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Downtown

ContentsArticles

Downtown (owarai) 1Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 7Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ 20Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji 22

ReferencesArticle Sources and Contributors 24Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 25

Article LicensesLicense 26

Downtown (owarai) 1

Downtown (owarai)

DowntownPseudonym Hama-chan and Matchan ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets)

Native name Dauntaun ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets)

Years active 1982present(formed in Hyogo Prefecture)

Employer Yoshimoto Kogyo

Members Masatoshi Hamada (Tsukkomi) Hitoshi Matsumoto (Boke)

Downtown ( DauntaunHelp:Installing Japanese character sets) is a Japanese comedy duo fromAmagasaki, Hygo consisting of Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada. Formed in 1982, they are one of themost influential and prolific comedy duos in Japan today.[1] They are best known for their stand-up acts, hostingnumerous Japanese variety shows (such as Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! and Hey! Hey! Hey! MusicChamp) and their sarcastic, short-tempered stage personas.As a result of their massive popularity and the relative domination of their employer, Yoshimoto Kogyo, the Kansaidialect (in which both performers usually speak) has come to be associated with Japanese comedy (owarai) as awhole.[2]

MembersMasatoshi Hamada

Born May 11, 1963 in Naniwa-ku, Osaka and raised in Amagasaki, Hygo. Plays the tsukkomi. Married toactress Natsumi Ogawa with two sons. Also known as "Hama-chan" ( Help:Installing Japanesecharacter sets). His quick temper, displays of schadenfreude, and tendency to whap people on their heads arenotorious in the Japanese comedy world.[3] He is often described as "sadistic". He was referred to asHama-chon by Matsumoto earlier in his career.

Hitoshi Matsumoto

Born September 8, 1963 in Amagasaki, Hygo. Plays the boke. Also known as "Matchan" ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets). Absurdism, sarcasm, and a blunt, ill-tempered persona make up hiscomedic style. Deadpan is his forte, but he can slip into exaggerated reactions as well. He is the "M" ormasochistic of the duo, and was referred to as Mattsun by Hamada while they were younger.

Background

Childhood and school yearsMatsumoto and Hamada attended and met at Ushio Elementary School in Amagasaki, Hygo of the Kansai region.They did not become friends until their second year in Amagasaki Taisei Junior High School, where they both joinedthe school's broadcasting club and called each other Mattsun ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets)and Hama-chon ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets). It is then Matsumoto joked aboutbecoming a comedy duo together and planted the idea into their heads. At the time, Matsumoto was part of a manzaitrio called "Koma Daisanshibu" with two of his classmates, It and Morioka.One day, Matsumoto's manzai partner, It, had an argument with Hamada which escalated into a street fight. Hamada won, and prompted Matsumoto to leave with him. Matsumoto was unsure of what to do, but started walking

Downtown (owarai) 2

in the same direction as Hamada because it was the opposite direction from It's house. This incident marked thebeginning of Downtown.[4]

They were split apart when they entered different high schools. The boarding school Hamada entered was very strict,and Hamada attempted to escape several times. Whenever he escaped successfully, he called Matsumoto for help,hiding at his home for several days before being caught by his teachers. Hamada repeated the cycle of escaping,calling Matsumoto to borrow money to buy food, and being caught again, throughout his high school years.Matsumoto, on the other hand, entered a local tech school, and became the leader of the school band, but quicklystarted skipping school to hang out with his girlfriend from middle school.

Early careerAfter graduating, Hamada had an unsuccessful try at becoming a motorboat racer. Hamada invited Matsumoto tojoin him to become a comedian. At the time, Matsumoto had a job offer from local publishing company, but hedecided to join Hamada. Although Matsumoto's comedy talent agency of choice was Shchicku Gein, the two wentwith Hamada's choice and entered Yoshimoto Kogyo: NSC (New Star Creation) in Osaka.[5] Their first stage namewas "Matsumoto Hamada". Other names they had were "Hitoshi Masashi", "Teruo-Haruo", and The "WrightBrothers", before settling as "Downtown", a name they picked from a magazine. They made their major debut in1983.Matsumoto and Hamada received positive comments from older comedians in NSC, but went without a singlechuckle from the audience, sometimes receiving insults from hecklers.[6] They organized performances of theirsketches and routines by themselves, but could not get people to listen, even if tickets were free. Matsumotodescribes these early years as hell, showing his immense frustration and stress during this period. They evenconsidered quitting at one point.[7] Neither made enough money to live on their own, so they had to live with theirparents, commuting to the city by train for performances opportunities. Ironically, Matsumoto had to search for apart-time job in a magazine printed by the printing company that he had originally been supposed to enter aftergraduating high school.

Rise to popularityDespite the hardships, they gradually increased their fan-base and status. In April 1987 (four years after their debut)they began hosting a local television show called Yoji Desu Yda ("It's Four O'Clock"), which immediately raisedthem to idol-like popularity in the region (music singles, videos and photo books in which they posed like fashionmodels were released), especially among high school girls. After a tearful farewell concert, they ended the show andmoved to Tokyo in 1989, making various appearances on low rating TV programs before making their big breakwith their long-running variety show Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!. From that point, they went on tocreate several other successful variety shows, such as Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji, Downtown DX and themusic-centric Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ.

Comedy style

Boke and tsukkomiAs with many Japanese comedy duos, there exists a boke and a tsukkomi. Matsumoto is the boke of the two and oftenputs up with light physical abuse (it is common for the tsukkomi to slap the boke on top of his head whenever he sayssomething rude or ridiculous) from Hamada, the tsukkomi. Hamada is also known to attack other tarento andcelebrities when they give boke-like responses to Downtown's questions. Hamada's aggressive ways have earned himthe nickname of Do ESU no Hamada ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets), or "Hamada theSuper Sadist."

Downtown (owarai) 3

But occasionally, they switch their roles as a skit about Hamada being immortal, had Hamada in the Boke andMatsumoto in the Tsukkomi role. With Hamada telling stories about how he survived several accidents which wouldhave put any other in the hospital and with Matsumoto addressing the audience in a very dry tone "Aho ya." (Whatan idiot)

ManzaiThe early 1980s prominently featured quick, snappy styles of manzai, but Downtown took the opposite approach,using a slow, mumbling tone which baffled older comedians. While other duos performed manzai facing theaudience, Downtown would face each other as if they were simply conversing, ignoring the presence of the audience.Their contribution to manzai is immeasurable; it has been remarked that manzai will never be the same afterDowntown, and many aspiring comedians have copied parts of Downtown's style. It is notable that Downtown neverhad a mentor (it was common for younger comedians to be "trained" by older, more experienced comedians) whichwas essential to the development of their own, unorthodox style.In the group's early years, many recognized Downtown's talent, but doubted Downtown would ever succeed due totheir sluggish style, which was so drastically different from that of mainstream manzai. Shinsuke Shimada, a leadingmanzai comedian, had been one of the doubters until he saw one of Downtown's performances. Shimada was startledby how funny and complex Downtown was, and immediately announced his retirement from manzai. In his pressconference, Shimada cited Downtown as the major reason for his retirement, but the press ignored the comment,since the duo had very little popularity at the time, writing instead that Shimada had felt outclassed by a differentmanzai duo; Saburo-Shiro. Shimada's decision proved to be correct however, as Downtown dominated manzai in thelate 1980s and early 1990s. Downtown and Shimada have developed a close bond over the years, and Matsumotoco-hosts a TV talk show ("Matsushin") with Shimada.Though Matsumoto and Hamada are now regarded as "geniuses" of their respective roles, it is unjust to laud themonly for their talent. Matsumoto made a change from being a quieter character to his current, ill-tempered style,while Hamada had to repeatedly apologize for brash comments in variety shows. Upon hearing that many fansregarded Hamada as the crux of the group, Matsumoto embarked upon an array of solo skits to prove himself, whileHamada relentlessly studied other groups' tsukkomi to improve upon his own skills.Another important aspect of Downtown's comedy is their willingness to make themselves the butt of the joke. Whilemany popular manzai comedians become elevated to the level where poking fun at them is out of the question,Downtown has always taken ridiculous roles in shows, even after becoming popular. This is particularly evident inGaki No Tsukai where they endure countless physical and mental punishments, such as their punishment games.Generally, these roles are reserved for younger, less popular comedians, but Matsumoto and Hamada relish theseroles even after becoming part of the elite of Japanese entertainment.Downtown has not performed a manzai routine since 1991, though the free talk session on Gaki No Tsukai can beconsidered the final form of Downtown's manzai.

