Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1089

Episode Title:
特技披露会議　毎分をあげよう！　後編
Special Skills Demonstration; Let's Raise the Minute by Minute Ratings!(Second Part)

Gaki No Tsukai #1089

Broadcast Date:

Sunday, January 22nd 2012

Viewing Links:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzQ1MzI2NTk2.html

Guests:

雨上がり決死隊(AmeAgariKesshitai)

• 宮迫 博之(Miyasako Hiroyuki)
• 蛍原 徹(Hotohara Touru )

FUJIWARA

• 藤本敏史(Fujimoto Toshifumi)
• 原西孝幸(Haranishi Takayuki)

ほっしゃん(Hosshyan)
ライセンス (License)

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

Important Vocabulary:

洗顔料(せんがんりょう): Facial cleanser (cream)
泡(あわ):bubble; foam; froth; head on beer
瓦(かわら):roof tile
割る(わる):to divide; to cut; to break; to halve; to separate; to split; to rip; to crack; to smash; to dilute
当て(あてる): To guess(an answer).
看板(かんばん): Kanban board, sign.
目隠し(めかくし): Blindfolded
パイプイス: Folding chair
豪(ごう):strong; hard; manly
豪腕(ごうわん):Strong arms;Stout arms.

Episode Summary:

After a recap of last week's festivities, we continue the attempts to raise the minute by minute ratings!

#6居合い斬り("Iai decapitation")

Well, it seems like Yamasaki's (very anticipated, at least by me) display of Samurai skill was dropped from this week's show. There are some theories as to why this was done here, but I find this very sloppy and inexcusable. Along with the recent sloppiness in the staging of the 24Hr Airport Batsu game, I'm getting a hint that the show's level of quality might be dropping.

I guess we'll see...

#7 洗顔料クリーミー泡立て("Making (facial) Cleanser Bubbles Stand")

Wow. This is uncomfortable.

After giving voice to his desire to perhaps change his career in GnT episode #1076, I've been kind of rooting for Hosshyan, wishing him greater success in comedy. But the "trick" (that the soap bubbles can remain intact even held upside down) reduces the crew to near silence. "This isn't raising the ratings," says Matsumoto. It isn't going to help Hosshyan's career either. Afterwards, Matsumoto mentions that Hosshyan's surprised face has become like a "Volkswagen" (probably because of his wide eyes and long face.)

The announcer then mentions that of seven attempts, five have failed (giving some hint of what went on with Yamasaki's iai demonstration).

#8 空手チョップ瓦割リ("Karate Chop Roof Tile Smash")

At this point, everyone is desperate for a successful stunt, and Fujiwara from License says that because the other half of his Combi failed, he will "break the (losing) streak!" And that he does.

#9 ゴルフ雑誌におい当て("Guessing Golf Magazines by Smell")

This stunt is so odd I'm not even slightly disappointed it's a complete failure. Hotohara from Ameagari is quite confident going in, and fails so quickly that I can't help but admire both him and the idea. The "accidentally" falling kanban sign is also a nice touch-- it seems to sum up these two episodes nicely.

#10 目隠しパイプイス座り("Sitting in a Folding Chair, Blindfolded")

The usually entertaining Haranishi from FUJIWARA next tries to navigate to and sit down on a folding chair, blindfolded, using only the sound of it being placed down on the floor. "If it succeeds, it'll be the most entertaining stunt (of all)" he says. The results aren't quite that amazing, but it is enjoyable.

It also is slightly entertaining that Haranishi doesn't appear to know Producer Nakamura's name.

#11 豪腕ロープ登り("Strong Arm [arms only] Rope Climing")

Matsumoto accepts this challenge (climbing a 6 meter rope without his legs), and carries off well. I think his performance gives a clearer sense of what he intended for these two episodes: just successful, surprising little stunts that make the viewer take notice. Indeed, here Matsumoto does look like he's on an episode of SASUKE rather than GnT.

#12 ノーダメージビンタ("No Damage Slap")

Hamada's stunt is a little anticlimactic. After all, in what episode of GnT does he NOT slap someone?

