Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1065

Episode Title: ドライブは豆知識でGO！50！

"2nd Trivia Drive Go! 50!"
Note that the "go!" in the title may be a pun on the number 5 in 50. 5 is "go" in Japanese, explaining why the previous trivia drive (100) could be "Go!Go!" (50!50!).

Original Broadcast Date:

Sunday, July 31st 2011

Viewing Links:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjkwMjU2Mzc2.html

Guests:

None.

Important Vocabulary:

豆知識（まめちしき）：Trivia
大道具（おおどうぐ）：Scenery, stage setting.
甲州街道（こうしゅうかいどう）：The KoushuuKai-Dou, one of the major Edo period routes tokyo. Now modern route 20.
縞模様（しまもよう）：Striped pattern
地肌（じはだ）：Texture, grain (so says my dictionary, but I take it to mean skin or hide.
統計（とうけい）：Statistics
裏付（うらづけ）：Substantiate, prove.
確実（かくじつ）：Certainty, reliability.
要素（ようそ）：Component, item, factor.
国会議事堂（こっかいぎじどう）：The Japanese National Diet Building.
日清戦争（にっしんせんそう）：First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)
翻車魚（マンボウ）：Ocean Sunfish.
審議（しんぎ）：Deliberation.
仰向け（あおむけ）：Face up.
固まる(かたまる）：Harden, solidify, assemble together.
つばめ： The swallow (bird).
単独（たんどく）：Single, solo.
寂しい（さびしい）：Lonely
振り付け（ふりつけ）： Choreography or a dance competition.
特訓（とっくん）：Special training. A crash course.
由来（ゆらい）：Origin, source, derivation.

Timestamped Notes:

Each part of this section is headed the following values:

• Approximate timestamp for the relevant notes in hours:minutes:seconds since start of program.
• Approximate Latitude and Longitude of the Gaki Regulars' car at said moment. Locations have been verified in Google Maps, but as that site limits Lat/Long precision, Googling the location may result in a spot several meters away from the intended location.

0:0:0 location: +35° 39' 54.18", +139° 45' 35.47"

As many times before, the regulars are standing before the NTV tower in Shimbashi, Tokyo. They recount the previous, more ambitious Trivia Drive (#1025/1026 originally broadcast October 10th and 17th, 2010), and Matsumoto says he'd be happy to do a 100 Trivia Drive again, but for 入江さん( 入江 豊 or Irie Yutaka, scenery handler for the show, currently crouched behind the regulars holding up the show banner). He'd have to stay holding the banner the whole time!
Note that this is the same Irie-san who has a very funny speaking role in episode #1072 concerning how protective he is of his show banners.
The regulars now mention the route and rules of the drive:

• They will drive west along the KoushuuKai-Dou (Route 20).
• They must continue until 50 items of trivia have "come out" (been mentioned).
• Trivia items chosen shall relate (be "themed") to things seen.

0:1:30 location: +35° 39' 56.05", +139° 45' 34.33"

The regulars mark the start of their journey by turning North under the rail line at Shimbashi Station.

0:1:45 location: +35° 39' 58.02", +139° 45' 34.78"

Spotting an advertisement (easily visible if you Google the above lat/long) for Zebra Pens, Matsumoto prompts Tanaka for some of his famed animal trival knowledge. He comes up with:

★ A zerbra's skin color is neither black nor white but gray.

This bit of trivia prompts Hamada and Matsumoto to produce this:

★ In the Tiger Mask Anime Japanese Wrestler Giant BaBa made an appearance as masked wrestler "Great Zebra."

Note that Tanaka did a very funny impression of Giant Baba in GnT episode #922, aired September 21st, 2008.

Tanaka as Giant Baba (Gaki no Tsukai #922)

The bits of trivia are coming so quickly, that it prompts Endou to say "at this rate we'll be finished by the time we're in Shinjuku!"

0:2:52 location: +35° 40' 2.16", +139° 45' 31.86"

The title card shows it's 2:32pm real time, and the regulars are traveling north west along Sotobori-Dori.
Matsumoto asks which members (Gaki regulars) are blood type O. Yamasaki, Tanaka and Endou raise their hands, which surprises Matsumoto. "That many!?". He then asks Endou, if he could change his birth, which blood type would he choose. Endou say's he'd choose A. But Matsumoto says, "If you ask anyone with blood type O, if they could change, they say they'd choose O." The staff don't rate this observation as trivia, however, saying that "Statistical data is difficult to substantiate, for the reason that there are too many factors to verify."
This is the first of several times Matsumoto will flunk out at his attempts at trivia.

