Gaki No Tsukai

Such a bold statement, but for me I haven't seen many shows that come close regarding the amount of creativity, originality and the constant quality of the shows, that Gaki no Tsukai has...

From the bizarre yet incredible mind that is Hitoshi Matsumoto and his schoolfriend Masatoshi Hamada (Collectively known as Downtown) and later joined by Tanaka, Endo and Yamasaki comes a show full of games, sketches, challenges and all sort of wacky segments.

What makes this show any different then say a UK or a USA TV show? Well first of all the amount of creativity involved in the show. Nowadays our televisions are filled with fake reality shows and clichéd TV shows and when a good show comes out it usually gets cancelled or runs out of steam and starts getting bad. Gaki No Tsukai has been running since 1989 every single week (as far as I know)... Not one episode I have seen has been unfunny or been like the episode before, that's over 1000 shows... The amount of segments they have is also a product of this, many of which have been taken by many other countries and aired. The more famous ones that I can name are Silent Library and the Batsu Games (which were popularised worldwide by Youtube), however they have many more major segments such as the kiki series, absolutely tasty series and Shichic henge... and they are just the games. They also feature many stand-up segments and sketches such as the 5 rangers (which can be found on Youtube).

Off the top of my head I cannot think of one UK or US show that has that many segments and to be honest I think they are more original ideas that have came out of Gaki No Tsukai alone, then the US has over the last 10- 15 years... and it's such a shame that we do not get subbed versions of these on DVD and/or on television over here or the US, instead we get crappy MTV remakes (Silent Library game). There is hope though that come from a few forums on the internet where you can download some of the shows with subs (some are also on Youtube) and if you come across them, sit down and relax and prepare to be amused and entertained by one of the greatest and most influential shows ever conceived :D.

(I don't review things and I suck at reviewing but I just hope people stumble among this page and see this and track some down) :D

I stumbled across this show one late night on a streaming platform. A random channel constantly streaming this series, with subtitles in my language. Fast forward a week later, and I'm on my 3rd rewatch of the series.

It's hilarious, wacky, cringy, refined, and sometimes just stupid. I love it. I think it's a great introduction to what Japanese standup comedy/humor is for someone not of that culture.

It also includes cameos from famous comedians/comedic duos.

Review Re-written September 29th, 2025.

Gaki No Tsukai Ya Arahende!! (Roughly translated as Downtown's "This is no task for kids!!") is at it's core, a comedy variety show where the cast plays games where the winners survive and the losers are punished. No prizes are handed out. Just painful, sometimes humiliating punishment. And it's some of the funniest things i've witnessed as a foreigner.

But the history of Gaki No Tsukai dates back to 1982, When the show's creators, Matsumoto Hitoshi and Hamada Masatoshi did their first on-screen appearance together, before officially performing as Downtown in 1983. However, they often were met with hecklers and couldn't get people to come to their performances, even when tickets were free. But their perseverance and determination paid off and in 1989, They officially began their program, Gaki no Tsukai, which over time, became very popular and eventually when it found it's way onto YouTube, found an international fanbase from people who otherwise would never have seen them.

And that means people like myself, a high schooler from the west coast of Canada in the late 2000's when I got to see the infamous high school batsu no laughing game where poor Endo couldn't help burst out laughing at a man who struggled to read english and count to 100.

You see, the closest type of comedy we had to Gaki No Tsukai was Jackass from MTV, and that was one of my generation's favorite shows. GNT took that modernized style of slapstick years before Jackass did. Except it was way more fun. GNT did the batsu game, which meant that whoever lost had to suffer a humiliating punishment or ridiculous task. My personal favorite is when Matsumoto had to be the SMPTE bars for a television station. Other punishments included Hamada having to travel to New York City to retrieve a specific pen cap for one of Matsumoto's pens, as well as Matsumoto dressing as a seal at an aquarium and doing what Hamada told him to do.

Over time, other comedians have joined the fray, including Endo, Tanaka, and Yamasaki, Heipo and Fujiwara, and they're all involved in the batsu games one way or another. The most popular of these games is the "No laughing" games where the players must survive a 24 hour period without laughing at the various "traps" laid out for them, which vary from their friends and family appearing on advertising for condoms or famous celebrities falling randomly into pits.

A few of Downtown's ideas have made their way to western television, the most famous one being the silent library game. It's great to know that some of their ideas have made it here, but I wish their content was available here legally. There are websites that host their content, but to be able to get it on DVD would be a godsend.

Look them up on YouTube. You will not be disappointed.