December 31st 2011 Kohaku TV Show

I don't know which is better, the music of Kohaku or the incredibly beautiful set.

Japanese TV: Yokai Ningen Bem 妖怪人間ベム and Cast

This is the newest hit at the Winter house. Yokai Ningen means "Monster Human" or "Creature Human". It's about three monsters, a man woman and child, who were born from the same cell on the same day. They look more or less human, but when emotional, change into hideous alien like monsters. They're actually good and are on a quest to become human. The show is based on a famous anime from the 80's. In the cartoon, the trio fight other monsters and protect humans, but in the live action show, they fight human bad guys. The stories are pretty good, though and focus on the human tragedies that drive people to do evil. But, the people who cross their path are influenced by the mysterious, "Red Man" who seems to hold the secret to their past and how to become human. We all love the show and tape it every week.
Yokain Ningen Bem Cast:
The monster "father" Bemu, s played by pretty boy band KAT-TUN's leader Kamenashi Kazuya, the "mother", Bela is played by the beautiful Anne Watanabe, daughter to Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai, Inception), and the "boy", Belo, is played by Suzuki Fuku, more famous for the recent hit show "Marumo", which we also loved. Here's another synopsis

Bem, Bella, and Bello are ugly monsters that are neither human nor animals, but they are peace-loving, righteous heroes who feel compelled to help humans in trouble. Because they are monsters, they are feared and detested by humans, and on top of that, pursued by the police. However, a friendship develops between them and a detective (Kitamura Kazuki) by mere accident. Through their contact with humans, Bem, Bella and Bello’s earnest wish to become human grow increasingly stronger. They battle evil for the sake of mankind, in the belief that they will be able to become humans one day…

Here's the rather creepy intro:

2700 Kirin Smash Comedy TV キリンスマッシュ

I saw this on TV the other night. There was a comedy competition with a lot of different Japanese comics doing funny skits. One duo or "Kombi" is called "2700". They did this skit that I thought was funny. Believe it or not, almost everything the guy is saying is in English. The song starts and a guy dressed up as a giraffe comes out with a tennis racket. The song keeps saying, "Kirin smash" or "Kirin receive". Kirin is the Japanese word for giraffe. One time he does a smash position, the next time, receive. Then, a guy dressed up as an elephant comes out and starts betting on which position the giraffe will take. The whole situation is so ridiculous and silly, it's hilarious. The group 2700 ended up taking second place. Watch the video. Decide for yourself.

ピカルの定理 Picaru no Teiri Comedy Show

Many people have the impression that the Japanese are not funny or don't appreciate comedy. Nothing could be further from the truth. It's true that Japanese are not really joke tellers, like "One day a priest and a duck walk into a bar", but Japanese comedy shows can be really funny. You see some really wild stuff on Japanese TV. My wife and I just caught this show we never saw before called Picaru no Teiri. It's an ensemble cast show with various skits. One of the recurring skits is called, "Bebari to Rui"(Beverly and Luis) about two gay guys in the office. The boss and employee are lovers. Each episode follows the same pattern. Their always sending the only female worker out of the office on some errand. The boss starts seducing the employee, slams him against the cabinet and rips his shirt off. Someone is always yelling at the female worker when she comes back. This particular episode features a guest comedian as the boss's ex-boyfriend, recently returned from America. The thing I like about it is you don't really have to understand Japanese to enjoy it, the performances are so over the top. It was one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. My wife and I couldn't stop laughing. Not for kids, though. Enjoy!