0:3:46 location: +35° 40' 21.12", +139° 45' 0.73"

Traveling north along Sakurada-Dori, approaching Kasumigasaki Station.
Matsumoto, presumably referring to his previous attempt at trivia, says hes "Pulled a Yamada Gorou." I'm unaware what this could refer to, however.
Then Matsumoto brings up the surprising cost of one section of Japanese road guard-rail.

★ One meter of highway guard-rail cost on the order of 50000 yen (about 650 dollars)

0:4:55 location: +35° 40' 34.20", +139° 44' 48.95"

They drive past the Japanese Diet Building, which Yamasaki describes as "The Diet Building that Hamada likes" (??). Endou, however, brings up this fact:

★ During the first Sino-Japanese war, the diet was briefly relocated to Hiroshima.

Yamasaki, seeing a white police bike (白バイ) mentions this:

★ Japanese Shirobai (white police motorcycles) were originally Red. They became white in Shouwa year 11 (1937)

When asked WHY they changed color, Yamasaki has no idea. But the reason can be found in this book. It mentions that they became white to increase their visibility on the road.

0:6:03 location: +35° 40' 45.90", +139° 44' 45.97"

Turning the corner past the Shirobai!

0:6:11 location: +35° 40' 56.32", +139° 44' 39.60"

It's now 2:46pm and 9 trivia facts have been mentioned (only 5 of which made it onto the air, however) and the Regulars have officially entered the KoushuuKai-Dou. "There's a lot on the KoushuuKai-Dou," says Endou, hopefully.

0:6:22 location: +35° 41' 11.17", +139° 43' 41.73"

Spotting the Golf sign here, Hamada mentions this about golf balls:

★ Golf balls have dimples because it was understood balls with nicks and flaws went further.

0:7:02 location: +35° 41' 16.35", +139° 43' 22.65"

Matsumoto points out a billboard for 錦松梅 (Kinshobai ltd.) but doesn't have any trivia to offer.

0:7:21 location: +35° 41' 22.31", +139° 42' 10.11"

The regulars enter Shinjuku, near Shinjuku station.

0:7:29 location: +35° 41' 22.77", +139° 42' 13.28"

Hamada notices a sign for Manbo manga and internet cafe. This brings up another bit of Tanaka animal trivia:

★ Among all animals, the ocean sunfish (Japanese: Manbo) lays the most eggs at one time; about three hundred million.

0:7:56 location: +35° 41' 22.37", +139° 42' 10.53"

Passing the DoCoMo sign in Shinjuku.

0:8:24 location: +35° 41' 21.78", +139° 42' 7.56"

Passing Lumine department store in Shinjuku. Still no trivia.

0:8:46 location: +35° 41' 19.89", +139° 41' 58.86"

Endou comes to life. Pointing at the various tall buildings in Shinjuku, he notes this fact:

★ The distinction between tall buildings and SUPER tall buildings (skyscrapers) is 60 meters. Buildings above 60 meters in height must have lights to warn aircraft. This is the reason in Tokyo Disneyland Cinderella's Castle was built to be 51 (Endou says 59) meters tall. The Disneyland Tower of Terror ride is 59 meters tall.

Gaki No Tsukai #1065 Trivia Drive 50! Go!

0:10:07 location: +35° 40' 28.44", +139° 40' 5.19"

Near Sasazuka station, Matsumoto spots a bowling alley, and comes up with this (rather weak) trivia item (but not before the staff say they're "deliberating...":

★ Matsumoto was the one to think up lining guests up along the side of a bowling alley television shoot (for Heyx3).

0:10:17 location: +35° 40' 27.43", +139° 40' 2.06"

Passing a SukiYa Gyudon restaurant, Endou has no trivia, but he mentions that when he divorced from Chiaki in 2007, he used to eat there and cry.
"This has nothing to do with trivia," says the staff.

0:11:59 location: +35° 40' 18.92", +139° 36' 49.51"

0:12:09 location: +35° 40' 21.90", +139° 36' 33.99"

A dove is sighted! Or at least the logo for Hato Moving compnay. This allows Tanaka to mention:

★ If you capture a dove, and surprise it by returning it to face-up very suddenly, it will become petrified and unable to move.

