Has Toei really become that progressive already?

[Thenosa Yechette]

I definitely didn't want to talk about this since it's a highly controversial topic, but I saw that in this week's episode you guys translated the line of Morphonya addressing Rita as "they". I just want to ask, do you guys really think Toei has become progressive enough to have a non-binary character as a Sentai member? Because even last year in an interview about Donbrothers, producer Shirakura said that Toei isn't trying to be "progressive" or anything with a male ranger as Kijibrother. They were just trying to break the Sentai norms related to color that have been running for years. Reference- the "On the Similarities to This Genderless Era" section of this article: https://tokusatsunetwork.com/2022/03/av ... ereotypes/
Would Toei really change their mind in just a year? I'm definitely not against representation in any way. It's that, to me, it doesn't seem like Toei will implement that directly any time soon, especially with a main character. (I remember the Yodomhime side character from Kiramager episode 10, Yodonna specials, and Zenkaiger episode 18, as well as LvP final live tour. They were either not serious enough, or weren't on the main TV series, or a random guest character- these are just examples in Sentai that I'm aware of)
I just want to know you guys' opinion. I won't think about Rita's gender until it is addressed directly in some way by a cast/staff member or in the show.
I hope this doesn't cause any problem or anything. It did the last time I talked about a character's gender identity (sorry about that). If you guys think I shouldn't talk about this, I'll never talk about it again, promise. I don't even want to talk about it, honestly.

[Lunagel]

So. Hard questions.

We've already technically had one non-binary character with Naki in Zero-One, as the actor identified as non-binary at the time (and has since come out a trans man). If you want to get really into it, Luckyuro was possibly genderless? The show never specifically labeled the character as either.

From a cultural standpoint, I think we're seeing a lot more non-binary/genderless/trans people in JP mainstream media. Not necessarily in dramas, etc, but in variety shows and other entertainment stuff, which honestly gets more attention. The reception is mostly neutral to positive.

Getting back to the main point, is Rita gender neutral? In the show they never specifically refer to Rita with any gender marker. Rita is referred to as 王様 "ousama", which is generally translated as "king", BUT it does not have any connotations of gender in Japanese, so "ruler" would probably be more accurate. Everything feels very deliberately phrased to sidestep giving a definitive binary answer.

My guess? I think Toei is attempting to have its cake and eat it too. It's easier to just kind of slip something in than to call attention to it and get attacked for it. As long as they give no absolute answer either way, people will be forced to debate amongst themselves rather than turning their wrath on Toei.

tl;dr - Could go either way, let's just say Rita's pronouns are she/they and not lose sleep over it

[Thenosa Yechette]

We've already technically had one non-binary character with Naki in Zero-One, as the actor identified as non-binary at the time (and has since come out a trans man). If you want to get really into it, Luckyuro was possibly genderless? The show never specifically labeled the character as either.

For Naki, the character was essentially a robot. (No disrespect intended) And a villain/anti-hero turned somewhat of a hero. Not to mention the actor had a role behind that due to his own gender identity at the time.
Luckyuro, a villain/anti-hero turned ally. None of these characters are main/hero characters. I really appreciate when they at least try. But will they take that leap when it comes to a main character in Super Sentai? They take way less risks than KR after all.

tl;dr - Could go either way, let's just say Rita's pronouns are she/they and not lose sleep over it

Lol, I'm not losing sleep over it. Just been seing so many people talk about it. But didn't have the will or chance to talk about it. My opinion: until someone from the show/the show itself says anything, it's up to the viewer's interpretation. Rita's non-binary if someone wants to think that's the case. No need to force that on someone else by pulling references from magazines scans or whatever.

[takenoko]

No, I think Toei sucks. Anytime they do include nonbinary representation it's never commented upon so it might as well not even be in the show unless you read something in the behind the scenes log where it's mentioned "By the way, Dumbledore is gay". It's the coward's way to do representation and Toei has never done right by women in their hero shows. They barely get it right in Sentai where they even have two women sometimes, and female Kamen Riders always get the short end of the stick no matter how cool or interesting they might be

[HowlingSnail]

Rita's a woman. Look, I'm sorry, but "she wears trousers and isn't an over the top girly girl" is the only justification for it I've seen people give. It reminds me of all the times people insist certain characters are gay for basically no reason.

You want good representation in media? Stop trivialising it, for a start.

