Guide to the Poll and Update!

Hallo, hello, hillo, hollo, hullo.

I've been pretty scatterbrained lately, hence the lack of a post last Sunday, and lack of anything really substantial this week. Sorry about that. I've recently started playing a free online game and got sucked in, and taking some time to self-administer some "retail therapy". Also, a guy from Japan moved in down the hall, so we've been having a sort of "language exchange". And by "language exchange", I mean that we both fail at communicating in the other person's native tongue and then try to explain it in the other and fail there too. But it's interesting to speak with a native speaker. I've been distracted to say the least. So that's where I've been, not for reasons that I oh so emo-ly talked about a while ago. Anyways, I'm back. Things should be back to normal this week, barring nothing horrible happens. *knock on wood*

Before I get started again, I'll just rundown the housekeeping as usual. (Boy, keeping up a blog like this is hard. I always thought it would be "make a post and never return" type of thing.)

• Updated General Request Post, cleaned up older comments, and responded to comments that I'd neglected. Also, due to me finding a better video editor that can handle some of the files that were giving me trouble, "Kiki Nattou" and the "Matsumoto and Eri" episodes have been put back into rotation.I've also moved up some episodes to break up the surge of Itao we're getting around here, due to the new BBB segment and improptu changes to the schedule. Also moved a few requested episodes up the list in doing so.
• Reuploaded videos for Kiki Canned Coffee and Goodbye Yamazaki episodes.
• Updated caption files for Ice Coffee Limit Check to explain who Ouyang FeiFei and Vivian Su are.
• Fixed a subtitle timing error in Matsumoto's Skateboard Challenge when Matsumoto is reading in his dressing room.
  

However, I was thinking about the poll I recently put up on here, and I couldn't help but wonder if the limited descriptions that I put for some of the episode themes were a little too non-descriptive. So I have come up with this post, as a way to explain what I was getting at, and perhaps jog your memory if you've seen any of them. This way you can make an informed decision or adjust your vote if you want to. Just a reminder, if you see something you like and want to request an episode, put it here in the General Request Post so I don't forget it.




High Tension Series - In these episodes, we find comedians being, well, High Tension. "High Tension" is basically how you'd call someone high-strung or easily excitable. Usually in a style parodying a music show back in the late 80's or early 90's, Matsumoto and Hamada host comedians who come and make people laugh while being extremely hyperactive and high-strung. This segment usually features some mainstay comedians like Shouji Murakami and the Chihara Brothers, and will occasionally feature some comedians who are popular at the moment. It almost always features one of Endou's "Hohoho~i!" bits.

Genkai Series - Stemming from Matsumoto flubbing an order at a coffee shop, but still getting what he wanted, the Genkai series puts the Gaki members in the predicament of trying to use words that sound close (and some that don't) to try and order the item of the day. I've already covered one episode here, and there's more to follow.

Shichihenge - Another type of episode already covered here on the blog, Shichihenge gives a comic the chance to make the Gaki crew laugh. They get seven chances, and whenever they manage to make someone laugh, that person has to put money into the bin for charity. There's almost always some sort of nudity, because let's face it, unnecessary nudity is pretty funny. This type of episode has become one of Gaki's most famous series.

Absolutely Tasty - This series has many different names. The whole name is the "Kore wo yattemitakatten! Zettai ni oishii..." series which translates to "I always wanted to that! Absolutely delicious ___". In this segment, they take a commonplace recipe and create two of their dream versions of that item. For example, we have an upcoming episode where the members come up with their dream pizzas, cook them and try them out as a group. The items are assign a rating with 10 stars being the highest, and two skulls being the lowest.

Matsumoto's Challenge - Matsumoto sometimes feels the urgent need to perform some sort of grand task. In these episodes, we see the other Gaki members assist Matsumoto in the completion of said tasks like completing a backside-grab shifty 900 Air, all without the physical cooperation of Matsumoto. Whenever it's time to accomplish the task, his body just becomes a wet noodle.

Itao's Interruption Skits - Usually in the dressing room or on the way to a location shoot, the crew usually gets bugged by Itsuji Itao. Sometimes, Itao's wife comes along for the ride, but it almost always results in hilarity like seen in the "Itao's Car Crash" episode seen here. Usually involving a new television format, or in general a get-rich-quick scheme that Itao thought of, the Gaki members are usually forced to pay up big time if they intend on continuing with their daily lives.

Kiki Episodes - The Kiki episodes are basically taste-testing wrapped up in a penalty game shell. Each member is given one brand of a specific food or item to try while blindfolded and they have to match it up with that brand out of a line-up. An episode where members have to try canned coffee can be seen here.

