to be fair, it's more or less the japanese kiddies who need kid sidekicks to relate to. the american kiddies don't care about that but every tf series since bm has been made in japan so they were originally aimed at a japanese audience. the last american tf series, bm, didn't have any kids.

 

if armada was made in america, it probably wouldn't have had as many kids as it did. but armada was made in japan so it was geared towards a japanese audience and the japanese kiddies are the ones who need kid sidekicks to relate to.

So, it is safe to say that the kids are a Japanese thing. Even two Japanese movies on MST3K had kids, Prince of Space and Invasion of the Neptune Men. They were getting into all kinds of science labs and could run around and stick there noses in the business of making rocket fuel and space vehicles.

 

In the Invasion of the Neptune Men episode, Crow says of the kids, "Why do we all live together in the same house, with no parents?"

and let's not forget the annoying kids that overstay their welcome in the Godzilla movies :redface

It's funny that we're all grown men complaining about why they put kids in a kids' show.

 

BTW Beast Machines PWNS J00 etc.

Let's look at it this way: Japan has ALWAYS, ALWAYS obsessed over human characters in its shows. Most all anime focus on human characters and the development of their personality, and their inevitable saving of the world. Even robot shows tend to focus way too much on humans than the 'bots (Gundam, anyone?). It's irritating, yes -- Japan tends to make their human characters (especially kids) overly upbeat and positive, or whiny and excessively optimistic. Screw happy-cheery humans, though. Give me tough and grizzled, war-torn bad-asses like ol' Ironhide any day.

Maybe it's just me, but "tough and grizzled, war-torn bad-asses" seem like a fiction created by fanboys who wish they were like that. Real people who have been to war don't act bad-ass, unless they came back with psychological problems.

 

But anyway, you're totally right about Japan's obsession with kids/humans. It mirrors their sense of humor, which is very juvenile.

Even robot shows tend to focus way too much on humans than the 'bots (Gundam, anyone?).

that's cuz Gundams aren't sentient life forms. Well, unless you watch SD Gundam.

Big Grim, you're used one of Satan's cuss words. *Smites using the Ultra Magnus Brick* But hey, the Autobots and Decepticons are bad-asses, and I'm not entirely sure they're supposed to be representative of a REAL war, so to speak -- Ironhide may have seen too much of the war, but he's still an all-around ass-kicker and tough guy because that's the kind of char. people want. Who doesn't love Mr. Minivan? And I know that most Japanese robot shows have the robots as non-sentient entities -- which is why TF stands above all the rest, dammit.

And I know that most Japanese robot shows have the robots as non-sentient entities -- which is why TF stands above all the rest, dammit.

but ironically, is the least popular giant robot anime in japan. maybe if takara fell back on the diaclone formula, tf's would do better in japan.

 

and what is up with japan's obbession with human characters? are the japanese completely incapable of relating with anything other than another human?

I guess so. Because I mean, yanno, you can't get so attached to a big rig semi-truck that you admire and idolize him, and cry your eyes out every time you re-watch the movie and see...THAT SCENE...I guess they're above that kind of thing.