As promised, I bring to you the 1st episode of Janiben, summarized into (notverygood) English for everyone's pleasure~ also contains (tiny) screencaps, and it's LONG, so take your time and enjoy it ^____^
At first Shingo welcomes the viewers and explains what the show is all about. They have a new studio set up for them and they will invite senpais (I guess not Johnny's, he just means it as more experienced people) in various fields in order to learn from them. It's Kanjani8's study ("ben" comes from the word "benkyo"="study")
They talk a bit about how they feel nervous and worried as it is the first episode.
Shingo introduces a vtr where they made a kind of a survey between common people about how the guest, or the guest's profession, is viewed by people.
Girl: "I guess I like the way they say everything directly".
Woman: "They speak very lucidly, don't they?"
Woman: "They're the same generation as me and they give me a good impression so I always watch them."
Woman: "Poison tongue."
Girl: "Flashy."
Girls: "They're fun. One of them has a familiar feeling"
Interviewer: "One of them?"
Girls: "She looks like she's playing."
Woman: "Even though they show them at home, they naturally emanate a "celebrity" aura."
Man: "I met them in front of a pachinko casino. The ladies looked like they were gossiping away. They looked a lot like common people so I didn't realize."
Girl: "Although their age, they're cute".
Shingo: "So let's introduce the guests for the first episode, it's High Heel!"
They're an owarai (comedian) duo. The one in red, called Momoko (she's the one who does the KTV show where Hina is a regular btw), starts by pointing out that they don't really go to pachinko XD They were just talking in front of it by chance. The one in black (called Ringo) adds that if she were to go to pachinko, she'd go without make up so nobody could recognize her!
Shingo then introduces what's the theme they want to learn from High Heel-san. It is Hosting techniques (Shingo you don't need to learn from those obachans! You're such a great show host already ♥) So the Ringo goes "But you already hand it rather well, don't you?"
Shingo "No no we have to refine ourselves a lot."
Momoko: "What are you saying, you're a veteran!"
Shingo: "No way!"
(it's cute how Momoko talks about Shingo, and he's all embarassed and tries to act like she was talking about all them ♥)
Momoko: "If you were Yoshimoto's (Yoshimoto Kogyo is the owarai agency High Heel belong to), you'd be the top act!"
The first topic is "Hosting is surprisingly something behind the scenes".
Ringo explains how the host shouldn't stand out too much, and that it's more like a job of getting answers out of the guests. Shingo asks them how long they've been hosting shows, and Ringo replies "We became celebrities immediately after we were born!" And Momoko: "We formed the duo immediately after we were born, so already 26 years have passed." (They must be at least 40 years old XD)
So they show some articles from 1989 when they had their first tv show and they talk about mistakes they did in it (like, getting guests' names wrongs or such). About that, Shingo says how Subaru's name gets often misread. High Heels ask if it's because his surname can be read "Shibutani" or "Shibuya", and Subaru replies that it happens too, but what bothers him more is that he's often called "Tsubasa" (I guess because the pronucniation is similar and Subaru is not a common name, or maybe because he often came out on tv with Imai Tsubasa when they were Jr?), and that it's been going on since they were Junior. As for "Shibuya", he's already given up and he doesn't explain anymore what his name is, in fact sometimes he introduces himself as "I am Shibuya", and it's Shingo to say "No, no! He's Shibutani!" XDDDD
High Heel ask the other Eito if they're awake (because they haven't been talking at all) and Yuu replies they are XD
Back in topic, Shingo says that it also happened to Ryo once to have this terrible mis-naming.
Ryo: "What did I do?"
Momoko: "What, you don't know?"
Ryo: "Well, Nishikido's "nishiki" kanji was once miswritten and my surname became Seto." (錦戸is Nishikido and 瀬戸 is Seto)
Subaru: "But they're totally different!"
Shingo: "Wasn't it another person?"
Nigh Heel: "So, Seto-kun!"
Subaru: "SETO RYO!"
Ringo: "It kind of sounds cool."
Then they talk about once when their names have been mistaken during a CM shoot, when Ringo (apple) was called Kirin (giraffe) and everybody laughs.
The second topic is "A show should be enjoyable by everyone".
Momoko explains that the show should be enjoyed by all the people who work in it: guests, hosts, and the staff. They also work hard to be friendly with and loved by the staff so that they can create a nice atmosphere to work in.
Momoko tells like he's friends with a cameraman and he always gets him to film his son's sport festival at school or such. So she got really angry when he got married, saying "If you have a child, what will you do about my own son?"