Kansai dialectYoshimoto Kgy is very much a Kansai operation, although it is not limited to people from Osaka and itssurroundings. Most of its comedians speak Kansai-ben, the strong, earthy dialect that developed among the merchantclasses of Osaka, as opposed to the more elegant tones of Kyoto or the standard language of the Edo (now Tokyo)aristocracy.Matsumoto and Hamada have never lost the dialect and have used it to their benefit. They use it in the titles of theirTV showstranslations of Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende ("Not An Errand Boy!""Gaki no tsukai janai yo!" instandard Japanese) or Gottsu Ee Kanji cannot be found in a standard dictionary. Downtown's popularity have turnedthese expressions into common vocabulary.

Downtown (owarai) 4

Private relationshipAlthough they appear to be best friends on their shows, Hamada and Matsumoto admit they are not as close as onemay think. On their many hosted shows and interviews, the two have made the following revelations: They do not know each other's cell phone numbers, as they see no need to phone one another. Matsumoto has

phoned Hamada's cell phone just once: when Hamada fractured his right leg (after kicking a locker out of rage)and was taken to a hospital. He had to ask a staff member for his number.[8]

They do not travel together, even going as far as arranging for one to travel by plane and another by train to avoidmeeting by chance.

They find it extremely awkward and uncomfortable being left alone together in a room. After Hamada's marriage, Matsumoto has never been to his residence. Matsumoto has only seen Hamada's son once, when he was still an infant.[9]

By pure coincidence, they once vacationed in Guam at the same time. When Matsumoto saw Hamada, he avoidedhim. When later asked by Hamada why he did not say anything, he replied that it would have been "tooawkward".[10]

Matsumoto has said that even if they quit Downtown, they likely would not be able to return to being friends.[11]

On Music Champ, Matsumoto stated they see each other so often at work, the thought of meeting in private nevercrosses their mind. During an interview with PUFFY, he was impressed by how the two singers spend time togetheras friends despite having to work together all the time as a duohe turned to Hamada and told him, "I'd rather eatoff the floor than go out to dinner with you."This does not mean, however, they do not get along outside of work. Though they do not consider each other to befriends, their deep business relationship and respect for each other is evident. Hamada has said if they ever partedways, he would "never do comedy again,"[12] as there is no one else he would like to make his partner (Matsumotohas expressed similar views).[13] He has also said he saves his best tsukkomi material for Matsumoto.[14] Tanaka ofCocorico reports seeing Matsumoto become visibly concerned whenever Hamada is sick and unable to come towork.Matsumoto has said that if the duo ever split up, they would like to perform their manzai one last time at NambaGrand Kagetsu, Yoshimoto Kogyo's theatre in Osaka and the very stage on which Downtown launched their career.

Television

Hosted showsDowntown currently host the following programs every week:

Sundays Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! ( !!Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (Nippon TV, since 1989)

Thursdays Downtown DX ( DXHelp:Installing Japanese character sets) (Yomiuri TV, since1993)

Downtown (owarai) 5

Partial list of past hosted shows

Yoji Desu Yda (4 Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (MBS, 1987-1989) Downtown no Moto ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (MBS, 1990-1992) Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji ( Help:Installing Japanese

character sets) (Fuji TV, 1991-1997) Nama Nama Nama Nama Downtown ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets)

(TBS, 1992-1993) Downtown Nari ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (TBS, 1993) Downtown Jiru ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (TBS, 1993-1994) Hatsumei Shgun Downtown ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets)

(Nippon TV, 1993-1996) Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ (Fuji TV, 1994-2012) Kaza-ana Downtown ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (All-Nippon

News Network, 1995-1996) Downtown Seven ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (MBS, 2001-2003) WORLD DOWNTOWN (Fuji TV, 2004) Kangaeru Hito ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (Fuji TV, 2004-2005) LINCOLN ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (TBS, 2005-2013) Bakush! Dai-Nippon Akan Keisatsu ( Help:Installing Japanese character

sets) (Fuji TV, 2011-2013)

Television dramas

Downtown Monogatari ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (MBS, 1987) Katsura Sanshi no ATARI! Shoshun Nagaya ( ! Help:Installing Japanese

character sets) (Kansai TV, 1988) The Yoshimoto Kgy Satsujin Jiken (THE Help:Installing Japanese character sets)

(ABC, 1988) Ucchan Nanchan no Convenience Monogatari (

Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (TV Tokyo, 1990, guest appearance) Yonimo Kimy na Monogatari Gyakuten ( Help:Installing Japanese

character sets) (Fuji TV, 1992) Ashita ga Arusa ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (Nippon TV, 2001) Hamada was a

protagonist while Matsumoto made minor cameos Densetsu no Kyshi ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (Nippon TV, 2000) Matsumoto

only; Hamada appeared in the final episode

Downtown (owarai) 6

Future showsFrom October 22, 2013 Downtown will host the academic research and variety show Hyakuby Hakase Academy(100 Help:Installing Japanese character sets), replacing "Lincoln" in its Tuesday teno'clock slot on TBS.

Notes[1] Japan Zone article (http:/ / www. japan-zone. com/ modern/ comedian2. shtml) Retrieved on 2008-2-21. "The biggest name in comedy duos

has to be Downtown."[2] Japan Zone's profile on Yoshimoto Kogyo (http:/ / www. japan-zone. com/ modern/ yoshimoto. shtml) Retrieved on 2008-2-08. "Thanks to

the huge popularity they have enjoyed these Kansai natives have made the region's dialect almost the de-facto language of comedy in Japan."[3] LINCOLN, Episode aired on 2005-11-29. A

large group of younger comedians express their fear of Hamada, which Matsumoto tries to help over come in this episode.[4] Hs-shitsu no Ura Published in 2003-7-26 by Wani Books. It talks about this incident in greater detail in this book.[5][5] LINCOLN Episode #58, 2007-01-16.[6] Downtown no Riy Article #20 Published 1995-10-09.[7] Downtown no Riy Article #21 Published 1995-10-23.[8] A Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji incident. The moment Matsumoto phoned Hamada was filmed and shown on the show. For weeks

afterwards, Hamada appeared on television with a cast and crutches.[9] Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, 500 Aired on 2007-04-01.[10] Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! The two talked about this during the talk segment on this show.[11] Downtown no Riy, article #19, 1997-9-22.[12] Downtown no Riy Article #7 (Interview with Hamada), Published 1997-3-14.[13] Downtown no Riy Article #18 Published 1997-9-18. Hamada: "Who else is there for me? I can't do owarai with someone else."

Matsumoto: "It wouldn't be fun doing it with anyone else."[14] Downtown no Riy Article #19 Published 1997-9-22.

Further reading Schilling, Mark. "Downtown", in The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture. New York: Weatherhill, 1997,

pp.4552. ISBN 0-8348-0380-1.

External links Downtown Official Site (http:/ / www. dt30thdvd. com/ ) Yoshimoto Kgy's official profile on Downtown (http:/ / search. yoshimoto. co. jp/ talent_prf/ ?id=250) Yoshimoto R and C Co. Ltd.'s profile on Downtown (http:/ / www. randc. jp/ artist/ downtown/ ) Gaki no Tsukai Official Japanese Website (http:/ / www. ntv. co. jp/ gaki/ ) Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ official site (http:/ / wwwz. fujitv. co. jp/ HEY/ index. html) Lincoln official site (http:/ / www. tbs. co. jp/ lincoln05/ ) Bakush! Dai-Nippon Akan Keisatsu official site (http:/ / www. fujitv. co. jp/ akankeisatsu/ index. html)

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 7

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai yaArahende!!

Gaki no Tsukai's "free talk" segment.

