"Matsumoto Week" comes to a close here at BlackGaki with this episode, again from the "Matsumoto's Challenge" series. I wanted to do the "Matsumoto and Eri" episodes that someone requested from this series, but I can't get them to work right. Everytime I try to separate it so it will fit, all the programs I've tried using think it's an audio file. I can open the file and it plays as video just fine. Tried updating my codecs and everything. I'll try and figure out why that is, and then throw it up here to watch. They would have been a nice change of pace, and it's somewhat fitting given the news that he's going to be a daddy. So, minor bummer, as I didn't get to put in all the programming I wanted to during the week.
However, any Gaki is better than no Gaki, right? So today's episode really doesn't need that much explanation if you've seen the other Matsumoto's challenge episodes. Matsumoto wants to skateboard. Not just your normal "maintain balance while rolling" type of skateboarding that I still have yet to achieve. He wants to do tricks. Specifically, a "backside-grab, shifty frontside 900 air".
I'm most definitely not an authority on skateboarding, but using what I've picked up from playing "1080 Snowboarding" a long time ago on the Nintendo 64, I think I've been able to pick apart the nomenclature to dissect the elements of the trick. Any of you who happen to be more skate-savvy, feel free to correct/confirm.
"Backside-grab" = Rider grabs the board on their rear side.
"Shifty" = Rider's feet shift on the board in air
"Frontside" = The rider's front side is going into the spin.
"900 Air" = A 900 degree rotation in midair. 2.5 spins.
That sounds like an impressive accomplishment.
As it's a fairly familiar format if you're a regular, I'm just going to put up the movies and let you sit back, relax and watch. See ya afterwards.
So, it looks like they didn't try to research what a back... that trick is supposed to be. Oh well. It was still very funny in the process. Sometimes I wonder just how much Matsumoto is on what the other members are going to be doing to him. For most of these tries, he looks incredibly surprised, afraid or gets hurt (that surfboard thing lands on his wrist when he falls off of it). After this and the other Matsumoto challenge episode, I might have to see if I can't snag a copy of Hitoshi's movie "Dainihonjin". He shows that he might have some abilities to be a serious actor, like when he's in the dressing room with snot dripping down his face or in the other when he's about to cry.
I didn't actually give this episode a rating, in my big list of episodes. I wonder why not. I'll give that one a 5-star rating. It's got all sorts of natural, scared Matsumoto moments, combined with great comedic set-ups like the magazine reporter's "Wakarimasu wa~"s. Over time, these Matsumoto's challenge episodes become a struggle between Matsumoto and the other members to be the most outlandish. You can see the both sides surprising each other with their shenanigans. I love those moments.
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Showing posts with label 5-Star Episodes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 5-Star Episodes. Show all posts
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Matsumoto's Challenge: High Jump
In 1993, Javier Sotomayor of Cuba set the current world record for the High Jump event by breaking 2meters and 45 cm, which is over 8 feet for all you non-metric users out there. The validity of this jump is much debated as Sotomayor allegedly tested positive for a performance enhancer. (Note: I'm not saying he did. It's "alleged". I really couldn't care less.) It's somewhat of a hot-button issue as he will openly admit to doing enough cocaine to put an artificial snowcap on Mt. Everest, but denies the use of a steroid.
Whether or not this feat of physical prowess was all skill or brought about by a steroid and crack binge, there will always be someone who strives to be number one. Today, that person is Hitoshi Matsumoto. The only things I assume Matsumoto would ever get high on is life and liquor, so if he succeeds, I wouldn't dispute it. Sometimes, a man has to do things that he feels are right, no matter what anyone else says.
Possibly on the verge of a mid-life crisis, Macchan breaks down crying and asks Hamada to help him get into the record books. Sensing that he can't do all of this alone, he asks for the help of the other members while dressed in "kuroko" uniform. Kurokos are kabuki-style stagehands. As kabuki usually was performed in front of a black background, a kuroko could walk around on the stage and manipulate things while blending into the background. Think of it like an old-fashioned green-screen technique/special FX department. Kuroko is still used today in things like TV shows when they want to move something, but don't want to show the staff's faces, etc.
After being coerced into helping with Matsumoto's predicament, Cocorico and Yamazaki change into kuroko uniform and get the show started. Matsumoto, clad in athletic gear, looks ready to get this thing started. Please note Matsumoto struggling to hold in his laughter as he explains why he has to do this. The other members start by trying to assist Matsumoto with an old-fashioned "Heave-ho!" over the bar, but to no avail. They try it again using a mat for some added leverage, but yet again to no avail. A frustrated Matsumoto returns to his dressing room to cool down with some knitting. When the other members come in to apologize for flubbing up the attempt, Macchan has had enough of being patronized and takes his frustations out on his own knitting. It's going to hard to pick this lost stitches back up.
Being the good sport that he is, Hitoshi gives it another shot for the sake of being a worldwide sports phenomenon. This time, the kuroko members use a firm mat to lift Matsumoto's limp and uncooperative body over the bar, but unfortunately that doesn't work. Hamada tries to say that it's a matter of angles, when it's pretty clear to anyone watching that height is a problem too. He probably could get higher on his own by really running and jumping.