Then a flurry of Tanaka animal trivia:

★ The swallow is the fastest of all birds.

★ The dog's nose is 100 million times more sensitive than a human's.

0:13:19 location: +35° 39' 51.51", +139° 35' 11.83"

Passing a Karaoke parlor, Yamasaki starts to recount a story about comedian 荒井 注(Arai Chuu)... but Hamada's already heard it. "OH, Geinin news!" says Matsumoto. Evidently, he had tried to open a Karaoke BOX establishment, but when the building was completed, they couldn't fit the Karaoke machines through the narrow doorways.

0:13:52 Location: Unknown

Someone spots a plastic rabbit, and Tanaka is back in action:

★ When rabbits used for cooking are transported they will not cry out from loneliness.

And Matsumoto mentions this about Yamasaki's wife:

★ Yamasaki's wife is receiving special training in Lady Gaga and KARA choreography.

0:15:11 location: +35° 39' 23.22", +139° 32' 25.13"

4:11pm, and 10 trivia items to go.

0:15:27 location: +35° 39' 44.45", +139° 31' 37.87"

Driving next to Ajinomoto Soccer stadium, Hamada comes up with this:

★ The term "Hat Trick" is derived from a special present (a hat of good quality) given to a bowler in Cricket for making three wickets.

0:17:02 location: +35° 40' 13.45", +139° 29' 46.16"

Finally, Matsumoto comes up with a good one:

★ On Japanese roads, horses are classified as Keijidosha (light cars or subcompacts) for legal purposes.

0:17:50 location: +35° 40' 17.95", +139° 29' 15.82"

Hamada once again demonstrates a fairly good knowledge of Japanese Manga and Anime:

★ The character on the Anime program 魔法使いサリー (Magic Using Sally) was originally named サニー(Sani or Sonny?) but the name was changed because of its proximity to Sony (Hamada says Nissan, but the point is clear).

0:19:14 location: +35° 40' 22.75", +139° 27' 36.54"

Now endo comes up with one I wish was true:

× The Sanrio company was originally named 山梨王 (Yamanashi-O) but taking the alternate pronunciation of the characters Yamanashi-O became San-Ri-O or Sanrio.

But this is incorrect. The actual origin of Sanrio's name is from the Spanish for "Holy River." Still, the wikipedia entry on Sanrio does make mention of Endou's claim-- might there be some truth in it after all?

0:19:53 location: +35° 40' 24.02", +139° 27' 32.58"

0:20:03 location: +35° 40' 36.90", +139° 27' 4.73"

Seeing a sign for アリさんマークの引越社 (Mr. Ant Mark Moving Company), Yamasaki tries to say that "20% of all moving ants..." but Matsumoto knows it already. Then Tanaka comes to the rescue with the following:

★ It's said that all the ants in the world would weigh the same as all the human beings.

At this point, Matsumoto is asking what we'd all like to ask in similar circumstances, "If you knew something so incredible, why haven't you mentioned it before?"

0:21:11 location: +35° 40' 32.22", +139° 25' 50.09"

4:48pm and only two to go!

0:21:18 location: +35° 40' 21.43", +139° 25' 28.77"

Hamada says this while thinking about baseball:

★ The Japanese term　ラッキセブン(Lucky Seven, or the seventh inning stretch) came from an american Major League event when a chance breeze carried the ball to make a home run in the seventh inning.

0:22:40 location: +35° 40' 9.82", +139° 24' 9.82"

At about 5:06pm, Tanaka comes up with this:

★ Only human beings can breathe from both their noses and mouths.

And after 2 Hours 40 minutes, and 38km from their starting point-- that's then end of Trivia Drive 2!

Gaki No Tsukau #1065: Triva Drive 50! Go! Path

Episode Analysis:

Despite the fact that I should be quite humble regarding my poor Japanese language skills I'm rather proud of this blog entry-- I spent some time last summer tracing the Gaki crew's car along Route 20 using Goodle Maps, and stored the data away until the past day or so. I wish I could embellish all my blog entries with a similar level of detail, but often time doesn't permit.
In all, I think this yet another successful "drive" episode, even if it is half as long as the previous Trivia Drive (shows #1025/1026 originally broadcast October 10th and 17th, 2010) it's just as entertaining.
One remarkable part of this episode is how poorly Matsumoto appears to do. It's true the score that is shown for him is just as high as Endou's, but it's difficult to watch this episode and not have the impression Matsumoto had an "off" day. I have a belief that this was originally intended to be a 100 trivia drive challenge, but only later did they decide to cut it down to 50, after Matsumoto's poor performance. The show intro could then have been and insert filmed the next day.
Regardless, I don't think this detracts from the show. Instead, I rather enjoy riding along with the Gaki members through Tokyo, giving the viewer a second hand tour of the city, and making the journey that much more memorable.

Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1081

Episode Number: 1081

Episode Title: 思い入れソング。ドライブー！！

Reminiscence Song Drive!!

Broadcast Date:

Sunday, November 20th 2011

Viewing Links:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzI0ODI1OTI4.html

Guests:

None

Important Vocabulary:

天候(てんこう）：Weather
不備（ふび）： Defect, inadequacy
ロケ: Location (of a film shoot)
隣（となり）：Neighboring, next door.
告白（こくはく）： Confession of love
結果（けっか）：Result, consequence
フラれる: To be given the cold shoulder. Jilted.
関与(かんよ): To participate in, be concerned with.
脱がす（ぬがす）： To help someone remove clothes
充満（じゅうまん）：To be filled with, teeming with.
雪洞（ぼんぼり）： Paper lantern.
無理矢理（むりやり）：Forced, against one's will.
優勝（ゆうしょう）：Championship.
喝上げ（かつあげ）：Extortion.
愈（いよいよ）：At the last minute, at the worst possible time.
トローン: Onomatopoeia for stupefaction (weak in the knees?)
披露（ひろう）：Announcement, display.

Episode Summary:

The second Reminiscence Song Drive! This episode opens, like many others, before the Nippon Terebi Tower in Shinbashi, Tokyo, at: +35° 39' 54.18", +139° 45' 35.47"
Before starting, however Matsumoto takes the time to confront one problem pointed out with the previous outing: the weather. Turns out Yamasaki said he wouldn't be able to do another in similar conditions. By the end of the episode, it's a little more clear why this is the case.

Then Matsumoto lays out the rules:
While driving, the five regulars will play CDs that have some emotional attachment to them, and recount the relevant episodes from their lives.
Matsumoto wants to go on-- but Yamasaki is insistent: "that's enough." And they're off!

As the Song Drive begins in earnest, I can see the regulars are driving south-west along Daiichi-Keinen, approximately here: +35° 39' 54.04", +139° 45' 33.37".

First Song: Tanaka

Title: 初恋 (First Love)
Artist: 村下孝蔵 （むらしたこうぞう）Murashita Kouzou
Year: 1983
Tanaka's Age: 11
Tanaka is first up, and recounts how this song reminds him of middle school, and how he grew to like a girl in the next class, and for the first time in his life confessed his love to her. The girl, however, gave him the cold shoulder.
Matsumoto: "What did she say?"
Tanaka: "The way Tanaka-kun walks is gross!"
This episode also concerned Endou (he and Tanaka being childhood friends), and after Tanaka told him about it, he cried and cried and cried-- and at that time this song was playing on the radio.

Second Song: Endou

Title: セーラー服を脱がさないで "Don't Strip Me of My Sailor Suit"
Artist: おニャン子クラブ (O-NyanKo Club)
Year: 1985
Endou's Age: 14
I'd never heard of Onyanko Club, but interestingly this song was fairly recently (2006) covered by AKB48. Similarly, the Onyanko Club was also a large group of Idols (with 53+ members).

Endou's story, strangely, also deals with Tanaka (who is having a rough day). At that time, within the space of one year, Tanaka had grown taller than him. His growth was quite precipitous. Evidently, the class next door said to Endou "Every day isn't Tanaka-Kun getting larger and larger?" Their conversation was filled with it!

Tanaka uses this embarrassing moment to mention Endou dated the girl who broke Tanaka's heart. The other regulars are (humorously) chiding of Endou. "Endou! That just isn't done!" says Matsumoto.

At this point, the regulars are traveling across a bridge, just south of Hanaeda airport-- along Metropolitan Expressway K1, about here: +35° 32' 32.63", +139° 44' 31.88".

