I registered late for the A-to-Z blogging challenge this year, but I'm going to do it. In past years, I have done flash fiction inspired by readers' comments, and I'm happy to do that again, but this month the fiction will be peppered in amongst other random topics of my choosing. So suggest a story idea in a comment if you have one, otherwise I hope you will find my mental meanderings amusing!
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Japanese game shows are crazy aren't they? Have you ever watched one? About 15 years ago one was picked up by some cable channel in the US, and dubbed over in English ... incorrectly and hilariously ... and now my husband is finding it on IMDB TV. Have you ever watched "MXC" (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge)?
Now that we are in Asia, with Vietnamese Netflix, more Asian options appear in the queue. I decided to try a Japanese ... sitcom? drama? half-hour long, not very funny, but not very dramatic dramedy? It's called "What Did You Eat Yesterday?" and follows a gay couple in Tokyo.
One is a very good cook, and so each episode includes the cooking of a meal, with details such that if a person were to take notes, one might learn to cook Japanese dishes! The premise is intriguing, and there is some tension by the nature of addressing homosexuality in a culture where it is still somewhat taboo. But it moves incredibly slowly, and therefore I am watching it slowly. There's only 15 episodes so it shouldn't be taking me this many months to get through it, but I have to be in just the right mood.
Then recently, we found this gem:
It's the best: very sweet and wholesome, while still funny to watch. Each episode follows a different 2-4yo as the child tackles his or her first ever solo errand. Apparently the show has been running for 30 years in Japan, but Netflix has only 20 episodes. Cherry-picked episodes, I'd have to guess, since at the start of each episode they list the year that it was filmed: 2008, 2011, 2018... a wild mix. I hope Netflix gets more of this because it is really very fun to watch.
What about you? I know some people strongly detest watching anything that requires them to read subtitles. Do you watch anything that requires subtitles? In which language?
(Note: This post does not address Japanese horror movies, which is a completely different subject altogether!)
I want to watch old enough now...seems very sweet.
ReplyDeleteNetflix is it...will search .thanks
Yes jap game shows r super funny
Dropping by from a to z http://afshan-shaik.blogspot.com/
It really is very cute.
DeleteThis was about Japanese TV, but we've also found German, Indian and even... Iranian (I think) that were entertaining in various ways.
I heard about the solo errand one. There was an article about it recently. (Or a Twitter post. Something random I stumbled across.)
ReplyDeleteIt's wild what different cultures find interesting. I know what you mean about being in the right mood for something. I have shows that I just can't because of my mood.
The other day the aides were talking at school, and one was explaining that the best way to learn Spanish was to watch Mexican telenovelas. The acting is so way over the top that they make it pretty clear what they're saying with their actions. I don't know if that would be the same in Japanese, but maybe it might be something to consider?
I think watching TV in another language can be most helpful if you (or I) have a basis to go from. I recently found Queer Eye Germany and loved it not just for the show itself, but I got to test my German listening and - by pausing at the scene titles - reading comprehension.
DeleteI studied German for years, but never use it anymore.
I have not watched, but once in a while lately I'll ask my son about a show (in the US) and he'll tell me it started in Japan. Some unusual shows!
ReplyDeleteNot a language difference, but we have gotten HOOKED on British quiz shows! So funny.
DeleteThere is good television all over the world if we can just find it.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as your daughter so aptly put in her post, if we can handle reading subtitles. Some people really can't stand it.
DeleteI watch a lot of shows and movies with subtitles ...have tried Chinese , indonesian and filipino movies not to mention a lot of korean drama ... i did try the gay couple drama but as you rightly pointed out , it is pretty slow
ReplyDeleteJayashree writes
My husband tends to love foreign horror. I don't, but I don't mind subtitles. We've watched Japanese, Korean, Indian, Finnish (I think), Iranian, French, German... I wonder that Latin America doesn't seem to come out with a lot of horror, though.
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