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What Old Enough!, Japan's reality TV on Netflix, tells us about the country's domestic work culture and approach to adolescents

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What Old Enough!, Japan's reality TV on Netflix, tells us about the country's domestic work culture and approach to adolescents

What Old Enough!, Japan's reality TV on Netflix, tells us about the country's domestic work culture and approach to adolescents

BH Harsh • April 17, 2022, 09:34:23 IST

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We might be startled at the sight of such young souls expected to step out and function on their own in Old Enough!, but Japan, for decades now, has been known for inculcating in their children a tendency to be independent and self-reliant.

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What Old Enough!, Japan's reality TV on Netflix, tells us about the country's domestic work culture and approach to adolescents

A collection of 20 episodes over the years of the longest-running show in Japan, Old Enough! is centered on the idea of young kids running errands for their families. I am talking about kids as young as two years picking up a bag, carrying a wallet, buying stuff, paying for them at the counter, and ensuring to return home with the stuff intact. To a spoilt male kid like me who was rarely ever asked to help out with household stuff (something that I remain embarrassed about), watching Old Enough! is a shocking experience, not just because of my own privileged childhood, but also because of a similar collective sight around me — Children in middle-class India and above are barely expected to be helpful in household chores before they enter their teens. So many questions arise: How is this show acceptable, let alone lovable? Do the kids understand how currency works? Can they fathom the value of coins by looking at them? Do they actually talk to themselves out loud that much? How do the parents trust the kids to walk straight on the road, and not accidentally veer off in the middle of traffic? Are these parents devils? But this is where Old Enough! (original title: My First Errand) stands out. Its fun feet are firmly based in the realities of Japan and its cultural ethos. We might be startled at the sight of such young souls expected to step out and function on their own, but Japan, for decades now, has been known for inculcating in their children a tendency to be independent and self-reliant. It is a common sight there to watch five-year-olds boarding trains and walking to school all by themselves, and occasionally walk over to a nearby shop to buy groceries or run an errand. Much to our relief, most of these episodes are set in rural or countryside Japan: quiet landscapes with minimal automobile interventions, brimming with nature and silence. And above all, open spaces for a toddler to walk freely without inviting any panic from their parents. It is in these serene spaces that these kids are let loose as they paint the town red. Old Enough! might expect kids to do tasks above their usual skill-set, but they are allowed to be themselves while doing them. There is no herculean expectation of performance for the camera. One cannot help but recollect the crudeness of some Indian reality shows in the contrast, driven by an extreme sense of ‘productive’ talent and competitiveness. Over the years, we have seen five-year-olds dance to crass-sounding item songs, looking and behaving much older than they actually are. The kids in Old Enough! do not have such standards to live up to. They are off the hook, except of course the initial expectation of doing the chore. There are no ratings, rankings or a need of being better than others. Every kid has their own journey.

Old Enough! is a rollercoaster of emotions as we see these young guns venture on their first big solo journey out into the world, and it comes from their innate and unpredictable sense of whimsy and curiosity. While the entire neighbourhood is aware of the massive crew in town only to follow these kids’ footsteps, these tiny tots themselves remain blissfully unaware (we presume, with good reason to do so), taking their time and following their own techniques to finish the errands. Some prefer to take a small nap on their way, some love to run all the way to the stores, while some change the prescribed order of their errands. And all through these adventures, it is apparent that these kids love to talk to themselves, and this is where we get a true peek into their minds. In one episode, a kid uses self-talk to goad themselves for the task while in another, the girl proclaims herself to be a genius as she arrives closer to her destination. In another episode, a pair of friends keep talking to “Mr. Sun,” requesting him not to disappear any soon. The drama and fun here stem out of the kids’ unpredictability, as they are expected to be somewhat fallible and clumsy in their missions, and we can never be sure what to expect next. In the very first episode, our fears come true as our three-year old protagonist forgets one of the three items he was supposed to buy. And just when we are about to give up on his memory, he dramatically recalls it 10 steps away from the supermarket entrance and turns around to finish his errand. In one story, there is a moment when we fear Ao, our three-year-old protagonist, who we are told is mild-mannered and not very talkative, might board the wrong bus. And yet, he surprises the viewers by confidently asking the bus driver if that bus goes towards his destination. In episode 3, Hinako is asked to get cabbage from a farm market, and she goes right for the patch, plucking it out of the farm because she thought she had no clear instructions on where to get it from. One kid finds it suitable to gently place a tiny dandelion in a box full of fish, while another one temporarily backs out from a task because of sudden fear of darkness. It is moments like these where Old Enough! gets its sentimental charm from. There are moments of divine intervention, too. In an episode, just as our nervous protagonist Sota is about to lose hope and call his mother for help after the cord of his cart breaks apart, a cat arrives on the scene, threatening to clean off the fish if he leaves them abandoned — and the boy decides to solve the problem himself. The show is not always about fastidious kids though. Episode 2 features Yuto, whose forgetfulness and distractions into play keep him away from his errand. He is not interrupted or stopped even as he chases a dog and plays with a toy truck for hours, and it eventually takes repeated phone calls from his mother before he finally gets to his task.

