I Survived a Japanese Game Show was an American reality show that followed a group of Americans who leave the United States for Japan, where they compete in a Japanese style game show. Season one premiered on ABC on June 24, 2008. The show was hosted by Tony Sano. On August 6, 2008, financial representative Justin Wood was pronounced the winner. He won a cash prize of US$250,000.
Order of appearance in the opening credits: Andrew, Bilenda, Cathy, Ben, Darcy, Mary, Donnell, Olga, Justin and Meaghan.
The first episode aired on June 24, 2008.
Conveyor Restaurant (コンベ屋食堂) – One person on each team is designated the eater, and the eater's four teammates fill helmet-mounted trays with flour and one mochi ball, and then, one by one, run up a treadmill to the eater, who then eats the mochi without using his hands. If the contestants fail, they would eventually be overtaken by the treadmill and land in a large pile of flour. If the contestants succeed, the eater hits a buzzer, instructing the runner to drop out and fall into the flour so the next runner can start. The team whose eater eats the most mochi balls in four minutes wins the game.
Big Bug Splat On A Windshield (虫人間コンテスト) (Elimination game) – Contestants in bug suits jump on a trampoline and accurately place markers on three separate targets on a target area decorated to look like a car windshield. The contestant with the most points after three rounds wins and advances to the next round. As for the loser, the Sayonara Mob awaited them to send them back to the United States. Scoring: Round one: between one and three points for one jump, Round two: between four and six points for one jump, Round three: between seven and nine points for one jump.
The second episode aired on July 1, 2008.
Human Crane Finds Fluffy Bear (クマちゃんつかみ取り！) – One person is a human crane while three players each control one axis of the player's movement in order for the human crane to pick up and deliver large stuffed bears into a chute. The team whose human crane delivers the most stuffed bears into the chute in three minutes wins the game.
Fight On, Mailman Taro (ガンバレ！郵便太郎) (Elimination game) – Contestants deliver packages into shaped mail-slots through a slippery corridor while a giant fan blows wind against them and their opponent throws objects such as stuffed bears, inflatable pool toys, and newspapers at them to impede their progress. The contestant who delivers the most packages in three minutes moves on to the next round while the other is sent back to the United States by the Sayonara Mob.
The third episode aired on July 8, 2008.
Pedal Fast or Big Splash (サイクリングドボン) – Two players each have one opportunity to ride a tricycle on a moving treadmill, and they try to stay within a marked region in the middle of the treadmill. The two other players ride a pair of stationary bicycles which decrease the treadmill's speed the faster they are pedaled. At the end of the treadmill is a pool of ice water. Each tricycle rider keeps pedaling along the treadmill until he or she falls into the pool of ice water. Once he or she falls in, that person's turn is officially over. The cumulative time the two tricyclers spend in the marked region is compared for each team to determine the winner of the game. The team whose two players spend a longer time on the marked region wins the game.
You Look Funny Stuck on a Wall (ぴったんこバンバン) (Elimination game) – The two players, wearing sticky suits jump off a trampoline and attempt to stick to the sticky wall within a body-shaped outline. The player judged to be most within the outline wins a point. The first player to win three points wins the game. The loser's conversation will be interrupted by the Sayonara Mob.
The fourth episode aired on July 15, 2008.
Big Baby Go Boom (ねんねんころりYOおころりYO) – Team members dressed as babies sit in a giant spinning crib, getting dizzy. One at a time, players exit the crib and fill two cups with milk. The player must run an obstacle course carrying milk to a giant baby bottle. The course consists of spinning platforms and crawling; that combined with the dizziness causes the players to spill some of their milk. The player must finish the course regardless of milk remaining in the cups and is not allowed to go back for a refill if he spills any of his milk. After finishing the course, the player must press a button beside the crib enabling another player to exit. Each team has three minutes to get as much milk in their bottle as they can; time starts when the spinning stops for the first time. The team with the most milk in their bottle in three minutes wins.
Big Chicken Butt Scramble (チキンと割りまSHOW) (Elimination game) – Contestants, after covering themselves in oil, slide into a pile of feathers, coat themselves thoroughly, then must use only their rear ends to break as many eggs as possible in two minutes. The player who breaks the most eggs wins. The loser will feel sad to go home; the only thing to make the loser happy would be the Sayonara Mob.
The fifth episode aired on July 23, 2008.
