Transformers: Kiss Players (franchise): Difference between revisions
→Controversy: text has been editted to remove blatant opionated bias. Let's stick to the facts people. :/ |
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Revision as of 04:49, 2 November 2007
| This article is about the Kiss Players franchise. For the pop idol group that appears in this franchise, see Kiss Players (singing group). |
Kiss Players (キスぷれ, Kisu Pure) is a Japanese Transformers franchise which began in 2006. By virtue of being the only Transformers toyline and fiction released in Japan by Takara between the conclusion of Cybertron and the live-action movie, it was also effectively the main Transformers line in the country for that time. It takes place in the Generation 1 cartoon continuity, specifically in the five-year milieu between The Transformers: The Movie and Transformers 2010.
The series derives its name from its (controversial) gimmick, which involves Transformers getting "power-ups" when they are kissed by human girls - the eponymous "Kiss Players" - who fuse with the robots and share their adventures. Although this plotline may seem like a shift in demographics to little girls, it is said that this line was aimed at a much older (and creepier) adult male audience. Indeed, the toys bear an "ages 15 and up" warning, and the subject matter of the accompanying manga is far from child-friendly.
The Kiss Players franchise comprises:
- A toyline
- A weekly radio drama series and a manga, which together tell the story of the line
Following the conclusion of its first storyline in late 2006, Kiss Players moved into its second (and apparently final) phase, Kiss Players Position, which shifted focus to a distinctly more PG-rated theme, though it was still kind of heavy on the "cute girls" theme.
Controversy
When the basic concept of Kiss Players - "toys with figures of cute girls" - first surfaced, the reaction from the Western fan community was generally unremarkable, amounting to little more than a bit of good-natured eye-rolling and mutterings of "Those wacky Japanese... but if that's what it takes to sell the toys...", understanding that there is a certain subset of collector who enjoys such things. Besides, such a premise had been explored before in the short-lived Binaltech Asterisk line (which the first toy in the series was originally meant to be released in).
The unveiling of the Dengeki Daioh manga saw an increase in unsatisfactory sentiments from Western fans. Although not featuring any explicit nudity or sexual content, the comic depicts suggestive imagery of various questionably violent sexual situations - such as the viscous white liquids that splattered over the scantily-clad cast members, to cowering, flush-faced, teary-eyed girls pressed against walls with their hips raised into the air, to image of the Legion's phallic tongue, leaking goo from an orifice which could be interpreted as looking like a urethra. Although the fiction identifies the human characters as being adults they are drawn to look very young.
Although reactions to this line vary, it has many vocal opponents who see this as portraying a children's toyline into borderline-pedophilia, although the line is not marketed at children but at older adolescents and adults (ages 15 and up). Others argue that there is absolutely nothing wrong with this line, and that everyone else simply wasn't understanding it was a "cultural thing." There has not been open vocal opposition to this line in Japan.
Notes
- The official logo for the series says "Kiss Play" in Japanese text and "Kiss Players" beneath it in English. To avoid confusion, the English title is used here.
