Batsu games are not as funny anymore

Although every Batsu game has their moments, I feel like ever since they started using those rubber sticks as the punishment, they’re not trying really hard to hold their laughter in and their reaction to the pain is not genuine which is what made the Yugawara and High school batsu games really funny. Is it just me or has anybody noticed this as well?

I haven’t watched the latest batsu yet but I think opinion will always be split, I’ve seen people saying it was hilarious for them and they really enjoyed this years, others saying it was funnier for them than recent previous years, others felt it was just OK, others saying it felt routine/dull etc. :)

Some opinions on the "is it getting routine" can be found for after the 2010 Spy Batsu in this thread "Has The Recent Batsu Games Become Redundant?". Towards the end of the thread there was also discussion about whether to use tougher punishments:

viewtopic.php?f=72&t=3603

Also "Batsu Games getting stale, a little?" thread.

viewtopic.php?f=63&t=898

For previous years, there are usually some comments in that vein in the post-batsu discussion threads if interested to see past opinions. Here’s the one for 2011 Airport:

viewtopic.php?f=72&t=3339

I think they had to switch to something that is less likely to cause permanent damage but that still hurts them it seems, especially the more they get hit, so they’ll want to avoid it still. This year some news came out in japan about how harsh it was on Matsumoto:

viewtopic.php?f=72&t=4086&start=90#p35746 viewtopic.php?f=72&t=4086&start=90#p35744

For me personally, I enjoyed Airport and Spy, since they both had some really epic moments. :D Though there are parts that get repeated each year that I don’t enjoy as much and wouldn’t miss, but I guess for others those are there favourite parts that they would hate to see gone (like some may be bored with Yamasaki getting slapped each year but I would miss it :rofl: ). I’ve read some saying they are bored with Jimmy Onishi popping up but also many looking forward to his appearances, so I guess its a catch 22. Perhaps those bits get repeated each year because of a responce from Japanese viewers that they hoped to see them again, just with a different twist each year.

We had posts like this last year too :lol:
Although, I’d have to agree. I totally skipped some parts to be honest.

The riding crops and kendo sticks were too brutal and the guys were 10 years younger when that happened. I understand the concern because absolutely no hit they’ve ever received on a bus has been a good one but I also don’t want to see them take riding crops to the point where they can’t sit.

I think they’ve been on an uptick, honestly. Hotel and Spy were the low points of the series for me but Airport did a lot to restore my faith in it all and I enjoyed most of this year’s, too.

Batsu games became 100% commercial, they only do them because they make a big load of money out of them. It has become an opportunity to invite thirty six thousands guests, actors and comedians to promote them and make a hell lot of inside/private jokes nobody understands.

I hate people who keep on saying that the old days were better, but I have to make an exception here: [i:1em3ycet]old batsu games were actually funny[/i:1em3ycet], it looked like the "gaki no tsukai" crew was a small family, having fun and giving hard times to each other just like we do in real life, that’s what made it sweet and [b:1em3ycet]that’s what made me actually attached to these guys.[/b:1em3ycet] The pranks really came from the heart and we could really feel that they were having fun, and laughing for real.

Today it’s just a bunch of crap, not funny at all, with the same old jokes back again and again. The bus at the beginning, the appearance of two or three ridiculous guests, the big fatty making fun of Endo. It’s all business now. It’s not even a "No-Laughing" game, now they just laugh wherever they see something, even if it’s ridiculously unfunny, when at the time they used to retain and restrain they laugh (which actually made the whole thing funnier). I’m also sick of Yamasaki’s fake falls from the chair at each and every occasion, and Tanaka’s overly exaggerated scariness of everything that moves.

My two cents.

I completely agree with everything stated above, but compared to American television, I will take Gaki no Taukai over it any day. Not even mentioning the fact that parts of Enthusiastic Teachers go back to No Laughing’s classic slapstick humor it’s known for. So instead of looking at the commercial aspects of it, try to act like you’re a new, fresh fan who just discovered No Laughing and have a nice laugh :)

I don’t agree because personally I freaking loved the Airport batsu game and Spy was by no means a letdown either. I thought particularly with those two that the editors did a good job of cutting out the stranger, more tedious bits like some bus ride traps, skits and word games. However, I still think this year’s batsu game felt really oddly paced after about 1/3 of the way in and they weren’t as creative with the edo period as they could have been (minus the trial)

None of the games are [i:1akz683e]objectively[/i:1akz683e] unfunny, and I think it’s a stretch to assume they’ve come to the point of faking laughter at something they personally don’t find funny.