Sticky Sticky Bang Bang (ハリツキバンバン) – A player from one team is suspended from a rope wearing a sticky suit as one of their teammates throws sticky balls, and the other shoots tennis balls from an air gun, both attempting to stick balls to the suit. Two players from the opposing team hold ropes attached to the hanging player and jerk them left and right during the game, attempting to get the balls to miss. The team with the most balls stuck to their partner's sticky suit in two minutes wins. The title is a play on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
You Swing and Hope for the Best (あいたら負けよ！ジャンプップ！！)(Elimination game) – The player begins on a platform facing a wall with seven doors. The player swings on a rope Tarzan-style towards one of the doors, hoping to find one of three solid doors. If they swing through one of the four styrofoam doors, actors dressed as a gorilla and a panda wielding a padded stick and a giant powder puff respectively attack them. Either way, they must return to the platform and swing again until they have found all three solid doors, and press a button to end the game. The players play separately, and the one who finishes in the fastest time wins. The loser would then hear knocks from the door made by none other than the Sayonara Mob.
The sixth episode aired on July 30, 2008.
You Stand Still! No, You Stand Still! (くらくら鍵パッカン) – Two players, one – a male dressed in comedic drag as a bride and the other as a groom – start out spinning in chairs to get dizzy. After the chairs stop spinning, the players must cross a narrow balance beam over a pool of flour and a pair of spinning floor tiles. They cross to the opposite chair where one player gets a set of keys while the other gets a heart-shaped belt with a lock. The latter player puts the belt on and the two return to the center spinning tiles. While standing on the spinning tiles, the player with the keys must find the correct one to unlock the belt, and then both must return to their original chairs. The team to complete the game in the fastest time wins the game and a big prize.
Clothes On, Clothes Off! (激突！生着替え)(Elimination game) – The two players, in a room full of costumes, race to dress in a given costume modeled by a mannequin. Three rounds are played with different costumes: A construction worker wearing a helmet, a red devil with two horns and a Sweet Lolita Harajuku Girl. The player with the fastest total time after all three changes wins and everyone would then say "Sayonara" to the loser who will be escorted to the egress by the Sayonara Mob.
Note: A third player, ostensibly the defending Majide costume-changing champion Yuji Kamada, also competed in the game alongside the two contestants. Allegedly, if one of the Americans beat Kamada, they would win a bonus prize (which was never shown since Kamada was faster than the two players). However, Kamada was actually played by twins, the famous Japanese comedy duo, The Touch (ザ・たっち). One was already dressed in the required costume, and the two switched places via a secret door in their change room. This was revealed as a prank on the contestants after the second round.
The seventh and final episode aired on August 6, 2008.
For the final episode, teams are abolished and the final four players face three elimination challenges as individuals.
Making New Friends in Japan (世界に広げようムチャぶりの輪！) – The finalists go out into the streets of Tokyo and must accomplish five tasks in the following order:
- Get someone to draw a handlebar moustache on the player's face with a marker;
- Get someone to take a Polaroid photo of the player being kissed by another stranger;
- Get someone to dress up in a provided Statue of Liberty costume;
- Get a business card from someone;
- Get three people to do the wave.
After completing the tasks, the contestants have to return to the studio; the last contestant to return to the studio makes new friends with none other than the Sayonara Mob.
Squishy Squishy (ザ・スポンジマン) – The three remaining players compete, one at a time. Each wears a squishy suit and gets into a shallow pool of water, absorbing some in the suit. They then run a maze, while their opponents each swing a spiked ball at them. (危险! DANGER!) At the end of the maze is a wedge-shaped pair of walls the player may use to squeeze water out of the suit, which drains into a container. The two contestants who collect the most water move on the final game. The player who collects the least water in the container in three minutes is taken away by the Sayonara Mob.
SUPER MAJIDE (本気で！全部のせ) – The two finalists compete head-to-head on an obstacle course which combines elements from the series' previous challenges. They begin in spinning chairs and must then ride a tricycle across a narrow path over a pool of cold water. Then they must smash six eggs with their buttocks, crawl through a pool of flour, climb an inclined sticky wall using sticky grips. The players then continue by sliding down a pole, eating a snack of three mochi balls, and then swing on a rope into one of five doors until they find the one that breaks away and hit a buzzer on the other side. The player who does so first wins the grand prize and gets congratulated by the Omedeto ("Congratulations") Mob (The Sayonara Mob dressed in white suits.)
Games with a pink background indicate elimination games.
t – Tied.
The show went against America's Got Talent on NBC, Big Brother 10 on CBS, reruns of House on Fox, except on July 15 when the MLB All-Star Game was telecast, and repeats of Reaper on The CW.
