Coming soon: "Live From Tokyo – Itfs Saturday Night!!!!"

[TennoChinko]

[Samurai_Jerk]

If you look at the average American now, it's pretty funny to think that Belushi was the fat comedian.

[Yokohammer]

[matsuki]

With Akashiya Sanma and Imada Kouji at the helm I think I can paint a pretty accurate picture of what that show will be like. And unless they are miraculously possessed by the ghost of Belushi and the entire "geinokai" culture changes drastically in a very short period of time, the only resemblance to SNL will be the name. That's not to say that it won't be a fun program ... it might be ... but I really can't see the point in saying something like:


My translation: "Super-popular American variety show arrives in Japan!"

... when it will most likely be nothing of the sort.

I will be delighted to be proven wrong on this one.

Agreed 10000000000000%

.....unless they target FG to make fun of in their skits. Then all bets are off

[Iraira]

[sublight]

Probably have as much similarity to SNL as Tonight 2 did to The Tonight Show.

I was about to say "only this time the Japanese version will be worse," but I haven't seen how SNL has fared over the last a couple of decades.

Pray for tits.

[Level3]

I only know The Rahmens, but are there any Japanese comedians who actually write sketch comedy?
(NOT based on screaming and hitting people on the head NOR sticking a bunch of comedians in a room/wacky situation and tape it for an hour hoping they say something funny)

Speaking of Japanized SNL, is NGK actually funny?

[cujojpn]

[YT]9Z7d96oMM9o[/YT]

[Coligny]

WoW... one of those "please make it stop" TV intro...

If thishad been broadcasted of TV when I was in highschool I would have never skipped a math assignement...

[sublight]

You know, if they got rid of Sanma, it might not be half bad.

[kino]

Admittedly, I don't watch TV very often, but from what I've seen of Japanese comedy, it is a lukewarm mix of trendy catch phrases, slapstick, and exaggerated reactions. That isn't to say that it is all bad, but it just seems so sterile and safe and terribly boring.

[cujojpn]

Admittedly, I don't watch TV very often, but from what I've seen of Japanese comedy, it is a lukewarm mix of trendy catch phrases, slapstick, and exaggerated reactions. That isn't to say that it is all bad, but it just seems so sterile and safe and terribly boring.

So you're saying its similar to US comedy?

[kino]

So you're saying its similar to US comedy?

Heh, while I did chuckle at the retort, I am actually saying the opposite. Where are the Bill Hicks, Dave Chapelles, Stewart / Colbert, and Louis C.K.s of Japan? In America, these names are widely known and the comedians have huge followings. Colbert and Stewart even have the power to shape national discourse and public policy. Are there any comedians like that in Japan? Maybe they exist outside of the mainstream, and if someone can share names, I'd love to hear them.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

You want Japanese comediens influencing public opinion?
The most famous comedian I can think of for influencing public opinion here was Kiyoshi Nishikawa, a bloke most famous for suddenly dropping to the floor and wrapping his legs around other people's legs and then clinging on so he couldn't move. Naturally, he brought a new level of intellect while serving several terms in the Diet. (He also had a gaijin missus, if I recall correctly...not that that matters fuck all).

But, I think you are selling short comics like Bakusho Mondai, for instance.

IMHO, Americans and Japanese are really similar in that the vast majority of people are utterly humorless and totally bereft of an understanding of irony -- but when you find a good sense of humor it tends to be a really good one.

[Coligny]

So you're saying its similar to US comedy?

Dood... George Carlin...

[sublight]

Dood... George Carlin...

George Carlin, Bill Hicks, Lenny Bruce: all men who pushed pushed the envelope of what comedy could be.

And all six feet underground. So, yeah, similar to US comedy.

That's too simplistic an answer, of course. You're never going to see envelope-pushing comedy on network TV until it's already gained a wide audience in other venues. And right now, Japanese network TV is so reliant on being hand-fed everything that they're terrified of anything that might bite one of those many hands. That means no political satire, no social satire, no criticism of business, no poking holes in the upper-echelon idiots to let all the hot air out.

[sublight]