Still, the idea here is that he can slap someone and they will feel no pain ("no damage"). I'm not sure this is a good idea-- it basically undermines one of the major comedic devices of GnT in genral: that people are hit and they are "hurt." We all know they aren't hurt-- but it's fun to play along with the possibility that they are. In that respect it's like a wrestling match (and wrestling matches and wrestlers are a primary theme in many GnT episodes) we know it's not "real," but we like to take entertainment from it as though it were.

After slapping Tanaka, who swears it didn't hurt, Miyasako is nominated and voted to follow him. This is somewhat humorous, because, strictly speaking, Miyasako (like Hosshyan) didn't really "fail" at his task.

Episode Analysis:

This is all very strange.

After watching this pair of episodes, I only have questions on my mind. I doubt that they'll be answered, but I think they underline my dissatisfaction.

• Why, oh why, was Yamasaki's Iai sword demonstration cut from the second episode? This, for me, is almost unforgivable.
• Why were some of the stunts (Hosshyan) so lame? Weren't they cleared beforehand? Was this part of the joke?
• Was the large number of failures intentional? If so, then why not have everyone fail, to make the joke more "clear?"
• Why were these two episodes broadcast instead of the usual GnT new year's party (which I assume will arrive next week).

Certainly there's much to admire in these episodes, but I for one would not be disappointed if this format didn't return.

Gaki No Tsukai Episdoe #1088

Episode Title:
特技披露会議　毎分をあげよう！　前編
Special Skills Demonstration; Let's Raise the Minute by Minute Ratings!(First Part)

"毎分" (Mai Hun or "every minute/per minute") appears to be short for 毎分視聴率(まいふんしちょうりつ) or minute-by-minute television ratings. This episode seems a joking attempt to game this (new?) ratings system.

Gaki No Tsukai #1088

Broadcast Date:

Sunday, January 15th, 2012

Viewing Links:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzQzMzA5NzI0.html

Guests:

雨上がり決死隊(AmeAgariKesshitai)

• 宮迫 博之(Miyasako Hiroyuki)
• 蛍原 徹(Touru Hotohara)

FUJIWARA

• 藤本敏史(Fujimoto Toshifumi)
• 原西孝幸(Haranishi Takayuki)

ほっしゃん(Hosshyan)
ライセンス (License)

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

Important Vocabulary:

特技(とくぎ): special skill
披露(ひろう):announcement; show; display; introduction
編(へん):Volume (of a text)
視聴率(しちょうりつ):ratings (of a television program)
ペアヌード: "Pair Nude" (a photograph of two nude models.)
企む(たくらむ):to scheme; to plan; to play a trick; to invent; to conspire; to frame up
毎分視聴率(まいふんしちょうりつ): Minute by minute television ratings.
成功(せいこう):success; hit
吹き矢(ふきや):blowgun; blowpipe; dart
ペットボトル:A 500ml Water plastic recyclable bottle
倒す(こかす):to knock down; to knock over
鐘(かね)bell (often a large hanging bell); chime
鳴らす(ならす):to ring; to sound; to chime; to beat; to snort (nose)
希望(きぼう):hope; wish; aspiration
行成(いきなり):abruptly; suddenly; all of a sudden; without warning
居合い(いあい)iai; art of drawing one's sword, cutting down one's opponent and sheathing the sword afterwards
斬る(きる):to kill (a human) using a blade (sword, machete, knife, etc.); to slice (off); to lop (off); to cut (off)

Episode Summary:

After explaining the nature of Minute-by-minute ratings, Matsumoto introduces the numerous guests for this episode. Indeed, it appears more like an episode of Lincoln than GnT.

Matsumoto notices that Fujimoto (from FUJIWARA) has a nasty look on his face. "He looks like he's scheming to make money!" "(my advice is...) Don't release the nude photos!" (presumably of Fujimoto and Nishihara). It's an excellent line, and shows how effortlessly Matsumoto (a world class comedian) can break the ice in any situation. Sometimes his mind and quick-wittedness is simply amazing.
Then the rules:

• The challenge is to demonstrate a special skill (the participant) has never done on television before.
• The aim of successfully demonstrating these skills is to raise the By Minute viewer ratings!

