Typical things said on Japanese shows?

February 1, 2009 7:23 PM

What are some of the typical things said on Japanese variety shows? Preferably cheesy and/or cavity-inducing sweet?

My class group and I are doing a video project for our Japanese class. Now, it just so happens that my group consists of the rare breed of Japanese-language student - the kind that doesn't know much about Japanese pop culture or anime. Help!

We already have the main stuff together, so this isn't really "Do my homework for me" stuff. I think. We do skits that revolve around certain situations: How much is this? Why yes, I was at the hospital yesterday and I also bought a skirt at the next-door department store.

The transition videos (spliced in between the main stuff) is where we're trying to jam in the typical sayings. So far, includes the usual cheese: "Welcome to the so-and-so show! Blahblah CHECK THIS OUT!" (person points energetically at camera, camera zooms in) I'm hoping to borrow equally cheesy lines from Japanese shows. A direct translation could work, but is that what they'd say in Japan?

The video project is going to be predictably bad, as classroom video projects usually go. So my group figured we'd make it as bad as possible, with cringe-inducing cheesiness. Or does this even exist in Japanese pop culture?

Recommendations of shows, Youtubery, etc would be great. I've been trawling through Google and Youtube, but I don't know what terms to look for. "Cheesy Japanese shows" doesn't work, obviously.

Thanks!!

posted by Xere to grab bag (7 comments total)

as far as what is being said, i can't help you - but search for "japanese game show" on youtube.
posted by nadawi at 7:34 PM on February 1, 2009

Unbeatable Banzuke is more athletic than a standard variety show, but the things the host says as it's going on - picking on the competitors, commiserating (or mocking) when they fail, and reacting along with the audience - are pretty classic.

This WP link has names of some well-known variety shows to search on.
posted by batmonkey at 7:42 PM on February 1, 2009

I've actually translated a fair amount Japanese game and variety shows into English (check out my MeFi profile), and the host says the same sorts of things as s/he would on English TV. There are some good announcers and hosts, and some that are pretty boring.

There is an emphasis on trivia and interesting little bits of colour. The most striking difference is that there is almost always a Greek chorus of program "guests" who are professional talent.

So, if the host blurts out some pithy nugget of wisdom (...and she wears a D-cup!), the guests will automatically act as though it were the most incredible thing they ever heard: Eeeeeeeeeeh!?!?!?!

It'll go on like that for a bit, until the host invites one the of the guests to share. The guest will share an amusing anecdote, and the other guests will roar with laughter.

It's a little unusual to get regular folks on a variety show, and I can't really remember many actual game shows, except for "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

The guests are always professional "talents" or "idols", and the hosts are usually former manzai comedians or members of comedy troupes.

If you want to get a feeling for the rhythm of a Japanese variety show, check out Sanma Akashiya's Karakuri Terebi.
posted by KokuRyu at 8:05 PM on February 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

KokuRyu basically described Downtown DX to a T (or a D, perhaps).

Also, you will probably have the best luck searching for titles from this list of variety shows on Youtube or Nico Video. You really need to search in Japanese to get anything useful, but here's some Downtown DX to get you started.
posted by armage at 8:53 PM on February 1, 2009

Oh, another pretty typical one is 行列のできる法律相談所. Here's a pretty typical scene of "talk" between the MC, Shinsuke Shimada, and the guests (who include the Governor of Osaka, a professional K-1 fighter, and several タレント).
posted by armage at 8:56 PM on February 1, 2009

Oh, fuck, I loved that show. Every Sunday night we had nabe (or some sort of fish in the summer) and watched prime time. We started with some Sazae-san, moved on to Dash-mura and Karakuri-terebi, and then watched a bunch of lawyers shouting at each other.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:06 PM on February 1, 2009

Also to narrow your browsing: check tvinjapan.com for truth in advertising with snippets of all kinds of weird Japanese tv.
posted by whatzit at 4:03 AM on February 2, 2009