Miss Cellania
The Late Movies: Japanese Game Shows
by Miss Cellania - June 11, 2010 - 9:43 PM
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In the US, there are game shows and there are variety shows. In Japan, the two are often blurred, as the goal is entertaining the audience more than winning a competition. Even the coolest celebrities are not afraid to look silly. Visuals are very important, which is great for those of us who don’t understand the language. You don’t need to know what people are saying to enjoy these classic TV clips.

The Bug Race


Just in case the tasks aren’t funny enough, these guys have to dress in funny insect costumes. The penalty for failure? Smell my breath!

Don’t Laugh in the Classroom!


Remember the game show Make Me Laugh? This is better.

Tongue Twister


Better say it right, or else!

Marshmallows


The instructions don’t metter; you’ll see pretty quickly what they are trying to accomplish. The operant word is “trying”.

Treadmill


It’s an obstacle course/scavenger hunt/steeplechase, with an added level of difficulty: you’re on a treadmill!

Binocular Soccer


How to make soccer silly: Dress the players in striped catsuits. How to make soccer impossible: make the players wear binoculars.

Baseball


How to make baseball more difficult: let us count the ways.

Silent Library


How can you possibly stay silent in a library like this?

Let’s Get Dizzy


See different segments of the same show here and here.

Dizzy Bowling


Sure, we’ve all done this, but we rarely do it in a French maid costume on TV.

Human Tetris


This game gives the contestant the opportunity to BE a Tetris tile. The game designers get sadistic at times.

You can find a lot more on YouTube. Be aware that many very funny “TV game show” clips I rejected for this post contain a surprising lack of clothing.

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Comments (9)

  1. i love the look of terror of the losers on silent library. holding back the laughter is hilarious.

    posted by dirk alan on 6-11-2010 at 10:25 pm

  2. That silent library clip is my favorite Japanese TV clip ever. There’s another clip I found once of the same guys having to ring bells on various body parts of manequins as many times as possible. That was a good one, too.

    MTV made an American version of Silent Library. It’s alright. They go more for the gross out factor than anything…

    posted by Leslie on 6-11-2010 at 10:58 pm

  3. Ha. I just realized I said silent library is my favorite clip. I really meant the silent classroom… I was thinking about the MTV show and said the wrong thing. Oops.

    You should check out Pie Hell, as well. It was punishment for losing one of the games. It’s long but really awesome… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg44JTNX7Ys

    posted by Leslie on 6-11-2010 at 11:00 pm

  4. Fox released “Human Tetris” in the U.S., it bombed pretty badly, if I remember correctly. May have had to do with the unfortunate name, “Hole in the Wall”.

    posted by Amauriel on 6-11-2010 at 11:53 pm

  5. Hole in the Wall?

    They may as well have named it Glory Hole…. o.o’

    posted by Bakedpotatoes on 6-12-2010 at 3:40 am

  6. Takeshi’s Castle and Ultimate Banzuke are still being shown regularly here in the UK. Thing is…I’ve never seen anyone beat the games!

    posted by Biffers on 6-12-2010 at 9:21 am

  7. They say that Britain is the game show capital of the world. They’re wrong. Japan is the game show capital of the world.

    posted by Karl on 6-12-2010 at 9:31 am

  8. One day, I absolutely MUST recreate soccer with binoculars.

    posted by sb22 on 6-12-2010 at 2:24 pm

  9. A lot of these are from the same Japanese comedy troupe. Their 24-hour Don’t Laugh Hospital can be seen in its entirety on YouTube (they edited it down to 2 or 3 hours), and it still cracks me up just thinking about it. Also, I’m surprised Unbeatable Banzuke and Ninja Warrior aren’t mentioned here. I can watch those shows for hours when they air on G4.

    Also, I suspect Hole in the Wall may have bombed in part to the crappy host they picked for the show. His commentary was offensive and not funny, while Japanese hosts tend to be outrageous but funny.

    posted by Jina on 6-14-2010 at 11:05 am

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