly but surely) in normal society, but such changes are not going to hit TV shows aimed so young any time soon.

I agree. Not every country is like the U.S. This is Toei's series. There's nothing that we can do anything about it.

If you want sentai series with one girl/woman on a team, then go watch Goranger, J.A.K.Q., Battle Fever J, Denjiman, Goggle V, Dynaman, Liveman, Turboranger, Zyuranger, Dairanger, Kakuranger, Gingaman, GoGoV, Timeranger, Gaoranger, Hurricaneger, Abaranger, Gekiranger, Go-Onger (before episode 17), Go-Busters, or Kyoryuger.

If you want sentai series with two or more girls/women on a team, then go watch Bioman, Changeman, Flashman, Maskman, Fiveman, Jetman, Ohranger, Carranger, Megaranger, Dekaranger, Magiranger, Boukenger, Go-Onger (starting in episode 17), Shinkenger, Goseiger, or Gokaiger.

And if you want a series with no girls/women on a team, then there's Sun Vulcan. LOL.

 

[Berty]

Also during Super Hero Taisen, Yoko was LITERALLY kicked out of the mecha and replaced by Fourze, even though it makes no sense she would just suddenly fall out like that. But she was "the girl" and obviously the least important member, and someone had to make room for Fourze.

Yeah, when that happened I was pissed off. And that's putting it gently.

 

[Yoona]

Honestly I think two girls is superior to one for several reasons. Other posters have already mentioned the danger of a lone heroine being made into "the girl" and not getting much development beyond that, and though I don't think that necessarily will happen if there's only one girl on the team, there's a much stronger possibility. Another thing is when a team has two women, the show can develop their friendship - and I think that's an important, positive message to send to both boys and girls watching the show, that female friendships can be as nurturing and meaningful as male friendships. Think about it, how many of the famous duos and friendships in media are both women? How often do you see women saying they don't have any female friends because "women are all catty bitches" - and how rarely do you hear the reverse from men? There's a reason the Bechdel Test exists. I really love seeing friendships like Umeko and Jasmine's and Mako and Kotoha's in my Sentai, I think it's great for kids to see stuff like that.

Having said all that, it's not a total disaster if there's only one heroine on the team. It's still possible for her to be a well-rounded, likeable and identifiable character. I'd rather have one well developed heroine than two shallow heroines.