Genre Comedy

Format Japanese variety show

Starring Hitoshi MatsumotoMasatoshi HamadaHsei TsukiteiNaoki TanakaShz End

Country of origin Japan

Original language(s) Japanese

No. of episodes 1065 (as of 31 July 2011) (List of episodes)

Production

Executive producer(s) Kenji Suga

Running time 30 minutes

Production company(s) Yoshimoto Kogyo

Broadcast

Original channel Nippon TV

Original run October3,1989 present

External links

Official website at Nippon TV [1]

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! ( !!Dauntaun no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!Help:Installing Japanese character sets, lit. "Downtown's 'This is no taskfor kids!!'"), often abbreviated Gaki no Tsukai ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets), is aJapanese variety show hosted by the popular Japanese owarai duo, Downtown, with comedian Hsei Tsukitei(formerly known as Hsei Yamasaki) and owarai duo Cocorico co-hosting. The program has been broadcast onNippon TV since its pilot episode on October 3, 1989 and continues to this day, celebrating its 1000th episode onApril 18, 2010. The program currently broadcasts on Nippon TV and its regional affiliates from 10:56 p.m. until11:26 p.m JST.

Cast

Regular cast Downtown, one of the most influential and prolific kombi in Japan,[2] who are known for their sarcastic,

short-tempered stage personas.

Hitoshi Matsumoto ( Matsumoto HitoshiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets), the boke half ofDowntown. Absurdism, sarcasm, and a blunt, ill-tempered persona make up his comedic style. Deadpan is hisfort, but he can slip into exaggerated reactions as well. He is often described as an "M", or masochist.

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 8

Masatoshi Hamada ( Hamada MasatoshiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets), the tsukkomihalf of Downtown. His quick temper, displays of schadenfreude, and tendency to hit people on their heads arenotorious in the owarai world.[3] He is often described as an "S", or sadist.

Hsei Tsukitei ( Tsukitei HseiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets), part of the regular castsince 1990. His role on the show is usually divided up between the suberi-kyara (the unfunny character who triesvery hard to be funny, but fails) and the ijime-kyara (the underdog who gets bullied and picked on, oftenphysically). Formerly known as Yamasaki Hosei on the show, however at times the rest of the regulars will callhim Yamachan or Hosei-san.

Cocorico, part of the regular cast since 1997.

Naoki Tanaka ( Tanaka NaokiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets), the boke half of Cocorico. Shz End ( End ShzHelp:Installing Japanese character sets), the tsukkomi half of Cocorico.

Supporting cast

License (Kazuhiro Fujiwara ( Fujiwara KazuhiroHelp:Installing Japanese character sets) andTakafumi Inomoto ( Inomoto TakafumiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets)). A comedy duo thatworks at the show and has occasionally joined the regular cast. Fujiwara is also known as "Vacuum Fujiwara"because of his eating ability, which is used as a running gag in some skits.

Jimmy nishi ( Ohnishi HideakiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). Left the regular cast in1996 to pursue a painting career. He has subsequently made several appearances in pre-taped segments that areshown to the cast in the "No-Laughing" batsu games, since 2005. In the videos, Onishi portrays an inane versionof himself appearing in various roles, saying or doing things that are inane/off-the-wall, usually repeatedly, in anattempt to make the cast laugh.

Kenji Suga ( Suga KenjiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). Chief producer. Appears in varioussketches, usually as himself, as well as cosplaying as various characters during batsu games. As well as appearingin person during these, his likeness is often used for comedic effect in various waysfor instance, appearing onhumorous posters, or as a stone bust. The name "Gs" ( ), a reversal of the kana in his given name,is also referenced in similar ways.

Toshihide Sait ( Sait ToshihideHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). Chief director. Usuallyreferred to by his nickname, Heip ( ). Several sketches and games are based on his completeinability to stomach scary things (however silly they may be) and his perverted nature. He also appears wheneverthe cast needs an extra man around such as in "Silent library" and "No Laughing at the News agency" where heand Tanaka were paired up to do a Blair Witch kind of challenge in a nearby forest. He also took Hamada's placein the "Kiki Ketchup" series when the former was hospitalized.

Hiroshi Fujiwara ( Fujiwara HiroshiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). Downtown's formermanager. Often seen cosplaying as a female character during batsu games, where he meets up with theparticipants and guides them through the game. He often stutters and speaks incoherently, and generally displaysa great deal of incompetence in serious matters.

Yoshinobu Nakamura ( Nakamura YoshinobuHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). Producer ofthe show, often used when a 6th person is needed for a skit. Has appeared in batsu games and has shown hisability to withstand pain.

Itsuji Itao ( Itao ItsujiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). A member of the comedy duo 130Rand former cast member of Downtown's Gottsu Ee Kanji. Appears often in batsu games. Itao has had six differentwomen portraying his "wife" throughout the series, one of whom, Sherri, is best known for her dancing along toMadonna in the Highschool batsu game.

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 9

Recurring guests

Ameagari Kesshitai (Hiroyuki Miyasako ( Miyasako HiroyukiHelp:Installing Japanese charactersets) and Tru Hotohara ( Hotohara TruHelp:Installing Japanese character sets)). A comedy duo thathas occasionally joined the regular cast.

Obaachan Ichigo ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (Asami,Chiyoko) and Obaachan Sango ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets) (Mishiro, Akiko); literally, Old Lady #1 and Old Lady #3. Two elderly women who often appear in the batsugames, dressed in strange outfits (on one occasion they dressed as t.A.T.u.) or getting the cast into compromisingpositions. A running gag is that of cast members being forced to French kiss Obaachan Ichigo and Sango underunusual circumstances. Obaachan Sango died of multiple organ failure at the age of 65 on 27 July 2011 00:10.

David Hossein, known as Konya ga Yamada ( or , literally "Tonight isYamada"). Former manager of Thane Camus. He played a role as a ringside doctor in Dynamite Shikoku'swrestling matches (Dynamite being a character played by End). During the "No Laughing" batsu games, he says"Tonight is crucial" over and over in different variations (sometimes singing it) while the cast try to sleep. "Konyaga yama da" means "tonight is crucial" in Japanese, but Yamada intentionally mispronounces, breaks up, ormakes strange mutations of the phrase, such as "Honya ga yama da", translated as "The Bookstore is crucial", etc.

Africa Ch TV ( Afurika Ch TerebiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets)Director role played by Craig Nine. A film crew consisting of a director, sound man, & camera man, whosupposedly come all the way from Africa to suddenly interview cast members. While being interviewed, thedirector shows cue cards for instructions such as "Show your genitals". The Director also has a tendency to cutpeople off in the middle of speaking, or making them extend their answers for Yes, No questions. Africa ChTV has appeared in various Batsu Games, New Year Specials, & Mori Man Yamazaki Wresting match.

Hidetoshi Hoshida ( ), better known as Hosshan ( Help:Installing Japanesecharacter sets). Another comedian who makes appearances during the batsu games. His signature trick is stickingthings up his nose and coughing it out through his mouth. This gag consistently makes the cast laugh.

Ayako Nishikawa ( Nishikawa AyakoHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). A former Miss Japanwho later became a physician. She makes a guest appearance as Heip's "date", as the medical examiner in thepolice batsu game, and as the anesthesiologist in the hospital batsu game. Her roles tend to be sadistic, often usedto great humorous effect. She also appeared in an episode where End was trying to find a "new" Chiaki througha "Chiaki Audition".

Chiaki ( Help:Installing Japanese character sets). End's ex-wife (they divorced in December 2007). Chiakiusually appears in the No-Laughing batsu games, doing something cute and attempting to make the cast laugh.Since the batsu games frequently have the cast stuck in a waiting room or hotel room between skits, anotherrunning gag involves End being tricked into opening a desk drawer and finding several pictures of his wife in it.(In the No-Laughing High School batsu game, a recording of End shouting "Chiaki! I love you!" was playedtwice while the cast attempted to sleep, and End's PE shirt had "Chiaki LOVE" written in pink letters on a pinktag in lieu of his name.) During the Hospital Batsu Game, she appeared as a nurse to give End words ofencouragement. End states that they had talked the night before about whether or not she had any involvementwith the game and she lied to him that she didn't. The divorce of the couple has not put an end to her appearancesin the batsu games. In segments mainly targeting Endo, she claims to have found a new husband only known as"Shin-Onii", a play on her old nickname for her ex-husband.

Shin Onii ( Shin OniiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets) (Real Name is Maejima Koichi ).Chiaki's "new" husband featured in the Newspaper Agency game. Although Shin Onii regularlyworks as an extra, he is known for his notoriously terrible celebrity impersonations during the No-Laughing batsugames. He is also known for his stammer and poor acting in pre-taped sketches during the No-Laughing batsugames.

