But overall, it’s one of the most-watched programs during new years eve timeframe in late December, alongside the NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, where dozens of popular music artists appear. You might have also heard of the show under more unfortunate conditions: a few years ago one of the comedians featured did a black face.
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It’s pretty much the embodiment of Japanese TV comedy, which can be pretty cringe or extremely funny depending on your tastes and whether you’re used to it or not.ĭowntown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! is one of the most popular shows in Japan. The comedians who laugh are “Out” and get hit with corporal punishment like spanking. One of the most popular moments is the No Laughing Batsu Game, where the comedians are put into various situations and they absolutely must not laugh despite how ridiculous said situation can get.
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When a photograph of the two groups posing in blackface went viral, the TV channel sensibly backed down and did not broadcast the segment.Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende and its No Laughing Batsu Game 2021 explainedĭowntown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! is a special series aired every new years eve in Japan, where several veteran comedians participate. In 2015, the idol group Momoiro Clover Z posed in blackface with Rats & Star, a much older music group that has longer performed in blackface. That was back in 2014, but came only shortly after a similar campaign by Toshiba. Other recent cases of high-profile racism or perceived inappropriate choices in popular culture in Japan include a woefully misjudged advertising campaign by ANA with Japanese performers wearing fake noses to play “foreign” characters. Unfortunately, blackface in Japan is nothing new and examples of it crop up in comedy, music and entertainment.Ī December 2017 production in Tokyo of the musical Memphis also featured an almost entire cast of Japanese performers in blackface alongside Pittsburgh-born, black singer Jero. The black, Yokohama-based journalist Baye McNeil was one of the first to call this out as racist and inappropriate, leading a charge on Twitter to complain to the broadcaster, NTV. Culturally sensitive viewers were dismayed to see Hamada in blackface from the first few minutes of the show that lasts several hours.
As part of his ordeal, the comedian Masatoshi Hamada had to endure being transformed into Eddie Murphy. It is a typical aspect of the show that the main comedians have to wear silly clothes or alter their appearance in other ways. The series debuted in Fall 2003 with Rice and went for 13 parts, having a four year hiatus after the free-dish 'cooking I wanted to try' segment in Fall 2012 before an Okonomiyaki episode aired in August 2016. For this year’s edition, however, one of those “ridiculous” things was pretending to be black. The Absolutely Tasty series is a segment within the Gaki no Tsukai show, in which the members compete to produce a tasty recipe around a dish.
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It is a genuinely funny show, full of in-jokes and slapstick, and attracts a huge audience as counter-programming to the music on NHK. In what is known as the No-Laughing Batsu Game, every time one of the comedians laughs is rewarded with a physical punishment. Its premise is that the comedy duo Downtown and other guests are forced to do increasingly ridiculous things in an outlandish setting.
Another perennial favorite is the New Year’s Eve special of long-running comedy show Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, or just Gaki no Tsukai, which has been broadcast annually on December 31st for several years.
Television is part of the ritual of Oshogatsu, perhaps most famously the NHK music show Kohaku. New Year in Japan has many traditions, from the food to household decorations.