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I don't really have much to add about the discourse over gore in Kamen Rider. If it's not on TV, in the children's time slot, then it really doesn't strike me as shocking.
But I do want to touch on the the topic of infantilizing media, especially Japanese media.
But I do want to touch on the the topic of infantilizing media, especially Japanese media.
I think a big part of the reaction comes from fans treating tokusatsu as some pure bastion of precious, sexless, apolitical, pacifist entertainment.
This is large large in part due to Super Hero Time, and a lot of younger fans being introduced through American adaptations.
This is large large in part due to Super Hero Time, and a lot of younger fans being introduced through American adaptations.
Ignoring the fact that those shows are largely about battles, and battles are - inherently- violence.
But so many fans have built the narrative universes into these puritanical spaces, and project that candy-coated pillow-soft perception over the whole genre.
When anything more mature is introduced into the genre (violence, moral dilemma, sexual, politics) they reject it.
When anything more mature is introduced into the genre (violence, moral dilemma, sexual, politics) they reject it.
(Disregarding male gaze, which is a bigger topic systemic to media as a whole, and deserves to be discussed as a more complex issue)
And look, I've been a fan of the genre for decades. I've seen a lot of conflict over this issue.
Intense violence isn't new, but every time it appears there's debate over whether it belongs in the genre.
Intense violence isn't new, but every time it appears there's debate over whether it belongs in the genre.
To these fans, it was an unwelcome outlier that doesn't belong in the genre when it was Garo. Or Hakaider. Or Kamen Rider Shin. Or Amazons. Or Iria Zeiram.
Or as far back as the original Amazon.
At the end of the day, we're talking a genre that appeals to a lot of ages.
Or as far back as the original Amazon.
At the end of the day, we're talking a genre that appeals to a lot of ages.
Some fans have infantilized the characters to the point that they're offended when the ACTORS behave like normal adults, so it shouldn't be a surprise that they do the same to the entire genre.
This is a great point, and I want to expand on this.
Yes, it's shocking to see cartoonish gore in ANY genre. That's the point.
But why is it any less shocking when civilians are killed in these shows? Even off-screen, the implication is still there. https://twitter.com/Spindash54/status/1359590555207012354?s=19
Yes, it's shocking to see cartoonish gore in ANY genre. That's the point.
But why is it any less shocking when civilians are killed in these shows? Even off-screen, the implication is still there. https://twitter.com/Spindash54/status/1359590555207012354?s=19
The biggest trope in all of Kamen Rider is the Rider Kick making the enemy explode.
Why is that any less gruesome, just because there is no blood shown?
What about when the monsters do bleed, like in the original Amazon? Or is it only human blood that we reject?
Why is that any less gruesome, just because there is no blood shown?
What about when the monsters do bleed, like in the original Amazon? Or is it only human blood that we reject?
And just to add one more thing; you don't have to watch EVERYTHING in the genre. There are too many completionist fans that feel like they must engage with every single piece of media or they're a "bad fan"
Watch what you want. Engage with whatever you're comfortable with.
Watch what you want. Engage with whatever you're comfortable with.
But don't try to scorch the earth of an entire genre because it doesn't fit into the box that you created for it.