Giving it another shot, they try to be inventive and create a makeshift harness and check him over poles. As usual, this does not work, and as soon as he can get those painful things off, he becomes a beast unchained. Please note Matsumoto pimpslapping Endou at 2:09 as well as Endou receiving said slap. Once again, Macchan pays a visit to his dressing room where he practices drumming, just in case this whole comedy thing doesn't work out.
After yet another reconciliation, an attempt is made to build a ramp up to the bar, and then flip over a stretcher with Matsumoto on it. Let's just say that the ramp wasn't near close. Also, please note Tanaka's frustration grunt/dance at about 3:44. Another trip to the dressing room while Matsumoto fills out an embarkation card. If I had enough money to commission an award, I would give the first ever Gakkster Award to Matsumoto for the hissy-fit he throws at starting around 5:12. I actually thought he was on the verge of tears. Literally.
So, in a last ditch effort to prevent BlackGaki's favorite member from breaking down, they use several stepladders and the strength of a few staff members to pull Matsumoto's body up to the bar. Even Matsumoto has to laugh when he sees what's in store for him. When they get it together and get him lifted, Matsumoto manages to "clear" the 2m 50 cm bar. With that, a new world record was set.
If my record is right, this is the first in the "Matsumoto's Challenge" series, in which Matsumoto tries to do something amazing, usually involving a world record. On the surface these types of episodes are funny for many "Factors of Funny": The "WTF?!" factor, the "That was unexpected" factor, the "Random Violence" factor, and the "Physical Comedy" factor. It also makes you wonder one several levels just how they planned this type of episode to look. Did they really want anyone to thing that Matsumoto was really trying to break a world record? Did they want us to believe that Matsumoto was being serious for once?
I'm not sure if I'm actually able to judge this episode very well just on its own merits. I gave it 5 stars in my big spreadsheet-thing that I logged these episodes in. I think that is a fair verdict, if even a little high. The episode is quite enjoyable due to hilarious, and at times believable, overacting coupled with slaps and the general "comedy-of-errors" format. I think I'll keep it at 5.
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Whether or not this feat of physical prowess was all skill or brought about by a steroid and crack binge, there will always be someone who strives to be number one. Today, that person is Hitoshi Matsumoto. The only things I assume Matsumoto would ever get high on is life and liquor, so if he succeeds, I wouldn't dispute it. Sometimes, a man has to do things that he feels are right, no matter what anyone else says.
Possibly on the verge of a mid-life crisis, Macchan breaks down crying and asks Hamada to help him get into the record books. Sensing that he can't do all of this alone, he asks for the help of the other members while dressed in "kuroko" uniform. Kurokos are kabuki-style stagehands. As kabuki usually was performed in front of a black background, a kuroko could walk around on the stage and manipulate things while blending into the background. Think of it like an old-fashioned green-screen technique/special FX department. Kuroko is still used today in things like TV shows when they want to move something, but don't want to show the staff's faces, etc.
After being coerced into helping with Matsumoto's predicament, Cocorico and Yamazaki change into kuroko uniform and get the show started. Matsumoto, clad in athletic gear, looks ready to get this thing started. Please note Matsumoto struggling to hold in his laughter as he explains why he has to do this. The other members start by trying to assist Matsumoto with an old-fashioned "Heave-ho!" over the bar, but to no avail. They try it again using a mat for some added leverage, but yet again to no avail. A frustrated Matsumoto returns to his dressing room to cool down with some knitting. When the other members come in to apologize for flubbing up the attempt, Macchan has had enough of being patronized and takes his frustations out on his own knitting. It's going to hard to pick this lost stitches back up.
Being the good sport that he is, Hitoshi gives it another shot for the sake of being a worldwide sports phenomenon. This time, the kuroko members use a firm mat to lift Matsumoto's limp and uncooperative body over the bar, but unfortunately that doesn't work. Hamada tries to say that it's a matter of angles, when it's pretty clear to anyone watching that height is a problem too. He probably could get higher on his own by really running and jumping.
Giving it another shot, they try to be inventive and create a makeshift harness and check him over poles. As usual, this does not work, and as soon as he can get those painful things off, he becomes a beast unchained. Please note Matsumoto pimpslapping Endou at 2:09 as well as Endou receiving said slap. Once again, Macchan pays a visit to his dressing room where he practices drumming, just in case this whole comedy thing doesn't work out.
After yet another reconciliation, an attempt is made to build a ramp up to the bar, and then flip over a stretcher with Matsumoto on it. Let's just say that the ramp wasn't near close. Also, please note Tanaka's frustration grunt/dance at about 3:44. Another trip to the dressing room while Matsumoto fills out an embarkation card. If I had enough money to commission an award, I would give the first ever Gakkster Award to Matsumoto for the hissy-fit he throws at starting around 5:12. I actually thought he was on the verge of tears. Literally.
