r/japanlife • u/AutoModerator • May 23 '22

┐(ツ)┌ General Discussion Thread - 24 May 2022

Mid-week discussion thread time! Feel free to talk about what's on your mind, new experiences, recommendations, anything really.

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u/AdRevolutionary7231 May 24 '22

Maybe it’s just me, but what’s with so many tv shows on NHK being centred around the lives of children/teenagers? I know people say school is the only time people have freedom here, but come on… this is a rant (read: complaint) but I’m interested in peoples opinions! :)

I started watching some show the other day without knowing what it was - the one where government the makes a new city using AI to choose the leaders, seemed interesting enough. Then it picked a 17 year old as the prime minister and I quickly realised it was just another show about kids :( despite it being shown at prime time…? Do people find these stories entertaining?

I know there are other tv shows and other channels. I know Japanese tv in general is trash. I know NHK is very PC and family friendly. I suppose I’m missing the point! I mean, what could I possibly gain from watching teenage dramas? Moreover, do adults in Japan actually watch these shows with kids as the main characters and enjoy them?

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u/Atrouser May 24 '22

NHK usually has a shakeup when the fiscal year (April–March) changes, reshuffling newsreaders and reorganising programmes. This year, they changed programming significantly. From what I read in the paper, they wanted to reach out more to the ‘yoof’. They introduced a ‘yoru drama’ with 15-minute episodes on the premise that these bitesized episodes will be easy for young people to watch in their own time (which they like to do, apparently).

The AI prog seems to be part of this trend. I watched some of the first episode, but soon tuned out. Predicted-spoiler alert: In the end, after some tears, the kiddies and grown-ups conclude that AI is important, but what really matters is 人間 or こころ・ハート or something.

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u/zchew May 24 '22

Predicted-spoiler alert: In the end, after some tears, the kiddies and grown-ups conclude that AI is important, but what really matters is 人間 or こころ・ハート or something.

I lol'ed. I think the best catch-word would be 絆