The Interview with Hideaki Tsukada (Gekiranger's producer)

[Ladymercury]

I understand his standpoint, also, you must consider that there are Parental groups and stuff that may oppose thus the changes.

“Well, in past instalments like Hurricanger there have been deaths of good characters to add to the drama. But those deaths have been taken to heart by our young viewers so much that right now we are trying to avoid it. Personally I think there‘s enough bad things happening in the world, so at least in the Super Sentai series we want to stick to a more idealized world without dying heroes.” "

If he's staying that due to these deaths, younger children are getting hit hard emotionally about it. We don't need to have 8 year olds crying and stuff because their favorite character died. Children shows are aimed to show that the hero always wins and will always come out victorious. How the good guy always gets the girl in the end.

And he is right, there are too many problems in our world to day to idolize the aspects of death in a children show. Like he said, Super Sentai is usually the first TV drama a young child watches in Japan -- Super Sentai has a vast influence on Japanese culture and its future.

I agree with his methods in regards to that. For his choice of annoying reds and cute girls, not so much; but in regards to death and extreme violence in a kids show? I totally agree.

 

[Aoi Kurenai]

I don't mind the lack of any extreme violence because that's something I see as pointless in shows like these. I guess my major gripe is that his view of Sentai is too idealized. It's not like I want children to be in shock for the rest of their young lives, nor do I ever want Sentai to become some super gritty realistic drama, but I don't see anything wrong with death. If handled correctly I think it can inspire people, and I've seen Sentai do it before, maybe not in Hurricanger though.

By the time you're 8, I think you should at least have a vague idea about the concept of death, and I do think Sentai could be a great way to teach it to kids because it can be idealistic about certain aspects of death and slowly start kids on the track of knowing that it's a natural part of life, but like I said, my major gripe is when it becomes too idealistic about everything.

Avoiding death and just making it an idealized world sort of seems to me what a lot of soccer moms in the U.S. love to do. I understand how screwed up of a place this world is and don't want every facet of it to invade Sentai, but there are times when I think the show could stand to do with some exception. And like Takumi said, Kamen Rider is a show aimed at relatively the same age group, yet they've got no problem with killing off a multitude of main characters. I don't know, maybe that's because Kamen Rider prides itself in being more "realistic".

 

[Inui Takumi]

yeh, it doesnt need to be gory or overly violent. but avoiding the concept altogether and sugar-coating everything doesnt help much. when i was a kid, i had some concept of wat death was. and i used to watch shows my dad watched, which had some death in it. that helped me to prepare for wats ahead. it doesnt have to be like mindless killing or handled in a very improper fashion. but i dont think it should be done totally away with. i just dont want it to turn into a carbon copy of recent Power Rangers, thats all.

 

[Abare Black]

I don't see the problem with death in a Sentai series. Its a fact of life and something kids need to understand. If people go out and fight for what's right, they might not always come home at the end of the day. Its sad, but that's the way it is. To imply that good always wins is only setting kids up for disappointment.

I'm not saying the series should be a blood bath, but it certainly shouldn't surgar coat everything, making the world out to be this perfect, happy place. It isn't. That's what Power Rangers does for the most part and look what happened there. Some kid attempted to scare a robber with a toy sword! He saw invincible Rangers on his tv and was under the impression that he was too. Occasionally showing death in a kids show puts things into perspective for them. It helps them understand that the things those heroes do are in fact dangerous. I personally think that's a pretty important point for the show to make.

This is just my opinion of course. I'm not into fighting with anybody. Just putting my two cents in.

 

[Shougo B'Stard]

Just because children are the target audience doesn't mean it needs to be mindless, candycoated rubbish, which is what Tsukada is more fond of delivering. That's the kind of thinking that causes 99.9% of all current American's children programming to be junk, it's small thinking.

And, despite what Tsukada says, I don't buy that the state of the world is what softens the shows, otherwise Rider shows wouldn't be chock-full of those unlikable, cocky a-holes bent on beating each other to death. It's obviously a difference in the way producers approach it -- but I still think sentai being paired up with Rider is most damaging, it takes the hit to allow Rider to be the "dark" emo-fest it's become. Morning scheduled sentais prior to it featured its share of death (hell, the more lighthearted Gingaman even had Kurokishi's kid brother be killed by a cackling Zahab).

 

[Doggy Kruger]

I think it switched this year.

Sentai being the darker one while Kamen rider is the lighter one.