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Recently, I've been getting into the lighter, less seamier side of the Japanese media exports, namely, that of Japanese comedy and variety shows. Certainly, we've all seen the wacky physical abuse that the Japanese call gameshows like Takeshi's Castle (of which US shows like Wipeout and Ninja Warrior are directly based), but I figured I'd share some of my favorites from a couple of variety and comedy shows that I've been watching lately. First up is Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!  Starring Japanese comedy duo, Downtown, and a revolving cast of other Japanese comedians, Gaki no Tsukai is a variety show that revolves around sketches, live bits and, most importantly, subjecting the hosts to a series of punishments called batsu games  Some of their most popular bits are: No Laughing Batsu Game The contestants are placed into a situation for 24 hours (such as staying at a spa or acting as nurses in a hotel) wherein they are not allowed to laugh for the duration, lest they be punished in various ways (For example: Getting hit with a kendo sword or having a blow dart fired into their rear end). Naturally, as you'd expect, the producers set up elaborate situations to make them laugh and a good time is had by all... except for those playing the game. My favorite is this clip from the No Laughing High School episode where Jimmy Onishi (a former Gaki cast member) tries to read from an English book: http://youtu.be/U9PtEv9tBuU Silent Library Some of you may know this from the English version that copied the format (rather poorly, mind you). The guys are seated at a table in a library where they pick cards to randomly select someone to be punished. Punishments can range from having wasabi piped into your nose to being kicked by a Muy Thai expert. Throughout this, they must try to remain as silent as possible as to not disturb the other library patrons. http://youtu.be/OVHlWcI6vBs Absolutely Tasty series  The guys create new and exciting recipes that they've always wanted to try. Such favorites include pig face pizza (exactly what it sounds like), pickled mints and toothpaste pasta. Here's part one of the Pizza episode to give you an idea: http://youtu.be/DAasVVjFpQg Many clips can be found on Youtube or torrents, but a couple of my go to sites are: Crazy on TV, lots of clips from Gaki and various other Japanese variety shows: http://crazyontv.com/ Gaki Files, great selection of subbed videos to watch and download http://gakifiles.blogspot.com/ There's a few other shows similar to Gaki that I enjoy, but I figure this is enough for one post. Please share and discuss any of your favorite Japanese shows and clips you happen to enjoy. And please kids, no anime. We have a whole forum for that sort of thing.
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Jul 21, 2011 01:49
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I'm with you, Dog Toggle Switch!  I love the Gaki no Tsukai segments. It seems the main cast has stabilized into Downtown (Hamada and Matsumoto), Cocorico (Tanaka and Endo), and Yamasaki, and once a year they now all participate in the 24-hour Batsu game for New Years instead of playing to see who will orchestrate the game for the others. I like that much better. Watching them in order is ideal, since there are some great running gags from year to year, but any full episodes a person can get a hold of are pure gold. Another show that people should definitely check out (if they are lucky to find it) is Denpa Shonen. Hulu used to have episodes of it, but the license ran out and now barely any acknowledgement of the show seems to exist online. Someone please find episodes. Every "season" of the show was different, but the general premise was that they'd put people in prolonged, almost torturous situations and see if they could survive by completing difficult tasks. The most notable one was the tale of Nasubi, who was stripped naked and locked away in a small apartment with little more than a table, postcards, and a rack of magazines. For a whole year, he had to see if he could survive solely on entering contests in magazines and living off the winnings. The value of the winnings also had to meet a certain amount by the end of the year. The show sounds so cruel and bordering on torture porn, but you're not delighting in their suffering. You're feeling for them when things go badly, and you're rooting for them to succeed and lighting up like a goddamned Christmas tree when even the littlest thing goes right for them. Nasubi wins a free video tape in a contest? He's loving over the moon with delight and dances his starving rear end off in celebration, and you are right there with him. Never mind he doesn't even have a TV to watch it on or that he hasn't eaten in days. YOU loving GO NASUBI! YOU ARE THE BEST I LOVE YOUUUUUUUU! God, I really want to watch that show again.
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Jul 21, 2011 04:24
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Gaki no tsukai is great, One of my favorites from the New Years Specials is the one from 2007 where they were at the hospital (or was it 2008?). It might be fun to stream one and have everybody watch 
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Jul 21, 2011 14:07
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I just watched the Pizza and Pasta Absolutely Tasties and had to force myself to close the window because I am at work and this would shipwreck my productivity for the entire day.
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Jul 21, 2011 15:27
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http://www.gaki-no-tsukai.com/index.php Really good website where you can find info on every thing Gaki. Gaki Files is always a great website and I'm pretty sure the guy who runs Gaki Files posts on the website I linked above. Million Kazoku is another great show that is actually hosted by Endo and Tanaka from Gaki no Tsukai. They have a ton of comedians and well known figures from Japanese culture hide in the location of choice that week and other comedians attempt to find them. If they get caught they get put through a punishment. If they win they get prize money.
