Why Japanese TV Shows Are So Weird?

posted by  ssj1236 | 7 years, 8 months ago in Art & Culture

At some point in life we’ve all thought “why Japanese TV shows are so weird” but are they really? Japanese TV Shows are well known throughout the world as being weird, over the top, obnoxious and sometimes downright disturbing. While it is true that there are more than a few Japanese shows that are much like bad American soap operas with unnecessary emotional roller coasters and a whole lot of overacting to make the situations more comedic. You can easily find Japanese TV shows in which someone is teaching you how to evade detection by the urinal sensors, throw stuff like a ninja, or even watch two attractive females have a challenge to blow a cockroach into each other’s mouth through a pipe.

The stereotype of Japanese game shows as being weird is well placed in modern foreign societies due to the lack of knowledge and understanding about the Japanese culture. The staple of Japanese TV shows being weird stems from the ‘80s staple “Takeshi’s Castle” in which people of different ages were required to wear bizarre costumes and enduring several physical challenges mostly in water or mud. But that doesn’t mean this is exclusive to japan only. U.S TV show Wipeout requires the contestants to do the same the only difference being Wipeout contestants wear weird costumes willingly.

Japan does have its fair share of weird TV shows but that’s not all there is to Japanese TV. As surprising as it may seem to a foreigner, weird Japanese TV shows make up around 5% - 10% of the shows that air on Japanese TV. Weird Japanese TV shows are in no way representative of the cultures or ethics of Japanese people but are rather made solely to be weird for comedic purposes to entertain viewers. The majority of shows that dominate TV airing slots in Japan have mostly something to with eating food or watching popular Idols, Stars, or even Politicians eat food which more than often are rather insightful and entertaining in a non-weird way.

Every country has their fair share of weird TV shows but which country doesn’t? Even Europe has over the top shows like “Big Brother” where people are required to do the stupidest things and even take part in sexual activities, on national TV no less. On the other hand, every country has amazing TV Shows as well and Japan is no exception.

Japan air’s over a 100 TV shows in a single year which is rather high and contain multiple single season shows. Japanese TV today is just not pumping out as many weird shows as it used to or as Foreign nations make it seem. With a bit of knowledge about Japanese language and by spending a couple of minutes to look through what’s airing you can easily tell that the number of “weird” to “normal” TV shows is largely dominated by “normal” TV shows.