So, I thought about what Nihon Hero revealed about an age-restricted spin-off film. Granted, actress Nashiko Momotsuki appeared in GARO VERSUS ROAD which isn't a movie for children. I guess it's only normal to have an age-restricted film, right? The age restriction also made me think SOME bold stars did star in Super Sentai. For example, both Turboranger and Carranger had a bold star namely Kanako Kishi (Jarmin) and Rika Nanase (Zonette). I wonder if Toei really knows what they're doing in allowing such actresses to be starring in what should be a kiddie show?
The plot will also involve older alumni returning as gang members too. This would be the classic case of "Same actor, different characters". It's nice and refreshing to see older cast members return as different characters. It was a trend during the 80s to 90s such as how some guest characters did a previous role or how some villains were played by celebrities who played rangers. Others played villains from one show to another. I kinda wish Yutaka Hirose, Kenichi Endo, and Rintaro Nishi were on that gangster list. Also, too bad that Radiguet's actor, Daisuke Tachi, passed away a few years ago. Tachi could've been interesting considering how scary (and badass) Radiguet was in Jetman.
This also brings to mind the Dekarangers after more than ten years. Dekaranger had a ten years after movie in 2014 followed up by its rather mature crossover film with Gavan. The Dekarangers ended up getting more mature scenes than they were allowed more than ten years ago. Dekaranger back in 2004 had a lack of violence found in the Rescue Police series in the 90s. For example, my favorite Metal Hero entry, Janperson is way more violent than the Robocop cartoons or the Robocop TV series that came a year later. Janperson may be "Robocop Lite" but it still has some questionable scenes. The older Super Sentai series before Gaoranger tend to have more violence and blood than Super Sentai is ever permitted to do these days. The spin-offs after Dekaranger are hardly child-friendly such as the Girls in Trouble spin-off movie. I think Dekaranger's ten years after movie isn't canon to the series but canon to the crossover movies. Gone is the feel-good environment that Dekaranger offered the children back in the 2000s.
So, I wonder why is Toei actually planning to do this age-restricted spin-off with Kiramager of all seasons? I guess this is a classic case that a Super Sentai didn't click too much with the intended audience (children) but with the secondary audience (that is, teenagers to young adults). Some older Toku series by Toei also had that issue. Metalder and Maskman clicked more with the older audience. Timeranger also had that effect. I think perhaps Go-Busters too. So, did Kiramager fail to succeed like ToQGer did? ToQGer had a Railroad Day Award. I think ToQGer was a hit with the children and they became more aware of the importance of trains in Japan. Kiramager may have gotten the older demographic instead in spite of its lighter setting. I can't be sure about that! I'm just guessing on that part. If Kiramager had lower toy sales then maybe it's because it didn't click too much with the children. Maybe, it had more older fans which might explain why an age-restricted movie is coming up this August 2021. =P
I strongly agree on this one. There were a few kid-friendly films that were shown on the Toei Tokusatsu Fan Club (TTFC) Website like for example, Hero Mama League of 2018. That 16-minute film involved Super Sentai Heroines-Mothers who can still fight while looking after their own children as mothers. However, when it comes to the darker and edgier ones, I think the only way I can say is that those that are not children and teenagers are not allowed to view this very controversial film because of the bloodier and gorier scenes of Yodonna and Mizuki Kakihara, Juuru Atsuta's/KiramaiRed's classmate who is now in college. That's some kind of losing the glittering in there due to the focus of a merciless villain. Should I say, "Kiramai...STOP!!!"?
ReplyDeleteNext time: Please discuss the lighter and softer film of another Kiramager Spinoff: The Music Video Drama of Muryou Hakataminami and Takamichi Crystalia/KiramaiSilver. Muryou's high school dream in the early 1990's was to become a singer, but after seeing his "nii-nii" or his elder brother Takamichi glittering too much, the former was jealous of the latter. However, Takamichi reassured that his younger brother will fulfill his dream. This has been tied up or related to last month's Mashin Sentai Kiramager Vs. Ryusoulger Movie. Pikotaro and Hiroya Matsumoto will be appearing on that film. Now, that's light and soft for the kids unlike this one! Let's discuss that some other time, okay?