So, in a last ditch effort to prevent BlackGaki's favorite member from breaking down, they use several stepladders and the strength of a few staff members to pull Matsumoto's body up to the bar. Even Matsumoto has to laugh when he sees what's in store for him. When they get it together and get him lifted, Matsumoto manages to "clear" the 2m 50 cm bar. With that, a new world record was set.
If my record is right, this is the first in the "Matsumoto's Challenge" series, in which Matsumoto tries to do something amazing, usually involving a world record. On the surface these types of episodes are funny for many "Factors of Funny": The "WTF?!" factor, the "That was unexpected" factor, the "Random Violence" factor, and the "Physical Comedy" factor. It also makes you wonder one several levels just how they planned this type of episode to look. Did they really want anyone to thing that Matsumoto was really trying to break a world record? Did they want us to believe that Matsumoto was being serious for once?
I'm not sure if I'm actually able to judge this episode very well just on its own merits. I gave it 5 stars in my big spreadsheet-thing that I logged these episodes in. I think that is a fair verdict, if even a little high. The episode is quite enjoyable due to hilarious, and at times believable, overacting coupled with slaps and the general "comedy-of-errors" format. I think I'll keep it at 5.
Read more!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Tetsuo's Shichihenge
Original Airdate: 2/8/2009
I've taken a break from reviewing the older episodes to do sometime more recent. I figured that I might as well watch and review videos at the same time to save myself some effort. Makes sense, right? I'm also trying out the YouTube thing, and embedding it here. So, try to check out my channel and all that.
Today’s challenger will be the Tetsuo from the comedy group “Waraimeshi”. If you watch Gaki often, you’ll recognize them as the group that’s always putting on some sort of play whenever Gaki tries to hold a badminton event in a park. Tetsuo is the taller of the two and is probably the most outspoken and stylish of the pair.
As always, the rules of shichihenge apply, I believe. Upon counting though, I’ve found that there are 11 people in the room. There usually are only 10, but when the person belongs to a comedy group, they usually let their partners stay in the room to watch.
1st henge: Tetsuo comes in wearing a old-fashioned baseball-cap. You know, one of the ones with the mesh thing in the forehead area. He’s got it flipped down over his eyes, like I’ve done so many times while bored during Little League baseball practice. He soon flips it back to the correct position and pulls out some red tape. He begins marking off a box around his area on the table, and spells out 入ルナ (hairuna), meaning “DO NOT ENTER”, then flips the mesh back over his eyes.
On second consideration, he adjusts the boundaries of the table to include some of Matsumoto and Hamada’s table space, and sets some money down in front of Hamada. Giving up, he heads out of the room, putting the money in the counting basket, with no one laughing. After he leaves, the cast is left to wonder if that actually counts.
2nd: Tetsuo comes back in with a mirror, and begins practicing his “one-line gags” in front of it. He starts by doing Edo Harumi’s “goo-goo” gag, then someone else’s “Sanpei-desu”, followed by Dandy Sakano’s famous “GETS!” line. For some reason, this part really echos, probably due a recording. This essentially freaks everyone out. He tries a half-hearted “sanpei-desu” again, then tries Ai Haruna’s “Iu yo ne!” line. He then returns with an echoing “GETS!” which gets 8 of the people in the room. After another “sanpei-desu”, he does another “GETS!” which gets his partner. A total of 9/10 laughed. Compared to his first try, a definite improvement.
3rd: Dressed as a doctor, he comes in and sits down and calls for someone to send the next patient in. A woman in a red sweater comes in and says she feels feverish, so he asks her to lift her shirt. He takes a stethoscope, and puts it on her boobs. This immediately gets Hamada and Matsumoto. He asks her to do a half-turn in her swivel-chair and then immediately asks her to turn back around and repeats that several times. He puts a pair of rabbit ears on her and starts groping her with a pair of plastic hands. After a good groping, he sends her on her way. Over the course of the gag, he gets 6 cast members to laugh.
4th: In a magician outfit, with two lovely assistants carrying fish tanks with water and a not-so-lovely male assistant, Tetsuo sidles into the room repeatedly thrusting his hands into the water. His chubby male assistant hands him a towel to dry his hands. He takes a rapier, and one of his assistants throws what’s supposed to be a orange, which he seemingly pierces with the sword. He goes back to thrusting his hands into the water and dancing with the disco music in the background. They repeat the process with the orange and rapier a few more times, and the chubby assistant switches places with Tetsuo and does the hand-thrusting and dancing. The room is left to wonder how the hell someone thought that up. 7 of the crew are driven to laughter.
5th: Dressed in a red robe and equipped with a fart machine, Tetsuo waddles in with funny eyes painted over his eyelids. He scampers frantically around the room, sounding the fart machine near people. This got most of the people in the room. Between the combination of the make-up and the farts, he gets 6 people.
6th: Leading a class of PE students, PE Teacher Tetsuo teaches the students how to count off in the coolest way possible, with a mild lisp. As they start counting, he jumps in and corrects the students who used alternative pronunciations of numbers. For example, the fourth child uses “yon” and is instructed to use “shi” instead. He leaves out of the room to let the students practice, and the students huddle and just decide to leave. The lesson gets all 11 people in the room to laugh.