As usual Producer NakaMura serves as referee, and reveals each special skill (trick) in turn:

#1 玉乗り吹き矢　("Ball Riding Blowpipe")

This episode must give great satisfaction to Tanaka fans (personally I sometimes wonder why he's still on the show) as his demonstration of this hitherto unknown stunt is even more amazing than when he demonstrates his knowledge of animal trivial.

After his standing ovation, there is Tanaka-love all around, Endou and Matsumoto especially voicing their amazement. Endou himself says "I'm thinking I've certainly got an amazing partner. We've been together as a Combi for 20 years, and I really think it was good that I partnered with him." Praise indeed.

#2 爆風ペットボトル倒し("Knocking over a water bottle with one explosive breath")

Fujimoto from FUJIWARA demonstrates this little trick which he says he's done since his school days. After he departs for the "Challenge Room," Matsumoto and Miyazawa try it for themselves and the challenge involved soon becomes apparent.

He succeeds easily, although complaining (I think jokingly) of a little dizziness at the end. His trick obviously takes advantage of the curved bottle's surface and Bernoulli's principle to knock it over.

#3 フリーキックペットボトル倒し("Knocking over water bottles by free kick")

Inoumoto from License is next, and his claims to hit a water bottle with a soccer ball at a distance of 10 meters are perhaps justified, but his failure does dampen the mood of the episode somewhat. I think Miyasako is a bit cruel (but perhaps funny) when he says that Inoumoto "certainly stinks at Soccer." To prove he can do it, Inoumoto appears ("very sweaty" according to Yamasaki) to successfully kick three balls without fail into water bottles on a prerecorded video tape (VTR).

#4 カラオケ歌って１００点満点("A full 100 point score at Karaoke")

I'm quite an Endou fan-- so it was with great enjoyment when I saw him announce he could sing ”あの鐘を鳴らすのはあなた”("That Bell that Rings out You" by 和田アキ子*Wada Akiko) and get a full 100point score IN ONE ATTEMPT. Gnt Fans will be very familiar with Wada as she was featured in the March 20th, 2009 "500 Questions" episode of Gnt.

Tanaka is quick to point out that "Endou has been known to get 100 points on this song," but my own knowledge of Karaoke scoring is that it is random at best. Those incidents were probably just luck, and that outcome is borne out by Endou's (hilarous) middling score. Matsumoto is especially surprised. "89? Anyone older than 40 could get that score."

#5 パーフェクトヌンチャク("Perfect Nunchucks")

Surprisingly, it turns out that Miyasako has practiced nunchucks since he was given one as a birthday present by his father, and is (at least in his own estimation) quite good. He says he can hit anything thrown at him with his nunchucks.

I think the demonstration does bear out his talent somewhat, but there is at least one "do-over" since the superball did not approach him from the front.

The display isn't particularly impressive, prompting Matsumoto to observer the the ratings were "descending, minute by minute."

#6居合い斬り("Iai decapitation")

I guess we have to wait for next week to see Yamasaki's display of Samurai skill!

Episode Analysis:

I must say when this episode started I had high expectations. The setting and tone reminded me of one of the best episodes last year: Episdoe #1080. And I must say that Tanaka's performance briefly confirmed my high expectations.

However, it soon became clear that this episode was not to be entirely successful (like the stunts themselves). The honesty in showing the failed party tricks of the Gaki regulars and guests is admirable (and I'm sure Matsumoto would not have it otherwise) but when normal people try to attempt stunts that aren't their primary talent (comedy) some failures are to be expected. The honesty in filming these failure conflicts with the tone of high expectations, and I for one am not sure how to take the whole thing.

I think it would have been funnier if everyone attempted some ridiculous stunt, and they all failed. Then, at least, the joke would be more clear, but as it is, I can only hope that the second half of this opus will improve the first.

Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1087

Episode Title: ガキの使い 絶対に笑ってはいけない空港24時 秘蔵シーン大公開SP!! The Great Gaki No Tsukai Absolutely No Laughing Airport 24 Hours Hidden Scene Exhibition Special!!

Gaki No Tsukai Episode #1087

Broadcast Date:

Sunday, January 8th 2012

Viewing Links:

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzQwOTk4NDYw.html

Guests:

中川家("The Nakagawa Family") a duo of comedians, including:

• 中川礼二(Nakagawa Reiji)
• 中川剛(Nakagawa Tsuyoshi)

藤原 寛(Fujiwara Hiroshi) Former Downtown manager and inept actor.
村上ショージ (Murakami Shyooji)
白竜(Haku Ryuu)

Important Vocabulary:

秘蔵:（ひぞう）：Treasure, prize.
公開（こうかい）：Open to the public. Exhibit.
秘密（ひみつ）：secret; secrecy
生誕（せいたん）：birth; nativity
祖父（そふ）：grandfather
幼少（ようしょう）：infancy; childhood; tender age.
開発（かいはつ）：development; exploitation
勤しむ（いそしむ）：to endeavour; to work hard (at)
次第に（しだいに）： gradually
娼婦（しょうふ）：prostitute; harlot
稼ぐ（かせぐ）：to earn income; to labor; to labor
謎（なぞ）： riddle; puzzle; enigma; mystery
尻取り（しりとり）：Japanese word-chain game; cap verses
提案（ていあん）：proposal; proposition; suggestion
不良（ふりょう）：badness; inferiority; delinquency
生徒（せいと）：pupil
零時（れいじ）：12 o'clock (midnight)
根性（こんじょう）：will-power; guts; temper; nature; spirit

Episode Summary:

This episode is a mix of highlights from the recent GnT "Absolutely No Laughing Airport" New Year's Eve special, and scenes cut from its initial showing. In this section I'll try to ignore scenes shown during the "No Laughing Airport" six hour special, and just describe those sections that are new.

スガダック生誕の秘密が明かされた("The Secret Origin of Suga-Duck Revealed")

In this first scene cut from the special, Fujiwara (as usual) makes numerous mistakes in trying to explain the origin of Suga-Duck, the mascot of GAS airline.

In the little we get of the story, Suga-Bucci, grandfather to the Wright brothers (literally?) works day and night to develop the airplane, but the results aren't terribly good. He's driven to drink, and takes up with prostitute named Melinda, and then working day and night with her...

謎のボタン発見("Finding the Mysterious Button")

In this section, while the rest of the Gaki regulars are at the indoctrination ceremonies, Matsumoto comes across the (2nd) mysterious button.

The button is yellow, and marked with the character "ゲ” or "Ge". Considering the previous experience with the White "龍” button, he tries to figure out what pressing it might mean.

Eventually, with the other regulars present, he presses the button, and soon enters (once again) 白竜(Haku Ryuu or "White Dragon"), but this time dressed as ゲゲゲの鬼太郎(GeGeGe No Kitaro).

There's then a few shenanigans with the Suga doll.

しりとり("Shiritori or 'Word Chain Game'")

On their way by bus back to the training facility, Fujiwara suggests the regulars play a round of Shiritori. He proposes the theme: "不良生徒の言いそうな言葉” or "something a juvenile delinquent would say".

As best I can fathom, the Shiritori goes like this:
Tanaka: Oi! Hand over the cash!
Endou: Hey, Hey, baby! Come over here!
Matsumoto: "なめてんじゃねーぞ", which I can't quite find a meaning for. I'm guessing it's "Had enough?"
Hamada: "Give me the zouri!" (the others find this a little tough to swallow, however.)
Yamasaki: Starts by saying "Reigo..." in a tough voice. I take this to mean he's speaking to another tough guy named "Reigo," but the others find this risible. "You can't just introduce new characters like that."
Yamasaki(try #2): "It's midnight... everyone gather together." Hamada then asks, "Is that so bad to say?" a very "Tsukommi" line, which prompts Matsumoto to complain about why Hamada has to be such a Tsukkommi."
Tanaka: "This isn't to help you" (another idiomatic line?) but flubs his line. Endou thought he was going to start saying "Jasmine Tea..."
Endou: "Ya got guts!"
Matsumoto: flubs his line as well as Tanaka. Can't quite get the gist of his response.

