American and Japanese Perspectives on Power Rangers and Super Sentai

American and Japanese Perspectives on Power Rangers and Super Sentai Chelsea Nagy Spring Semester 2012 Advisors: Dr. Shigeko Sekine Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott

Significance of Study Outline Research Questions Research Background Study 1 Research Method Findings Study 2 Research Method Findings Summary of Findings Conclusion Discussion Bibliography Acknowledgements

Significance of the Study I first watched Power Rangers when I was 6 years old. In 2011, while studying abroad, I was introduced to Super Sentai. I became interested in how perceptions of Japanese and American audiences differ when it comes to Super Sentai and Power Rangers.

Research Questions 1. How does the popularity of Super Sentai and Power Rangers differ among Japanese and American audiences? What makes Super Sentai appeal to their Japanese and American audiences? 2. To what extent does age influence the appeal of Super Sentai and Power Rangers? 3. What are the similarities and differences in how Super Sentai and Power Rangers are marketed in Japan vs. U.S.? What gender roles are shown and how are they perceived by their Japanese and American audiences?

Research Background Outline 1. Introduction 2. Background of Super Sentai and Power Rangers. 3. The inspiration for Super Sentai. 4. How Super Sentai reflects Japanese culture. 5. Why it was adapted for American audiences. 6. Weekly viewing statistics in Japan and America.

Introduction 1. Super Sentai Japanese Superhero T.V. Show Utilizes group dynamics (Usually 5 member teams) 2. Power Rangers American adaptation of Super Sentai

What is Super Sentai? Children s Super Hero T.V. Show Every Sunday morning for 30 min. Produced by Toei Co., Ltd. First series to use Super Sentai name: Battle Fever J on Feb. 3, 1979 Currently running 37th series: Jyuden Sentai Kyoryuger 1 st 37 th

What is Power Rangers? American adaptation of Super Sentai Every Saturday Afternoon for 30 minutes Produced by SCG (Saban Capital Group) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers- Aug. 28, 1993 Adapted from 16th Super Sentai Series Currently - 19 th series Power Rangers Megaforce 1 st 19 th

Super Sentai vs. Power Rangers Super Sentai Character death Bad Language Blood Footage Villains Costumes (Allison, 2006) Power Rangers Diverse Ethnicities Theme Music (Everett, 2009)

Inspiration For Super Sentai Ultra Man (1966) Cyborg 009 (1968) Kamen Rider (1971) These shows all feature superheroes Team dynamics were taken from Cyborg 009 Kamen Rider introduced transforming into masked heroes

Reflections of Culture: Group Mentality 1. According to Triandis (1985) Japan is a collectivistic culture and America is a individualistic culture Collectivism Concern for hurting or imposing upon others (Kim, 1994) Directness is ineffective (Kim & Wilson, 1994) Emphasize interdependency Individualism Emphasize personal goals (Triandis, 1988) Individuals take responsibility for immediate family and friends (Gudykunst et. all, 1996) Directness is more effective (Kim & Wilson, 1994)

Reflections of Culture: Female Japan Gender Roles It wasn t until 1986 that women began to gain equal rights in Japan The latest change for women s rights came in 2007 Women could not be fired do to absences caused by pregnancy/childbirth Women and men became protected from sexual harassment (, n.d.) America Women s rights movements began as early as 1848 1975 Sex Discrimination Act made men and women equal in the workplace and education (Imbornoni, n.d.) ( Sex Discrimination Act 1975, n.d.)

The Adaptation of Super Sentai Haim Saban (1944~) Saban Capital Group Chairman and CEO First introduced to Super Sentai on a business trip to Japan (Grays, 1996) Asked various production companies to take on Power Rangers, but all of them declined Finally he met with Margaret Loesch who later produced Power Rangers 13 13

The adaptation of Super Sentai Margaret Loesch (Unknown~) Former FOX Childrens Network President and CEO Wanted a new and different type of children s show "Everybody, including my boss, has said the same thing: what a piece of junk. It may have lousy production values, but it has fantastically imagined characters.

