I started taking private Japanese lessons recently, and during the session I saw that my Sensei had some flash Cards with Japanese celebrities on them. Their names were written in Hiragana. I think she was going to use them later on, but since I already know Hiragana she went through them with me.

She was thrilled when I recognized members from Kat-tun, NewS and V6 and I was thrilled when she had a picture of Matsumoto Jun! But there was a photo of a man who I had recognized from the drama ‘The Quiz show’, but didn’t know his name, or who he was. Sensei was excited that I had at least seen him before. The man on the flash card was Katagiri Jin. (The one with the glasses)

Sensei explained to me that he is part of a comedy group called Rahmens ラーメンズ, along with Kobayashi Kentaro. They appear in the Japanese Culture Lab series, and the Japanese version of “Get a mac” campaign.

The Japanese Tradition – Sushi

Get a Mac CM – Home Movie

American Japanese Language School  (viewer discretion advised – some language )

But trust me, it’s Great. :)

For an upcoming television special on TV Asahi, Michishige Sayumi will live off of ¥10,000 for 1 month.

“Celebrity Saving Battle, Living For a Month With Only ¥10,000″ will begin airing on November 17th, 2011 and continue every Thursday for a month. Her opponent, a comedian known as Robert Akiyama.

According to sources, Sayumi’s rent and electricity will be paid for but will only have ¥10,000 for food and fun. Let’s hope Sayumi is a good cook!

Source: Walkerplus

Posts on Bento are really popular around here so I’m assuming we have a lot of Bento lovers in our midst! Well, you’re in for a treat because this Fall, a new anime premiered and it’s all about Bento (with a slight twist)! In Ben-To, students at a prestigious high school must cope with school and life expenses that usually leave little budget for food. In this town, students fight hunger by…fighting each other of course! Half-priced bentos that are offered everyday at local supermarkets are fought over like treasures. Fists fly, and blood pours. Winner gets a full stomach while loser eats instant noodles.

Satou

Yarizui

Oshiroi

The fighters called themselves “wolf” and fight hard to get the limited amount of half-priced bentos. The story centers on Satou You (main guy), Yarizui Sen (the quiet but tough one), and Oshiroi Hana (the weirdo). Other characters are introduced later, but this is the main trio so far. This is a harem-style anime with one lucky dude in a sea of females. I don’t usually watch these shows, but my love for bento makes me watch on and I’m glad I did.

Wall of half-priced bento stickers.

Despite the crazy plot, I find it really funny and interesting. The show combines slice-of-life (with the mundane topic) and action similar to the likes of Cheeky Angel. There’s also a healthy mix of comedy to lighten the mood. Each episode is titled around a particular type of bento and you learn more about the wolf’s way of life as the show progresses. For instance, there are rules to the ways these fights are carried out like you are only allowed to get one bento and you can’t attack and take someone else’s bento. So there’s an underlying pride to these fighters despite their facade of desperation.

However, what makes the show great isn’t the fighting but this great sense of closure at the end of every episode when everyone manages to win a bento and eat together. So if you’re willing to suspend belief for 30 minutes and enjoy this bento-craze universe, I think you’ll really enjoy this show.

Although I’m a Swede, jumping into a bath of ice is never something that has crossed my mind, but it doesn’t come as a surprise that it has for MEGWIN, Japan’s funniest YouTube comedian. Now, I don’t know how most people do this, but MEGWIN tries three ways, first by getting ice cubes poured over him, then by adding water to the bath and stepping into it and lastly, stepping into an ice cold bath with clothes on. Can you guess what the most most painful way is?

Without clothes:

With clothes:

Japanarchist is a YouTube blogger who lives in Japan. There isn’t much in his profile section, but his videos are amusing. Check him out. :)

Try this at home.

Profile

Bananaman is a very famous Japanese owarai duo consisting of Yuuki Himura and Osamu Shitara. They’re on Japanese TV almost at a daily basis and they often have minor roles in Japanese dramas.

• Japanese name: バナナマン
• Romaji: Bananaman
• Formed: 1993
• Company: HoriPro
• Tsukkomi: Yuuki Himura
• Boke: Osamu Shitara

If that didn’t make you laugh, I don’t know what will! And not only that, if you haven’t seen enough iPad magic, Megwin’s got more^^

How awesome is that?

In this case, Bananaman is doing what guys do best, messing around, while the high-school principal is holding his/her speech. I’ve watched it a few times and it’s still hilarious^^

And while Bananaman is on topic I might as well add this video with Himura Yuuki (the guy with the mushroom haircut). In this video he’s acting as a transfer student introducing himself to his new class.

The perfect introduction for sure :P

What’s your favorite clip with Bananaman?

Takayuki Haranishi from the comedy duo FUJIWARA doing his one-liner gags, all in a row. I saw a lot of him on TV when I was in Japan, he’s a really funny guy. Some of his gags are super lame, but a few of them are hilarious^^

Sora wo miro! Tori da! Hikouki da! Jya! Suupaaman da! Jya… Tori da.

Konnichiwa!! Oshiri deeesu!….. yo!

Karei Naru Spy, or ‘The Splendid Spy’ if you will, is a story about a convicted swindler named Yoroi Kyosuke who’s recruited by the government to serve as a spy against the Japanese terrorist Mr. Takumi. Fighting together with Kyosuke is an elite spy called Dorothy who has been working for MI6 (The British Secret Intelligence Service). Much like in the Bond movies there’s also a girl named Elise who’s in charge of the weaponry, creating weapons like danger-spotting binoculars and truth serums.

Other interesting personalities in this drama are Sekai no Nabeatsu, a banana-addicted spy. Osamu, a hacker with a pretty serious computer addiction, and Hirahara San-kyu (3-9, not as in “thank you”), a young journalist and only daughter of the family Kyosuke lives with.

Yoroi Kyosuke is played by Tomoya Nagase who’s well-known from his part in My Boss My Hero. If you’ve seen the previously mentioned drama, you know that Tomoya is a freaking hilarious guy, and I can assure you that he’s just as good in Karei Naru Spy. Acting as Dorothy is our one and only Kyoko Fukada who’s also starring in the currently airing drama, Massugu na Otoko. Mr. Takumi is played by Akira Emoto who’s just an amazing actor, you might know him from Ryuusei no Kizuna and if you are an Hello! Project fan, he also starred in Koinu no Monogatari (I think he was a landlord, the guy who wanted to dispose of the dog anyways). The girl with the hilarious name (San-kyu) is played by An (Anne) who’s currently starring in Naka nai to Kimeta Hi together with Nana Eikura.

Karei Naru Spy is very much recommended if you’re looking for a comedy drama, it’s one of the better ones I’ve seen lately and definitely deserves a place in my top 5 for comedies!

Buy the Karei Naru Spy DVD Box.