Shota asks them if they're so noisy and talkative in private too, and they reply they're rather silent instead. Shota thinks it's a lie because he's seen them talking a lot before the shows (I think) but Ringo says that it's for building up tension. She imagines that before a concert they listen to music or stuff to build up tension, and Shota says that they all share the same dressing room. Ringo can't believe it, she thinks eveybody has his own! They also often share the same dressing room and when they don't, Momoko feels lonely and tries to overhear Ringo's voice. Ringo asks what happens about hotels when Kanjani8 are not in Osaka, and it looks like lately everybody gets his private room, but until recently they shared double rooms. Ringo tells she's not happy to share rooms with Momoko because she goes to the toilet when Ringo is taking a shower, and Eito say they do it too XDDDD Shota says when he was sharing a room with Shingo and one morning they were in a hurry and had to shower, so Shota entered first and while he was shampooing he saw Hina standing behind the curtain but very close to him XDDDD Everyone laughs and say it's so typically him and he's always standing behind people.
Momoko is shocked and says he's in the same league as Piico san (you, know that very gay person who's also in Tsuukai Everyday with Maru).
Shingo changes topic (good for him XDDD) and says how every host has his own way to host a show, and the style also changes depending on the show. For example Nankou-san (he's the one who hosts "Tsuukai everyday" where Maru is a regular), Maru is very impressed with his good timing. He's always so steady paced that Maru finds it difficult to get in the flow in a natural way and that what he wants to learn from Nankou-san.
Momoko explains how it's essential to keep in mind the division of the roles between hosts or it would be too awkward, while it should sound like everyone is speaking naturally. Then she quotes as example the 2 silent wallflowers in the back (Ryo and all the more Tacchon, who has NEVER opened his mouth since the beginning of the show.) She tells them to speak a bit and makes fun of them, but they still won't make a sound XD And Momoko concludes that as they're so handsome they're ok as wallflowers too.
Back in topic, it's important to look at more experienced hosts to learn to get a good timing to flow with the other hosts and guests. So Maru asks them what would be the good way to flow in with Nankou-san, and they make fun of Maru because he sounds so serious ^^ He explains that Nankou-san is a very normal person but when the show starts he's like he turns on a switch and changes to a different person. So High Heel suggest him to mock Nankou-san for his narrow forehead (does anyone think that Maru's is too wide instead? XDD) and Ryuuhei is definitely not convinced that this is a good idea.
**cm break**
The third topic is "The ending is the crucial point for an host!" Ringo explains how those final ten seconds while the ending theme and the credits are already going, are the most challenging thing for a host, because they have to wrap it up nicely. This is not very important for live shows, but it definitely is for recorded ones. So High Heel prepared an exercise on how to wrap up in 10 seconds.
They choose Ookura for starting because he hasn't spoke AT ALL (while Nishikido has, and he slips out a "yokatta") XD Tacchon tries to get ready but he's obviously very nervous XD They choose to make the setting a "Gourmet show" (one of those shows where people cook and eat... perfect for Tadayoshi ne? XD) They explain how the gourmet reporter has collected a variety of nice food (and Tacchon makes the dreamy look you can see below, I was DYING XDDD).
Ringo says how the phrase that must ABSOLUTELY be avoided is "Sa, to iu wake de" ("So, having said that" or a thing like that), because it makes her angry. Tacchon objects that there's nothing left to say if you can't say it!
*cm break**
Shingo introduces the Kansai Johnny's Jr. segment learning stuff from professionals. The vtr says, very epically XD (and isn't it Natsumi's voice? I miss her T___T),
"There is a truth that can be seen only because you've gone through all the way...
Kansai Johnny's Jr learn from the professionals of that way: JUNIBEN!"
There are B.A.D. (Kiriyama Akito and Nakama Junta) who report that in the elementary school where they are at the moment there are the strongest women of the world. Nakaman is in doubt whether they are really so strong. So they enter the school and find out they are professional rope pullers! (I don't know how you say tsunabiki in English, sorry T__T) Their team is called Madras Osaka and they have won the world championship in 2006.
In order to challenge them, B.A.D. have invited the strongest guys from Momoyama University's rugby and weight lifting clubs. Kiriyaman is impressed and asks the ladies if they think they can win, and they frankly reply "yes" XD In fact, although Kiriyaman goes "Onichan, ganbatte! (cute XD), the ladies win! And they say they've also only used 30% of their strenght vs the boys who used 100% XD The second chanllege is against body builders + B.A.D. (so it's 8 boys vs 5 ladies).
