Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1083

Episode Title: ２０１２年１２月に世界終わる？

In December, 2012, Will the World End? (Talk Episode)

Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1083

Broadcast Date:

Sunday, December 4th, 2011

Viewing Links:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzI5MTc2Nzk2.html

Guests:

None.

Important Vocabulary:

文明（ぶんめい）：Civilization, culture.
白髪（しらが）：White hair (which may be trendy)
増える（ふえる）：To increase, multiply.
平均（へいきん）： Average
年齢（ねんれい）：　Age
老化（ろうか）：Ageing
進行（しんこう）：　Advancement, progression.
老眼（ろうがん）：Age related farsightedness.
足りる（たりる）：To be sufficient
手術（しゅじゅつ）： Operation, (surgical) procedure.
伸ばす（のばす）：To lengthen, stretch, extend.
ボケッと： To be stupified. To do nothing.
爆走（ばくそう）：　Roaring noisily.
強制（きょうせい）：Obligation, enforcement.
溶ける（とける）： Melt, thaw.
真っ白（まっしろ）：Pure white, blanche.
後輩（そはい）：Junior at work or school.
理解（りかい）：Comprehension, understanding.
言動（げんどう）：Speech and conduct.
ガス欠（ガスけつ）：Run out of gas.
普段（ふだん）：Usual, habitual, ordinary.
正直（しょうじき）：Honestly, frankly.

Episode Summary:

The best way to summarize the content of this episode is via the segment captions which are shown at the top right hand of the screen.

Where possible, direct quotes will be shown as follows:

MATSUMOTO!

HAMADA!

ENDOU!

TANAKA!

YAMASAKI!

２０１２年１２月に世界終わる？ ("Will the world end in December, 2012?")

Matsumoto uses the often discussed Mayan prediction that the world will end in December 2012 as a jumping-off point for the episode's discussion.

"The Mayans understood what it's like to work with Hamada this long! They understood completely!"

平均年齢４４.　最近老化進行中　 ("The average age [of the Gaki Regulars] is 44. Undergoing the advancement of old age!")

The conversation soon turns to the age of the Gaki regulars, and the effects of advancing age, including grey hair, vision problems, and changes in taste.

(pointing at Yamasaki's hair) "Here! It's very white!"

"It's fashionable silver hair, isn't it?"

"The silver hairs are increasing!"

...

"I also found a white hair on my pillow once. I thought it was a crab bone."

...

"Of all of us I suffer the worst from age related farsightedness. I can't see at all!"

(pointing to Hamada, and holding his arm out like he's reading like an old man) "Hey, HIS arms aren't long enough."
"He doesn't need so much as an eye operation as an arm stretching."

...

"Sometimes meals give me a bad feeling. I sit there stupefied!
Sometimes eating (sticky) Nato (moving my chopsticks in a circular motion) makes me feel very bad. I'm confused. What am I doing? I just don't understand!"

...

"Have you noticed you can't stretch your forehead [skin]?"
(Touching his forehead and moving the skin) "It's like an orange thawing out after a deep freeze."

２０１２年１２月に世界終わる？ ("Will the world end in December, 2012?")

Yamasaki, especially, seems eager to discuss the Mayan end-of-the-world. Tanaka offers some info off the internet regarding the idea that the prediction might refer to an approaching Photon Belt.

"If the world is really going to end, what would you do?"

(After a rude silence from the other regulars) "Was it THAT bad a question?"

後輩芸人チャドの理解できない言動 ("I can't understand Junior Geinin Chad!")

Matsumoto raises some anecdotes regarding an Australian Geinin, and is quite honest regarding his discomfort at some cultural and linguistic difficulties.

"Recently I really went absolutely pale white [with fear]. I was eating with Kimura, Miyasako, and Chad Maren-- he's Australian. You know there I times I can't understand what he's saying?"
"He speaks Japanese very fluently, but after all, he's a Gaijin!"

...

"(We were eating together and) He said 'if I can only have bones, am I a dog? BAOW-WOW! BAOW-WOW! And this was in a half-sized room!"

"That IS scary."

田中を襲った.高速道路でガス欠　("Advance on Tanaka. Running out of gas on the expressway!"

Tanaka explains an incident in which his driver ran out of gas while on the expressway. He had to wait in the car, where he was seen by about 5000 people, and then when the driver returned with gas, it took him about another hour and a half to pump the diesel into the engine with an injector pump.

普段　会話しない3人がトーク ("The talk of three who don't usually converse")

Hamada, Tanaka and Yamasaki discuss the difficulties of parenthood. Yamasaki discusses his two daughters, but my comprehension is limited in that I can't find what "プリンプリン" means.

Tanaka discusses a humorous incident in which one of his sons used 3D glasses to look at everything like it's "in 3D."

Episode Analysis:

This is the first "all talk" episode since episdoe #1052, which first aired May 1st, 2011. Episodes like this can seem a disappointment from time to time, as they are often (to me, at least) the most linguistically difficult, and culturally opaque. Still, it does reaffirm that the basis of the program was in Manzai style comedy-- which is just talk. Many of the humorous quizzes, jokes and stunts that occupy most of the show in its current form are just excuses to prompt clever talk among the regulars. This seems to be the idea behind Matsumoto's other program "Hitoshi Matsumoto's -blank-blank- Stories," which focuses solely on interesting and funny stories.