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Jul 21, 2011 17:58
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I got into Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! after seeing the 24 hour tag special. I haven't watched their regular comedy stuff but love their 24 hour specials. I showed my mom the pie hell one, she said it was too mean, but laughed her rear end off with the tag one. Also would love to see the ones where they help the bald guy beat sports records by dragging him along. Saw the preview of that when I downloaded the subbed police one.
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Jul 21, 2011 18:54
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I caught a Gaki stream sometime early last fall. I do believe I now have seen absolutely everything that has ever been subbed. Some of the funniest stuff I have ever seen. End of the Century Rangers skits are the best. WonderfulWino fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Jul 21, 2011 |
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Jul 21, 2011 19:51
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The entire Five Rangers sketch series used to be subbed on Youtube but I can't find it anymore. People say that Japanese humor doesn't translate well overseas, but almost every one of those utterly destroyed me.
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Jul 21, 2011 20:26
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Strange Matter posted:People say that Japanese humor doesn't translate well overseas, but almost every one of those utterly destroyed me. This is one of the things I always tell people about Gaki. Sure, there's a lot of references and puns that don't really translate all that well, but the interplay between the cast and the fact that getting beaned in the nutsack is universally understood are what make Gaki a show that anyone can enjoy. A couple more clips that I really enjoy are of Matsumoto and Hamada basically bullshitting during the intro/ending of the show (not sure which), they're great because Matsumoto's energy and improv is just hilarious. Matsumoto shares his unique telekinetic power: Wagon-Kinesis. (Make sure to have subtitles on for Youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VSyFflF1zM&feature=player_embedded Matsumoto explains what pilots do on long, international flights: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgb4zh_subbed-the-pilot_fun#from=embed&start=1
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Jul 21, 2011 21:26
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Gaki no Tsukai owns, I've watched their no laughing specials so many times. Definitely recommend it.
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Jul 21, 2011 23:51
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Also my mom only lets me spend five bucks a month to get my cool gaga avatars back so I guess I'm stuck with this one for a while.
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Does anyone have the link to the show where they coaxed one of these guys to moon the camera or something, but then pretended it was accidentally cast live, so he was now in deep poo poo / fired?
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Jul 22, 2011 00:39
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Anyone watch shows other than Gaki? My weekly habits usually consist of Nepleague, Hexagon, and The Best House 1-2-3. What about Saturday Night Live Japan? Has anyone else watched any of the episodes? Seems to have not had a bad start, needs a bit of time to find its own "groove" but it might have potential.
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Jul 22, 2011 01:29
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I share your problem. I rented a two-volume VHS set of Nasubi's arc when I was living in Cambridge, MA, and it was the only time I've seen it. The Japanese market is now gone, so I couldn't even ask them about it. I have no goddamn idea how to find this show again.Jamesman posted:I'm with you, Dog Toggle Switch!
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Jul 22, 2011 09:09
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can always find a stream of Gaki series on justin tv guys stream im watching now has 40 hours of good stuff
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Jul 22, 2011 17:14
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The japanese show Im super into right now is Game Center CX. Theres a big thread for it in Games, and some goons took it upon ourselves to subtitle it since the previous guys who did it were slow, bad at it, and havent done one in more than a year. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3177407 It' about a comedian, Arino Shinya, and his struggles trying to beat whatever retro game the staff decides to inflict on him that week. The thing is Arino, while a lover of games, just isnt very good at them. The entertainment doesnt come just from Arino dying a bunch and getting frustrated, its the jokes he tells to keep himself going, his plucky never-say-die attitude, the interactions between him and the rest of the staff. In a 1 hour episode his play sessions are broken up by small segments, such as going to various arcades and trying out their machines, or showing off weird game glitches, or even checking out 'romantic' parts of certain games. You dont even really have to play a lot of videogames or anything to be amused by Arino, hes just an all around likable and funny guy. If you ever happened to play the DS game Retro Game Challenge (you should its loving awesome), this is the TV show that it's based on. FYI Arino is also a little bit of a pirv 
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Jul 22, 2011 19:03
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Gutcruncher posted:The japanese show Im super into right now is Game Center CX. Theres a big thread for it in Games, and some goons took it upon ourselves to subtitle it since the previous guys who did it were slow, bad at it, and havent done one in more than a year. I watched the one where he played Takeshi no Chōsenjō, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeshi_no_Ch%C5%8Dsenj%C5%8D He talked with one of the guys who wrote a guide for it, and was told how another guy killed himself after writing the first guide for the game. I think Arino was about to start crying near the end of the game.