7th: As characteristic for shichihenge, there’s got to be some absurd amount of nakedness. Tetsuo comes in wearing a bath towel saying “I guess it’s not here” while searching around the room. He takes his towel off, and according to the note which the censors have left, he’s apparently has red bean paste slathered all over his junk. Once again, this gets the whole room to laugh for another 11 bills added to pile.
Added all together, he gets 53,000 yen and ties for second place with Bob Sapp for all-time second place.
I’ve given this episode a rating of 5 stars. Fart jokes just get me every time. Combined with the nostalgia from the baseball cap, this probably would have gotten 5 stars even if all the jokes sucked.
Read more!
I've taken a break from reviewing the older episodes to do sometime more recent. I figured that I might as well watch and review videos at the same time to save myself some effort. Makes sense, right? I'm also trying out the YouTube thing, and embedding it here. So, try to check out my channel and all that.
Today’s challenger will be the Tetsuo from the comedy group “Waraimeshi”. If you watch Gaki often, you’ll recognize them as the group that’s always putting on some sort of play whenever Gaki tries to hold a badminton event in a park. Tetsuo is the taller of the two and is probably the most outspoken and stylish of the pair.
As always, the rules of shichihenge apply, I believe. Upon counting though, I’ve found that there are 11 people in the room. There usually are only 10, but when the person belongs to a comedy group, they usually let their partners stay in the room to watch.
1st henge: Tetsuo comes in wearing a old-fashioned baseball-cap. You know, one of the ones with the mesh thing in the forehead area. He’s got it flipped down over his eyes, like I’ve done so many times while bored during Little League baseball practice. He soon flips it back to the correct position and pulls out some red tape. He begins marking off a box around his area on the table, and spells out 入ルナ (hairuna), meaning “DO NOT ENTER”, then flips the mesh back over his eyes.
On second consideration, he adjusts the boundaries of the table to include some of Matsumoto and Hamada’s table space, and sets some money down in front of Hamada. Giving up, he heads out of the room, putting the money in the counting basket, with no one laughing. After he leaves, the cast is left to wonder if that actually counts.
2nd: Tetsuo comes back in with a mirror, and begins practicing his “one-line gags” in front of it. He starts by doing Edo Harumi’s “goo-goo” gag, then someone else’s “Sanpei-desu”, followed by Dandy Sakano’s famous “GETS!” line. For some reason, this part really echos, probably due a recording. This essentially freaks everyone out. He tries a half-hearted “sanpei-desu” again, then tries Ai Haruna’s “Iu yo ne!” line. He then returns with an echoing “GETS!” which gets 8 of the people in the room. After another “sanpei-desu”, he does another “GETS!” which gets his partner. A total of 9/10 laughed. Compared to his first try, a definite improvement.
3rd: Dressed as a doctor, he comes in and sits down and calls for someone to send the next patient in. A woman in a red sweater comes in and says she feels feverish, so he asks her to lift her shirt. He takes a stethoscope, and puts it on her boobs. This immediately gets Hamada and Matsumoto. He asks her to do a half-turn in her swivel-chair and then immediately asks her to turn back around and repeats that several times. He puts a pair of rabbit ears on her and starts groping her with a pair of plastic hands. After a good groping, he sends her on her way. Over the course of the gag, he gets 6 cast members to laugh.
4th: In a magician outfit, with two lovely assistants carrying fish tanks with water and a not-so-lovely male assistant, Tetsuo sidles into the room repeatedly thrusting his hands into the water. His chubby male assistant hands him a towel to dry his hands. He takes a rapier, and one of his assistants throws what’s supposed to be a orange, which he seemingly pierces with the sword. He goes back to thrusting his hands into the water and dancing with the disco music in the background. They repeat the process with the orange and rapier a few more times, and the chubby assistant switches places with Tetsuo and does the hand-thrusting and dancing. The room is left to wonder how the hell someone thought that up. 7 of the crew are driven to laughter.
5th: Dressed in a red robe and equipped with a fart machine, Tetsuo waddles in with funny eyes painted over his eyelids. He scampers frantically around the room, sounding the fart machine near people. This got most of the people in the room. Between the combination of the make-up and the farts, he gets 6 people.
6th: Leading a class of PE students, PE Teacher Tetsuo teaches the students how to count off in the coolest way possible, with a mild lisp. As they start counting, he jumps in and corrects the students who used alternative pronunciations of numbers. For example, the fourth child uses “yon” and is instructed to use “shi” instead. He leaves out of the room to let the students practice, and the students huddle and just decide to leave. The lesson gets all 11 people in the room to laugh.
7th: As characteristic for shichihenge, there’s got to be some absurd amount of nakedness. Tetsuo comes in wearing a bath towel saying “I guess it’s not here” while searching around the room. He takes his towel off, and according to the note which the censors have left, he’s apparently has red bean paste slathered all over his junk. Once again, this gets the whole room to laugh for another 11 bills added to pile.
