It was by chance that I caught that Takeshi's Castle on Animax at a friend's house last year. I didn't even know this stuff existed. I laughed so much that I had tears streaming down my cheeks. I caught the show again about a month ago and found it just as amusing. Occasionally I've found similar Japanese variety show clips on YouTube.
Tonight I stumbled across this collection of 14 Crazy Japanese TV Clips. As I type this I'm still working my way through them. That bug-scooter one is a winner (you've just got to love the outfits) and the marshmallow game is a hoot.
What is it about these shows that so appeals to me? The crazy, unflattering outfits, the tacky sets, the pure silliness and fun of the games, the enthusiasm of the participants and the total lack of inhibition.
I'd fancy a job thinking up these games - for a month or two anyway. As for being a costume designer for one of these variety shows... hard to be taken seriously if you apply for a 'real job' if you've got that on your cv.
Enjoy.
1 comment:
when i was an exchange student in Japan in '86-87, Takeshi's Castle was on the air weekly. i recorded some and brought them back home. 20+ years later, my parents and i still laugh about the show. here in the states, one of the cable channels that are geared for men airs the show with English voice overs that are very crude and mostly inaccurate. still worth a ton of laughs though. thank you for the reminders!
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