iceeyu:I very often exclaim “KIDS SHOWS” as though confused as to how a series and genre
iceeyu:I very often exclaim “KIDS SHOWS” as though confused as to how a series and genre that is supposedly aimed at children could make me so emotion or could cause so much pain for both their viewers and characters. As though these men in brightly coloured suits and over-saturated visuals were made purely for my adult pleasure. Sometimes I question what kind of child is watching a series filled with action, attack names, over the top graphics and toy-promotion-friendly accessories.I know KR is targeted at kids. I also know Toei knows they have an older audience and likes to slip in some deeper, slightly “darker” undertones (some more subtle than others) for said audience.Maybe, just maybe, Kamen Rider is made for all to enjoy.I could have put more effort into this and picked more appropriate screenshots but you get the idea.In sweden we have a belowed children’s book author called Astrid Lindgren, who is tapping the same well as Kobayashi.The thing is, I feel that the term “kids show” in the US for the longest time meant something dumbed down and safe. But in books… one of my favorite Astrid Lindgren books deals with a kid with tuberculosis knowing he is going to die, but then ends up being saved from their burning building by his healthy big brother, who ends up dying before them. They both end up in the fantasy land the big brother made up tales about to comfort his dying little brother (The Brothers Lionheart) where they have to fight an underground fight against the system to preserve what good is left in the world.Another is about a kid with an abusive caretaker who dreams about the day when his real dad will come home and rescue him from his hell (he doesn’t have a dad). He makes up all these elaborate fantasies that his dad is a king somewhere, and it turns out that he is, in a different dimension. He crosses over, but the kingdom is far from idyllic, and he and his new friend has to battle all the miseries of the world just to get by (Mio my Mio). I still remember the ‘sorrow birds’, humans who had died from starvation and who haunted the heavens, and their song made people starve to death and join them. Or something like that. I don’t remember.I haven’t read them in maybe thirty years, but I do remember the feeling I had when I did. It is that feeling I get from watching good Tokusatsu. Children can and need to handle darkness and sorrow and terror because life is not easy as a kid. Not for everyone. And if I, as an adult, can connect to and be helped by for example Eiji’s journey, I can imagine how it must feel for a ten year old with the same issues. The best childrens tales can be enjoyed by both children and adults. sometimes for the same reasons, and sometimes for different ones. I am so happy that the new generation of American cartoons are really stepping up their game, Adventure Time as the brightest shining star among them (for me). -- source link
#i suck