Kiriyaman is all powered up, but Madras Osaka win again XD They say that the point is to "feel" the rope and get in the same pace as the rest of the team.
So B.A.D. end saying "Benkyou ni narimashita!" (We've learned something!) which I imagine will be the closing line for all their segments.
Back in the studio, everyone's impressed, and Shingo complimented with B.A.D. because it's their first tv show job where they go to locations and such. High Heel say they could feel it was the first time and they're cute. Then they remember they also went to many locations throughout their career, for example they went boxing with cangaroos XDD And it also happened that they were chased after by a dobermann dog. Momoko says "I haven't run that fast in my whole life." and Ringo: "Not even that time when you were chased by the police?" and Momoko: "What are you talking about?" XDD
*cm break*
So it's finally Ookura's turn to take the stage and do the "wrapping up" in 10 seconds (for the gourmet show they talked about before, remember?) He stammers a bit, he's so cute ^o^
"Eh, so today, uhm, we enjoyed a delicious meal. Please everyone, eat lots of delicious food and sleep in a relaxed mood! Goodnight!"
Everyone laughs at him because he's assumed by himself that it is a late night show. High Heel compliment him but remind him that gourmet shows air at 7 or 8 p.m., not late at night, but they're happy he did his best.
Then they make Yoko do it, because he's just playing behind there (and not doing anything useful, hahaha). They make him wrap a sports show, airing at 11 am. Yoko seems very confident.
"So today we had a lot of sports. But after this, I want to kindly ask this person (to take care of everything). Tamori-san, yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"
(If you don't know Tamori-san, your life is not complete. He's the man of my life after Shingo the host for "Music Station", "Waratte ii tomo" and a dozen other shows.) High heel are killed by Yokocho's wrapping XD Because at 12 am Tamori's show starts. They're very impressed and keep saying "umai" (good).
Then they want to ask Chocolat (Shota... apparently they've been calling him like this since a while but nobody else knew XDD) to do it too. Of course he gets to do the ending for a music show. I didn't really understand it clearly because he was laughing all the time but I GUESS he said:
"Errrm, the show has ended. Today we really *laughs and i can't understand the verb* From now on please keep supporting us. That's all. V!"
(V is for victory sign)
Everyone agrees that Yassan is kawaii ♥ but that he shouldn't have said that "errrrm" (anoooooo) at the beginning because it feels like he's dropped something. Then they ask Maru to wrap up "Tsuukai everyday", on a day when Nankou-san is off. Maru is positively shocked (how cuteee!) All the closing parts of the program (weather forecast, presents to viewers, tomorrow's preview etc) are over, it's just the final 10 seconds.
"*stares* Now, Maru will go to eat lunch with Piico-san. See you next week!"
everyone dies (so do I) XDDD Shingo looks like he would really love to tsukkomi him and goes "What kind of announcement is that?" But Maru objects that after everything's over, there's nothing left to say. And then High Heel say: "Why doesn't every member do it? *big red arrows pointing at Ryo, who's tried his best to be incospicuous so far*
*cm break*
Ryo gets a gourmet show too (he's totally NOT suitable for this as he doesn't like eating 3/4 of the food that exists in this world XD)
"So, today too, we enjoyed a lot of Ryo-Ryouri, how was it? See you next week!"
Everyone dies because he even gave a name to the show (Ryouri means cooking) XDDDDDD And that despite he's always so silent, this ending was pretty good. Last, it's Subaru's turn. He gets the New Year manzai show (manzai is the comical form where there are two people, a tsukkomi and a boke - think Shingo and Yokocho, but generally older and not as good looking XD) Baru is NOT happy. In fact he has this "please, no" look on his face XD
"So... hm, it's so... it was really fun! You know, the one i liked best was..." *time up*
He's really angry/sad that he didn't make it nicely, poor thing. T__T
High Heel finish commenting how everyone did it in a real boke way.
During the ending there's just a recap of the show ^^
My opinions?
1. It's good! Not as action-packed as Honjani was, but not as boring as Suka*J. Hopefully different kind of guests will bring a bit more action.
2. Shingo is hot.
3. I used to dislike Kiriyaman with no apparent reason, but he and Nakaman are really kinda cute.
4. I'm going to enjoy this show every week!
If you read it through and enjoyed this, PLEASE COMMENT. Whether I will continue doing these time-consuming summaries depends on how many people are interested, so show it to me ^__^ If you took time to read this, you can spend 5 secs commenting ^__-