Adult Pinoy Tokusatsu Fans Are More Mature Than Adult Pinoy Teleserye Fans


I remembered how I wrote about possible, common and irritating ways that Pinoy teleserye viewers make fun of Pinoy Toku fans. As a self-employed adult, I'm now writing this piece for every adult Pinoy Toku viewer to gather their true spirit to continue the battle for a better Philippines.

There's a huge difference between feeling mature and being mature

You could feel mature because you do a lot of stuff that are "cool" to do like disobeying curfews, getting drunk, looking for fistfights and smoking in inappropriate places. Is that what maturity really is? To be mature is a person who has achieved a desired state or one who is low but stable in one's growth rate, fully developed and one who makes judgments based on slow and careful consideration. So what's with Pinoy Tokusatsu fans? While some of them may suffer from some weaknesses but they still work hard, they are aware of how screwed up society is and they'd do anything to combat the stupidity that plagues the Philippines.

So what makes a mature Pinoy? This is the Pinoy who follows simple guidelines. They don't have the mentality of "I will kill myself if I have to follow rules." They try to follow rules as much as possible and they take accountability for every time they break the rules. It's like you jaywalked and you decided to pay PHP 50.00 without fighting with the traffic enforcers or you pay for your traffic violations if you committed them. If they ever commit any offenses they are very minimal compared to those who don't want to follow simple guidelines. Those who don't follow simple guidelines won't get anywhere in life compared to those who do.


Should I mention that teleseryes may be teaching people that it's cool to break the rules? I was reminded of the incident where Daniel Padilla shook the cherry tree even if there's a rule against it. It's also a violation of common sense not to shake any tree in any country. On the other hand, Tokusatsu deals with people who can't follow rules and decide to make them follow rules. It reminds me of how people like Gai Yuki in Jetman and Masumi Inou in Boukenger were team rebels at first but they end up becoming less and less rebellious in their respective series. They also show the consequences of not following rules as much as possible.

Super Sentai may "feel kiddie" at times but they always encourage children to grow up into responsible members of society


One good example is how ToQGer actually encourages its characters to grow up as human beings. Sure, they're children stuck in the bodies of adults but they grew up along the way. They embraced the reality that they must face to win the battle so they can free everyone else. Sure the ToQGers went back to being children. That alone should be a point to what it means to grow up as a human. ToQGer itself may not be my favorite Super Sentai series with Yasuko Kobayashi as the head writer but it still deserves to be recognized for teaching children not to be afraid to grow up and face the fears as they go through life.

Tokusatsu encourages maturity with one keyphrase: character development. Some seasons have young people stuck in a group of adults. Maskman has Akira, Jetman has Ako and Shinkenger has Chiaki and Kotoha (who feel like what if Akira and Ako were in a team of adults). I still can't forget how Akira matured as a 16 year old. Ako may have been greedy at first but she realizes that money is worthless if the world is destroyed. Chiaki and Kotoha both saved the day as responsible adults. In Ninninger, we have Fuuka being the more mature character over her dimwitted older brother Takaharu who is still more mature than the teleserye guys.

I thought about how often teleseryes may seem "mature" because of the violence and bed scenes but do they encourage all sorts of immature behavior. I could start with how often the teleserye girls are victim card players. I remembered writing about how teleserye girls suck over Super Sentai girls. As much as I feel Super Sentai now lacks the tougher than nails cast since Gaoranger up to present but they didn't to be all that tough to be warriors. Just watching some of Hammy's focus episodes makes all teleserye girls fall flat in one move. She may be young and somewhat inexperienced but she tries to mature out of her current self. One reason why I'm not even watching The Worse Half no matter how hot Shaina Magdayao is all because of her character Camille is such a whiny crybaby. I don't care how many bedscenes they put but Camille is so freaking immature.


What immaturity can be commonly seen in teleseryes? You can name the instances where characters overreact over just anything. A lot of punching, weapon pointing and slapping happens for petty reasons. It's even encouraged as many times the protagonist tries to be "gutsy" by hitting the other person. There's a lot of screaming and shouting like toddlers fighting over a toy or a toddler in a toy store or candy store. It's full of adults who are acting like children. On the other hand, people in Tokusatsu may start off immature but they start to act as responsible adults for most of the series.

Tokusatsu may be a toy commercial but it still makes you think about what life is about even as an adult


How do Tokusatsu shows tend to make you think? My head got stuck in thought after watching Kyuranger episodes 22 and 23 which showed the problems of Jark Matter's historical revisionism and their biased news network. The two episodes felt like a wake-up call to people around not to get fooled by the sensationalist news networks or how often revisionism is used to fool people. The Jark Matter rewrote the history books telling everyone that Don Armage is their Universe' hero and they have a news network that controls the thinking of their viewers. Zyuohger also makes people appreciate the unity in diversity which must also be respected. Ninninger may have been a comedic ninja show but it still makes you evaluate what must change and what must go. Kamen Rider Ghost features some history lessons while Kamen Rider EX-AID is so full of areas where you must make difficult decisions.

What I'm not liking much about Tokusatsu these days is how often it's more focused as a toy commercial but then these merchandise are still needed. You need a lot of successful Bandai merchandise to keep the show going on and the money rolling in. I thought about life's lessons are in Super Sentai even if they're not in every episode. I thought about how Fiveman's PSA-style writing may have not worked at first but I think some 90s children found inspiration through it. GoGoFive and ToQGer are both shows that make you aware of safety rules. Winspector and Solbrain (and I'm yet to see Exceedraft) help you analyze what's wrong with society even if they're so full of science fiction elements. Dekaranger may be a hammy show for most of its run but it's still full of life lessons. Zyuranger's child of the week is pretty much a PSA to where the Zyurangers teach children about some of life's greatest lessons.


Sometimes, you may be looking back at a few life lessons. I still can't forget the episode that focuses on X-1 Mask in Maskman (where he has to life in the present and for the future) or how Gai Yuki matured as a character in Jetman. I still thought how Doctor Man's backstory in Bioman still gives me chills whenever I wish I had the power to accelerate by brain beyond its capacity. I thought about the place where Ryu had to learn to let go of Rie after she was killed by Radiguet or to put his vendetta aside in order to win. As of late, I also think about how Lucky may get annoying with his happy go lucky facade but it's revealed that he's trying to focus on his mission instead of his tragic past. I think Tsurugi or Phoenix Warrior is going to learn a new lesson with next week's Kyuranger. I can't still forget how Jetman's Ryu taught us it's okay to cry and that real men aren't afraid to cry so they can recover from their emotional stress.

On the other hand, teleseryes just make you brainless because they're so anti-intellectual. All they make you think are the "kilig" moments, you're only encouraged to feel sorry for the character but not to encourage the character, to enjoy one's victim status as a damsel in distress, it's okay to do anything if it's out of love never mind such a relationship is disastrous (ex. rich girl dating the poor bad boy) or just anything that makes teleserye viewers so immature and stupid from watching them.

Comments

  1. I agree but i think the problem here was that you generalizing people who as same as crazed fan as you (i.e obsessed in J-Dramas, K-Pop, anime, and more asians thingy [wait,what?! is it true by watching all of these makes you matured? ]) but you don't look mostly in Filipinos who are also by watching other hit tv series
    and films in Hollywood (people here are matured enough making great tv sohows and movies.)

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