[Kamen Rider Die]

Quote:

Originally Posted by catwhowalks

These episodes seem to be mostly in Sentai and Ultraman, which are aimed at younger views, I think, so maybe you haven't seen it as much. Older kids are, apparently, expected to have already learned that it's okay to be abandoned by your parents.

The problem for me is that I've seen too many of these stories in Kamen Rider. Dozens of Kamen Rider stories (and most Ghost movies) circle around... I was going to say "forgiving your dad for not being there for you when you needed him", but these stories aren't even about forgiveness. They're about realizing it's selfish to expect your parents to put you ahead of their career, and I don't love it. I get that it's a common story to tell (I think I referred to it as a "trope"), but it's one I can't ever get into.

The thing that's always so weird to me is how much these shows can tell stories about absentee parents who Had Good Reasons for not being around, while simultaneously telling stories about found families that're there for each no matter what... and never seem to acknowledge the disconnect of those two stories.

Anyway, yeah, tokusatsu shows love to teach children that it's part of growing up to get let down by your parents, and it's childish to hold it against them. I don't have to like it, though.