Goodbye, Yamazaki! - A "prank" which Gaki pulls every year, it involves the ever-annoying Yamazaki faking his leaving the show. The first episdoe in the series, seen here, does an okay job at trying to fool the audience. After the two years or so, they stopped even trying to be subtle about the pranks and they just let Yamazaki be a damned fool. At the end, Yamazaki announces the prank and he does some sort of reference to the popular happenings of the past year. It's usually a popular song with the words "Yama-chan isn't leaving!" substituted in multiple places.

Yamazaki vs. Moriman! - Yamazaki and the notoriously chubby comedian Moriman go head to head in several battles. It first started as a competition to see who could pants their opponent, like bullies do on Japanese playgrounds, hence the kindergarten outfits. Yamazaki and Moriman later got stadiums and sold lots of seats, as this became a very popular Gaki No Tsukai series.


Matsumoto Team Vs. Hamada Team - Usually spanning multiple episodes, Gaki usually invites guest comedians and split into two teams with Matsumoto and Hamada being the leaders. The usually guests are Ame Agari Kessintai, Hosshan, and the comedy duo Fujiwara. Various games are played, and usually culminates in a complicated final round in which all members have to move a ball through several obstacles.


Gaki Team Vs. Former Tennensozai Team - Similar to the Hamada Vs Matsumoto matches above, the Gaki members go against a group that once called themselves Tennensozai (which I ever so failfully misspelled on the actual poll). Translating to "Natural Materials", the Tennensozai team was going green before Al Gore said anything! Just like the above, there's a series of absurd challenges, and the winner gets prize money!


Piccadilly Umeda's Job shows - To put is simply, Piccadilly Umeda is an cool, old man. He comes on Gaki No Tsukai often to showcase what new job he's doing. Of course, being a cool old man, he has no normal jobs. He takes jobs ranging from motorcycle stuntman to fortune-teller. He's pretty creepy though, as he can take all of his teeth out, supposedly. Eww.

Regular Cast Member Auditions - As Gaki no Tsukai gained popularity, it was only natural that other comedians would want in on the show. So, Gaki occasionally holds auditions for new members. As you may have noticed, the regular Gaki team hasn't grown in many years, so it may come as no surprise that these auditions are fake. However, it is fun to watch the comedians jump through hoops to get on the show.


Celebrity Baseball - I guess this title was a little bit deceiving. The "Celebrity Baseball" episodes involve the Gaki members as well as many other staff and comedians dressing up as a popular entertainer and then playing baseball. It's fairly simple. Usually the celebrity has a very distinct mannerism or appearance, which everyone has to imitate. For example, they imitate Hibari Misora, a famous Enka-style singer, and play baseball in full dresses and headwear.


Celebrity Fishing Competitions - Gaki No Tsukai's most laid-back (almost to the point of boredom) episodes are the Celebrity Fishing episodes. Usually in a two- or three-part episode, the Gaki Members invite several celebrities out for a fishing competition on one of Japan's many lakes. It seems more like something for the Japanese Tourism Association or something, if it exists. In some of the later episodes, they introduced some items that were fun, like a dice where the celebrity had to give their honest opinion about what comes up on it.

Cosplay Bus Tours - In what is usually a spree of cross-dressing or nostalgia, Gaki members, along with some of the crew members or other comedians, take to the streets of Tokyo in a tour bus dressed in costume. In the bus, they play a game which will eliminate one person. That person, while in costume, has to walk back to the studio alone.

Producer Suga's Nostalgic Re-enactments - Producer Suga seems to love nostalgia. He sometimes remembers things from his childhood like pro-wrestlers, manga, or anime. And sometimes you just want to relive those things, don't you? He does. Even if it comes at the expense of the Gaki members. In these episodes, Suga puts the members through a series of punishment games, and who ever loses has to play the specified part in his re-enactment.

Heipo's Arranged Dating - One of the Gaki staff, Heipo, is known for being a bit perverted. He also has a great fondness for pretty much all things woman. Unfortunately, he's a big strike-out with ladies, so sometimes, the kind people at Gaki No Tsukai set him up on a date. Heipo goes out and we usually see him go down in flames, as he generally sexually harasses his date.


Yamaquest - In a scavenger-hunt type episode, Yamazaki hides a "hidden treasure" in some location and the other four members go on a spree to find it. There have only been two episodes in this series, one in an amusement park, and one in a water park. Each time, the "hidden treasure" is well. . . Yamazaki. And that means that the treasure was "special", and not in the valuable sense.


Member Chases - In an effort to see what each member's private lives are like outside of the show, Gaki decides to follow a target member around the city "incognito" and take a sneak peek. The member's pastimes seems to include re-enacting old movies and nipple tweaking.