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 10

Takahiro Matsumoto ( Matsumoto TakahiroHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). HitoshiMatsumoto's older brother. He makes occasional appearances in the batsu games, sometimes singing and playingguitar. Not to be mistaken for guitarist Takahiro Matsumoto of the popular rock band B'z. In the Hospital BatsuGame, Hitoshi Matsumoto finds a fake book in his drawer written by his brother, titled "Hitoshi, Do YouRemember These?"

Hanako Yamada ( Yamada HanakoHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). A strange girl whooften tries to talk to the cast (much to their dismay) during the No-Laughing games. She often lures them intomistakenly talking to her (such as calling them to her bathroom in the No-Laughing High School game or makingthem open a car, only to find her terribly drunk and lingering in the back seat in the No-Laughing Police Stationgame) and will latch onto some part of their body when the victim tries to leave. Her years as a comedienne areoften used as a running gag whenever she encounters End, as she has been in the entertainment business for alonger period of time.

Masahiro Chono ( Chno MasahiroHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). a retired professionalwrestler. He debuted in the High School Batsu and has subsequently been a recurring guest. His signature startingfrom the Hospital Batsu is to shout "GOD DAMN!" upon introduction or when entering a room. A running gaghas Chono smacking Yamazaki violently across the face after Yamazaki has apparently crossed him. Yamazaki isin fact the victim of a setup in these cases. Yamazaki reacts with extreme fear of the slap, usually resulting inscreaming and begging, to which invokes a lot of laughter in his coworkers and leading to their own punishments.

Shhei Shfukutei ( Shfukutei ShheiHelp:Installing Japanese character sets). A rakugo artist.He is also known for the ! (Shhei-Hey!) phrase said in the police batsu game. He alsoappears in person in the hospital and newspaper games. In the episode containing Hamada's trial in 2007 it wassuggested that he is Downtown's sempai or senior as Hamada actually bowed in front of him.

Shoji Murakami. Moriman. Piccadilly Umeda. Egashira 2:50.

Segments

Batsu GamesPerhaps the best known Gaki no Tsukai episodes are those dealing with batsu games, or punishment games, in whichone or more of the cast members are subjected to after losing bets, major competition, or physical challenges.The "No Laughing" batsu game itself (broadcast annually during the New Year's Holiday) was first introduced in2003. The premise of each "No Laughing"-punishment game is that the losing members of the cast have to enduremany compromising, absurd, generally ridiculous situations for a long period of time (up to 24-hours, thus far) butmust refrain from laughing at any of them. Whenever someone does laugh the announcer of the game will declarethat person as having just become "out" ( or a-u-to in Katakana); immediately afterwards, the appropriatenumber of "hang-men" will come out to mete the rule breaker's punishment. (To date, this has almost always beenexecuted via single strikes on the buttocks {or somewhere in that area} with a weapon one which does not changemid-game.)To keep the participants on their toes, there have been occasions where other conditions besides laughing had beenset that could make them out, if fulfilled; also, the "victors" of the preliminary trial (if there are any) can makeappearances during games to wreak further mischief and potentially cause even more discomfort to the losers.

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 11

List of Batsu Games

The following is a complete list of batsu games featured on Gaki no Tsukai. Jan. 23, 1990: Havoc Maker In The Morning NewsAfter losing a bet (Bet aired on Jan. 16, 1990) on who would win the Khaku Uta Gassen singing competition,Matsumoto had to wreak havoc in the morning news show "Zoom In!! Asa!" that was broadcast live. May 8, 1990: Advertising the Show in a S&M WayMatsumoto played a game of shiritori (Game aired on Apr. 24, 1990) with Hamada, with an additional rule: allwords used were to contain the syllable "su" (). Matsumoto lost the game after he repeated one of his words. As aconsequence, he had to advertise Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende! on TV, in a sadomasochistic way. Aug. 7, 1990: Hamada 4000 Meter skydiveHamada lost a bet (Bet aired on Jul. 24, 1990) to Matsumoto, in which they predicted who would win the 1990 JapanSeries in Nippon Professional Baseball. The batsu Game for Hamada would be to skydive from a height of 4000meters above ground. Dec. 25, 1990: Welcome!Hamada won a golf game (Game aired on Dec. 11, 1990) and Matsumoto had to welcome a group of people into aroom, dressed in a kimono and make-up, portraying a female Japanese hostess. Feb. 19, 1991: Swim In The Winter!Matsumoto lost a baseball game (Game aired on Feb. 12, 1991) and had to swim in the chilly waters, together withhis team. Jun. 4, 1991: Roller CoasterThis is the first time audiences are involved. Matsumoto and 500 other people competed in a dodgeball game (Gameaired on May 28, 1991) with Hamada and 500 other people. Matsumoto lost the game and had to take a roller coasterride with a bald wig. Jan. 19, 1992: BeeeepThis is the second time Hamada and Matsumoto bet (Bet aired on Dec. 29, 1991) on who would win the Khakusinging competition. Matsumoto lost and had to be part of the SMPTE color bars testcard prior to the Morning Newsbroadcast 'Live' on TV. Jun. 26, 1992: The SealHamada team and Matsumoto team played a rugby match (Match aired on Jun. 7, 1992) and Matsumoto lost. He hadto act like a trained seal and listen to orders by his 'master' Hamada. Jan. 17, 1993: Am I stupid?This was the third time Hamada and Matsumoto bet (Bet aired on Dec. 20, 1992) on who would win the Khakusinging competition. Matsumoto lost again and had to dress as a white dove (the mascot of Nippon Television) priorto NTV's morning programmes, singing the lyrics "Am I stupid? Am I a fool?" to the tune of NTV's opening ID,before shouting "JOAX-TV, daiyon channeru. Kochiawa, Nihon Terebi desu." (lit. "JOAX-TV, channel 4. This isNippon Television". JOAX-TV is Nippon Television's network callsign, and announcing the callsign, channel and thenetwork's name is customary on Japanese television) Jul 25, 1993: Hama-chan France Evian TripMatsumoto challenged Hamada to a high-jump competition (Competition aired on Jul. 11, 1993) and Hamada lost at1.4m. He had to go to vian-les-Bains, France with the crew to get Matsumoto a bottle of Evian mineral waterstraight from the source. Feb. 6, 1994: Matsumoto and His Mother

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This was the fourth time Hamada and Matsumoto bet (Bet aired on Dec. 26, 1993) on who would win the Khakusinging competition. Matsumoto lost again and had to do a comedy skit with his mother on a midnight programme. Apr. 12, 1995: Hama-chan New York City Mechanical Pencil TripThis was the fifth time Hamada and Matsumoto bet (Bet aired on Dec. 18, 1994) on who would win the Khakusinging competition. Hamada lost and had to go to New York City with Suga Kenji to fetch a mechanical pencil thatMatsumoto lent to composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. On returning, Matsumoto discovers that the rubber on top of themechanical pencil is missing so Hamada had to return to New York and recover the rubber. Aug. 23, 1998: Gakitanic (Gaki no tsukai Hamada L.A. de Okan to TITANIC!!)Hamada loses a golf challenge against the rest of the cast (Challenge aired on May 24, 1998) and must go to LosAngeles with Matsumoto's mother to shoot the love scene from Titanic. Apr. 25 & May 2, 1999: Hama-chan 24 hour NitterreHamada loses a golf challenge against the rest of the cast (Challenge aired on Oct. 18, 1998) and had to do about 30advertisements for Nittere over a 24-hour period. Nov. 21 & 28, 1999: Yamasaki's Hitori Bocchino piano concertIn "Gaki no tsukai - YAMASAKI Scale ga Chiisai Saiban", Yamasaki is brought into the Gaki no Tsukai court tostand trial for the scaredy-cat disposition he exhibits during events, games, and with co-workers. He gets convicted,and is forced to endure the appropriate batsu game as a consequence - a 1-night stay at the empty high-school to playa series of one-piece recitals without being scared by all the traps that were set up for him.