Added all together, he gets 53,000 yen and ties for second place with Bob Sapp for all-time second place.
I’ve given this episode a rating of 5 stars. Fart jokes just get me every time. Combined with the nostalgia from the baseball cap, this probably would have gotten 5 stars even if all the jokes sucked.
Read more!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
レベンジマッチ:山崎vs.Moriman Part 3
(Revenge match: Yamazaki vs. Moriman part 3)
After getting his ass handed to him on a platter in the previous two matches, Downtown revises the format of the match to include more than the pants removing match, in hopes that it would give Yamazaki the chance to get his revenge. Also, the newcomers to the show, Cocorico, serve as Yamazaki’s trainers. Feel free to squeal at the sight of a tracksuited Tanaka. Endo gets the responsibility to break the tension before the fight, and does so with great ease. He’ll get this responsibility for all of the Yamazaki vs. Moriman events after this, and it’s easy to see why. However, after this he’ll be doing this bit in briefs.
The first match is the “face stocking removal” match, in which both contestants try to remove the pantyhose placed over their opponent’s head. In doing so, their face will warp which means big laughs for the viewers. Unknown to the organizers of this event, Moriman wasn’t in it for the laughs, and winds up wrestling Yamazaki to the ground, climbing on his back and choking him. Yamazaki taps and loses the match.
After regaining his composure, Yamazaki is faced with the “slipper fight” match. The premise is simple: each person gets two slippers and attempts to beat the living hell out of their opponent. Moriman jumps out of her corner and begins the ass-beating. Yamazaki puts up a fight, but finds himself backed into a corner. He tries to circle to the center of the ring, but turns his back to Moriman and finds himself on the receiving end of a direct slipper hit to the face. Another victory for Moriman.
Yamazaki gets to choose the third match, and chooses the “Low kick” match. I don’t think he really thought through the idea that Moriman was going to be able to kick him.
The fourth match is the “super hot ankake” match, in which each person gets a pan full of hot ankake sauce to fling at their opponent. The first one to give up or is unable to continue loses. Okay, while it’s still funny, the “OH MAN IT’S HOT” myth was debunked a while ago. Japanese comedians seem to love doing thing with “hot” things because they get to do reaction bits. The most common hot thing is hot water. For example in some quiz shows, if you get an answer wrong, you get dropped into “hot” water, and the comedian runs around, says that it’s hot, and flops around, etc. In actuality, it’s a little warmer than room temperature, and poses no health risks at all.
Fifth match is the “wet towel” match, where several wet towels are placed in the ring. Rule is much like all the other ones. Use the towel, beat the snot out of your opponent, you win.
Much like times before Yamazaki gets pummeled while showing little to no resistance. I think I’ll give this episode a rating of 5 stars. Although the new battle themes were nice, all of the matches were fairly short. The commentary between and after rounds is what made the episode worth watching.
Read more!
After getting his ass handed to him on a platter in the previous two matches, Downtown revises the format of the match to include more than the pants removing match, in hopes that it would give Yamazaki the chance to get his revenge. Also, the newcomers to the show, Cocorico, serve as Yamazaki’s trainers. Feel free to squeal at the sight of a tracksuited Tanaka. Endo gets the responsibility to break the tension before the fight, and does so with great ease. He’ll get this responsibility for all of the Yamazaki vs. Moriman events after this, and it’s easy to see why. However, after this he’ll be doing this bit in briefs.
The first match is the “face stocking removal” match, in which both contestants try to remove the pantyhose placed over their opponent’s head. In doing so, their face will warp which means big laughs for the viewers. Unknown to the organizers of this event, Moriman wasn’t in it for the laughs, and winds up wrestling Yamazaki to the ground, climbing on his back and choking him. Yamazaki taps and loses the match.
After regaining his composure, Yamazaki is faced with the “slipper fight” match. The premise is simple: each person gets two slippers and attempts to beat the living hell out of their opponent. Moriman jumps out of her corner and begins the ass-beating. Yamazaki puts up a fight, but finds himself backed into a corner. He tries to circle to the center of the ring, but turns his back to Moriman and finds himself on the receiving end of a direct slipper hit to the face. Another victory for Moriman.
Behold the face of a man who has been beaten down with a slipper.
Yamazaki gets to choose the third match, and chooses the “Low kick” match. I don’t think he really thought through the idea that Moriman was going to be able to kick him.
The fourth match is the “super hot ankake” match, in which each person gets a pan full of hot ankake sauce to fling at their opponent. The first one to give up or is unable to continue loses. Okay, while it’s still funny, the “OH MAN IT’S HOT” myth was debunked a while ago. Japanese comedians seem to love doing thing with “hot” things because they get to do reaction bits. The most common hot thing is hot water. For example in some quiz shows, if you get an answer wrong, you get dropped into “hot” water, and the comedian runs around, says that it’s hot, and flops around, etc. In actuality, it’s a little warmer than room temperature, and poses no health risks at all.