It is also the faceless commentator who brings half the fun to the show, often voicing our unspoken worries about the children’s safety with a tinge of cheeky humour, besides making perennial estimations about their agility, often admitting their defeat when the participant lives up to the challenge. It is a sporting tug-of-war where the opponent wants you to win the game. This show might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Some might find the errands and long walks a little too stressful for those tiny souls. Also, at a time when the concept of adequate parenting is under increasingly severe scrutiny (and rightfully so), enjoying a show like Old Enough! does not come without its moments of doubts. Sometimes the parents, while trying to cajole their children into running errands, could come off as harsh or insensitive. The constant refrain of “only babies cry” being dished out to literal toddlers can get to you. One parent sends a girl for a second errand, despite it being a scorching July afternoon. Some parents stay unfettered by their children’s teary, moppy faces as they goad them to finish the task taken upon. Just like the parents, the show too knows how to press those buttons to get us emotionally invested, showing no qualms in pushing kids down those figurative (and sometimes literal) dark alleys sometimes, before showing them the way or waiting for them to figure it out. There are also a few instances when the crew intervenes to make the situation easier, like in episode 3 when it gets too dark, and sensing that our protagonist will now find it tough (and scary) to walk back to her home, the camera crew silently turns on the headlights of their car to lead the way for her. What the crew does occasionally, the entire community seems to be doing for these kids throughout in all episodes. What helps a show like Old Enough! germinate and thrive in Japan, besides the low crime rate making it safe to execute a concept like this, is its innate belief in community and cooperation where even strangers can be trusted to help a child if the latter ever look in need. Every kid is greeted by toothy smiles and cheery faces around the block. As they walk on and sometimes struggle to stay on course, everyone around roots for them, going out of their way sometimes to help them, and ensure the kid does not face any further obstacles. Every chapter, despite all its ups and downs, ends with a rewarding feeling of accomplishment and union.

Every little achievement is celebrated and underlined by a rousing score. This is not a place for cynicism, and the wise commentator finds a way to connect the dots, in order to give an emotional thread to the goings-on.

You forgive the parents too if ever you felt miffed at them for pushing their own children so hard. Running alongside the life-affirming and progressive idea of self-reliant children is a constant emphasis on traditional values — holding memorials for ancestors, praying to Gods and making them offerings, believing in the idea of a deceased parent as a guiding spirit —— the show effectively marries the traditional and the stupefying. Like these kids who want to believe in God, Old Enough! wants to believe in goodness, and operates with the required wide-eyed gusto. You can pick a lot of things from this show, and life lessons are only one of them. One episode has the kid pushing herself to lift the trolley up the final long stair in front of the porch, and she does not call her mother for help. Somehow, these tiny tots make peace with the occasional physical turmoil, if they know on the other side awaits them an emotional reward. In the first episode itself, we see the kid thoughtlessly dragging the dainty chrysanthemums that he has bought on his way back home. They are, after all nearly as tall as him. And yet, he is running the errand the best way we can. Lest we forget that some of these tasks are too daunting or physically overwhelming for these kids, the camera keeps pulling back to reveal a wider, much intimidating landscape — with a busy highway barely two feet away from the toddlers, the cars swooshing right past them at times. But the tour-de-force moment of the show definitely arrives in episode 7, as our little protagonist looks for a shop to fetch her mother’s watch. She first returns, sobbing her eyes out after telling her mother that she could not locate the shop. And yet, as she gathers the courage to try again, the entire neighbourhood cheers for her from their doorsteps, clapping and smiling for her as she picks up her pace, and looks for the shop more carefully this time. It is in these moments that Old Enough! is at its most rewarding. Sure, the neighbours and other acquaintances could be a tad extra encouraging and helpful for the cameras’ sake, and yet it is a sight as tear-jerking as they come — that of a group of people stopping in their tracks, helping a young one achieve something they set out to do. Old Enough! might not be a perfectly accurate representation of life in Japan. And yet, even the possibility of reality being any close to this visual, of heartwarming communion and togetherness, keeps us hopeful enough about the world we are living in, against all odds. Old Enough! is now streaming in India on Netflix. BH Harsh is a film critic who spends most of his time watching movies and making notes, hoping to create, as Peggy Olsen put it, something of lasting value. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.