Viewing Statistics Japan Averaging 1.67 mil. viewers every week Approximately 1.3% of population 10.03% of kids ages 0-14 America Averaging 1.75 mil. viewers every week

Research Methods (1) Study Participants: Japanese 15 Male 15 Female Americans 15 Male 15 Female Ages 18-25 Research Instrument Google Docs Online Survey English Survey Japanese Survey (2) Study participants: Japanese 2 Male 2 Female Americans 2 Male 2 Female Ages 18-25 Research Instrument After watching 2 episodes of Super Sentai/Power Rangers, answer a written questionnaire Questionnaire English)

Study 1

Survey Findings 1 Research Question 1 1. How does the popularity of Super Sentai and Power Rangers differ among Japanese and American audiences? What makes Super Sentai appeal to their Japanese and American audiences?

Survey Findings 1-1 People who have seen Power Rangers Both Japanese and Americans have very high viewing statistics, but America s is slightly higher.

Survey Findings 1-2 Number of different series seen Most Japanese and Americans had seen 1-5 different series. There is one Japanese person who had seen 11-15

Survey Findings 1-3 Most Popular Power Rangers Series Top 3 1 2 3 Japanese Mighty Morhphin Alien Rangers Power Rangers S.P.D. Power Rangers Light Speed Rescue Americans Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Power Rangers Time Force Power Rangers Ninja Storm Japanese and Americans liked very different series.

Survey Findings 2 Research Question 2 2. To what extent does age influence the appeal of Super Sentai and Power Rangers?

Survey Findings 2-1 Perceptions on what age group Super Sentai and Power Rangers are geared towards. 88% of Japanese said it was for children 5-7 years old. Americans think that Power Rangers is geared towards an older audience.

Survey Findings 2-2 Age they stopped watching Super Sentai/ Power Rangers. Japanese 64% of Japanese stopped watching by age 13. Americans stopped watching at an older age, and some are still watching.

Survey Findings 3 Research Question 3 3. What are the similarities and differences in how Super Sentai and Power Rangers are marketed in Japan vs. U.S.? What gender roles are shown and how are they perceived by their Japanese and American audiences?

Survey Findings 3-1 How did you find out about Power Rangers? Both Japanese and Americans found out through TV Ads, but Japanese also found out through family and friends

Survey Findings 3-2 What kind of merchandise did you own? Most Americans owned toys and clothing. Most Japanese owned toys and stationary.

Survey Findings 3-3 Percentage of very common and common responses to how common the following were in an episode While percentages are low in both series, they were significantly more common in Japan s Super Sentai

Study 2

Questionnaire Findings 1-1 Aspects of the show that are APPEALING were similar Super Sentai Power Rangers Japanese Characters Special FX Americans Characters Storyline Special FX Costumes Super Sentai Japanese Actors Music Power Rangers Americans Nothing Undecided Nothing Characters

Questionnaire Findings 1-2 Age perceptions after watching the shows. Super Sentai Power Rangers Japanese 8-10 year olds 8-10 year olds Americans 11-13 year olds 11-13 year olds After watching the shows, Americans still believe it s targeted at an older audience. However, the Japanese did give a higher age than previously

Questionnaire Findings 1-3 Women s Portrayal in Power Rangers/Super Sentai Japanese Super Sentai Cute Vulnerable Power Rangers Cute/Cool Independent/Smart Americans Cute Vulnerable/Weak Strong Independent/Cute Americans and Japanese agree that the American portrayal of women is cute but independent They also agree that Japanese women are portrayed as cute and vulnerable

Summary of Findings 1 1. How does the popularity of Super Sentai and Power Rangers differ among Japanese and American audiences? A surprising number of people have seen Super Sentai and Power Rangers Japanese are more interested in storylines Americans are more attracted to visuals The series that Japanese and Americans liked were very different More Americans watched Power Rangers than Japanese watched Super Sentai

Summary of Findings 2 2. To what extent does age influence the appeal of Super Sentai and Power Rangers? Viewers age influenced how they viewed the show when they were young and how they view it now Americans think both Power Rangers/Super Sentai are for pre-teen/teenage audiences Japanese believed that Power Rangers/Super Sentai are for younger children After watching the show their target age opinion increased Age was the main reason for people to stop watching the show