Fifth match is the “wet towel” match, where several wet towels are placed in the ring. Rule is much like all the other ones. Use the towel, beat the snot out of your opponent, you win.
Much like times before Yamazaki gets pummeled while showing little to no resistance. I think I’ll give this episode a rating of 5 stars. Although the new battle themes were nice, all of the matches were fairly short. The commentary between and after rounds is what made the episode worth watching.
Read more!
Monday, January 12, 2009
山崎邦正ケツリベンジ: KETSU-1グランプリ!! (Yamazaki vs Moriman Part 2)
(Yamazaki Housei Ass revenge: Ass-1 Grand Prix)
Original Airdate: 12/29/1996
As the title suggests, today is Yamazaki’s chance to get revenge on Moriman because he got steamrolled by Moriman. First he starts by making excuses, about his ribs, and that there’s something keeping him from performing at his very best. Matsumoto just wants to clear the air, and make sure that he’s not wimping out. When he asks if Yamazaki wants to quit, Yamazaki answers “…if I can…” for which Matsumoto, like I would, smacks him across the face.
Unlike the previous time, Yamazaki opts out of the sparring matches against groups, and shows off his sparring partner. His sparring partner, Heipo, works on the show, and is generally known for three points: He’s easily scared, he’s got no luck with the ladies, and he’s generally a pervert. Yamazaki squares off against this pervert. Then after the first match, Hamada reminds Yamazaki that Moriman usually manages to get him in a defensive position and that he has to be able to guard, so the second sparring match starts with Heipo on top of the grounded Yamazaki. Pimp slaps ensue. Matsumoto suggests that they should change the line-up to Moriman vs. Heipo.
The show then breaks for a Downtown comedy talk, in which they talk about things ranging from Yamazaki’s work as a singer to the sound of rain in the building to the Tamagocchi (you know, those little virtual pets that all us kids, including myself, had in fourth grade) craze. I was thinking of subtitling some of these talks because they’re a big part of the show, and sometimes they’re things you can’t laugh at by visual cues alone unlike most of the other openers. So, uh… if anyone knows any programs, or generally what you’d use to subtitle videos, dropping me a line in the Comments section would be appreciated.
After the comedy talk, we’re ready for the revenge match. It starts with challenger Yamazaki’s entrance to “Eye of the Tiger”, then champion Moriman’s entrance to “We Will Rock You” and rocks Yamazaki with slaps to the face before the match even starts. Yamazaki’s forced to wimp out yelling “Owowowow!” Once the dust settles, both fighters are presented with flower bouquets from foreign women (showing Gaki’s, or perhaps all of Japan’s, concept that “it’s funny because they’re foreign” which we’ll see many times throughout Gaki’s history) and then they are ready to battle. Note: as you watch this video, please be prepared for Matsumoto’s infectious hyena-laugh at about 15 seconds.
Hamada pretty much summed it all up with the “何ソレ?” (nani sore?) meaning “What was that?” The story of Yamazaki’s life, eh? I’ve cataloged this episode as a 4-star episode, but I’d like to bump it up to a five. It’s building up to a legend. I probably marked a 4 because I think this was the first of the “Yamazaki vs. Moriman” episodes I’d ever seen and didn’t know that it was going to a part of something so huge. It lacks the polish and general hilarity over that most of the other episodes have, being so short, but it’s still able to hold its own.
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Original Airdate: 12/29/1996
As the title suggests, today is Yamazaki’s chance to get revenge on Moriman because he got steamrolled by Moriman. First he starts by making excuses, about his ribs, and that there’s something keeping him from performing at his very best. Matsumoto just wants to clear the air, and make sure that he’s not wimping out. When he asks if Yamazaki wants to quit, Yamazaki answers “…if I can…” for which Matsumoto, like I would, smacks him across the face.
Unlike the previous time, Yamazaki opts out of the sparring matches against groups, and shows off his sparring partner. His sparring partner, Heipo, works on the show, and is generally known for three points: He’s easily scared, he’s got no luck with the ladies, and he’s generally a pervert. Yamazaki squares off against this pervert. Then after the first match, Hamada reminds Yamazaki that Moriman usually manages to get him in a defensive position and that he has to be able to guard, so the second sparring match starts with Heipo on top of the grounded Yamazaki. Pimp slaps ensue. Matsumoto suggests that they should change the line-up to Moriman vs. Heipo.
After the comedy talk, we’re ready for the revenge match. It starts with challenger Yamazaki’s entrance to “Eye of the Tiger”, then champion Moriman’s entrance to “We Will Rock You” and rocks Yamazaki with slaps to the face before the match even starts. Yamazaki’s forced to wimp out yelling “Owowowow!” Once the dust settles, both fighters are presented with flower bouquets from foreign women (showing Gaki’s, or perhaps all of Japan’s, concept that “it’s funny because they’re foreign” which we’ll see many times throughout Gaki’s history) and then they are ready to battle. Note: as you watch this video, please be prepared for Matsumoto’s infectious hyena-laugh at about 15 seconds.
