I Survived a Japanese Game Show

I loved "I survived a Japanese game show" it was a breath of fresh air to see this on my TV set every week. I really hope there is a season two as this show can only get better! Great job ABC!

Unlike other reality show "I survived a Japanese game show" had an intelligent irony which in my opinion upgraded the dull universe of reality TV. It was a comedy reality show and I loved westerners being fish out of water.

Its the kind of show one watches to forget about the boring dull day you just had and the game show rounds are real talk about moments. Its a cult classic on a massive scale...Brilliant stuff!

I think the title "I Survived an Idiotic Americanized Version of a Japanese Game Show" might be more appropriate. I had high hopes for this show, having recently been enjoying several episodes of one of my favorite game shows of all time, Most Extreme Challenge. Sadly, this is stupid, stupid American television of the lowest order. "Survived" is really a sad joke, because the only thing that is survived is the voting off of your fellow contestants, since the show is just another who-will-get-voted-off-next crapfest just like the hundreds that have been secreting from your TV set for the last ten years or so. The actual stunts and physical challenges, the nonstop fun of a real Japanese game show like MXC, make up maybe 15% of the show, the rest of it being ridiculous bickering among the contestants, who are composed of the most ludicrous American caricatures you can imagine. Britney Spears would fit right in with this cast. It would be nice if the networks didn't insist on broadcasting meaningless and thoughtless sludge and passing it off as American culture. No stars. Avoid.

When I first saw advertisements for the first season of I Survived a Japanese Game Show, I thought it looked really stupid. But eventually, it started to grow on me. So I tuned in to the series premiere. My expectations were blown out of the water. This series is a very clever idea. It was the perfect mix of laughter-inducing stunts and reality TV drama. I hope ABC puts this out on DVD sooner or later.

I like the second season, too. Although it isn't as good as the first season. They got rid of Tony Sano, which is too bad, because I thought he was a good host. They also put three games in each episode instead of two, so there's less time for reality TV drama. It has been better, but I still like it.

For those of you who do not have the G4 TV channel, this show works well. It introduces the crazy and wacky world of how Japanese people do their TV shows. No reality, no fake love stories, only pure game when it comes to Japan (although this show is broken into a reality show, and I will get to that).

Though this show is for a prize of $250,000 USD in the end, Japanese game shows generally do not have a physical prize in the end other than having recognition for being one of the very few people who win the show.

The main thing this show's downside is, is that it is a reality show. Of course, it wouldn't be "American" without the "reality" part to it! I have heard numerous people complain of the show containing more reality than game show, and that you cannot really get the full experience from it. I can agree with this to some extent. Think of the general American audience. Most of them have no clue how Japanese game shows run, and that is why I say this show is good for people who do not have G4. For those who do not know, G4TV features two TV shows called "Ninja Warrior" and "The Unbeatable Banzuke" where contestants compete for the ultimate level of glory, of having not a physical prize, but the recognition of being one of the very few people to complete the insanely hard challenges featured on these two TV shows. Most people would get lost watching these shows at first because there are little to no American contestants, and no English is spoken.

This show is a good way to introduce Japanese Game Shows to the general American audience without losing them in the crazy fast all Japanese, no English yelling and chanting that goes on during a TV show, and it explains the courses very well also. I have been in Martial Arts for 8 years, and watching shows like this also helps people who are interested in Japanese culture and language understand them better.

This show is not perfect and the reality is a bit overdone, but I believe that it opens to the door up to networks like ABC, CBS, and NBC to Japanese game shows and maybe bringing some of them to America. In the end, I would rather watch this than American Gladiator, and if you want a true half hour to hour long, non-interrupted Japanese Game Show, go over to G4 and watch the shows I mentioned above!

This could've been a really fantastic show, giving us Americans a taste of those crazy Japanese game shows. This show is actually that, only chewed up, spit out, stomped on the floor, then put on a plate for us to enjoy.

In the whole one hour time slot, we only see 1.5 games. The half of a game is actually 2 contestants competing to stay on the show. There's way too much talking, and not enough of the games.

I set my TiVo to record this, and fast forwarding through the talking and commercials, I watched the whole hour episode in less than 20 minutes. Needless to say, this show is off my 'record' list with three thumbs down. I wish networks would stop wasting our time with this trash and give us something fresh and new (ie. NOT A REALITY SHOW).

Skip this show at all cost. I give this show 1 finger out of 10. You can guess which finger that is.