YTV, Disney XD add Japanese-style game show to line-up
Michelle Clancy | 02-10-2013
Corus Entertainment's YTV in Canada and Disney XD in the US are adding Japanizi: Going, Going, Gong!, a family game show to their line-ups in November.
Inspired by Japanese entertainment, it will see contestants hurling themselves against Velcro walls, sliding on their bellies in penguin suits and wiping out on slippery spinning disks, in front of a live studio audience. It's an adaptation of the series I Survived a Japanese Game Show.
"We're thrilled to add the fun, action-filled world of Japanizi: Going, Gong, Gong! to our schedule this fall," said Jocelyn Hamilton, vice president of programming and original production at Corus Kids. "The wacky games and physical comedy will tickle the funny bones of kids and their families and the second-screen content will bring an extra element of surprise to the action."
Every half hour features four teams of two contestants who are transported into a wacky, larger-than-life Japanese world filled with outrageous obstacles, physical gags and over-the-top characters. Host Yoshi leads the show and enthusiastically announces the outrageous games, while Judge Masa, the series' hyper-intense judge, chooses the winner of each challenge by shouting in Japanese at the top of his lungs. A ninja named Shinobi acts as both the English translator for the contestants and the leader of a group of ninjas who try their best to prevent contestants from winning.
An interactive Web series debuting on www.japanizi.com in the weeks leading up to the broadcast launch is a prequel that tells the story of how Judge Masa was chosen for his role. Written in the style of a choose-your-own-adventure book, at the end each episode kids decide which door Masa goes through to get to the next episode.
Coinciding with the on-air premiere, a second-screen experience will draw viewers deeper into the Japanizi world with multiple-choice games and viewpoints from helmet cameras. This will be available via a downloadable app for mobile devices as well as online. Also planned to roll out online after the series airs are a sharable meme generator, The Japanizi Super Gif Making BRAIN, and a side-scrolling, four-level game in which players can gain extra codes and an extra game access from the second-screen experience.