Third Song: Hamada

Title: やさしい悪魔 (Sweet/Tender Devil)
Artist:　キャンディーズ　(The Candies)
Year: 1977
Hamada's Age: 13
The Candies were referenced in episode #1068, where Yamasaki played Ran-Chan saying she wanted to be "a normal girl again."
In reference to the song, both Hamada and Matsumoto make much of the black tights the Candies wore while performing this song. The tights themselves are visible in the link to the song above, or here, and the video seems to confirm Yamasaki's opinion that the tights looked like "Bonbori" or paper lanterns.

The regulars then enter the Haneda tunnel, which is approximately here: +35° 33' 50.03", +139° 45' 8.49". Note that this location is considerably north of their previous location, indicating some of this episode was filmed out-of-order, or it's an insert.

Fourth Song: Yamasaki

Title: TVの国からキラキラ (Sparkling TV Land?)
Artist: 松本伊代 （まつもといよ）Matsumoto Iyo
Year: 1985
Yamasaki's Age: 14

Fifth Song: Matsumoto

Title:燃えよドラゴンズ！！ (Blaze, Dragons!)
Artist: 坂東英二 （ばんどう えいじ）Bandou Eiji
Year: 1974
Matsumoto's Age: 9
This is the theme of the Chunichi Dragons. As Hamada explains, when they were growing up in Osaka, everyone wore a Hanshin (Osaka) Giants baseball cap-- EXCEPT THIS GUY (pointing to Matsumoto). He wore a Chunichi (Dragons) Hat. To which Matsumoto responds "for some reason, my Father had bought it for me!" Evidently, he hadn't even thought about it. Matsumoto's father just pointed at one of the hats on sale, and bought it. Thus Matsumoto explains he had become a fan of the Dragons "against my will" that year, the year they won the championship!

Yes, the song was sung by Bandou Eiji, who has appeared in several Batsu games! You might remember him best as the talkative patient in the Hospital batsu.

At this point, they're driving along the Metropolitan Expressway Bay Shore Route, approaching a bridge, about here: +35° 27' 54.77", +139° 40' 39.05".

Sixth Song: Tanaka

Title: James Bond Main Theme (007 Theme)
Artist: John Barry
Tanaka's Age: 11
To this song, Tanaka explains when we was in elementary school (5th grade) he would go to the movies in Umeda, Osaka wearing a pear of Levi's jeans bought for him by his sister. At this time he saw a 007 movie. If Tanaka was born in 1971, then it was most probably "For Your Eyes Only."
Going to Umeda, wearing jeans, seeing 007, he felt like such an adult! Except when leaving the theater, he was bullied for money by a High School student. He ran away. "And the way you ran was weird!" Matsumoto jokes.

Then Yamasaki and Matsumoto joke about the bad clothes they used to get from Akadama western clothing store.

Seventh Song: Hamada

Title: 大空と大地の中で(Between Earth and Sky)
Artist: 松山 千春（まつやま ちはる）Matsuyama Chiharu
Year: 1977
Hamada's Age: 14
"No matter how many times, everyone would always sing along to this song," says Hamada. "If everyone got together, they'd sing this song. No matter what kind of argument they'd had, or whatever incident, everyone would sing this song!"
Hamada then goes on to tell how he would call Matsumoto to bring him money, and they'd meet in 鶴橋駅（つるはしえき） TsuruHashi Station and play hooky. "You never saw such a pair of jerks eating Udon," says Matsumoto.

Eighth Song: Endou

Title: Missing
Artist: 久保田 利伸 (Kubota Toshinobu)
Year: 1986
Endou's Age: 15
Here Endou relates that this was the song he used to used to make the girls fall for him. He'd sing and they'd be insensible with love.

Ninth Song: Matsumoto

Title: のｵｯｻﾝの唄 "Kawachi no Ossan no Uta"
Artist: ミス花子 (Miss Hanako)
Year: 1976
Matsumoto's Age: 12
The first time Matsumoto heard this song, we was listening with an earphone, trying not to wake his father and brother-- but it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. So funny he couldn't sleep!

At this point, after more than a one hour drive, Yamasaki must go. We soon see the reason he demanded good weather for this drive, as he pulls alongside in a convertible. I take it the car is his own, although I can't make that out especially clearly.

