Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1071

Episode Number: 1071
Episode Title: COWCOW 興志・家族とキャンプの旅に 
(Camping Trip with CowCow Koji's family )
Original Broadcast Date: Sunday, September 11th 2011
Viewing Links:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzAzNDEyNTIw.html
Guests:
世界のへイポー (Heipo)

Episode Summary:
Heipo previously slept over the home of comedian 山田與志 (Yoshi Yamada of the duo CowCow)  and supposedly overcame his hatred of children and dogs during the short stay. Subsequently, he gave presents to the children (a 3DS and a bike) and this episode tells the story of another stay with the family-- on a short camping trip.
The action is fairly self explanatory, with an enjoyable start to the trip soon breaking down into chidren's tantrums and family arguments.  The hostility culminates when Heipo gives an autograph from AKB48 to Yoshi's daughter. It seems that the idyllic world presented in the previous episode is not all it's cracked up to be.  
Episode Analysis :
"Gaki no Tsukai can be emotionally moving!" Or so says Matsumoto at the start of this 2nd attempt at describing an emotional journey for confirmed bachelor, child hater, coward and pervert, "The one and only Heipo." In truth, this episode followed hard upon the (very recent) #1067 (芸人さん家にご宿泊  or, A Geinin's House Sleepover) which was (to my knowledge) a rare GnT attempt at pathos.
That earlier episode was not without its charms, but this is a much different emotional journey-- one which at times is quite difficult to watch. Adult/Child themes seem very much in Matsumoto's mind these days (his recent film Saya-Zamurai details just such a relationship) so it is fitting that this follow up shows a less sentimental and more disturbing stay with Yoshi's family. Still, it seems awfully close to the sort of sentimentality that fills most other Japanese variety programs. 
I, for one, hope this to be the last visit with Yoshi's family, and Heipo can return to being a lovable, cowardly pervert, however fictional that persona is.


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