Announcing Everyone's Best Entertainment of 2023! (Part 2)
Following yesterday, we will continue to ask SKY PerfecTV! employees about their "personal best entertainment content of 2023"!
Click here for Part 1 ▼
King of Conte 2023
Introduced by: T-san
Because Sarugorilla won.
I have been supporting them for over 10 years since they were a trio called Juicy's, and when they finally achieved their long-cherished victory this year, I almost cried. It's sad that there will be fewer opportunities to see them live easily, but I am really, really happy that they won!!!
It's great when people you've supported for a long time win, isn't it? I felt the love in T-san's comment.
It was also lovely to see them sitting next to Panther, with whom they shared their time as a trio, at the recent Comedy Academy Awards 2023. I'm looking forward to the trio reuniting to celebrate the victory!
The fish known as Juicy's is truly a Sarugorilla fish... in other words, it was the best fish called life!!!
by an editorial staff member who is also a Sarugorilla fan
Sekai no Hate Made ItteQ!
Introduced by: M-san
It's a show I've always loved, and I'm happy that this year saw the return of overseas location shoots, which had decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. I love traveling abroad, so I get excited when I see cityscapes and spectacular views of the world through the TV.
“When you can't laugh watching ItteQ, you are truly exhausted”I believe this, and it is the best entertainment that also serves as a barometer for my own mental and physical condition.
ItteQ has various segments, but I especially like the ones featuring Tetsuro Degawa. It gives me confidence that even if you can't speak English well, you can communicate if you have soul, and I respect him from the bottom of my heart.
Following the example of "Degawa's Way of Walking in France," I have decided to go on a trip to France at the beginning of the year!
Indeed! We've started seeing shows with overseas location shoots again after a long time, haven't we!
M-san's respect for Tetsuro Degawa really comes through!
I'd love to hear the follow-up story about whether your communication went well on your trip to France thanks to your soul! (laughs)
"Wednesday's Downtown" segment "Detective Tsuda"
Introduced by: U-san
I recall there were two of these within the year, and I laughed until my sides hurt at both of them.
It was a new project that even Bakarhythm was jealous of, and as a fellow producer, I was impressed by the fact that such an invention still exists within variety shows.
Formally titled "The theory that you can't escape from the world of a mystery drama until you find the culprit, it's really tough" within "Wednesday's Downtown".
It's about Diane's Tsuda-san, who suddenly enters the world of a mystery drama and unravels the case while being confused and realizing it's a prank.
I watched it on TVer, and I laughed until my sides hurt at the convincing acting (?) of Tsuda-san, who eventually started acting like a real detective...
I guess everyone starts acting like a detective in that kind of environment; I'd like to get involved in one... (laughs)
M.League / Professional Mahjong League
Introduced by: K-san
I chose this as my best of the year because watching the live broadcast of M.League, which is held four days a week (Mon, Tue, Thu, Fri) from 7:00 PM, has become a habit.
The appeal of M.League lies in the following three points:
1. Overwhelming distribution volume
2. The fun of the play-by-play commentary
(I recommend Hiyoshi-san x Tsuchida-san. They bring out the charm from a mental perspective.)
3. The fun of team competition
(This year, teams were added, players were swapped, and there were joys and sorrows.)
I knew it existed but wasn't watching it, but in 2022, there was a free broadcast of the FIFA World Cup on Abema, and following that, I started watching M.League, which is also broadcast for free on Abema.
There are many mahjong broadcasts and streams on SKY PerfecTV! as well.
However, the team-specific and individual player social media developments are substantial, and the mechanism to build excitement is truly wonderful.
Players sometimes do review streams on YouTube late at night right after the event.
You can get hooked.
Mahjong was mentioned in our recent roundtable discussion with gambling-loving employees, and it's really gaining excitement in the M.League right now!
It goes to show that while the game itself is interesting, the systems built to hype it up are also important. I'm learning so much...!
Hapidanbui (Sanrio Characters)
Introduced by: N-san
This is a unit composed of Sanrio boy characters who were active in the 1980s and 1990s.
(The name 'Hapidanbui' is an abbreviation of 'Happy ni naritai danshi-tachi, V-ji kaifuku o nerau'—meaning 'Boys who want to be happy, aiming for a V-shaped recovery.')
The members consist of six characters: Badtz-Maru, Pochacco, Kero Kero Keroppi, Hangyodon, Tuxedosam, and Pekkle.
Since the unit was formed in 2020, most of the characters have truly made a V-shaped recovery, with five of them placing in the top 15 of the Sanrio Character Ranking, butonly my favorite, Pekkle, has been unable to break through the wall of 15th place.(If they place in the top 15, they get a lot of merchandise released.)