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Jul 22, 2011 19:18
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BooDoug187 posted:I got into Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! after seeing the 24 hour tag special. I haven't watched their regular comedy stuff but love their 24 hour specials. Yeah I really really liked the 24 hour tag episode. It was the first one I watched, and then after that I tried to watch the haunted house episode. All it was was them getting spanked all the time though, which I don't find that funny, so I turned it off. Also, their prank show's are way more harsh then ours. Just check out how brutal this is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0lK432wrkA But hey, at least she won a shirt and a hat!!! I just really like their prank shows. Run!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52OBzh2khgU
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Jul 22, 2011 20:47
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the_psychologist posted:I share your problem. I rented a two-volume VHS set of Nasubi's arc when I was living in Cambridge, MA, and it was the only time I've seen it. The Japanese market is now gone, so I couldn't even ask them about it. I have no goddamn idea how to find this show again. Ever since I read about it online I've been dying to see it subtitled. It's all over the internet in a non-subtitled format, but finding the subtitles is (near?) impossible. Apparently it was on Hulu or Joost or one of those for awhile WITH subs, but when the license ran out it disappeared. The best I found was a website claiming to be holding the first two subtitled episodes hostage willing to exchange for more subtitled episodes, which is a total dick move
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Jul 22, 2011 22:04
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It really was an amazing show, and I can't believe it's been practically wiped off the face of the internet. I already described the premise for Nasubi. The other two episodes that Hulu had up (well, one and a half. The license ran out in the middle of the third segment they were putting up) involved; 1) A woman had to draw a recipe from a box. Then in grocery flyers that covered... I think about half of Japan, she had to find the ingredients for the lowest prices, and ride her bicycle to and from those locations to buy the items. If she didn't get them, or didn't pick the lowest price, she didn't eat. 2) Two guys were stranded on a deserted island, and had to survive and ultimately get off the island on their own. The premise of this one sounds much simpler than the other two, but it's a much grander scope when you think about it.
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Jul 22, 2011 22:30
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This thread just reminded me of something from about 8 or 9 years ago. A friend of mine brought back some VHS tapes of whatever the hell was playing on his hotel's TV during his two week stay there. Between the two or three episodes of MecchaIke, There was one episode of something, specifically, that killed me every time we watched it. I have no idea what the name of the show was, but after reading what you've all be posting here so far, and remembering that Downtown was in it, I think that may have been Gaki no Tsukai. I remember that it was a challenge episode, where Downtown took a group of about 50 or so contestants and told them that they weren't allowed to talk to each other, or sleep. Whoever stayed awake the longest would win some sort of prize, I think it was a cruise or something. Downtown was forced to stay up with the contestants so that they could produce comedy and enforce the "Sleeping five count" with an obnoxiously loud air horn. In order to make the "NO SUREEP!" challenge as difficult as possible, each scenario was specifically engineered to encourage the contestants to sleep. They started off on a large boat and put everyone into the bunks and told them to lie down. The boat ride lasted something like 10 to 14 hours. After that the ship pulled in to this nice beach house that featured a full buffet which the remaining contestants were forced to partake in. I think one contestant nodded off while he was eating. After the buffet, they were brought into this large room with very low lighting and very large comfortable seating. The game was back on! After there were 10 or so contestants left, they decided to add some elevator music. At this point, both Downtown and the remaining contestants had been awake for about 42 hours. In the end, it eventually came to a point where one of the producers told Downtown that he couldn't film anymore and that the rest of his crew had already went to sleep. Instead of giving away one prize, they had to give away seven. It's been years since I've seen the episode, and the VHS tape it was on has long since disappeared. Does that episode description ring a bell with anyone? I'd love to be able to track it down again, if for no other reason than to hear Downtown yell "NO SUREEP!"
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Jul 22, 2011 23:11
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When this thread was started I checked out a few of the clips and downloaded all of the Batsu Games that were available. I've watched most of the subbed ones, and they're hilarious. 24 hour tag and the No-Laughing Onsen were probably the best. I really like the cast though, curious what other similar shows are around.
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Aug 7, 2011 08:30
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I just saw Matsumoto's film Symbol(Shinboru). What an amazing film. It's better then 2001 a space oddysey.
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Aug 14, 2011 17:14
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Harminoff posted:
And looks like a really expensive prank too.
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Aug 15, 2011 01:57
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Harminoff posted:Also, their prank show's are way more harsh then ours. Just check out how brutal this is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5LP707cDbo Theres another one from the same show where people would sit in a comfy chair only for it to suddenly rocket through the wall and take them down a ski slope. I cant find that one again though.