[Thenosa Yechette]

Toei has never done right by women in their hero shows. They barely get it right in Sentai where they even have two women sometimes, and female Kamen Riders always get the short end of the stick no matter how cool or interesting they might be

Can't disagree with that. Guess they're not gonna pay much attention to the female main characters anytime soon.
One last question, who is in charge of translating King-Ohger and who's in charge of Geats?

but "she wears trousers and isn't an over the top girly girl" is the only justification for it I've seen people give.

That's how most girls are in Sentai teams- in case of 2, one of them is the cutesy girly girl, then the other one's a tomboy(or not a girly girl), with very less exception(only Magiranger and Kiramager are a bit on the uncertain side for me). I've watched 12 seasons and almost every season has been/done the same.

[takenoko]

I thought there was some official stuff stating Rita is nonbinary though? It's a limp dick way of doing representation, but at least there's some official statement rather than none at all

[Lunagel]

It's not technically official, it's a scan from a tokusatsu magazine for adult fans with commentary by production team. I forget who exactly, but it's not director or cast or a higher-up. Again, having your cake and eating it, it's official enough to cause arguments but not official enough to end them.

[takenoko]

It's not technically official, it's a scan from a tokusatsu magazine for adult fans with commentary by production team. I forget who exactly, but it's not director or cast or a higher-up. Again, having your cake and eating it, it's official enough to cause arguments but not official enough to end them.

By the way Hermione might be black. Rowling never said she was white~

[Thenosa Yechette]

It's not technically official, it's a scan from a tokusatsu magazine for adult fans with commentary by production team. I forget who exactly, but it's not director or cast or a higher-up. Again, having your cake and eating it, it's official enough to cause arguments but not official enough to end them.

If I remember correctly, it was the "Detail Of Super Sentai Uchusen Volume 180" Papillon Ohger section. The line roughly translated as: "Since Rita hides their/her gender, Papillon Ohger is also a gender neutral hero."

That's the reference I have seen people use when talking about this.

[takenoko]

It's not the best scan (the artifcating seems especially bad around the gender talk part), but I do see the word gender neutral in there.

It also says this is the first purple ranger? I don't really iknow the difference between purple and violet...
https://wiki.tvnihon.com/wiki/Sentai_Ranger_Chart

[Lunagel]

「『中立』を信条とするリタは性別が公表されておらず、パピヨンオージャーもジェンダーニュートラルなヒーローとなっている。

Rita, who believes in "neutrality', has not revealed their gender, making Papillon Ohger a gender neutral hero.

Uchuusen is not put out by Toei, it's a third-party magazine, but it's pretty much all industry staff and interviews.

Interesting tidbit, the blue admiral butterfly Rita is named after has almost no visible difference between males and females, unlike a lot of other butterfly species.

[TrissieQ]

Damn You!
I was trying so hard to just vote & not open my big mouth but...
I wrote this as a note for this weeks' KingO, 21:30: "God, I've really gotten to like the Rita character, the fact that she's one dimensional makes her an anchor of the "Senti" team. Feels weird to call them senti."
I have been trans for 62 years, boy junk, but estrogen in charge, so I always sense trans people, and that's why I like Rita, but damn, they buried it so deep, even I didn't see it. It reminds me of when TOEI was promoting GIAM, and the early wiki page said it would have the first openly gay character, But then wimped out the outing part. Jeez, they have always had cross-dressing episodes, but as the butt of a joke, it's OK. And I want to see a Brittany Spheres type and not just the fluffy pink and smart nonsexual yellow or blue! How about a depressed Wednesday Addams kinda Black Ranger? Ya know - bags under the eyes at 14, or a billion other combinations... (the last was a affirmation of Thenosa Yechette's comments).

[Thenosa Yechette]

Uchuusen is not put out by Toei, it's a third-party magazine, but it's pretty much all industry staff and interviews.

But the TV-Asahi pages are put out by Toei, right?
https://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/king-ohger/story/0005/
On this page, Rita was addressed as 'she'/(彼女/kanojo) in the 3rd line of the 3rd paragraph:
「リタはギラを死罪にするだろう」と誰もが思っていたが、彼女が下した判決はなんと無罪。
Does this mean anything? Can this be considered anywhere near official? Or is Rita's gender still technically unconfirmed?

[Lunagel]

The TV-Asahi pages aren't written by the showrunners/directors. Hard to say who writes it, but probably not anyone high up.

The question here is, how official is official and who do we need to hear from directly to confirm either way?