There are tons of items labeled as 'Hapidanbui merchandise' that exclude only Pekkle. (I think if you did this with other idol groups, the management would face huge criticism...)
But Pekkle is the kind-hearted leader of Hapidanbui who is gentle to everyone, so he takes everything positively—the fact that other members are ranked higher and that there are fans voting for him—and says 'thank you' for it all.
Fans work hard to vote at Sanrio stores so that we don't let Pekkle say such sad things again next year and so we can hear a heartfelt 'thank you' from him, but since there isn't much difference in weight compared to the free internet votes from casual fans, the system inevitably favors characters with higher name recognition.
Everyone, please, I beg you to cast a vote for Pekkle...
N-san's love for Pekkle really comes through...!
I learned for the first time that they were in a unit together, and since Pekkle is so cute, I thought he was more popular.
For the sake of N-san and other Pekkle fans, and above all for Pekkle himself, I will cast a vote next year!
Play: 'Wait at Rycom'
Introduced by: I-san
This was a play from last December, but it left such a deep impression on me that I wanted to introduce it.
It was a short-term performance by Okinawan playwrights and actors with ties to Okinawa that was shortened to just a few days due to COVID-19, but it brilliantly expressed the generational gap between 'present-day' Okinawa and 'US-occupied' Okinawa, as well as the differences between the narrator—a writer from Tokyo—and the people of occupied Okinawa. It was deeply moving how they crafted such difficult subject matter—actual incidents from the occupation—with a touch of humor.
When a play you went to see on a whim turns out to be wonderful, it makes you feel so happy.
If there is a rerun, it's a play I would like to see again.
Written by young Okinawan playwright Takuya Kanehima, it is 'a story of Okinawa (this side) that no one had tried to read or had been read until now.'
I've had a few more opportunities to see stage performances recently, and I feel that the raw, lingering feeling of them is unique.
Videos are nice, but when I go, I'm glad I properly bought a ticket and made the trip.
I hope to encounter such wonderful works again next year!
NANA MIZUKI LIVE PARADE 2023 (Nana Mizuki)
Introduced by: M-san
After all, being able to cheer out loud was the best.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the live concerts themselves had resumed in 2022, but since cheering was still prohibited, this was the long-awaited concert where cheering was finally allowed for the first time in four years.
I attended the first day (9/1) and the third day (9/3, the finale) of the Tokyo performances held at Ariake Arena during the summer concert tour 'NANA MIZUKI LIVE PARADE 2023'.
Nana-san has many intense songs, and there are many chants (Hai! Hai!) and call-and-response moments, so it was just so much fun to have the audience on the floor unite and cheer to liven up the concert.
And because of the fans' cheering and responses, seeing Nana-san herself singing even more happily was truly precious.
Especially on the first day, in my dozen or so years as a fan, I drew the best seat in history. Arena A block, 8th row from the front. Moreover, it was right next to where the float passes, so it was at a distance where I felt like I could reach out and touch her; we completely locked eyes, and I screamed.
The finale seat was further back, but the setlist, which was slightly different from the first day, was so intense; the four-song streak of 'Astrogation' -> 'VIRGIN CODE' -> 'Zanko no Gaia' -> 'NEXT ARCADIA' was just insane (I'm at a loss for words).
Especially the excitement of 'Zanko no Gaia'.
And then, after the encore, we all sang 'POWER GATE' together in the venue for the double encore.
In any case, it was a concert where I keenly felt the joy of being able to cheer out loud. Shass!!
Some people mentioned the 'concerts where cheering is allowed' in the first part as well, but the sense of liberation after being released from the restraint of these past few years where we couldn't cheer, and the emotion of feeling the venue become one through our voices, is the best, isn't it~! (Especially for songs with responses, I felt like, 'I can finally sing along...!')
The Nana Mizuki concert that M-san spoke so passionately about is also currently available on 'SKY PerfecTV! Program Delivery'!
Finally, thank you for this year as well.
This year is already ending tomorrow.
Once again, thank you for visiting the SKY PerfecTV! note in 2023.
We produce articles while cherishing the feelings of 'loving content' and 'having something you support,' and receiving reactions like 'likes' and comments from people who resonate with those thoughts is the greatest encouragement for the editorial department...! Thank you so much.
Please continue to support the SKY PerfecTV! note next year.
May you have many more wonderful encounters with content in 2024!
Wishing you a happy New Year.
(Text = Tantan)
▼ Past posts are summarized here. How about reading them during the year-end and New Year holidays? ◎