夕食("Dinnertime")

After matsumoto complains about the temperature of the meal, he asks Yamasaki "Between Hamada and I, who complains more?"

Yamasaki: "Matsumoto-san."

Tanaka is quick to confirm this when asked.

Roll the staff-revenge Matsumoto complaining montage!

セキュリティ-チェック("Security Check")

The episode closes with a sketch cut from the security checkpoint scene. This features the Nakagawa Family combi and Shoji Murakami acting foolish while going through the metal detector. It also seems to set up the terrorism scene later in the full six-hour batsu.

Episode Analysis:

In addition to this episode, there will be a further TWO HOURS of "hidden scenes" from the Airport Batsu game, airing next sunday (15Jan2012) airing this Friday, 13Jan2012.

This episode was satisfying in small ways. I say this because directly after I watched the New Year's Eve Airport Batsu, I was struck by how many loose threads it left-- and the lack of cohesive structure over previous years. These can be summarized as:

• Why was only one of Tanaka's DVDs watched?
• Why was there only one button (when in previous years there were four or more)?
• Why was Chono's appearance not tied into the rest of teh program in some way (i.e. where did the "yamasa" note come from?)
• Why was Heipo sitting outside at the program's end, waiting to be rescued?

I can see now that these supplemental programs will fill out and possibly answer some of these questions.

No Laughing Airport HOUR SIX

ガキの使い 絶対に笑ってはいけない空港24時!
Gaki No Tsukai Absolutely No Laughing Airport 24 Hours

Guests During Hour Six (11:30pm to 12:30am): VIEW

This concludes my catalog of the numerous guests during the New Year's Eve GnT broadcast.

During this last hour (30-45 minutes, actually) the show draws down into its yearly scare-fest and explosion filled climax. These are very contrived and silly, but I guess there's no avoiding them at this point. The climax of the program was artfully synchronized with the approach of midnight, however.

八木真澄((Yagi Misumi)

Yagi is the partner of Takahashi (who appeared earlier, in the Blacklist Committee) in the combi Sabanna(サバンナ).

レイザーラモンRG

Certainly less well known than his partner in Razor Ramone(レイザーラモン) "Hard Gay", RG shows quite a bit of ingenuity in his interminable song.

楳図かずお(Umezu Kazuo) and
梅沢 富美男(Umezawa Tomio)

Both Kazuo and Umezawa return for a brief cameo. Including his portraits of Hamada, this is really the third contribution to this batsu by Kazuo.

神奈月(Kannatsuki)

Kannatsuki is an impressionist.

地デジカ(ChiDejika)

The mascot on the segway is Chidejika-- the mascot for the Japanese terrestrial digital broadcast service.

なかやまきんに君(Nakayamakinni-kun)

The "kinni-kun" in this comedian's name seems to be a pun o "Muscle" ("きんにく"). He's joined by Yagi on stage, and the two seem quite competent together.

小出水(Koide Mizuoki)

A member of "Jumpu Hatto" (シャンプーハット), I found Koide's overly dramatic nonsense song very enjoyable.

おばちゃん1号 （浅見 千代子　：あさみ ちよこ）："Obachyan #1"(Asami Chiyoko)

Also known as 腰フリおばちゃん ("Free Hips Obachyan"), Asami is so well known on GnT she barely needs mentioning.

ゴモラ(Gamora)

This Kaiju is Gamora, who originally appeared on Ultraman.

ヘイポー（斉藤敏豪）： Heipo (Saito Toshihide)

I think Heipo is filling in for Matsumoto here, who could not participate for health reasons.

ガリガリ君(GariGari-Kun)

At the climax of the evening, the regulars are chased by men on motorcycles wearing GariGari-Kun heads. This is much funnier than trying to make sense.