I’m with giffan on this one.
Airport Batsu Game was very funny, but for me nothing comes even close to this year’s! I mean I was laughing REALLY HARD.
Although I wish they came up with new jokes instead of repeating the same ones as a year before, some lines and situations cracked me up!
It was a bit sick couple of times, though… :D

My personal opinion - Enthusiastic Teachers was the funniest Batsu Game yet :)

My own opinion batsu game is becoming really dull with the bus section,Matsuko Deluxe, Chiaki, Yamasaki getting slapped again, etc. It’s becoming predictable, losing the surprise unlike from the previous older version of batsu games. I really love the onsens one where Yamasaki literally chewing a lady stocking :D .

The biggest problem with the more recent ones is that the batsu games have become very, very predictable because they follow the same routines.

I remember the post some forum member wrote list that applied 95% to all batsu games after Hospital. If someone knows what I’m talking about, please repost a link or quote of that in here.
It went something like this, but much more accurately:
[list:1nauerg0]- Fujiwara arrives in funny costume

  • members get dressed, Hamada gets a funnier uniform
  • a bus ride
  • a statue of Suga
  • meeting with the head of the facility (a famous actor / actress)
  • freetime and the drawer gags
  • some sort of outdoor event with comedians
  • more waiting room stuff between each event (guest comedian, Tanaka’s thai-kick DVDs, Jimmy Oonishi as a phone lady and later as a political "expert" etc.)
  • some theme related event with celebrities
  • lunch time, possibly a short game
  • an event where Chiaki, Shin Onii or Endou’s family appears
  • a "movie production" press release where Claudia (or "Itao’s wife"?) appears in a long, monotonous sketch (luckily they have dropped this in recet ones)
  • Chouno slaps Yamazaki event
  • the "blacklist meeting"
  • a test of courage finishing with a the whole cast being chased and a big explosion
  • just before they finish, Suga appears in person and they get slapped[/list:u:1nauerg0]

My favorites are probably Police, High School and Hospital, since they have lot of theme related events and didn’t have such a clear formula so everything was pretty fresh. The recent games are more like a tool to fit all the running jokes (Matsuko DX, Maeda Bibari, Chiaki, Shin Onii, Murakami Shouji, Jimmy Oonishi, Chouno etc.) into the program each year and less about the theme itself.
All of them have some great unscripted moments so they are still definitely worth a watch, though.

[quote="GodzillaRadio":33vam26r]We had posts like this last year too :lol:
Although, I’d have to agree. I totally skipped some parts to be honest.[/quote:33vam26r]

And the year before.
But yeah, it seems as if the first batsu games really came out of their ideas (24h tag, haunted hotel, pie hell, etc) and the later ones came out of the producers needs.
Also, downtown are kinda old for this kind of stuff. In their minds at least. It’s kinda sad, but not only the batsu games, but the Gaki no Tsukai show at all, is getting tiring by each episode. Well, at least in my oppinion. I’d rather see downtown take a break, refocus, and come up with something new, who knows?

I didn’t mind the first three with all five (hospital,newspaper,hotel) but I think the last three (spy, airport, teachers) have been hit and miss.
Maybe its time to change things, or mix it up a bit.

I think they should go back to when they didn’t have all the members in one batsu game.

Even though the producers had a script of what was going to happen, it was more fun when Hamada or Matsumoto was behind the scenes coming up with stuff they could do to the members as the night went along.

It was funny back in the day because it always felt the batsu was a chance for either Hamada or Matsumoto to "get one back" on each other.

Now all the members are involved, all the jokes are from people that are (no offence) not as funny or creative as Hamada or Matsumoto, so they just reuse jokes and a majority of the new stuff they put in are not really that funny.

One thing I would like to see is Jimmy make an appearance in person, rather then always on video. (like Shin Oni)
And I think the producers should mix up the Chono slap, so it becomes more surprising to Yamasaki and the members. (like they kind of did in Hotel)
Yamasaki pretty much knows when Chono will appear now so to be slapped early in the show, or the middle of the show will catch him off guard… or they could slap Yamasaki twice in one batsu. :lol:

[quote="Zauchi":1jt4s8bp]And I think the producers should mix up the Chono slap, so it becomes more surprising to Yamasaki and the members. (like they kind of did in Hotel)
[/quote:1jt4s8bp]

The members barely laughed at this year’s slap. That gag has run its course.

[quote="Dynasty":38ozh2dc]The members barely laughed at this year’s slap.[/quote:38ozh2dc]

I think its not so much the slap itself, but Yamasaki’s struggles to get away from it that is entertaining personally, those improvised parts are great (I just finished watching this years batsu). :D Though certain slaps have been epic for the slap itself too depending on how he happens to fall, like in the Aiport batsu. :lol:

I meant they barely laughed during the whole Chono segment.