Mar. 26, Apr. 2 & 9, 2000: 24-Hour Tag/Onigokko ( )A batsu game that took place over the period of 24 hours where all the cast, except Matsumoto, are locked in a sportsarena, playing "tag" with various Oni (demons) (who, here,except for two or three instances {that were onfilm},were men dressed in full-body black suits) that were "summoned" to attack at random moments, each with aspecific type of punishment written on the suit to be inflicted whenever the victims were tagged. This batsu game isthe result of Matsumoto winning the race against the four others in "Gaki no tsukai - 4 tai 1 100m sou Taiketsu!" (onOct. 17, 1999). Aug. 5, 12, 19 & 26, 2001: Haunted HotelAfter Matsumoto loses a swimming match (match aired on Feb. 11, 2001) against the other four cast members, abatsu game is set at a "haunted ryokan", where Matsumoto must remain overnight. He endures ghost apparitions, aseemingly empty samurai suit that comes alive, and random knocks on walls, among other things. The other four castmembers attend to support him in controlling his fear, but end up scaring him as well. Aug. 4 & 11, 2002: Matsumoto Family Rangers

(Gaki no tsukai - Souchou Matsumoto RENJAI SHOW!!)Matsumoto's team (compiled of him and Heipo) loses to Hamada's team in a long-jump segment (long-jump aired onMay 5, 2002) due to Heipo's jump failing to beat the other team and has to perform with his father, mother, oldersister, and brother as a Sentai/Power Ranger team.

Nov. 3, 2002: No-Reaction Pie Hell ( )In this game, Matsumoto is punished for losing a bet (bet aired on Oct. 27, 2002) with Hamada over the 2002 JapanSeries. In their bet, Hamada picked the Yomiuri Giants while Matsumoto picked the Seibu Lions; the Giants won theseries four games to none. Matsumoto's punishment was having to spend a day at home while Hamada, End,Tanaka and Yamasaki threw pies at him (after showering and in bed) and everything he touched (including atelevision set and a toaster), non-stop. Matsumoto had to ignore all of this while following prompts from a narratorover the sound-system. Jul. 27, Aug. 3, 10 & 17, 2003: No-Laughing Hot Spring Inn

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The first No-Laughing Batsu Game, shot in Yamanashi, it served as the punishment for Matsumoto, Yamasaki,End, and Tanaka, for losing to Hamada in a 4 vs. 1 bowling match (which aired on May 18, 2003). Getting caughtlaughing during this game resulted in having a dart from a blow-gun shot into the buttocks. Given the newness of theconcept, this punishment game was carried out in a somewhat "primitive" way: the Watchers were more lenient withenforcing the rule, and the auto sound blared rough over the sound-system that was set up through the facility.Dec. 14 & 21, 2003: Hama-chan Vladivostok Back HandOn Oct. 5, 2003, Hamada lost once again to Matsumoto on who would win the 2003 Japan Series, and being unableto see the front side of things, Hamada is forced to go to Vladivostok in order to receive a back hand slap to the faceas part of a batsu game. During the game, everything is done in reverse; hotel rooms have everything upside down,Hamada gets pictures of himself and the backs of statues, and many people as well as streets and objects appearduring the trip with 'ura' in their names (a pun on 'back') such as former Giants baseball player Hisao Niura. No Laughing in Yugawara (2004)In a Russian Roulette style game involving sushi, Yamasaki, Tanaka, and Hamada lost and were punished in thesecond spa-themed no-laughing batsu game, filmed at Yugawara, Kanagawa. A riding crop was the punishmentdevice employed. Matsumoto and Endo joined the game half-way as "The Mad Brothers." This batsu game featuresEnd's luchador character Dynamite Shikoku. No-Laughing High School (2005)Matsumoto, Yamasaki, End, and Tanaka are punished after losing another Russian Roulette style game where theyshocked themselves. This time, they are sent to 'high school' for one day. The punishment weapon for this game isthe shinai, and Hamada participated as one of the hang-men, frequently delivering a strong kick along with theregular punishment. It was revealed that this game was shot during Matsumoto's birthday. No-Laughing Police Station (2006)This batsu game premiered as a three-hour special. The losing players were Yamasaki, Hamada, and End, who lostat a Russian Roulette style game using large tubs suspended from the studio ceiling, and cutting loose the one's thatfell, thus earning them a spot in the Batsu Game. The weapon used for the punishments in this game is a straightstickbaton. Matsumoto and Tanaka avoided the batsu, and later appeared in the game, visiting the three punished players.The hang-men were especially rough when giving discipline to offenders. No-Laughing Hospital (2007)For this special, Downtown, Yamasaki, and Cocorico all took part of the most infamous punishment game andthey were forced to cross-dress as nurses for the game's duration. Yamasaki, who had just completed a hospital stayafter being treated for enteritis, was permitted to take some absences during the game. Among the famous guestswho performed here were Sonny Chiba, Masahiro Chono and many other comedy duos in Japan. (As a side note, itwas during this game that the record at the time for most punishment-strikes ever inflicted was set, with HitoshiMatsumoto having received a total of 259 of them.) No-Laughing Newspaper Agency (2008)For the second time around, all five members of the regular cast took part in the annual punishment game. This yearthe chosen setting was a newspaper agency. The members had to go to a number of mock press conferences dressedas journalists. End's ex-wife Chiaki made a guest appearance in a conference about her "new husband." In keepingwith the theme of the punishment game, giant latex pencils were used to strike anyone who had been declared out. No-Laughing Hotel Employee (2009)For the third consecutive time, Yamazaki, Downtown, and Cocorico took part in the annual punishment game. Thesetting was a hotel and it aired on New Year's Eve at 6:30pm until 12:30am on New Year's Day. Numerous cameoand guest appearances were made, including Masahiro Chono, Masahiro Tanaka, Natsumi Ogawa ( Hamada's wife ),End's ex-wife Chiaki, Jyunji End ( End's younger brother), Masako Mori, Ayumi Nakamura, Monta Yoshinori,and Yoshimi Iwasaki.

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No-Laughing Spy School/Secret Agent (2010)The members of Gaki no Tsukai partake in their fourth annual punishment game. Filmed in Ibaraki prefecture, thisBatsu's setting was a spy school and it was aired on New Year's Eve at 6:30pm to 12:30am on New Year's Day. Over100 celebrities were involved with the filming including Itao Itsuji, Matsuko Deluxe, Masahiro Chono, BibariMaeda, Claudia Umemiya and Tatsuo Umemiya. No-Laughing Airport (2011)The Gaki no Tsukai cast participate in the 5th annual punishment game (the 6th New Years show in the NoLaughing Series). The filming took place at Ibaraki Airport, in November 2011. Here Hamada, Matsumoto,Yamasaki, Endo and Tanaka were trained to become CA's (or Flight Attendants). The airing began on New Year'sEve 31 December 2011 at 6:30pm and ran through 12:30am the next day (Japanese Standard Time). (This year brokethrough the 2007 record with Matsumoto receiving 302 punishments.) No-Laughing Enthusiastic Teachers (2012)The Gaki no Tsukai cast participate in the 6th annual punishment game (the 7th New Years show in the NoLaughing Series). No-Laughing Earth Defense Force (2013)The Gaki no Tsukai cast participate in the 7th annual punishment game (the 8th new years show in the No LaughingSeries). This game implemented 250 CCD Cameras, 27 ENG units, 70 from technical staff and extra 210 peoplewhich brings the total staff number by 500.

Silent Library

In Silent Library ( , Sairento Toshokan), the cast and a sixth member, usually Heipo, arein a staged library in which one of them has to undergo a punishment upon choosing the card with the skull andcrossbones on it (similar to Russian roulette). Although the game requires that they remain silent during the entiresegment, the members repeatedly let out bursts of muffled laughter that is loud enough for the occupants of thelibrary to hear. An example of punishments are being "Outwitted" (having a nose hair pulled from the nostril), "NoseFishing" (a metal clamp attached to the inside of both nostrils being pulled), and "Hot Earmuffs" (boiled earmuffsput on both ears). Former K-1 champion Ernesto Hoost once made a special appearance, as well as writer and filmdirector Kki Mitani.This segment was adapted into an American game show, called Silent Library. The international version of the showis referred to as Fist of Zen. It debuted on MTV on June 15, 2009.

giri Daigassen

Chinko Machine

In a segment from the episode "giri Daigassen", the participants must recite a long, tongue twister-like promotionfor the show without stopping or stuttering. If a participant fails, they are attacked by the "chinko machine", literallythe "penis machine", a catapult-like lever that swings up and hits the participant in the genitals. On this episode,Yamazaki was the only participant who was able to recite the whole tongue twister (although he was not so lucky onother instances). This batsu game was featured on the August 1, 2006 Oddball segment of Countdown with KeithOlbermann as "Reason Number 261 (of 527) why Japanese television is better than ours."Wikipedia:Citation needed

