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【Fixed】 Collection of Ingenious Short Skits From the Japanese Program That Brought Us “Matrix Ping Pong” Now on YouTube
Kasou Taisho, or All Japan Kasoh (Costume) Grand Prix, is a semi-annual televised contest in which amateur groups or individuals perform short skits which are rated by a panel of judges.
Many of the skits make extensive use of kurogo: stagehands dressed in all black to imply they are “invisible” to the audience while they move around props or actors on stage. This allows performers to create clever illusions and “fake” special effects, such as in the classic “Matrix Ping Pong” skit, which you can see above.
Having been on the air for more than 30 years, the show no doubt has an extensive library of short, funny video clips—or as we call it these days, internet crack. And finally figuring out that crack sells, Kasou Taisho has posted nearly 100 of their finest skits from over the years for your viewing pleasure on YouTube.
We hope you weren’t planning on doing anything productive over the next half hour…
【Video】How to Communicate With Your Pet Hedgehog Using Your Feet
- Steven
Nov 15, 2012
While all those spines may make the hedgehog look like one of the last animals you’d want to let run around in your house, certain species of the animal are actually fairly popular pets in certain parts of the world.
The African pygmy hedgehog, for example, is one of the most popular domesticated species and have been known to cozy up to their owners quite nicely.
Koutaro Maeno, a Japanese entomology researcher living in the West African country of Mauritania and proud owner of two African pygmy hedgehogs, has uploaded some rather bizarre video showing just how…tolerant the beasts can be of humans.
Sh*t Japanese Girls Say and Other Hilarious Truths From an American Living in Japan
- Steven
Nov 6, 2012
Shit Girls Say is a comedy web series that pokes fun at the cliches and stereotypes associated with young female speech.
Of course, there’s a good chance you probably knew this; the videos have racked up more than 32 million combined views to date and spawned countless parodies exploring the quirky verbal mannerisms of black girls, single girls, Asian moms and more.
Well now Japan is finally in on the joke with “Sh*t Japanese Girls Say.”
- Internet, Japan
- (Japanese women • medamasensei • video • YouTube)
Gangnam Style as Performed by an Adorable 4-Year-Old Japanese Girl
- Steven
Nov 5, 2012
Some of you may remember Kazuki, the adorable Japanese 4-year-old diva who’s cosplay habits are encouraged by her mother and posted to YouTube via her channel, Kazuki’s Room.
In her latest performance, Kazuki has finally jumped on the internet fad bandwagon and covered Gangnam Style. Her moves may not be accurate and her costumes may only be vaguely similar to Psy’s, but it doesn’t matter because she’s just so darn cute.
Check the video after the jump!
Sadistic Super Mario World is Back with New Levels, Made by Friends for Friends…
- Philip Kendall
Nov 2, 2012
If you’re anything like me, you spent tens, if not hundreds of hours during the 1990s in front of a TV set playing Super Nintendo games like Super Mario World.
The game is often heralded as the greatest 2-D Mario game ever made, and is still played even 22 years (feel old yet!?) after its original launch.
You’d be wrong, though, if you thought that people were still playing just the levels that Nintendo crafted for its consumers decades ago; throughout the world there are entire groups of people with ROM files and hacked versions of the original game code who are regularly creating new levels, sometimes entire worlds, of their very own.
But why create nice, gentle levels filled with dancing flowers and 1-up mushrooms when you could create the most sadistic, mind-bending stages ever conceived of and force your friends to play through them?
Baby Sun Bear Can’t Quite Reach the Door Knob, Cuteness Ensues
- Master Blaster
Oct 23, 2012
A sun bear cub residing in Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo was videoed having a frustrating time dealing with the door to its den. It would seem the handle to the door was juuuuust out of reach of the bemused bear cub. Even standing on its tip-toes it can’t quite make it. Then it starts spinning around, gets dizzy and falls on its back.
Prepare to go “Awww” hard.
Japanese Juggler Elevates the Art, Superhuman Performance Caught on Tape
- Master Blaster
Oct 20, 2012
Most people think the art of juggling is played out. We think we’ve seen it all from balls to batons to even the point that flaming chainsaws gets yawns from spectators. But a performance at the 2012 Japan Juggling Festival by a mysterious juggler called Yanazo drew gasps and a standing ovation from the crowd.
Even only using a single ball he is captivating to watch. If you can catch a ball with the outside of your elbow then congratulations: You can do about a half a second of this six minute act.