奥田民生(Okuda Tamio)

Okuda is evidently a well known singer/actor. I'm very familiar with his work with Puffy, but not his solo work, or work with "Unicorn."

Final Airport Batsu Game Scores

Participant	Times Punished
Matsumoto	302
Hamada	288
Tanaka	231
Yamasaki	227
Endou	224

No Laughing Airport HOUR FIVE

ガキの使い 絶対に笑ってはいけない空港24時!
Gaki No Tsukai Absolutely No Laughing Airport 24 Hours

Guests During Hour Five (10:30pm to 11:30pm): VIEW

This continues my catalog of the numerous guests during the New Year's Eve GnT broadcast.

The focus this hour was upon the yearly "blacklist" meeting of comedians, and on Chono's expected entrance.

江頭2：50(Egashira niji gojuppun)

The grotesque Egashira reprises his act from this year's "High Tension The Best of Ten" (#1079).

The Comedian's Blacklist Committee

One of the highlights of previous years, this "blacklist committee" is really just a cheap excuse to tell fictional (and actual?) events at the regular's expense.

I think these events also allow a window into the very funny (but sharp) comedian's world. The participants could just as well be convening at a diner at 3:00am just to have a laugh.

This year, the participants are:

• 宮迫博之(Miyasako Hiroyuki) from AmeagarigaKesshitai(雨上がり決死隊)
  
• 蛍原徹(Hotohara Toru) from AmeagarigaKesshitai(雨上がり決死隊)
  
• 千原ジュニア(Chihara Junior) from Chihara Brothers(千原兄弟)
  
• 勝俣州和(Katsumata Kunikazu)
  
• 陣内智則(Jinnai Tomonori)
  
• 木村祐一(Kimura Yuuichi)
  
• 三又又三(Mimata Matazou) please see below...
  
• 井本貴史(Inomoto Takahumi) from License(ライセンス)
  
• 藤原一裕(Fujiwara Kazuhiro) from License(ライセンス)
  
• 河本準一(Koumoto Jyunichi) from JichyouKachou(次長課長)
  
• 渡部建(Watabe Ken) from Anjyasshyu(アンジャッシュ)
  
• 高橋茂雄(Takahashi Shigeo) from Sabanna(サバンナ)
  

三又又三(Mimata Matazou)

I'm drawing particular attention to Mimata, as it's become apparent that every year he becomes the butt of an exceptionally large number of jokes-- like this year's story of him and with a female junior entertainer at a Roppongi bar.

テル(Tere)

Tere, a comedian an impressionist, enters doing an uncanny impression of former Japanese Prime Minister Kan Naoto(菅 直人).

中川家(Nakagawa-Ke or "The Nakagawa Family")

Recently featured on a GnT Shichi-Henge episode (#1084),the Nakagawa Family is comprised of Reiji(中川礼二, playing the terrorist) and Tsuyoshi (中川剛, playing the airline pilot made to bark like a dog).

堀ちえみ(Hori Chiemi)

Hori is a singer and idol from the 80s, famous for songs like 夕暮れ気分("Evening Mood"). In THIS version, she appears to wear a Cabin Attendant's uniform. Is this the primary reason for her cameo here?

蝶野正洋(Chono Masahiro)

Chono's appearance this year is considerably less clever than on previous occasions. Still, Yamasaki shows remarkably inventiveness in making the whole incident quite funny after so many years.

No Laughing Airport HOUR FOUR

ガキの使い 絶対に笑ってはいけない空港24時!
Gaki No Tsukai Absolutely No Laughing Airport 24 Hours

Guests During Hour Four (9:30pm to 10:30pm): VIEW

This continues my catalog of the numerous guests during the New Year's Eve GnT broadcast.

The centerpiece of this hour is another (very welcome) session of the 豆絞りの会　"MameShibori(spotted pattern washcloth) Club" in which the members torture themselves in various ways. It's a welcome and hilarious return.

ローラ(Lola)

Lola, Bangladashi/Japanese (and Russian) model makes a brief appearance.