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Aug 15, 2011 09:45
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Gutcruncher posted:Ive always really liked this prank. Found it. Oooo, it's cold out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc1XFLyiIzI
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Aug 15, 2011 20:19
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This is awesome! I'd been planning to start a Gaki thread, so thanks for this. The first two onsen batsus -- not counting Matsumoto's solo haunted one -- are my favorite. I think it's because they were still getting used to the format. My favorite skit from the show is probably Itao Itsuji's quiz show, "It's Jii!" Nevermind! I found it! toomanyninjas fucked around with this message at 01:32 on Aug 21, 2011 |
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Aug 21, 2011 01:30
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Aug 21, 2011 20:56
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Shageletic posted:Taken out of context someone would think this was a video of a hate crime or something.
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Aug 22, 2011 22:45
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Shageletic posted:Haha, which one was that?
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Aug 22, 2011 22:52
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Zaa Boogie posted:Haha, which one was that? silent library https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVHlWcI6vBs
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Aug 22, 2011 23:08
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BooDoug187 posted:Taken out of context someone would think this was a video of a hate crime or something. Haha, yup. I need to find more episodes with this Magic Johnson looking guy. He's hilarious. EDIT: Maybe we can rename it okinawa.txt?
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Aug 23, 2011 01:48
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http://www.youtube.com/user/Gakiseriesmomo It's only a matter of time before this gets pulled for no reason. If this is "files" then that'd be really stupid.
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Aug 23, 2011 03:42
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Shageletic posted:Haha, yup. I need to find more episodes with this Magic Johnson looking guy. He's hilarious. Are you sure it's no Bob Sapp? I can't tell for sure, but I know he's done at least one Silent Library and he seems to do stuff with them pretty often.
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Aug 23, 2011 04:25
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Great timing on this thread because for the past month only, I have been watching Gaki no Tsukai stuff almost daily. So far I have seen all the Batsu Games, Tasty Series, Silent Library and currently watching the Kiki show where they put a blindfold on one guy and he tastes something (each show has a new product like canned coffee, tea, cup yakisoba etc) and then has to find from around 20 products which one it was. My favourite so far has been the Beer one where Hamada and Matsumoto got visibly drunk during the tasting.Gutcruncher posted:The japanese show Im super into right now is Game Center CX. Theres a big thread for it in Games, and some goons took it upon ourselves to subtitle it since the previous guys who did it were slow, bad at it, and havent done one in more than a year. I go to Games a lot but have never seen this thread. Will definitely check this out!
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Aug 23, 2011 04:35
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toomanyninjas posted:Are you sure it's no Bob Sapp? I can't tell for sure, but I know he's done at least one Silent Library and he seems to do stuff with them pretty often. Nah, that's Ernesto Hoost, a former K-1 kickboxer. I've only found a small DVD collection of the Silent Library shows, and I totally want to see more. Heipo is pretty loving hilarious in the ones I've seen.
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Aug 23, 2011 06:33
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Cross-posting this from the GCCX thread!zari-gani posted:There's a segment from Lincoln called "Friendly Downtown" where a comedy duo hangs out with Downtown for a day and gets to use casual speak with them. However, if they mess up and use formal language, they get slapped in the face or given a mild electric shock.
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Sep 9, 2011 19:56
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Here's my favorite episode of my favorite show, Pussuma. If you haven't seen it before, I definitely recommend it! http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1390118576733669907
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Sep 23, 2011 16:38
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Jamesman posted:Another show that people should definitely check out (if they are lucky to find it) is Denpa Shonen. Hulu used to have episodes of it, but the license ran out and now barely any acknowledgement of the show seems to exist online. Someone please find episodes. Sad to hear its pretty much disappeared since Hulu dropped it.
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Sep 23, 2011 17:25
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mato posted:Here's my favorite episode of my favorite show, Pussuma. If you haven't seen it before, I definitely recommend it! I don't think there's anything better than two japaense guys getting forced to eat raw meat.
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Sep 23, 2011 18:42
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homeless snail posted:THANK YOU! I've been trying to remember the name of this show forever, I loving loved it. It was amazing how it made you cheer for the smallest successes in their terrible little lives. Didn't Nasubi end up doing so well, the producers took away all his winnings and sent him to Korea? But somehow he was even more successful there, even though he didn't understand a word of Korean. I honestly don't remember many of the details. I know they relocated him once people figured out where he lived, and the surprise ending where they "relocated" him again after he won, and his instinctively took his clothes off without being asked, only to be revealed in front of a live audience congratulating him. But yeah, the show has pretty much vanished off the face of the earth for some reason. Things like this need to be preserved in a goddamned museum. 
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Sep 23, 2011 23:04
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