You gotta love Japan. This is because they put on shows like these:

1. Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!

Yes, those are two - count ‘em - two exclamation points in the title!

Downtown (ダウンタウン) is a Japanese comedy duo made up of Hitoshi Matsumoto (松本人志) and Masatoshi Hamada (浜田雅功). They are extremely popular and are responsible for another TV shown called HEY! HEY! HEY! MUSIC CHAMP. (I guess the Japanese really love their exclamation points!)

Anyway, the show actually has different games on it. Most are related to something called Batsu (罰ゲーム), which means “punishment game”. Basically, if you lose a question, challenge, whatever, you receive a punishment, which is usually physically painful. Hahaha! Funny!

No Laughing . This speaks for itself. Don’t laugh or you get punished…

English is hard.

(see more vids after the jump!!)

Anyway, a popular segment on the show is called Silent Library. People in a library draw cards. If you get one with a skull-and-crossbones, you have to undergo some kind of punishment. Please try to stay quiet while receiving your punishment. After all, this is a library.

2. Troop of One Hundred

I’m not sure if the name of this show really is called “Troop of One Hundred” or if it’s just one of many different segments on a variety show. It’s funny, though, and surprisingly, tame.

Flash mob, indeed.

3. Susunu! Denpa Shōnen

Loosely translated into something like “don’t go for it, electric boy!”, this was a reality show that aired between 1998 and 2002. The highlight involved a dude named Nasubi. Get a load of this:

Nasubi a Japanese comedian who was locked up in an apartment for the show, kinda like Oldboy. He was forced to enter mail-in sweepstakes until he won ¥1 million (about $10,000). During this time, he was made to wear no clothes, was cut off from outside communication and broadcasting, and had nothing to keep him company except magazines. Nasubi lived in front of the camera, with only the possessions he won via the sweepstakes, and the stacks of postcards for entering the sweepstakes.

Upon reaching his goal, he was clothed and blindfolded to be taken to a surprise location. Nasubi happily went along believing he was going to get a special treat for his hard work. After they unblindfolded him, he found himself in Korea where he was shown around the town and taken to an apartment. They once again stripped of his clothes and forced to do the same thing again there to win enough money to get back home. His entire ordeal lasted some 15 months, during which time his diaries on his experience of being locked away from the outside world became a best seller in Japan.

Hmm, I wonder if Nasubi really was an inspiration for Oldboy. More about Nasubi at the Quirky Japan Homepage.

4. Slapped in the Balls

I honestly don’t know what the real title to this TV show is, but if I had to guess, it would probably be very close to the Japanese equivalent of “Slapped in the Balls”.

I hope these guys can still conceive. Hmm, well maybe I don’t.

5. Human Tetris

This is so totally brilliant that I wonder why it wasn’t thought of before. I’ll say nothing more.. just watch: