"I Survived a Japanese Game Show" - August 5, 2008 finale

After the elimination round last week, there was time for a little celebrating and champagning among the final four: Justin, Meaghan, Donnell and Bilenda. But the next day brought them back to the challenge. Instead of teams, they were now playing individually, and they were each given a new red bib. I was sad about not having teams anymore because there was no yellow penguin mascot or green monkey mascot - I missed them. Wouldn't it be great if they offered both as .gif files we could download? In their various incarnations too!

The first individual challenge consisted of five tasks that had to be accomplished in order on the streets of Tokyo. They then had to rush back to the studio, and the last one back after completing all five tasks was eliminated.

1. Get a stranger to draw a magic marker mustache on you.

2. Get a stranger to kiss you on the cheek and another stranger to take a picture of it.

3. Get a stranger to dress up as the Statue of Liberty (crown, wrap, torch).

4. Get a business card from a stranger.

5. Get three people to do the wave.


With their tasks given to them, the contestants were on their way. Initially, they weren't having much luck, with people just staring at them as they made their way among the streets. Many people thought they were selling things and just ignored them. Donnell had the most difficult time at first because he was very loud and boisterous, something not well received by the Japanese people. Meaghan's pretty looks helped her (she was first to get the first task done), as did her quieter manner, which also worked well for Bilenda. Meaghan was a little miffed that she had difficulty getting someone to kiss her, and Justin managed to get that task done with a guy kissing him. Justin also had difficulty with the Statue of Liberty, as when he finally found someone to agree to wear the outfit, the wrap was very tangled, and he spent some time undoing it. For the business card task, I thought they had to get the person's own business card, but it didn't matter what kind of business card it was. If they could get a person to give them any business card they happened to be carrying, that counted. When Meaghan tried to get a couple of businessmen to give her a card, one of the guys was on his celphone and told the person on the other end that a pretty blonde girl wanted his number, so he and his companion readily turned over business cards. That was funny.

They had cameramen on the streets and a helicopter following the contestants around. Meaghan and Donnell finished their tasks first, and both raced back to the studio. Meaghan ended up being first, with Donnell coming in soon after. The next person to make it in was Justin, so with Bilenda coming in last, she was then carried away by the Sayonara mob. (And yes, I was doing the arms-waving and chanting things with the crowd, not because I was necessarily happy that Bilenda was leaving, it was just fun. I so want to be in that audience.)

For making the final three, the contestants were given a reward - a visit from a loved one. Donnell's wife, Justin's girlfriend, and Meaghan's best friend all arrived, and each was able to spend a bit of time with their visitor. (So since they wouldn't have known ahead of time who was going to be eliminated, I'm guessing Bilenda was able to spend time with whomever had come over to see her.) However, the reunion didn't last long, as each contestant was told that there would be a second competition that day, so they had to get ready, though their visitors would be in the audience.

The next elimination game was called "squishy squishy". Each contestant would have on a sponge suit, and they had a pool of water that they would use their suit to soak up and then make their way through an obstacle course (which was narrow and required a little bit of climbing, thereby wringing water out of the suit), and there would be a section where their fellow contestants could throw a spiky ball on a rope at them, and then they were to squeeze as much water out of the suit as possible. They had three minutes to make as many rounds and get as much water as possible. The person with the least amount of water would be eliminated.

When they had put their suits on, they all looked like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, but each with a purple thong as well.

As a side note, it was funny during the competitions to see glimpses of the family members/friend, who would be experiencing all of this for the first time. They banged drums at first, though cautiously, but as each break came, they began to do the majide sign-off as well. There was also a lot of interaction and antics between the show host and Judge Bob, so that was a lot of fun

Donnell was up first, and he ended up making three rounds during his time. He was exhausted by the end, with how heavy the water-laded suit was. Justin and Meaghan were worried about how well he'd done.

Justin was next, and he also went three rounds. He wasn't sure how well he did, though, and he was exhausted as well. It was funny because after he was done and he approached the show host, Justin asked for a hug, which the host moved in to give him until he realized that Justin was soaking wet, and he stopped himself just in time. Quick thinking on Justin's part for a funny moment!

Last up was Meaghan, who decided on a different strategy. She figured she didn't need to go as many rounds if she got more water on each round, so she rolled around a bit more in the pool than did the men. Her strategy seemed to be working because she was squeezing large amounts of water from her suit, and she ended up making two rounds.

Then it came time for the results. Justin's container was revealed first, which contained a good amount. Next, Donnell's container was revealed, and he had more water than Justin, so Donnell was automatically in the next round. Justin was concerned that he might be eliminated, but when they revealed Meaghan's container, she actually didn't have that much water, so Donnell and Justin were in the final two, and Meaghan (soggy sponge suit and all) were carried out by the Sayonara Mob.

When Justin and Donnell got back to the house, they spent some time on the roof, looking at the scenery and enjoying the time.

The next day, each contestant spent some time thinking about their time in the house and all the experiences they had. Donnell had a particularly emotional goodbye with mama-san. Tony then came to pick them up in a limo, and Donnell said they were making their last trip to the studio in style. En route, Tony said they had one little stop to make, which turned out to be in a popular square lined with fans of the show. There was a red carpet, and as both got out and made their way, people were asking for autographs and taking their pictures and wanting to shake their hands, and people had little paper fans with their pictures on them too. Both felt like absolute superstars. The show host was there, and he gave each of them a return flight ticket back to Tokyo any time they wanted. He then introduced the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who gave each of them a plaque for their participation on the show and helping to show the Japanese culture and to build a relationship between Japan and the U.S.

Justin's girlfriend and Donnell's wife were also there at the press event, and afterward, each couple had their own limo to the studio, so they had a few minutes to spend time together and talk. They got to the studio to change and prepare for the last game. This time, in addition to Justin's girlfriend and Donnell's wife, both mama-san and Tony were in the audience as well.

Then it came for the final showdown, super majide, which was a combination of nine tasks they had previously faced. First, they were put in dizzy chairs (that spun 35 times per minute), then they had to ride a tricycle along a small path over pools of freezing water, then they had to pop six eggs, then they had to crawl through a flour bed, then they had to crawl up a sticky wall, then they had to slide down a pole, then they had to individually eat three mochi balls, and lastly, they had to swing to find the one break-away door out of a choice of three.

The chairs spun for some time, and then they slowed down, and when they stopped, both Justin and Donnell unbuckled and started their path. Donnell was kind of wobbly getting to his tricycle, but Justin almost immediately fell into the water. Apparently, if you fall into the water, you only have to go to the beginning and then carry the tricyle across. That seemed much easier than riding it. Donnell tried to ride the tricycle but fell soon thereafter and ended up carrying his tricycle across as well. Justin had a slight advantage into the eggs, but this was one task Justin had not encountered before since it was during an elimination round that Donnell took part in. However, he made quick work of the six eggs while Donnell actually had trouble, sliding off some of the eggs. Justin quickly made his way through the flour bed (he also commented that with the water and egg yolk on him, crawling through the flour then just made everything nasty, like he was pizza dough or something) and was tackling the sticky wall while Donnell still had three eggs left to pop.

The sticky wall is not something I recall them doing before, at least not in that incarnation. Most of the wall was made of velcro, with round discs in various places that weren't. Each contestant had two hand grips that they put on and used those to help them climb up the wall. There was no assistance for their feet, so it was definitely an upper-body-strength task. Justin had a great head-start, but he also had a very difficult time, and Donnell soon made up all the time he'd lost during the egg task. It got worse for Justin when he actually fell/slid down the wall, and he threw one of his hand grips in frustration. Donnell was moving further up the wall when Justin attempted it again, but then Donnell fell as well. Justin then just put on his determination and pretty much just scaled the wall. He went down the pole and started on his mochi balls. Donnell made his own march up the wall, and then he joined Justin in eating mochi balls.

Donnell was on his last mochi ball when Justin finished his last one, and Justin got on the swinging rope and headed for a door - and burst through the first one that he tried. He scrambled for his buzzer - he had won majide. Later in the show, there was no black-clad Sayonara Mob. Instead, they were the Congratulations gang, dressed in white, who picked up Justin and carried him around for a bit.

Donnell was disappointed that he'd lost, but he lost gracefully, praising how well Justin had done and how much he deserved it and how they were going to be friends anyway.

Justin was just so ecstatic and unbelieving that he'd won, but he treasured that giant trophy and savored his win.


He survived a Japanese game show.




I really loved this show. I hope they have it on again. And I *so* want to be in the audience!!!!