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Ass Game

In this game, one contestant is strapped to a chair while another contestant is carried by a statue which rests onconveyors, with his legs split open, thus leaving his underwear-covered genital regions aligned towards the head ofthe strapped contestant. As the two are asked questions, their answer must be the same. If their answers do notmatch, the contestant on the conveyor's genital regions brought closer to the head of the strapped contestant. If mostof their answers do not match, the genital regions are pressed against the head of the strapped contestant. Thecontestants were Matsumoto Hitoshi, Tanaka Naoki, Hamada Masatoshi, and Yamazaki Hosei.An alternate and early version of the "Ass Game" involved the players being threatened by other cast members, onall fours and wearing an outfit with the rear end exposed. The objective in this version was to name items which fit aspecified theme (such as "Name a 'Holiday'") within a time limit--those failing to do so would have the cast memberwearing the rear-less outfit advancing towards them. The game was split into two rounds: in the first round,Matsumoto (threatened by Jimmy Onishi) faced Yamasaki (threatened by producer Suga); while in the second round,the positions were reversed--Onishi (threatened by Matsumoto) versus producer Suga (threatened by Yamasaki).In a later "giri Daigassen" episode, this variation on the "Ass Game" was revived with a slight alteration: thepunishment for the loser became getting kissed by an Obaachan.

Marshmallow Rubber Band

In this game during an episode of oogiri daigassen, the contestants are divided into Red and Blue teams. The rulesconsist of the contenders having to eat a marshmallow dangling from a string, while they are hindered by a rubberband which is put across their face. They are not allowed to use their hands to grab the marshmallow, although theother contestants are allowed to straighten the strings which the marshmallows are attached to. The entire gameended with the Blue team as the victors.

7 Henge

Shichi-henge ( , literally The Seven Apparitions) is a segment of the show where the cast and crew sit at atable while a comedian attempts to make them laugh. For each round that a person laughs, they must put 1,000 yeninto a box; the collected money is donated to a charity of the comedian's choice. Bob Sapp once made a specialappearance on this segment in which he collected 53,000 yen, at that time the record for any comedian during thissegment. The record is currently held by Koumoto Junichi ( ).A variation on this, "Horror Shichi-henge", involved several members of the cast and crew ambushing Heip withthe intent of causing him to lose his composure and thus be forced to surrender money.

Absolutely Tasty seriesThis is a series of cooking segments in which the comedians prepare foods, either traditional Japanese dishes liketaiyaki, takoyaki, nabe and chawanmushi or foods like pizza, with unusual ingredients to use as fillings or flavors,which is eaten later and given a score ranging from two "skull marks" to ten stars. However, in recent episodes, thecast ignores the rating system more frequently, instead resorting to giving unpleasant dishes various numbers of "asshairs" and "pubic hairs" Endo is notorious for using Frisk, a brand of very strong breath mint, in his food. The resultsare usually disastrous and very distasteful. Yamazaki frequently uses junk food such as cheese puffs for rice, onigiriand sausages for taiyaki, hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, fries and coke soda for nabe, peanut butter fortakoyaki, and jelly beans for tempura. Matsumoto usually introduces very unusual (and occasionally inedible)ingredients such as a bear's paw for takikomi gohan, pig's and tuna's head for pizza, a dried cobra for nabe, a seal'stesticle for takoyaki, and toothpaste for pasta. Hamada is notable for using corn bread and corn soup for Tempura,and thus was the only one who ever received the unprecedented Angel mark. If there was a food item that none ofthe cast members wanted to eat, producer Heipo was forced to eat it, always resulting in him spitting the food out orexpressing utter disgust except in the case of the individual bee larvae tempura.

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Kiki seriesThis is a series of competitions where each member tastes a randomly selected product, mostly food and drink butonce cigarettes, from many different brands blindfolded. After the tasting period, they must find the product theytasted. Anyone who selects correctly will receive a prize money, usually 100,000 yen, otherwise they take a varietyof punishments, such as being hit in the groin by a Chinko Machine or getting slapped by a foreigner.(Almir)

Goodbye, YamasakiAn annual running gag since 2001, the audience is told that Yamasaki is leaving the show (when he really is not).This includes farewell speeches from the cast and some crew members, who give flowers to a distressed Yamasaki.Yamasaki then makes his own speech, but ends up sobbing hysterically and is dragged offstage. However, thisalways ends with Yamasaki telling them that he's not leaving, because he pulled a prank on Downtown andCocorico.

High Tension seriesThis is a series where comedians perform their special high-tension acts. There are two patterns of the show. One isin "The Best Ten" show, which is a parody of countdown shows. The hosts are Hamada and Matsumoto, wearing ablack tuxedo and a woman's dress, respectively. The other is in a team competition between Team Hamada andTeam Matsumoto.In "The Best Ten" format, three other regular casts also perform and usually present in certain places; Tanaka at the10th, Endo, usually with greased hair and wears nothing but white underpants, in the top half, and Yamasaki at the1st.

Genkai seriesThe Genkai series is a series of challenges involving foods and how much they can change the pronunciation of thesefoods while still being able to order them at a restaurant or cafe. For example, for one challenge, they started withordering "ice coffee" at a cafe, then switched to "ice moffee", "nice coffee", "mice moffee", "nice coach", "aisouwarai" (a phrase meaning "pretending to laugh when it's not funny"), "coffee coffee", "atsui coffee" (meaning "hotcoffee"), "tansu nouhin" ("dresser delivery"), "aitsu mouii" ("i've had enough of that guy"), "high society", "ironhero", and finally "OuYang FeiFei" (a Chinese singer). Predictably, the waiter/waitress becomes confused and eithergives up trying to understand or berates the person ordering.Other challenges include: Hiyashi Chuuka "cold noodles", Mild Seven "a cigarette brand", Katsu Kare "pork cutletand curry rice", Chashumen "ramen noodles with chashu pork", Naporitan (Neapolitan) "spaghetti-like noodles",Omuraisu "rice with ketchup and egg"

Gas NukiThe cast enter a restaurant where they have to fart to eat the next meal course. Done in a French restaurant and aSushi restaurant.

Yamasaki VS MorimanA series of comedic fighting bouts between Yamasaki and Holstein Morio of the female comedian duo Moriman.The main running gag is that Yamasaki has never won a match since 1996.The event also features Endo's wrestling alter ego Dynamite Shikoku. He is accompanied to the ring by 2 women inkimonos and proceeds to fight in a match. The running gag is that he pulls a leg muscle during the match, and healways loses. After being checked out by the ringside doctor (Konya Ga Yamada), the match ends and Shikokustands back up to address the crowd. After the speech he invites the crowd to join him in his trademark dance and is

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 17

promptly taken out of the ring in a stretcher.

Technician ChallengeThe Technician Challenge series is a series of sex-related challenges from Matsumoto to the other regular members,expanding in later series to include some semi-regulars. Matsumoto sends a letter, including a hand-drawn map, tothe assembled other members through his manager. The manager leads the members to Matsumoto, who explains thechallenge. Each challenge is sex-related and comes with an appropriate punishment for the lowest achiever. The firstchallenge was speed bra-unhooking, where the members had to unhook the bras on a certain number of mannequinsas quickly as possible. Other challenges include speed kissing (kissing plastic lips on the walls while travelingthrough a corridor), speed nipple-play (pressing the nipples of mannequins with bells for breasts), speed hipmovement (pumping an air pump using their hips), and speed panty removal (removing the panties from tenmannequins using only their feet). The punishments all followed the theme of the challenge (speed bra-unhookinghad the worst achiever walk around town wearing a bra, speed panty removal had the worst achiever walk aroundtown wearing panties on his head).

Shoji Murakami's Class seriesA series where the cast learns to be a worker in a specific occupation. Shoji Murakami usually has everyone try outand do absurd or abnormal activities. Some notable occupations include: pilot, green beret, ninja, ghostbusters,geisha, dracula, etc.

500 QuestionsThe cast is asked 500 questions, which all pertain to the opinions and preferences of the person being interviewed.These questions usually begin with: "What is your favourite?", "Which is the most interesting?", etc. A matchinganswer will earn them a point. After 500 questions, either the person with the most number of points wins a prize orthe person with the least number of points gets a punishment. Notable people who were questioned were: Tanaka,Hamada, Yamasaki's wife Aya, singer Wada Akiko, makeup artist IKKO, Sano Motoharu, Matsuko Deluxe,journalist and broadcaster Tahara Sichir, Downtown's former manager Fujiwara Hiroshi and manga artist KazuoUmezu.

