ILLUSTRATIONS Evandro Marenda
10. Convoluted answers
PROGRAM Takara-Sagashi Adventure Nazotoki Battle Tore! (2011-2013)
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In a frame of this Nippon Television program, a candidate is placed in a scenario that resembles an Egyptian pyramid, where a sphinx asks him questions. While not completing the answer, the participant is wrapped in white tape by a machine and becomes a mummy. The time available is too short to mention, among other things, the “seven best-selling dog breeds in Japanese pet stores”
9. Hunger for victory
PROGRAM hamburger game(2013)
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Famous blogger in Japan, Ken Sekine created in 2011 a YouTube channel called Megwin TV. The Hamburger Game, one of the “programs”, is a good example of the insanity of Ken and his troupe. In a single afternoon, three members drive through the streets of Los Angeles to visit ten diners and eat a hamburger at each one. The challenge is to know if everyone will endure the food
8. Director’s Cut
PROGRAM Takeshi’s Castle (1986-1990)
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Many frames of Brazilian auditorium programs were inspired by him. The goal was to overcome several barriers, unconventional, and reach a castle. The participant, for example, dressed as a bird, was guided in the air by a rope and had to pick up a rabbit with his feet and hit it in a nest. But perhaps the strangest thing was that, in the end, there was a “boss” to beat, played by actor Takeshi Kitano, who would become known as a director of cult films.
7. Tetris or water
PROGRAM Minasan no Okage Deshita (1994-)
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With versions in several countries, human Tetris was made for the first time in this program. Participants need to go through the hole of a moving board. Those who fail to do so hit the sign and fall into a pool of water. The problem is that some holes are shaped to require ridiculous poses or acrobatics, while others are simply impossible to get through.
6. Almost Deadly Games
PROGRAM Missitsu Nazotoki Variety Dasshutsu Game Dero! (2009-2011)
In this Nippon TV game, participants need to solve puzzles in rooms that simulate some absurd danger – there is one with crushing walls, another that floods, a third whose floor opens into a “bottomless pit”, one in which they sink in sand, and so on. All races are played as a group, with some requiring collaboration to overcome insane challenges
5. Nordic Japanese
PROGRAM Viking: The Ultimate Obstacle Course (2005-2007)
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Filmed in Tokyo Bay, the show features a candidate to become a Japanese Viking. For this, he needs to perform several extremely difficult physical and acrobatic tests, which include crossing scenarios with only the strength of his arms, climbing and moving with ropes. To date, the program has not had a winner. Only one participant managed to go to the final stage, but was unsuccessful
4. Animal world
PROGRAM Tokyo Friend Park 2 (1994-2011)
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From Japanese boy band Arashi to baseball players, many people have appeared on this TBS game show. Every week, celebrity guests dress up as zebra, fox, rabbit and teddy bear to run up a sloping ramp and try to drive a stake as high as possible. There is other equally bizarre evidence. Whoever wins can win several prizes, but if he fails the final challenge (a game of darts), he only takes a small sponge home
3. Out of the box
PROGRAM Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! (1989-)
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In Wall of Boxes, four people stand on top of walls made of cardboard boxes. Football teams, drummers, monks and other groups enter the stage and destroy the walls – the challenge is not to fall. Another game, perhaps even more bizarre, trapped participants’ faces with rubber bands and forced them to compete who could eat a dangling marshmallow the fastest.
2. Silent riot
PROGRAM Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!! (1989-)
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Same game show, another frame. In this one, which became famous worldwide, six people need to be quiet while carrying out difficult tasks in a library setting. Each round brings some challenge, such as receiving a tarantula in the face, having a nose hair removed at once with tweezers or being slapped by a machine, among other tests. Brazilian MTV aired a British version of this game, the program Fist of Zen
1. Crossed the line
PROGRAM Susunu! Denpa Shonen (1998-2002)
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This Nihon TV show featured high-difficulty “challenges” that could go on for months. In one of the most famous, comedian Nasubi was trapped in a room naked for 15 months, with the condition that he would only leave after winning 1 million yen in magazine contests (and without knowing that his routine was broadcast on TV). In another, two comedians had to travel penniless from Hong Kong to London, facing hunger and poverty. And in a third, two participants were taken to a desert island with the obligation to build a raft to return to Tokyo – when they managed, the production changed the rule and gave them a pedal boat to return. Under accusations of torture, the Japanese government forced the show to be canceled in 2002.
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SOURCES Websites new york post It is Tofugu and books A World of Curiositiesby John Oldale, Japanese Television Series (various authors), Television in Japan (various authors) and The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Cultureby Mark Schillin