Hamada pretty much summed it all up with the “何ソレ?” (nani sore?) meaning “What was that?” The story of Yamazaki’s life, eh? I’ve cataloged this episode as a 4-star episode, but I’d like to bump it up to a five. It’s building up to a legend. I probably marked a 4 because I think this was the first of the “Yamazaki vs. Moriman” episodes I’d ever seen and didn’t know that it was going to a part of something so huge. It lacks the polish and general hilarity over that most of the other episodes have, being so short, but it’s still able to hold its own.
Read more!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Gaki Messes with Waitresses
Original airdate: 8/17/1997
For my first review, I just randomly picked a video in my arsenal, and decided to highlight and review it. I think that for a first video, this was a good choice. The title for today's episode is "回して、回して、一万円！” which means "Spin 'em, spin 'em, 10,000 yen!" The concept came from an observation that Matsumoto made two weeks earlier during one of Downtown's comedy talks. He said that if you go to a coffee shop, the waitress will come over and help you. However, if you say "Excuse me" as they are walking away, they pivot on the balls of their feet in place to come back. Today's episode was planned to shed some light on whether this is true or not.
In the opening, Yamazaki serves as the organizer for this little experiment and explains that it will be done in game form. The show has hidden cameras in two coffee shops. Cocorico and Downtown are to split into pairs chosen by pulling on rope ends. Each pair will try to get their waitresses to spin in place as much as they can in 20 minutes by only saying "Excuse me." Each time a waitress spins in place, 10,000 yen is added to the pot. After time is up, the team that made their waitress spin the most gets the whole pot.
The first team is the Hamada-Tanaka team. They get off to a rough start, not even getting one spin in place. However, if the game were to scare the living bajeebus out of the waitress, Hamada did just that. Note the "Holy crap, it's a gorilla!" look on the waitresses face whenever she sees him.
After about 12 minutes in, Tanaka and Hamada change seats, and Hamada lets Tanaka do the calling. Tanaka manages to get 3 points for the team in a row. (*throws on Tanaka Fan Club T-shirt and cheers wildly*) After they realize they are about 18 minutes in, they decide to ditch the premise of the game and dig into their food. Yamazaki, Endo and Matsumoto who are watching from a separate location don't find it interesting to watch them sit there and chow down, so they send Yamazaki to bring them back. Yamazaki rushes in and smacks Hamada hard on the back of the head.
Some of you may not know this, but disrespecting a senior (whether it be by age or by experience) is taken pretty seriously in Japanese society. Getting whacked on the back of the head by his inferior set Hamada off and he handles the matter gangsta-style. Yamazaki backs down and apologizes like a little beyotch. So, in total Hamada-Tanaka team scores 3 points.
After Hamada schools Yamazaki, it's Matsumoto-Endo team's turn to try. They do horribly to start. The waitress tended to finish what she was doing before the Matsumoto's timing is laughably horrible, as he starts asking the waitress to turn around while she's still at the table. So they have to resort to making the waitress show things from their display cabinets and repeated asking for things put back and to see other things. In a frenzy of failed spin attempts, Endo just resorts to calling the waitress over, and then having Matsumoto call, then alternating between the two of them. Even that doesn't work. So in their last few seconds, Matsumoto just shifts into manual and spins her with his hands.
Yamazaki stretches his rulings for the Matsumoto-Endo team based on pity, and the score winds up being tied 3-3. But since the rulings were less stretched, he awards the Hamada-Tanaka team with the win! *throws parade*
Talk-
Most episodes of Gaki no Tsukai have a talk portion, which is basically the comedic stylings of Downtown. It usually consists of a bin full of postcards being wheeled on stage and Hamada reading off questions to Matsumoto, but sometimes Matsumoto comes in with things that he'd like to discuss. If I had the time, I'd probably subtitle videos because it I think it would be really worth it. But I'll just provide some translation on some of the funnier parts here to save room. (This post is already big o.o)
During the talk, the first post card that was pulled said "When the rain suddenly stops, the umbrella you are no longer using gets in the way. Please show me a cool way to hold it when that happens." Matsumoto explains that an umbrella is only an umbrella after it's opened. Otherwise it's in its "pre-umbrella" stage. Therefore the way to hold an umbrella is to hold it opened. Matsumoto strutting around the stage in "Singing in the Rain" fashion then followed.
In proving how not cool that is, they did a test-run and showed that you'd hit everyone walking down the street. Matsumoto's rebuttal: "Well it would be okay if everyone had theirs open. You open yours." Then the battle of "You open yours!" vs. "No, just close yours!" began. Things like this are a very small piece of the magic of this show.
The last part of the episode was one that I almost forgot about completely. While taking a photo the week before, the video cameras picked up a voice saying "...downtown..." when the camera shutters closed. Scary, I can somewhat hear it too. o.O
Rating- Overall, I gave this episode 5-stars. If you haven't seen it, please refer to my rating guide.
The concept was original and fairly interesting to me, having worked in fast food during high school and early college. It really goes to show the determination of the Japanese workforce. They either weren't phased by being called back to the table every 10 seconds or they did a great job of hiding it. I know I would have been annoyed.
