Blog is now open for business!

So, I'm sitting here in a dorm room clear across the country from where I live, on December 15. Today just happens to be my birthday. With no close friends here for me to give me gifts, I decided to give myself a gift: the gift of blog!

I've decided to share with the world abroad, my love for the popular Japanese variety show "Gaki No Tsukai Ya Arahende." The show was started by the famous Japanese comedy duo, Downtown, and later added comedians Housei Yamazaki and duo Cocorico as regulars. The show's been on the air since 1989, and for good reason. It still remains a very popular show to this day.

I've amassed quite a collection of episodes, and have watched them all for the most part. So I figured that I might as well chronicle them and let anyone who wants to share their thoughts do so.

For those among you readers who don't know the cast, here's a quick rundown:



This here is Matsumoto Hitoshi. It's technically Hitoshi Matsumoto by western standards as Hitoshi is his given game and Matsumoto is his family name. For the sake of continuity with the show and not confusing people, I'm going to just leave it in the traditional Japanese order. ...Anyways, Matsumoto is one half of the comedy group, Downtown. He plays the "boke" which is the stooge. He wins over the crowd with his exuberance and almost naive sense of humor and generally just wins at life. Also, he's got one of the most infectious laughs I've ever heard on a human being.
Next up, Hamada Masatoshi, the other half of Downtown. He plays the "tsukkomi" which serves as the straight man. It's his job to point out idiocy, usually by the Matsumoto, in the funniest way possible. However, as the show has progressed, audiences have learned many things about him and his personality. For example, he gets mad pretty easily and generally resorts to violence and/or yelling when irritated. He's also often teased for having big lips, and also for looking like a gorilla. (Please note that I chose this picture of him in one of his more monkey-like looks.)


Third up to bat is Yamazaki Housei. He's the only member on the show who isn't part of a comedy duo. You, as a reader, will find that more often than not, I will take little interest in the actions of Yamazaki except when he's getting beaten up, insulted, or dressed in drag. I don't know why that is, but it just is. Of course there are times when I care, but most of the time I feel like he's trying too hard.

This dude here is Endo Shouzo. He plays the tsukkomi for the duo Cocorico. He's known around Japan for being one of the sexier male comedians. I haven't seen many of Cocorico's performances, but he could play a good boke since he's known for not being the brightest bulb in the box. Now that I think of it, he was one of the reasons why I started actually watching the show.

Although Endo is one of the reasons I started watching the show, here's the reason I keep watching the show. This here is Tanaka Naoki, Cocorico's boke. He's the tallest of the members by a few inches and fairly skinny. He writes most of Cocorico's material, and he's got a very subtle style of humor. That's the kind of humor I like. It's almost no wonder why I idolize the subtle style of Tanaka, and couldn't care less about the more obvious style of Yamazaki. Also, please note that as a reader you may see me paying generally too much attention to this guy. Sorry if this creeps you out.

I'll get this blog started up soon enough. I hereby christen this blog ready to sail! *breaks wine bottle on side of laptop* *watches wine get all over the keys* OH NO~ES!