[quote="Zauchi":1rsxvwi7]One thing I would like to see is Jimmy make an appearance in person, rather then always on video. (like Shin Oni)
And I think the producers should mix up the Chono slap, so it becomes more surprising to Yamasaki and the members. (like they kind of did in Hotel)
Yamasaki pretty much knows when Chono will appear now so to be slapped early in the show, or the middle of the show will catch him off guard… or they could slap Yamasaki twice in one batsu. :lol:[/quote:1rsxvwi7]

These are really great suggestions! I don’t have a problem with knowing most of the re-occurring events Penguinator listed since the majority of them are played out under different circumstances from batsu to batsu. But if Jimmy showed up in person just imagine what they could give him to work with. Or just being Jimmy… IN PERSON. Same with the Chono slap, I enjoyed it the most when the situation was more elaborately set up like in Hotel. We all know Yamasaki is going to get hit, but the path to that moment is where the entertainment is at.

[quote="Dynasty":1ofnr9qj]I meant they barely laughed during the whole Chono segment.[/quote:1ofnr9qj]

Hm well I saw they laughed when:

  • The art of Yamasaki was revealed. (All)
  • Changing his face to try and not match the art. (All)
  • Getting embarassed whilst trying to do a gag in under 1 minute (all except Hamada who held out).
  • Calling him Chounu-san (same as above).
  • Getting tugged around by Chounu-san so he’d lose his footing (Hamada and Matsumoto but they weren’t called out).
  • Almost doing the splits when falling over whilst his foot is trapped. (All)
  • Rolling on the floor claiming his thigh hurt (Downtown. Tanaka was pretty close too, especially when his ear was being tugged but he held out)
  • Trying to bite Chounu’s hand when he wouldn’t stop pressing into his cheek. (All)
  • Complaining wildly about his hair getting grabbed, then calmly fixing it back into place straight after. (Downtown. Endo was very close too, probably would of been called Out if he’d done that in the break room :lol: ).
  • "Let’sh go" (All)

Compared to how much they get hit on certain other repeated parts, seems its still funny to them. The in-studio video where they’re actually free to laugh, they seemed to laugh a lot. :rofl:

But I agree it’d be fun to see them mix it up. Seems they’ve started putting the Chouno slap near the end (maybe a commercial decision since perhaps the staff feel its one of the things Japanese viewers are waiting for, so they’ll be more sure they’ll stick through watching for the ad revenue etc.). So usually when you see some kind of reception with a big stage and a bunch of people in the audience, you know its going to be time for the slap. It must be really tough on Yamasaki too, having to improvise so much with the same kinds of setups each year. They could at least do away with the whole formal gathering/reception setup for starters, having him just appear out of nowhere in a certain situation for example would have more impact than building up to it on a stage.

Matsuko Deluxe’s bit for example. They seem to do a better job at switching things up with them. It’s not always certain where they’ll show up, in what manner and who they’ll target (mostly Endo gets the most abuse of course, but this year Yamasaki and Hamada got it pretty bad too).

Jimmy-san’s bit also definitely needs changing up. Especially with the first video, it was mostly just Hamada laughing because he has a weakness about "This stinks!" gags it seems.

I thought with the Don’t get Scared bit, they’d maybe do a courage test through the Edo period countryside or something, which could of been quite intense if they were each asked to do it alone. Still enjoyed this years though a lot for that room they’d get trapped in the dark within and such. They should probably do more in that vein. Fear of the unknown and what you can’t see is often more scary than what you can see. And it’s funny to watch them basically scaring themself.

Keep in mind, the no-laughing batsus are made with the intent of showing it once a year.
If you watched the previous batsus multiple times and in fast succession it is very likely that things will seem too repetitive for you.

[quote="firerevenge":3nefyvkf]Keep in mind, the no-laughing batsus are made with the intent of showing it once a year.
If you watched the previous batsus multiple times and in fast succession it is very likely that things will seem too repetitive for you.[/quote:3nefyvkf]

I have to agree with you completely on this one. It would be unfair to watch some Batsu games before seeing others. I’ve become a huge Gaki fan over the last few years and watch anything that I can set my eyes on, but I can admit that the games have become a little too scripted. I don’t particularly enjoy the Jimmy Onishi skits anymore. Of course, when I’ve seen all of the Batsu games with his skits, AND its the only real exposure of him I get, I might find him funnier if I saw him more often.

I suppose I have to agree with some of the people saying they seem to be going through the motions a little more, but they are all 45+ years old now. I would love to see Hamada and Matsumoto masterminding the games and bring in some younger talent to fill in the missing slots.

I love the Bath house games when they were separately in charge.