Five Rangers GameIn this challenge, all five cast members enter separate dressing rooms and each randomly dress as one of the fivecolors of Gorenjai (sentai characters from Downtown's other show, Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji), and they attemptto complete all five different colors in 6 hours. The odds that the five cast members choose all the same colors is5/3125 (0.16%), while the odds of the cast successfully choosing all different colors is 120/3125 (3.84%). Thechallenge is based on the main running gag of the Gorenjai sketches: that the team members couldn't decide whowore which colors.On occasion, Ameagari Kesshitai join the regular cast in a Seven Rangers Game (nanarenjai), featuring twoadditional colors (black and white) added to the regular Gorenjai color configuration. The odds of winningnanarenjai are 5040/823,543 (0.612%), while the odds of losing are only 7/823,543 (0.00085%).The rules for all variations of Gorenjai are exactly the same as in a Five Rangers Game.

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 18

Cosplay Bus Tour seriesThe bus series usually includes the main cast plus some of the producers or guests cosplaying or dressing up in dragand playing mini games in a bus going around popular Tokyo locations. When one of the players loses a mini-game,he is dropped off in a public location and forced to walk back to the studio alone and looking quite absurd. Pastthemes include female anime characters, kogals, SM queens, and Pink Lady (Japanese pop music idols of the late1970s).One memorable moment was during the Anime Bus Tour, when Yamasaki (dressed as Arale from Dr. Slump) wasdropped off and told to buy take-out spaghetti for the entire cast on his way back. He attempted to walk back withoutbuying any, but on his way, he ran into fellow contestant Miyasako of the comedy duo Ameagari Kesshitai, who hadalso been dropped off (dressed as Kekk Kamen). They bought the spaghetti together. Upon arriving at the studio,Miyasako revealed that Yamasaki had tried to return without buying the food. Appalled and outraged, Matsumotoordered him to go buy spaghetti in Italyspecifically, to go to the "very tip of its heel", referring to the country'sdistinct boot-like shape. A few weeks later, Yamasaki was forced to fly to Lecce, Italy to buy a plate of spaghettifrom a restaurant, all the while still dressed as Arale.

Matsumoto challengesThis series are scenarios where Gaki members help Matsumoto achieve his dreams to break world records. Thesedreams are physically impossible for Matsumoto to accomplish. Gaki memembers would dress as Kuroko,stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre, to help Matsumoto break these world records.

Broadcasting TV stations Nippon TV, Sapporo TV, Aomori Broadcasting Corp., Miyagi TV, Akita Broadcasting System, Inc., Yamagata

Broadcasting Co., Fukushima Central TV, Yamanashi Broadcasting System, TV Niigata, TV Shinshu, KitanihonBroadcasting Co., TV Kanazawa, Fukui Broadcasting Co., Nihonkai TV, Yamaguchi Broadcasting Co.,Nishinippon Broadcasting Co., Nankai Broadcasting Co., Kochi Broadcasting Co., Nagasaki International TV,Kumamoto Kemmin TV, TV ita, Kagoshima Yomiuri TV - from 10:56 p.m. until 11:26 p.m. every Sunday(JST)

TV Iwate, Shizuoka Daiichi TV, Fukuoka Broadcasting Corp. - from 12:50 a.m. until 1:20 a.m. every Sunday(JST)

Chukyo TV - from 12:38 a.m. until 1:10 a.m. every Friday (JST) Yomiuri TV, Shikoku Broadcasting Co. - from 12:53 a.m. until 1:23 a.m. every Thursday (JST) Hiroshima TV - from 12:59 a.m. until 1:29 a.m. every Thursday (JST) Miyazaki Broadcasting Co.(affiliated with JNN and TBS Network) - from 12:25 a.m. until 12:55 a.m. every

Saturday (JST) Ryukyu Broadcasting Corp. (affiliated with JNN and TBS Network) - from 12:58 a.m. until 1:35 a.m. every

Sunday (JST)

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! 19

Notes and references[1] http:/ / www. ntv. co. jp/ gaki/[2] Japan Zone article (http:/ / www. japan-zone. com/ modern/ comedian2. shtml) Retrieved on 2008-2-21. "The biggest name in comedy duos

has to be Downtown."[3] LINCOLN, Episode aired on 2005-11-29. A

large group of younger comedians express their fear of Hamada, which Matsumoto tries to help over come in this episode.

External links Official website (http:/ / www. ntv. co. jp/ gaki/ ) at ntv.co.jp Official Merchandise Distributor Site (http:/ / www. randc. jp/ downtown/ discography. html) Gaki No Tsukai International Fan Forum (http:/ / gaki-no-tsukai. com/ index. php)

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ 20

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ"Hey! Hey! Hey!" redirects here. For other uses, see Hey (disambiguation).

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music ChampGenre Variety show

Presented by Hitoshi MatsumotoMasatoshi Hamada

Country of origin Japan

Original language(s) Japanese

No. of episodes 745

Production

Running time 54 minutes

Broadcast

Original channel Fuji Television

Original airing October 17, 1994-December 17, 2012

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ was a Japanese music variety show on Fuji Television hosted by the comedy duoDowntown, which consists of Hitoshi Matsumoto and Masatoshi Hamada. It is a very popular show with comicalhosts who like to pick on their guests. An episode usually consists of live performances (of recently released songs)from popular artists, chat segments and other fun and games.Many famous singers such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Britney Spears, Utada Hikaru, and Namie Amuro have performedalmost all of their singles on this show. Japanese rock artists such as Glay, X Japan, Alice Nine, The Gazette,Nightmare, Gackt, and L'Arc-en-Ciel have also been on the show performing their hit singles as well as playinggames with the hosts. All bands signed under Johnny & Associates have also appeared on the show as guests andhave performed their latest hit songs. South Korean boybands Big Bang, TVXQ and girl groups S.E.S., Girls'Generation, and Kara have also appeared on the show.On September 18, 2012, Fuji TV announced that "Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ" would end its run after eighteenyears. The series finale aired on December 17, 2012.

Segments

Music mixtureIn this quiz game segment, four or five teams of one or more individuals try to guess songs as they are played four ata time. (As each song is correctly guessed, they are eliminated from the mixture.) Each song has a descending pointvalue, from 40 for the first song guessed to 10 for the last.The game is played in four rounds, with the final round determining the winner in one of two ways through a randomdraw. The "NG" variation has one of the four songs in the final rounds taking away 100 points from theindividual/team who guessed it. The "Lucky" variation is exactly the reverse: one of the final round songs gives 100points to the individual/team who guessed it.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ 21

Telephone boxIn this interview segment, guests are interviewed over a telephone in an English-style phone box.

Rainichi-InThis interview segment focuses on non-Japanese artists that have a loyal following in Japan, such as Ne-Yo andBritney Spears.

Hoshi no resutoran (The Star restaurant)This segment is a combination interview/cooking show: a chef from a restaurant selected by the guest(s) ashis/her/their favorite restaurant cooks for that guest and Downtown. One notable example of this is when X Japanco-founder Yoshiki noted the Shibuya-based restaurant La Rochelle as his favorite place.The restaurant's owner/head chef, Hiroyuki Sakai, came on the show to cook a special dish for Yoshiki.

Other competitionsMiscellaneous competition segments have also occurred over the show's run, many of which started rivalriesbetween Downtown and guests. One such example is a 1999 billiards competition between entertainer MasaharuFukuyama and Hitoshi Matsumoto, which led to an Iron Chef battle between the two.

References

External links Official website (http:/ / www. fujitv. co. jp/ HEY/ ) (Japanese)

Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji 22

Downtown no Gottsu Ee KanjiDowntown no Gottsu Ee Kanji ( , roughly "Downtown's FeelingReal Good"), was a Japanese variety show. It premiered on December 8, 1991 and ended its run on November 2,1997. It aired on Fuji Television every Sunday night. Hosted by the comedy duo Downtown (consisting of MasatoshiHamada and Hitoshi Matsumoto), it had several other actors and comedians in its regular cast, including You, KojiImada, Koji Higashino, Itsuji Itao, Ryoko Shinohara and Honkon (Takahiro Kurano).Like most other Japanese variety shows, it featured guest interviews and games, but it is best known andremembered for its sketch comedy. Downtown and other cast members would dress in costumes and perform absurdskits with bizarre characters.