関根勤(Sekine Tsutomu)

Although for this appearance, he's dressed as an old man, you might remember Sekine as the referee for the GnT Jan-Ken-Pon Tournaments.

2700

I'd prevously seen the combi "2700" on several variety programs, doing largely the same act. It wasn't funny there either. 2700 is comprised of Yasoshima Hiroyuki(八十島弘行) and Tsune(ツネ).

チャド・マレーン

He's thankfully not given any lines, but Junior Gaijin Geinin Chad Marren(?) makes an appearance as a foreign pilot.

This is his first appearance on the show since Matsumoto described his weird experience with him in episode #1083.

ケンドーコバヤシ(Kendo Kobayashi)

Taking charge of this year's MameShibori segment ("spotted pattern" or "Hand Towel Group") is certainly one of the most talented, witty and charismatic geinin working today. This segment doesn't really highlight his ability as a raconteur, but he always gives the impression of someone that would be great fun to be around.

クロちゃん(Kuro-Chyan)

A member of Yasuda-Great Circus (安田大サーカス) a three member comedy troupe, Kuro-Chyan appears to talk in a weird high-pitched voice.

His attempt to sustain a hit from a water-bottle-rocket uppercut device fails.

岩尾望(Iwao Nozomu)

Iwao, a member of Football Hour (フットボールアワー) is no stranger to GnT, having appeared very successfully in several of its funniest episodes over the last few years, most noticably episodes #1075 and #1076.

Iwao really outdoes himself this year, not only eating Udon in a washing machine, but dumping three buckets of hot wax over his head, which prompts Matsumoto to remark "He looks like a monster!"

田中卓志(Tanaka Takushi)

Tanaka of the combi Angaaruzu(アンガールズ), a very common and talented geinin keeps pace with Iwao throughout the segment.

原西孝幸(Haranishi Takayuki)

Haranishi, the very talented Boke from FUJIWARA here tries his hand at the "Battle Without Chopsticks" from episode #1080. It's just as funny here as it was there.

中村喜伸(Producer Nakamura Yoshinobu)

The legend Producer Nakamura, who so dominated the "Battle without Chopsticks" here tires his hand at something else.

He has 60 seconds to put the snake into the black box. Magic ensues.

出川哲朗(Degawa Tetsuro)

Degawa is now a standby on Japanese variety programs. He's perhaps the first Geinin I grew to know and recognize.

Here, Degawa endures gun-cotton being lit on his posterior. I really don't know how painful this is.

ワッキー(Wakki or "Wacky")

Wacky from Penalty(ぺナルティ) must endure a judo throw onto a tatami mat covered with spiky Kompeito candy. It's probably like stepping on Legos.

上島竜兵(Ueshima Ryouhei)

Ueshima is a standby for these MameShibori segments, although this year he seems to take a back seat to Kobayashi. Considering the abuse he's taken in previous years, I certainly don't blame him.

Here, however, he has compressed-air injected into his anus, in preparation for an arm wrestling match ("what kind of rules are these?" asks Hamada). It doesn't really get that far, however.

ほっしゃん(Hosshyan)

Very weird comedian Hosshyan also takes part in the compressed-air arm wrestling challenge. Hosshyan demonstrates far less bodily control than he has on other occasions.

遠藤ー家(The Endou family)

Endou's Mother, Father and Brother appear. It looks as though they've never met Matsumoto before.

DJ Koo

Korean-born(?) DJ Koo from the "band" TRF makes a short appearance. I'm unaware of its significance.

友近(Tomochika)

Talented female impressionist and comedian Tomochika once again reprises her "Pizza-cap" delivery man character 西尾一男 (Nishio Kazuo).

山口智充(Yamaguchi Tomomitsu)

Yamaguchi, a talented impressionist, first makes an appearance as mixed martial-artist Rickson Gracie, and then changes into 桑名正博(Kuwana Masahiro) singer of the very embarrassing Sexual Violet #1.