10th Song: Yamasaki

Title: Cha-Cha-Cha
Artist: 石井 明美（いしい あけみ）Ishi Akemi

Episode Analysis:

The previous Song Drive was broadcast in episode #1057, June 5th, 2001. I didn't really take notice of it at the time, but I may go and watch it again. With its details of (more) Showa Era music, and the lives of the young Gaki regulars, I found this episode surprisingly enjoyable.
That is, despite large sections being above my linguistic ability. Through their simple stories, one comes to understand the true, life-long friendships of both Cocorico and Downtown. In that respect it's not surprising that Yamasaki leaves slightly early, as he is, in this respect, somewhat of an outsider (or more independent, depending upon your point of view).
The notion of a Drive (be it Trivia, Song, or Geinin Safari, or some other premise) is very common on the show-- perhaps because of the natural loquacity it seems to encourage among such old friends. Although this time, I must say, I had considerable difficulty tracing their route on a map.

Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1080

Episode Number:1080

Episode Title:これってエコじゃね？灼熱の素手地獄！箸なき闘い！！
"Boy this is green isn't it? Red Hot Barehanded hell! Battle without chopsticks!!"

Broadcast Date: Sunday, November 13th 2011

Viewing Links:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzIyMjU4MjMy.html

Guests:
ライセンス (License, a "combi" featuring:

• 藤原一裕 (Fujiwara Kazuhiro)
• 井本貴史 (Inomoto Takafumi)

中村喜伸 (P中村)(Series producer Nakamura Yoshinobu otherwise known as "P Nakamura")

Important Vocabulary:
灼熱（しゃくねつ）：Red Hot, Scorching
素手（すで）：Bare handed
制限（せいげん）：Restriction, contstraint
華（はな）：Flower, or here BEAUTY.
感(かん）：　Feeling, impression, sense.
威風堂々（いふどうどう）：　With an imposing air. Majestic.
攻める（せめる）：　To attack, to assault.
他局（たきょく）：　Other television stations, channels.
ザッピング： Flipping the channel.
草臥れる(くたびれる）：To wear out.
中華（ちゅうか）： Chinese (food)
姿焼き（すがたやき）：Seafood grilled so as to retain it original form/shape.
レトルト： A sealed plastic pouch containing ready to heat food. From the chemical term "retort."
痩せる（やせる）： To become slim.
海鮮（かいせん）：Seafood
ノー‐ギャラ: No guarantee.
釜揚げうどん（かまあげうどん）：Udon noodles dipped in a hot broth.
究極（きゅうきょく）： Ultimate, extreme.

Episode Summary:

It's the first of its kind: "A battle WITHOUT chopsticks," as Matsumoto says. The rules are (as usual) very simple.

• All food must be eaten without chopsticks within a 90 second time limit.
• The best eater will be determined by the seven other contestants rating each in five areas:

1. マッド感 : Madness
2. スピード感 : Speed
3. フインガーテクニック : Finger Technique
4. スマート感 : Smartness
5. 華 : Beauty

Matsumoto clarifies some of the categories as:
"Madness" : The feeling that the contestant attacks with an imposing, manly thirst.
"Beauty" ("hana") : Not allowing viewers to change the channel, and also a way of measuring (a "report card" for ) how many times it makes you want to view it.
After describing the scoring system, Matsumoto makes mention that Producer Nakamura is joining them today. He's not wearing spandex beneath his wrestling uniform, which Matsumoto says shows his body to have a "worn out look." Producer Nakamura remains serene. He will have the last laugh. Before the first contestant (Tanaka) begins, Matsumoto (quite late, if you ask me) adds an additional rule:

• Contestants can use the finger bowl filled with water.

First Course: 中華丼 （ちゅうかどん）Chinese dish of rice and chopped suey. Tanaka is up for the challenge, and shows great bravado. Endou notices the similarity between this and Tanaka's usual High Tension act. The bravado continues as Tanaka mentions he won't be using the finger bowl full of water in order to heighten his "madness" score. As is soon apparent, his attempt and strategy are not very successful. The scores are quite low, with Hamada even giving him a "dot" (all scores zero).

Second Course: イカの姿焼き（イカのすがたやき）Squid grilled so as to retain its original shape. Fujiwara from License is up for this challenge, and one look at the squid shows it is a formidable challenge indeed. His performance is admirable, however. And his scores are quite high-- EXCEPT from producer Nakamura. "He's so strict!" says Matsumoto. We'll find out why later.

Third Course: コンビニのナポリタン　Convenience store Neapolitan (spaghetti). Endou is up for this challenge, and his handling of the blisteringly hot microwaveable meal is hilarious, but this doesn't spare him from middling scores, however.

