Kato-chan Ken-chan Gokigen TV
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens.
Channel surfing one Saturday evening, JQS and I came across what looked like a samurai drama. As we stopped to look, a battle scene began. Suddenly very fake-looking blood was spurting like water from a hose. Just as I began wondering why I wasn't grossed out, the credits cut to Kato-chan (Cha Kato) and Ken-chan's (Ken Shimura) variety show theme song. Something like the Carol Burnett show in the 1970s, Kato/Ken was a mix of skits, girl pop singers, and home videos (later imported to the USA as America's Funniest Home Videos. Look for Kato/Ken in the end credits).
This is the show that helped us take Japan not so seriously. Kato and Ken poke fun at traditional holidays and festivals, the yakuza, onsen, bar girls, and daily life in Tokyo. They are total slackers, and yet they live in a really cool apartment. It's slapstick comedy all the way--there's no language barrier here. Extremely lowbrow humor. Prepare to be offended (8-year-old boys of all ethnicities seem to really like it). My high-school students, however, seemed appalled that I'd watch anything so completely uncool.
Detective Story Theme Song (2.7 MB QuickTime movie) This clip was taped in Japan on VHS in 1991, transferred to mini-DV, then made into a QuickTime movie.
Yatta!
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens.
Update: November 25, 2002
A Yatta! parody. Can you parody a parody? Apparently.
Update: June 7, 2002
Okay fans of wacky Japanese televison. Try this commercial for Game Boy commercial for Dr. Mario, circa 1990.
Dr. Mario Commercial (Quicktime)
Update: Apr 25, 2002
Sorry. Since I originally posted this entry, the Yatta video I linked to disappeared. If you're looking for the Yatta clip, you'll find it on syberpunk. And other interesting stuff, too.
For more information about Yatta in Japanese (no video clip, but contains nice photos) click here.
Yatta!
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens.
Update: November 25, 2002
A Yatta! parody. Can you parody a parody? Apparently.
Update: June 7, 2002
Okay fans of wacky Japanese televison. Try this commercial for Game Boy commercial for Dr. Mario, circa 1990.
Dr. Mario Commercial (Quicktime)
Update: Apr 25, 2002
Sorry. Since I originally posted this entry, the Yatta video I linked to disappeared. If you're looking for the Yatta clip, you'll find it on syberpunk. And other interesting stuff, too.
For more information about Yatta in Japanese (no video clip, but contains nice photos) click here.
Video Letter
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens.
Classic Japanese home video from the Kato-chan Ken-chan show. How long do you think Gran and Gramps have been married?
Although it makes the download longer, I left Ken Shimura's and Cha Kato's reaction at the end. They usually react with polite interest, but after watching this video, everyone just lost it. I think that is almost as funny as the video itself.
View Video Letter (2.6 Mb QuickTime)
Perfect Pink Bath
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens.
I love Japanese baths. Even after years of living in America, I'm still disgusted by taking a bath when the tub is right next to the toilet. The bathroom in my Japanese apartment was not ideal. It had the smallest, cheapest tub on the market, in the standard aqua. A towel rack and a shower with hot running water would have been a great improvement.
So every time this commercial came on the air, I exclaimed and sighed in unison with the woman in the advert. Although I have yet to build my perfect Japanese bath, my bathroom is pink (with a hideous aqua tub). It's as if the household gods granted only part of my wish and gave me the wrong part.
QuickTime Movie (706 Kb)