No Laughing Airport HOUR THREE

ガキの使い 絶対に笑ってはいけない空港24時!
Gaki No Tsukai Absolutely No Laughing Airport 24 Hours

Guests During Hour Three (8:30pm to 9:30pm): VIEW

This continues my catalog of the numerous guests during the New Year's Eve GnT broadcast.

This hour constituted the prime-time section of the six-hour spectacular, so it's no surprise that its centerpiece is a prime-time Japanese variety quiz show.

楳図かずお(Umezu Kazuo)

Perhaps it's fitting that Umezu is renowned for his horror comics, as here he looks horrific and does some fairly scary things for a 75 year old.

Just in case it's escaped you, this is the same Umezu that supplied two of the earlier Hamada portraits. He will appear again later in the program, so I'm guessing he's a major fan of GnT.

三田佳子(Mita Yoshiko)

Mita appears to be the Japanese equivalent of an academy-award winning actress.

Here, the primary joke seems to be that she questions the regulars regarding some hobby or habit of theirs, and upon hearing their answer, she says "Ah! Like 'celebrity X'!"

"Cabin Attendant" Quiz Show

優木まおみ(Yuuki Maomi)and
天野ひろゆき(Amano Hiroyuki)

Yuuki appears to be a "multi-talent" star of television, music and some movies.

Amano is much more familiar, being a regular on Lincoln and member of the combi Kyaiin(キャイ～ン).

キモイタリア航空 ("Disgustitalia Aviation" Team)

藤本敏史(Fujimoto Toshifumi) from FUJIWARA
塚地武雅(Tsukaji Muja) form "Drunk Dragon"(ドランクドラゴン)
鈴木拓(Suzuki Taku) from "Drunk Dragon"(ドランクドラゴン)
カンニング竹山 (Cunning Takeyama)
春日俊彰Kosuga Toshiaki from "Oodori or Audrey"(オードリー)

チュウネンタル航空 ("Middle Agian Aviation" team)

笑福亭笑瓶(Shokuhutei Shouhei)
千原せいじ(Chihara Seiji) from the Chihara Brothers(千原兄弟)
西田幸治(Nishida Kouji) from WaraiMeshi(笑い飯)
川島邦裕(Kawashima Kunihiro)from "Yasai Bakudan" or "Uncouth Bombshell"(野性爆弾)
木下隆行(Kinoshita Takayuki) from TKO.

オネールフランス航空 ("ONeal France Aviation" team)

I can't seem to unravel the pun in this team's name. Does it refer to "Older sister?" or vagina (due to the team's logo)?

The team members are also very familiar Gay/Crossdressing/transsexual celebrities from Japanese variety programs:
ミッツマングローブ(Mitz Mangrove)
はるな愛(Haruna Ai)
クリス松村(Chris Matsumura)
KABA．ちゃん(Kaba-Chyan)
真島茂樹(Majima Shigeki)

叶姉妹 (Kano Shimai or "the Kano Sisters")

The Kano sisters serve as judges of the competition. They are comprised of 叶美香(Kano Mika, reddish hair, on the right) and 叶恭子(Kano Kyouko, darker hair, one the left) and appear to have a rather fascinating, if tawdry, backstory.

藤岡弘(Fujioka Hiroshi)

Fujioka also serves as a judge (and is quite funny). He is most famous for playing the hero on the tokusatsu series Kamen Rider. Notice that Fujimoto (from Fujiwara) shouts out "I like coffee!" when he enters. This appears to be a reference to Fujioka selling "Fujioka Survival Coffee."

武田幸三(Takeda Kozo)

A renowned Japanese fighter and Thai Kickboxer (Muay Thai).

Oh. THAT guy.

Jimmy Onishi once again shines in his complete ignorance.

The first joke seems to be a play on　ロストバゲージ(RosutoBageeji or "lost baggage") versus　ローストチキン("Roosutochikin" or Roast Chicken). When a foreigner caller asks what to do about "Lost Baggage" Jimmy responds, "Would you prefer Chicken instead?"

The second joke concerns a girl who will soon graduate and wishes to become a Flight Attendant. Jimmy must explain the three rules of the flight attendant.