Summary of Findings 3 3. What are the similarities and differences in how Super Sentai and Power Rangers are marketed in Japan vs. U.S.? Marketing Super Sentai (Japan) Boys Relies on word of mouth Power Rangers (America) Boys and girls Utilizes TV commercials Female Portrayal Cute/Vulnerable Cute/Independent Preferred Female Ranger Image Japanese They are cute and relatable Americans They are Independent/strong Americans prefer American gender roles (strong/ independent) Japanese prefer Japanese gender roles (cute/relatable)

Conclusion Super Sentai and Power Rangers are both extremely popular shows Japanese liked storylines where the Sentai were portrayed as police like figures Americans were more drawn to the action and visual aspects of the shows Even though Super Sentai and Power Rangers are perceived as kids shows, it is still enjoyable for adults Super Sentai and Power Rangers reflect current cultural trends of gender roles Japanese viewers liked the Japanese representations of women Americans liked American representations Localization may be necessary

Important Findings Discussion Women s portrayal reflects stereotypical societal gender roles in both countries Japanese series uses harsher language and violence compared to the U.S. However, Japanese felt it was geared towards a younger audience despite the violence Limitations Participants were only adults aged 18-27 Smaller number of participants in both studies Future Studies Focus more on the changes in female gender portrayal and whether it follows historical trends

Bibliography Allison, A.(2006). The Japan Fad in Global Youth Culture and Millennial Capitalism. Mechademia 1(1), 11-21. University of Minnesota Press. Retrieved October 25, 2012, from Project MUSE database. Allison, A. (2006). Millennial monsters: Japanese toys and the global imagination (pp. 93-127). Berkley And Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. Campbell, S., & Knight, C. (Producer). (2006). Power Rangers Mystic Force [Online video]. Retrieved January 13, 2013 Everett, S. C. (2009, November). Mirawge Multiculuralism: Unmasking the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers [Electronic version]. Journal of Mass Media Ethics: Exploring Questions of Media Morality, 11(1), 28-39. doi:10.1207/s15327728jmme1101_4 Grays, K. (1996). Super Sentai Sensation. Retrieved from http://www.historyvortex.org/supersentaisensation.html Imbornoni, A.-M. (n.d.). Women s Rights Movement in the U.S.: Timeline of Events (1848-1920) Infoplease.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline1.html Kim, M.S. (1994). Cross-cultural comparisons of the perceived importance of conversational constraints. Human Communication Research, 21, 128-151 Kim, M.S., & Wilson, S.R. (1994). A cross-cultural comparison of implicit theories of requesting. Communication Monographs, 61, 210-235. Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (1991). Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. Psychological Review, 98, 224-253 Pr ratings tracker. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/prstuff/ratings.html

Bibliography Triandis, H.C. (1985). Collectivism vs. individualism: A reconceptualization of a basic concept in crosscultural psychology. In C. Bagley & G. Verma (Eds.), Personality, cognition, and values: Cross-cultural perspectives of childhood and adolescence. London: Macmillan. Triandis, H.C. (1988). Collectivism vs. individualism: A reconceptualization of a basic concept in cross-cultural psychology. In G. Verma & C. Bagley (Eds.), Cross-cultural studies of personality, attitudes and cognition (pp. 60-95). London: Macmillan. Video research Lid.(2013.4) http:// www.videor.co.jp/rating/wh/13.htm, 1.,, 3.,, 2., &, 2. (Producer). (2005). [Online video]. :. Retrieved January 13, 2013 36Legends. (2012). N.p.:.. (n.d.).. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://kotobank.jp/ word/ By@Wiki -. (n.d.). By@Wiki. Retrieved May 10, 2013, from http://www10.atwiki.jp/shichouseiko/pages/15.html

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Acknowledgements o Dr. Shigeko Sekine o Dr. Yoshiko Saito-Abbott o Gus Leonard o Study Participants o Exchange Students o Greg, Cindy, and Trevor Nagy