Fourth Course: レトルトのハンバーグ Boil-and-Eat prepackaged Hamburger. Sadist Hamada puts on his game-face, and dives in. Is that an actual pot of boiling water he's putting his fingers into? I don't really think so: but his performance is still very funny. He doesn't eat much, though, prompting Endou to remark ,"somehow he's gotten thinner!"

Fifth Course: タンメン　Noodle soup. Inomoto from License is next, and his performance is also impressive, but hardly noteworthy.

Sixth Course: 海鮮パエリア （かいせんパエリア）　Seafood Paeja. Producer Nakamura shows great confidence going in, saying "You won't be entertained," which could not be further from the truth. His performance is so wonderful they present it twice at the end of the episode. "Did you see his face!" howls Matsumoto. "He looked like he just swallowed poison!"

Seventh Course: 釜揚げうどん（かまあげうどん）Udon noodles dipped in a hot broth. Yamasaki is hardly up to his near impossible challenge, eating barely a noodle, and mistaking his soy-sauce for his finger bowl of water. P Nakamura for one finds his performance and excuses laughable.

Eighth Course: 焼きそばUFO：　UFO brand Yakisoba noodles. This choice of food is very "Matsumoto" and he MUST wait three minutes before pouring the hot water before eating. "You can't do it without the sauce," he also says. That doesn't help when he forgets and the sauce falls into the hot water. Matsumoto is embarrassed by his performance, but in closing does introduce the full playback of P Nakamura's attempt, which he describes as the "ultimate in Madness."

Once again, I have to wholeheartedly agree with his assessment.

Episode Analysis: this is a wonderful stand alone episode. Despite the obviously high levels of exaggeration (Matsumoto especially) I was honestly convinced that the regulars were sticking their hands into hot dishes. Certainly, I can honestly say I've never seen a half-hour like it. The levels of discomfort we see are probably at least partially faked, but much as is the case for the British program Top Gear, given the show's energy, humor and originality, I'm willing to forgive a little fakery.

Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1079

Episode Number:1079

Episode Title:ハイテンション。ザ。ベスト。テン
(High Tension, The Best of Ten!)

Gaki No Tsukai #1079: High Tension, The Best of Ten!

Broadcast Date: Sunday, November 6th 2011

Viewing Links:
http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzIwMTEzMTA0.html

Guests:
Numerous. See below.

Important Vocabulary:
調教(ちょうきょう): Training (breaking) of animals.

Episode Summary:
Part two of this year's High Tension, the Best of Ten spectacular continues. As the acts are just as inexplicable and nutty as last week, I'll keep this to a list of acts and performers:

#5: オリンピックまであと１歩くん　（ペナルティ　ワッキー） "One walk to the Olympics?" by Wacky of the combi Penalty.

#4 イボガエルと俺　とっちがキモい？？　(アンガールズ　田中卓志） "The Toad and I. Which is more disgusting?" by Tanaka Takushi of the combi Angaruzu

Spotlight!: (#23) 金八ザ。ファイナル　魂の叫び（三又 又三）"Kinpachi, the Final (Soul Scream)" by Mimata Matazou. (Kinpachi is a name for men or women. Perhaps this is a reference to the Kinpachi-Sensei television series?)

#3: 調教されたいヤツついてこい。(ココリコ　遠藤章造） "Follow the jerk who wishes to be trained" by Endou Shouzou of the combi Kokoriko.

#2: 秋の男祭り　（江頭2:50） "The Autumn Man Festival" by Egashira Nijigojuppun.

#1: ニャッー　(山崎邦正）"Mrow-" by Yamasaki Housei.

Episode Analysis:
However much a pleasure it is to see the return of the "High Tension" series, I have to admit this is a very sloppy episode. From the clear failure of Mimata's (quite pathetic) act to Yamasaki's trouble with timing, props and maintaining composure, this episode didn't quite have the shock value or awe-inspiring weirdness of previous outings.
Egashira 2:50's phenomenally bizarre act was a standout as usual, but perhaps I'm just missing "Happy Boy" Masuda Okada, who does not appear in the best of ten for the first time in three years.
But perhaps this series is losing steam. Just the sheer number of near-naked men that appear in this episode (much more than in previous years) seems to hint that the format is reaching its limits, and the ideas are starting to run out.