TOKYOMANGO

Super sexy Mai Shoji's weather forecast on NHK World

My super old childhood friend Mai is a weather girl at NHK World. Watch!

Magical Banana, a popular word association game from the 90s

I was in the car with my friend Masami today, and she asked me if I knew what Magical Banana was. But of course! Magical Banana was a segment of brain teaser variety TV show in which celebrities stood inside booths and played a word association game set to a rhythmic beat. It was really popular — kids played it in elementary school to learn language, and we used to play it in high school as a late night drinking game in parks and bars.

In this TV clip from October 1996, Japanese celebrities — including pop diva Amuro Namie — play Magical Banana. It's super fun! You should try it sometime.

James Franco and Kumiko-tan behind-the-scenes of 30 Rock

A few months ago, actor James Franco made a guest appearance on NBC's 30 Rock with his body pillow girlfriend, Kumiko-tan. I think the show might have drawn inspiration from my NYT Mag article. Here he is behind the scenes with Tina Fey and Kumiko-tan.

Guy claims to be yakuza surgeon in this week's The Office

This week's episode of The Office featured a snippet about a Japanese immigrant who claims to be a top surgeon who operated on a yakuza boss. Funny!

(Thanks, Ritchie!)

CM featuring Akebono for Glee, the best TV show ever

Did you know that Glee, my favorite thing to watch on American TV, is airing in Japan? So exciting! Glee is a musical comedy about a bunch of high school kids in Ohio who are in a Glee Club — a group of people who sing and dance, often at the bottom of the who's-cool-in-school hierarchy. The story line is fairly simple, but it's so much fun to watch — it is, in fact, probably the only show on American TV that genuinely makes me happy. Instead of just having ordinary casting calls, producer Ryan Murphy spent a bunch of time on Broadway recruiting some of his favorite talented singing-dancing actors there. The main character, Rachel, is actually played by broadway veteran Lea Michele, for example.

I just discovered this Glee Japan ad via actor Cory Monteith's Twitter feed. (He plays the part of Finn, a sweet airhead football player who likes to sing in the shower — my favorite character in the show!) It's an amazing clip featuring legendary sumo wrestler Akebono that really gets at the heart of how enjoyable and silly the show is.

Btw, here's one of my favorite scenes from Glee: