As I reach home, I am greeted with an unexpected sight. My 60 year-old father is lying on the couch, with the show Ultraman Z playing on the TV in front of him.
Ok… I am fully supportive of embracing one’s inner child. I think it’s commendable for people to retain a child-like and open-minded approach to life, especially as they age, even towards what society deems as “childish” or “inappropriate for one’s age”. So long as they have the maturity to go with it, too.
But the thing is, my father isn’t really dat kind of person. He definitely leans more towards a traditionalist, u noe. None of that ‘woke‘ nonsense. That made the whole sight pretty bizarre to me.
Upon closer inspection, I realised that he was asleep.
Ahhh, now dat makes sense. Ultraman just happened to play after he dozed off, as he was watching whatever programme was on before it. Ok, I get it now.
Having no reason to change the channel, as there was nothing good on TV at that time, I left the Ultraman show playing, and ended up watching parts of it.
Didn’t rlly understand a whole lot of what was going on in the show, but the main guy seemed like an optimistic and goal-driven individual. I like dat. I think he’s a good character to have.
Then all of a sudden the show decided to get real. In an abruptly heartful scene, the main character met wif his wise father, who advised him:
“We can’t possibly protect everyone. There’s a limit to how far we can reach… But for those within my reach, I will protect with all my might. That is my duty. And if I do something to hurt those I’ve promised to protect, then I won’t forgive myself.”
Eh yo, wait, dats some legit moral advice right there. Huh…didn’t know dis show had it in them…
Maybe you can’t protect everyone. Maybe you can’t please everyone. Maybe you can’t be there for everyone. But you should know who are the constants in your life, that truly matter to you. Then make it a point to always be there for them, because that’s just the right thing to do.
Don’t u love it when kids shows have these unnecessarily deep moments?
But I guess it does fit, actually. Here is a giant red and silver man always advocating for the peace and safety of others. If you look past the fighting and property damages Ultraman probably caused, there are some genuine deep life messages being thrown around.
Perhaps this show isn’t as one-dimensional as it seems. Sure, the typical hero formula is there: The main character striving to do the right thing, no matter the circumstances. Then eventually overcoming the big bad enemy with the “power of friendship”.
Some might call it boring and predictable. But well, it’s a kid’s show at the end of the day. The main thing is that kids always need a morally right role model to look up to, right? Can’t have the bad guys winning or looking cool. Otherwise, their moral conscience would be all over the place.
So it’s great dat shows like Ultraman still exist today. These Japanese kids always seem to have more depth beyond its adolescent appeal, and definitely help influence young boys, in a good way. I’m sure other shows right now like Beyblade and Pokémon continue to do the same, which helps make them popular, even to this day.
If these shows, imported from Japan, continue being shown over here, it means boys would always have good media role models to look up to. That wld be pretty great, yea?
25.08.2025
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