Japanese Video Sharing Site Niconico Wants YOU to Translate Their Videos, Launches New English Interface
- Steven
Oct 18, 2012
While most of us use YouTube to upload homemade productions and watch funny cat videos, much of Japan still turns to their domestic video sharing site, Nico Nico Douga.
Yet whereas YouTube sees content from users across the world, Nico Nico Douga has remained primarily an exclusive club for Japanese speakers since it began in 2006. An English language beta website, Niconico.com, was launched in early 2011, but failed to generate interest even among foreign users of the Japanese site, due in part to the separation of Japanese and English videos between two domains.
Perhaps realizing that they’ll never be able to attract a sizable userbase from YouTube, Nico Nico Douga has shifted its strategy away from encouraging original English content to making its Japanese content more accessible to English speakers, replacing the English website with an English interface for the Japanese domain, nicovideo.jp.
- Internet, Japan
- (business • Evangelion • Hatsune Miku • meme • Nico Nico Douga • niconico • YouTube)
This is the Most Adorable 4-Year-Old Japanese Girl You Will Ever See
- Steven
Oct 13, 2012
Like many other little girls, 4-year-old Kazuki loves to play dress up, dance around the room and sing her heart out. What sets her apart from other toddler divas though, is that she has a mother just as enthusiastic about her playtime habits as she is.
When Kazuki says she wants to become Hatsune Miku, mom wastes no time in hitting the sewing machine. Once her custom outfit is done, mom sticks a microphone in her hand, starts the music, and its lights, camera, action.
Not wanting to keep her daughter’s talent to herself, Kazuki’s mom created the YouTube channel “Kazuki’s Room” to share their playroom productions with the world. We’ve posted a few of the best below. Just make sure to have a pillow or something soft on hand to squeeze the life out of because these videos are unbearably adorable.
Zen and the Art of Flushing: Japanese Man Installs Bamboo Fountain on Toilet
- Steven
Oct 12, 2012
Among other things, the toilet is a place for peaceful introspection. It provides an isolated and quiet space for us to devote a few minutes from our busy schedules to just sit and think.
Some people seek to enhance the spiritually soothing properties of the toilet by adorning their bathroom in calming pastel colors or setting a bowl of potpourri or other aromatic atop the toilet’s porcelain tank.
One Japanese person, true to his culture, has taken excremeditation to new levels by installing a working traditional Japanese bamboo fountain on top of his toilet.
- Uncategorized
- (bathroom • fountain • garden • Nico Nico Douga • shishi-odoshi • toilet • YouTube)
Viral Video Worlds Collide: Hitler Raps to Gangnam Style
- Master Blaster
Oct 6, 2012
Hey! You got your Hitler videos in my K-Pop! You got your K-Pop in my Hitler videos! Who would have thought that these two viral video titans would blend together so well?
The Chinese genius who created Dictator Rap: Gangnam Style from Hitler, that’s who.
The maker goes by the name Fei Yu from Luoyang, China, who posted the video on Chinese video site, bilibili.tv. From there it spread to YouTube and infamy.
- Internet
- (Downfall • GANGNAM STYLE • Hitler • mash up • Psy • viral video • YouTube)
Inspiring or Inconsiderate? Foreigner Plays Guitar for Frustrated Train Passengers While Stranded in Typhoon
- Steven
Oct 5, 2012
On Sept. 30, Typhoon Jelawat struck the eastern part of Aichi prefecture, Japan and then proceeded to move north, causing flight delays and affecting public transportation across the eastern region of the main island.
In Tokyo, train schedules throughout the city were disrupted and one section of the JR Chuo Line was even forced to shut down before trains could make it back to their stations, trapping passengers inside the cars until weather conditions improved.
Now, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that nothing can ruin a day (week?) like being held up in an unexpected transportation or traffic accident. The general mood among passengers in those stranded cars must have been pretty sour. Which is why it’s amazing one foreigner had the pluck to take out his guitar and start serenading his fellow passengers while they waited for the storm to pass.
Japanese Student Creates 31-Meter Masterpiece of Lego Mindstorm Engineering
- Master Blaster
Sep 23, 2012
Behold the Lego Great Ball Contraption (GBC), dreamed, designed and built by a 21 year-old Japanese college student who goes by the name of Akiyuki, (Akiyuky if you want to search him on YouTube).