Yamazaki getting manhandled will pretty much give any episode at least a 4-star rating, but the talk alone is a good one. Rewatching this made me realize how unaccustomed I am to seeing Matsumoto with hair. XD
Read more!
For my first review, I just randomly picked a video in my arsenal, and decided to highlight and review it. I think that for a first video, this was a good choice. The title for today's episode is "回して、回して、一万円！” which means "Spin 'em, spin 'em, 10,000 yen!" The concept came from an observation that Matsumoto made two weeks earlier during one of Downtown's comedy talks. He said that if you go to a coffee shop, the waitress will come over and help you. However, if you say "Excuse me" as they are walking away, they pivot on the balls of their feet in place to come back. Today's episode was planned to shed some light on whether this is true or not.
In the opening, Yamazaki serves as the organizer for this little experiment and explains that it will be done in game form. The show has hidden cameras in two coffee shops. Cocorico and Downtown are to split into pairs chosen by pulling on rope ends. Each pair will try to get their waitresses to spin in place as much as they can in 20 minutes by only saying "Excuse me." Each time a waitress spins in place, 10,000 yen is added to the pot. After time is up, the team that made their waitress spin the most gets the whole pot.
The first team is the Hamada-Tanaka team. They get off to a rough start, not even getting one spin in place. However, if the game were to scare the living bajeebus out of the waitress, Hamada did just that. Note the "Holy crap, it's a gorilla!" look on the waitresses face whenever she sees him.
After about 12 minutes in, Tanaka and Hamada change seats, and Hamada lets Tanaka do the calling. Tanaka manages to get 3 points for the team in a row. (*throws on Tanaka Fan Club T-shirt and cheers wildly*) After they realize they are about 18 minutes in, they decide to ditch the premise of the game and dig into their food. Yamazaki, Endo and Matsumoto who are watching from a separate location don't find it interesting to watch them sit there and chow down, so they send Yamazaki to bring them back. Yamazaki rushes in and smacks Hamada hard on the back of the head.
Some of you may not know this, but disrespecting a senior (whether it be by age or by experience) is taken pretty seriously in Japanese society. Getting whacked on the back of the head by his inferior set Hamada off and he handles the matter gangsta-style. Yamazaki backs down and apologizes like a little beyotch. So, in total Hamada-Tanaka team scores 3 points.
After Hamada schools Yamazaki, it's Matsumoto-Endo team's turn to try. They do horribly to start. The waitress tended to finish what she was doing before the Matsumoto's timing is laughably horrible, as he starts asking the waitress to turn around while she's still at the table. So they have to resort to making the waitress show things from their display cabinets and repeated asking for things put back and to see other things. In a frenzy of failed spin attempts, Endo just resorts to calling the waitress over, and then having Matsumoto call, then alternating between the two of them. Even that doesn't work. So in their last few seconds, Matsumoto just shifts into manual and spins her with his hands.
Yamazaki stretches his rulings for the Matsumoto-Endo team based on pity, and the score winds up being tied 3-3. But since the rulings were less stretched, he awards the Hamada-Tanaka team with the win! *throws parade*
Talk-
Most episodes of Gaki no Tsukai have a talk portion, which is basically the comedic stylings of Downtown. It usually consists of a bin full of postcards being wheeled on stage and Hamada reading off questions to Matsumoto, but sometimes Matsumoto comes in with things that he'd like to discuss. If I had the time, I'd probably subtitle videos because it I think it would be really worth it. But I'll just provide some translation on some of the funnier parts here to save room. (This post is already big o.o)
During the talk, the first post card that was pulled said "When the rain suddenly stops, the umbrella you are no longer using gets in the way. Please show me a cool way to hold it when that happens." Matsumoto explains that an umbrella is only an umbrella after it's opened. Otherwise it's in its "pre-umbrella" stage. Therefore the way to hold an umbrella is to hold it opened. Matsumoto strutting around the stage in "Singing in the Rain" fashion then followed.
In proving how not cool that is, they did a test-run and showed that you'd hit everyone walking down the street. Matsumoto's rebuttal: "Well it would be okay if everyone had theirs open. You open yours." Then the battle of "You open yours!" vs. "No, just close yours!" began. Things like this are a very small piece of the magic of this show.
The last part of the episode was one that I almost forgot about completely. While taking a photo the week before, the video cameras picked up a voice saying "...downtown..." when the camera shutters closed. Scary, I can somewhat hear it too. o.O
Rating- Overall, I gave this episode 5-stars. If you haven't seen it, please refer to my rating guide.
The concept was original and fairly interesting to me, having worked in fast food during high school and early college. It really goes to show the determination of the Japanese workforce. They either weren't phased by being called back to the table every 10 seconds or they did a great job of hiding it. I know I would have been annoyed.
Yamazaki getting manhandled will pretty much give any episode at least a 4-star rating, but the talk alone is a good one. Rewatching this made me realize how unaccustomed I am to seeing Matsumoto with hair. XD
Read more!
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