😍 REVIEWS News – Paris/France.
Hiroki faces the greatest adventure of his life. The little Japanese boy is only two years and nine months old, but now he is supposed to be shopping for his parents on his own for the first time: flowers for the house altar and a packet of curry and fishcake fried.
“Take care of yourself,” his mother shouts to him one last time as Hiroki heads for the supermarket. So begins an episode of Nippon TV's entertainment documentary "Hajimete no Otsukai" (First Order), which has been popular in Japan for three decades and now wants to gain a global audience: Recently, selected and shortened episodes are available on the service of Streaming Netflix under the English title “Old Enough!” (old enough!) to see.
The first time alone
Children aged 3 to 6 are sent by their parents to do something unaccompanied for the first time. Of course, it doesn't always go smoothly. At first, children feel uncomfortable going on their own. No wonder: Hiroki's path to the supermarket is a kilometer long. Another time, a little girl comes back to her mother in tears after getting lost. But then the little one leaves.
The children, whose first names only are indicated, have an "amulet bag" hanging around their necks with a wireless microphone on it. This allows viewers to hear when the child is talking to themselves or humming a tune. Additionally, you hear the voice of the narrator and in between short studio laughs, a common concept in Japanese TV shows. Of course, it can happen that a child forgets what to do because of excitement.
Independence should be encouraged
All this is touching, even if at the end of the day a child is proud to have succeeded. On the one hand, the goal of the program is to foster children's autonomy. On the other hand, viewers should be encouraged to reflect on the relationship between parents and children and on raising children.
"There are certainly not many countries like Japan where children can walk around town safely," Japanese IT journalist Munechika Nishida wrote, explaining why the show is now making an international breakthrough with the deal. Netflix. In Japan, on the other hand, the episodes last much longer than those of Netflix: three hours per show. They only air twice a year because the shows take months to produce.
Little adventures for kids
The children are selected after a complex selection process. Parents and staff walk the routes together to make sure the roads are safe and there are no suspicious people. The film crew and observers are assigned their own hiding places. All neighbors in the area will be made aware of the process so they don't get too excited to call the police and report an unaccompanied child wandering the streets aimlessly.
The format has been very popular for three decades: ratings in Japan average between 15% and over 20%. According to Japanese media, there are even cases where children who have appeared in the funny documentary in the past are now parents themselves and now want the same adventure for their children. It remains to be seen whether the shortened episodes planned for the Japanese company's deal with Netflix will meet with an equally enthusiastic reception.
SOURCE: Reviews News
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