Recurring Sketches and CharactersAHO AHO MAN

Moron Moron Man. A fecal-filled-underwear-wearing superhero (played by Matsumoto) who has to save ayoung boy named Kentar (played by Hamada) from the evil Ohoho Aliens. As his name suggests, he showslittle intelligence or common sense and constantly pulls out useless "aho aho items" that have no effect on thevillains. In the end, Kentar loses his temper over the hero's ineptitude and defeats the aliens himself.

Seikimatsu Sentai Gorenjai

Translating to English as End of Century Heroes Five Range-i, it is a parody of Himitsu Sentai Gorenger --the last syllable in renjaa ("ranger") is replaced to avoid copyright issues. Each episode begins with the evilDokuro Kamen ("Skull Mask", played by Hamada) attacking a woman (played by You) in her home. Thesentai heroes, the five renjai, then burst into the scene one at a time to save her and attempt to fight DokuroKamen, who is too distracted and unable to fight due to their appearances.In the first episode, they have three red renjai and two yellow (breaking the usual sentai convention of havingeach hero in a different colour). Dokuro Kamen lectures them and tells them to try better next time. Eachsubsequent episode has Dokuro Kamen attacking the same woman in the same room (often stopping for afriendly chat with the lady's friend before he attacks her), and the renjai appearing in mismatched costumes --such as Tiger Mask, Falkor, and a waitress from a No-pan Shabu shabu-- or ridiculously modified versions oftheir uniforms. The episodes end with Dokuro Kamen scolding the renjai, pointing out exactly what is wrong,and sending them off home.

Mr. BATERMatsumoto plays an American living in Japan, Mr. Bater (hailing from Oklahoma), who wears glasses and awhite suit and speaks in the kansai dialect. In each episode, he enters a small business (such as a clothing store,barber, and jewelry store) always run by the same clerk (played by Kji Imada), a well-meaning butdim-witted man who never speaks. Mr. Bater claims he is on his way to a party and makes a simple request,such as meat for a barbecue, or a new pair of shoes. The clerk mishears or misinterprets his requests and bringshim the wrong item, e.g. a jytan (carpet) instead of gytan (beef tongue). Mr. Bater plays the clown for abrief moment and goes along with it (called norittsukomi), until he snaps back into "straight man" mode andangrily points out the clerk's mistake. This repeats until Mr. Bater finally gets fed up and storms out, as theclerk smiles at the camera. "Bater" is a foreign sounding pronunciation of the Japanese word "Beta," whichmeans lame. Matsumoto also frequently mentions Imada's real life sexual escapades in passing, resulting in avery flustered Imada.

Hkago Denshiha Kurabu

Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji 23

Translating to English as After School Electromagnetic Wave Club, this sketch features Kji Imada andKji Higashi as "North Pole" and "South Pole," wearing nothing but helmets, gloves, and revealing thongs andholding giant U-shaped magnets. They act like characters in an after school special, teaching the viewersbusiness world manners. The magnets, as they proclaim, are used to "draw out evil." Due to their skimpyattire, a mosaic is often applied over their groins whenever there is wardrobe malfunction.Imada and Higashi's outrageous appearances have caused screenshots of their characters to be widelycirculated on the Internet.

Tokage no Ossan

Old Man Lizard, Matsumoto plays a lonely half-lizard, half-middle aged man who lives in the park. A youngboy named Masa (played by Hamada) feeds him on a regular basis. When Masa reveals he has less time forthe lizard man now that he has a pet dog, the lizard man tries to convince him to let him live in his house as asecond pet. The first episode of "Tokage no Ossan" was broadcast simultaneously during a major sportingevent, so Downtown simply ad-libbed most of the dialogue and worked quite loosely with the long sketch outof the expectation that nobody was watching anyway, but it eventually became famous enough to warrantrepeat episodes.

Shota

Itsuji Itao plays a man attending the funeral services for a young boy named Shota (Matsumoto). Unbeknownstto everyone else at the service, Shota, oblivious to his recently departed status, is bored and appears before Itaoand asks if he wants to play. Itao initially refuses, trying to tell Shota that he is dead. Somehow, Shota's pranksappear to happen in real life. Itao tries to cover up Shota's pranks by playing along, such as singing on amini-karaoke machine Shota produces, making noises when Shota sets off some firecrackers, and evenengaging in a wrestling match with a monk. The pranks get increasingly erratic, perturbing the bereavedfamily (Hamada and You) and the monk (Higashino) performing the service. The skit ends with Itao drivingeveryone away from the funeral.

Article Sources and Contributors 24

Article Sources and ContributorsDowntown (owarai) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=612792953 Contributors: Andycjp, BD2412, Cdf333fad3a, Charles Nguyen, DAJF, DocWatson42, Eastend,Emperorbma, Freshgavin, Frietjes, Hatto, HelloAnnyong, Icarus of old, Isida1028, JTST4RS, Kaidanshi0731, Kintetsubuffalo, Kyoww, LeoNomis, Mailer diablo, Minlilin, Muzyau,Neoyamaneko, Noveltyghost, Ocee, Ochama, Pappat708, Penpen, Prosperosity, Prymephyre, Ranma9617, Rjwilmsi, Ronebofh, Ryulong, ShelfSkewed, Space matsumoto, TakTak, Tigers boy,Tmkain, Tokek, WereSpielChequers, Xfansd, 44 anonymous edits

Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=614618176 Contributors: 293.xx.xxx.xx, Alanarsenal, Amandaljh, Andycjp,Angelspackersrock, Antster1983, Arunforce, Arunsingh16, Babitaarora, BlackRainbow, Brainyiscool, Bxj, Cattus, Ccacsmss, Closedmouth, Colonies Chris, DAJF, Danorux, DeadTotoro,Dogcow, Dolan.oneill, Dragfyre, DragonLord1975, Ed Poor, Egocentrism04, Excirial, Ezhuks, FFLaguna, Fred26, Freshgavin, FromKyoto, Haaninjo, Hajiru, Hex-1-ene, Highconclave, InTransit, J.smith, JTST4RS, Jayhao123, Jdawg2o4, Jh51681, Jhlynes, John of Reading, JohnI, Juliamae, Jyril, Jyuu, Kaiteng316, Kaori Makube, Kiminatheguardian, KiwikidCP7, Krazykinger,Laitammy22, LeeWilson, Lightmouse, LilHelpa, Livetvsports, Magioladitis, Manarandolph, Masic88, Mayur, Michael Devore, Mikemill, Mogism, Moncrief, Mopopolis, Nekohakase,NeoSuperBlissey, Nukleon, Od Mishehu AWB, Pars.dextrum, R'n'B, Rbras75, Rjwilmsi, Ryulong, Sambangs, Saralicia, Shihushonen, Shu ster, Sinistralogy, Slowlikemolasses, Soursimon, Spacematsumoto, Sparky-sama, Strider02, Technopat, TheFarix, TheRealFennShysa, Tigers boy, Tokugawapants, Tydus Arandor, Unicogirl, Veniks, Viking Rollo, Wani, WhisperToMe, Wolf of Ice,Woohookitty, Wrightbus, Yasser96, ZX81, ZayZayEM, Zomno, 360 anonymous edits

Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=579088711 Contributors: A Nobody, DAJF, DalilaDaf, Derek R Bullamore, Dnssgh, Dreadstar, Freshgavin,Gjd001, Hatto, John of Reading, KPH2293, Kenzilla, Laepo, Ling.Nut, MarkSutton, Moon star farie, NeoSuperBlissey, Od Mishehu AWB, Ortensia, Panyd, Paralympic, Prymephyre, RJFJR,ShelfSkewed, Soshisujushinee, The Anome, Tide rolls, Tigers boy, Tydus Arandor, West.andrew.g, Yoshinatsu, YumeChaser, 54 anonymous edits

Downtown no Gottsu Ee Kanji Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=563624297 Contributors: 293.xx.xxx.xx, Axis schmaxis, Cattus, Dragfyre, Kusunose, Merovingian,Ryulong, S7rugg1e, Space matsumoto, 11 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 25

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Flag of Japan.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_Japan.svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Anomie

License 26

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