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Information

• Member: Skyebox
• Studio: Skyebox Productions
• Title: For The Kids
• Premiered: 2002-07-26
• Categories:
  • Drama
  • Serious
• Song:
  • Blink 182 Stay Together For The Kids
• Anime:
  • Child's Toy (Kodomo no Omocha / Kodocha)
  • Love Hina (TV)
  • Marmalade Boy
• Participation:
  • Otakon 2002, Otakon 2002 (2002-07-26)
  • AWA Exposition Contest, AWA Exposition Contest (2002-09-27)
• Comments: First version completed: April 2002
  
  The issue of divorce and its affect on children is one that I always thought was handled very well in "Love Hina," "Kodomo No Omocha (Child's Toy)," and "Marmalade Boy." That issue recently became a lot more personal for me when my parents called it quits after a 30-year marriage. When I first heard Blink-182's "Stay Togther For The Kids," the idea for this video immediately came to mind. I made it mostly for myself; I know that there are others who can relate to the overall theme, though.
  
  Each of the individuals portrayed in the video reacts to and deals with the reality of divorce in a slightly different way, but it's a fierce emotional struggle for all of them. Tsuyoshi's situation is probably the most complex of them all, at least in terms of what the anime chooses to reveal. This 12-year-old is suddenly forced to think of himself as the man of the house, and is desperately determined to fulfill this role and set a good example for both his mother and his younger sister - even if this means intentionally alienating a father who he obviously cares a lot about and is very similar to in many ways. Meiko's situation is different, but no less painful, than the others in that her parents willingly remain in their borderline abusive relationship for social and financial reasons (so staying together for the kids is not always the best solution, either). Despite all the pain and heartache that these characters are forced to confront, I thought it was particularly important to show at the very end of this video that they *do* make it through and ultimately end up alright.
  
  This was my first (and currently only) attempt at a multi-series video, so I used a lot of cross-dissolves in an effort to make the different shows blend together a little more. There were various scenes that I wish I could have included; however, I ran into problems working around the subtitles (I was using mostly fan-subbed VHS footage). It's certainly not a technical masterpiece, but making it was a very emotional experience for me, and that really made it worthwhile.