Taking over 600 hours of work, this robotic wonder is the perfect blend of engineering and art as the 31 meters of 17 intricately built stages hypnotically and seamlessly operate with the sole existential purpose of moving tiny plastic soccer balls and basketballs in a perpetual loop.
- Internet, Japan
- (GBC • Great Ball Contraption • LEGO • Mindstorms • robot • YouTube)
Stop! Don’t Pack Your Electric Fans Away Yet! Gravity-Defying Paper Plane Fun Awaits
- Philip Kendall
Sep 17, 2012
Summer is nearly behind us. All across Japan, people are turning their air coolers down a touch, returning to sleeping with their feet under the blankets, and stopping to groan “it’s hoooot!” at co-workers a little less often.
But before you put those electric fans away, make sure you take a few minutes to put them to what is quite possibly the best use they’ll have all year: making paper planes magically float in mid-air. Read More
Cat Contemplates Life While Watching Sunset
- Master Blaster
Sep 14, 2012
In the days following Nono-Chan the cat’s 8th birthday, he began to take stock of his life. He wondered if chasing strings and sleep was all there was. “Have I reached my fullest potential as a cat,” he pondered.
New Fad, “Frog Mouthing” Popular Among Young Caterpillars Results in One Death
- Master Blaster
Sep 9, 2012
Caterpillars around the world are joining the newest trend of frog mouthing, in which caterpillars film or photograph themselves near frog’s mouths. Posting the video or picture on YouTube or SNS is an integral part of the game.
However, this fad turned tragic when one year-old caterpillar, Josh Ketzlwyck of Indiana was fatally eaten while frog mouthing. The incident was caught on tape by friend, 10 month-old Chip “Skeeter” Wendel and uploaded to YouTube.
- Internet
- (caterpillar • frog • YouTube)
Fast Food Customer Service in Japan Vs. Fast Food Customers in America: Two Videos Spark Discussion on Japanese Net
- Steven
Sep 3, 2012
The fast food experience in Japan is much different that it is in America.
In Japan, step into any fast food restaurant and you are treated with the kind of service you see in commercials. Polite and attentive staff work in seemingly perfect unison to get customers their meal as quickly as possible, all while maintaining a smile on their face.
In America, the reality isn’t so golden. Fast food staff are often uninspired and lack enthusiasm and, perhaps as one reason for that, the customers can be loud, obtrusive and sometimes even violent.
At least, this is the image people are getting from two YouTube videos that have been making the rounds in the Japanese net since this weekend.
- Internet, Japan, USA
- (cheesburger • customer service • fast food • fight • McDonald's • video • YouTube)
Hatsune Miku 7-Eleven Parody Video Will Give You Nightmares
- Steven
Aug 24, 2012
If you weren’t in the know (and by the know we mean Japan), Japanese convenience store chain Family Mart and Hatsune Miku are running a promotional campaign from August 14 to September 10 to celebrate the Vocaloid’s 5th birthday.
To spread word of the campaign, Family Mart created a 15-second television commercial featuring Miku singing the store’s signature jingle and posted it to YouTube on August 17, though a ripped version had been posted to Japanese video sharing site Nico Nico Douga a few days earlier.
One group of enterprising viewers saw the video and immediately got the idea for a parody, which he posted to Nico Nico and YouTube on August 19. The parody, titled “Miku LOVES Seven Campaign [Fiction]”. features a super deformed Hatsune Miku singing the Japanese 7-Eleven jingle and is absolutely terrifying.
- Japan
- (convenience store • creepy • Family mart • funny • Hatsune Miku • music • Nico Nico Douga • otaku • Vocaloid • YouTube)
Possum Cat Plays Dead(?) in the Heat [Video]
- Danielnishina
Aug 11, 2012
Summer can be tough. Some days are so hot that it’s difficult to do much more than idly lie there as the heat drains you of your energy. And just imagine how bad it is if you’re covered in fur.
At first glance this kitty is just sprawled out on a sofa, but as the camera moves around (up and down, circling around, even going right up to the cat’s face), you’ll notice that it doesn’t even move its eyes.
Watch a Businessman Go to Work on an Adorable Sewn Bento
- Steven
Aug 6, 2012
A lone salaryman walks in to a room with bento in hand and sits down at a table to enjoy his lunch in privacy. He unties the knot holding together the bandana bundle to reveal a small brown bento box and chopsticks case. Finally, the man removes the lid from the bento to unveil a mouth-watering assortment of…colored yarn?
What follows is some hardcore lunchtime needlework.
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