I’m seeing this series everywhere in Japan at the moment! Usavich (ウサビッチ) is a play on the words ‘usagi’ (meaning rabbit in Japanese) and ‘vich’ (which simply sounds Russian). It is a series of very short animated pieces (currently at around 39 episodes) which show the absurd life of two rabbit inmates and their attempt to escape a Russian prison and get to the city. It contains virtually no dialogue at all and relies entirely on sound effects and storytelling by gestures.

The series has been running since 2006 and is produced by Kanaban Graphics for MTV Japan. (MTV is also responsible for airing The World of Golden Eggs – an indescribably hilarious animated show!) It is now in its third season which sees the bizarre pair of rabbits infiltrating a casino in order to acquire a pair of trainers from its dastardly pimp owner.

But enough chatter! Watch this episode for an all-round taste of the craziness that is Usavich!

Got you interested? Here’s a breakdown of the characters and their unique personalities:

Putin

The rabbit wearing the green stripes with number 541 on his back, imprisoned for missing a day of work due to drunkenness. Good natured and dances the Russian kazachok on his bed (even while sleeping!) Easily scared, surprised and a skilled mechanic.

Kirenenko

The rabbit wearing red stripes with number 04 on his back, sentenced to death for being a mafia boss. Generally quiet, but flips out when someone disturbs him. Virtually indestructible and loves shoes.

Leningrad

A frog living in the toilet of the prison cell. Eats anything that moves, especially Komanech and family!

Komanech

A transvestite chick found by Putin in episode 2. Loves to be bullied, tied up in ropes and generally treated in a masochistic manner. Was born from his mother, who was also the father!

You can find more about the various characters here (in Japanese) and in the video below!

And finally, here’s one of my favourite episodes – a musical number with lots of croaking, gasping and gunfire! You can find all the other episodes on Youtube at the moment, but I don’t know how long they will be around!

More information from Wikipedia: Usavich

In the first video clip, Lisa and Rebecca are waking up in the morning. They leave for school and dash off, without having even done their homework (それどころじゃない！) But they arrive to find..?

Next up, The Bodybuilding Club! Oh yea! Build that pectoralis major muscle baby! (大胸筋矯正サッポーター for the win!)

Here’s a weird little one that my informant from Japan has said just started airing on Japanese television. Apparently it’s a parody of an old Japanese animation:

低燃費少女ハイジ

What’s 低燃費?? It means cars with low fuel consumption!

According to the website, the adverts will be airing like a series of episodes throughout June and July!

http://www2.nissan.co.jp/NOTE/E11/0801/

Looking forward to it! Long live the World of Golden Eggs!

Lastly, I think the above clip might be linked to this show:

Just a guess! Let me know if you have more information on it ^_^

The video has been given the spangly treatment to make it into a colourful and fun creation to watch, complete with great voice-acting and clever lyrics. Some really interesting advanced Japanese expressions make their appearance – I explain them all at the end of the video. Don’t forget to enable English subtitles if they don’t show automatically! ^_^.

Here are a few notes to complement the advanced Japanese expressions:

乾く暇がない

‘Don’t have time to dry up’ – a guy who plays around and sleeps with lots of women (and hence doesn’t even have time to ‘dry up’. (Generally used between guys).

ツンデレなとこも魅力的

‘That cold-yet-cute part of you is attractive’ – A juxtaposition of cold-heartedness and being lovey-dovey in a person. (Many guys in Japan like this type of girl – cold and strict to them in company but cute and affectionate in private)

KY! KY! 空気読めこりゃ！

‘KY! KY! Read the air (grr!)’ – Somebody who doesn’t read the emotional ‘atmosphere’ in a given situation and hence upsets the balance and mood.

バーターのくせに生意気ね

‘For a sidekick, you’re quite conceited’ – The reverse of 束（たば）and elongated refers to a person who isn’t important enough to appear on stage on their own – they always have to come with a group or someone else, hence why I chose ‘sidekick’ in this situation. ‘Kuse ni’ means ‘in spite of (being)’.

おおう、盛んだねぇ。今度紹介してよ！

‘Ooh, you’re enthusiastic! Introduce me to her next time!’ – Egging someone on about being ‘out on the prowl’, engagin with lots of women (or men, I guess). ‘Introduce me next time!’ is referring to the girl/guy that said person is slipping off to see.

You can view the original Nico Nico video here: スーパーマリオでウエスタンショーに絵を付けてみた

Did you enjoy the video and learn anything? Any comments on the translation?

Aside from being an insanely funny guy on television and having a face made of rubber, Himonya-sensei is actually a linguistics professor at the Tokyo Tokai University, teaching and writing books on communication. Or so I was nearly led to believe. Himonya is actually a stage name and the University he claims he works for is imaginary. Regardless however, his sketches are hilarious. You can find a few of his DVDs if you search Amazon.jp.

Video sites like Youtube and Nico Nico Douga have some of his more famous material stored. It seems that originally he released DVDs showing different situations and actions that would annoy people, and that due to the popularity of those, did some television appearances himself. Most notable are the ones where he proceeds to insult the female presenter, Miho, interviewing him as part of the act. But enough from me – I took the liberty of finding a few of the gems among the material online, including the hilarious ensemble ‘te-te-te’ at the end of this post. (Be sure to watch that last!)

First up then, let’s jump right in with his ‘card-crusher’ routine.　Click on the box on the right hand side of the video to view subtitles if they don’t automatically come up!

Next up, Contempt. How do you look down on people?

Following that, a spot of Doubt.

Full of yourself much? Perhaps you’re acting like a stuck up King…

Gives that delightful teenage word ‘Crush’ a whole new meaning…

Talking through your nose. A classic kids party trick.

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And finally – the celebration and masterpiece that is Professor Himonya! Watch him in his own fan-crafted video ^^. I wonder who made it..?

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Watch the full ‘How to make people angry’ program in 3 parts on Nico Nico Douga (no subtitles):

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Sources:

Encyclopediadramatica
TV Tokyo Information
Wikipedia

Tools for downloading Nico Nico Douga videos:

Tubeplayer
Nicowiki
Nicodownloader

In other news, it’s been a while since I updated! I’m busy completing my short dissertation for Japanese and preparing for exam revision. That’s right, I haven’t actually started the revising yet – I’m still preparing to ^^;. But you can look forward (or not) to some more wonderful philosophy posts. I’m studying Ethics this semester, so you’ll be reading about Aristotle, Hume, Kant and Mill and their attempts to explain the delicate world of morals that we rely on so heavily but take for granted in our day-to-day lives.

Happy St. George’s Day by the way! I used to go and do ceremonial marches every year on this day with the Scouts.

Enough with the chitchat – take a look at this short collection of clips from the 2-season series! Japanese language learners will obviously get the most enjoyment out of it – but it does have rough English subtitles, so take a look ^^.

Source: Nissan Homepage

There are also interviews with Shun Oguri (小栗旬) on the website – he has starred in several dramas including the role of Rui in the drama ‘Hana Yori Dango’. He does a guest voice in Golden Eggs episode 21 as Emilo, the bedridden sick old man. Incidentally, if you click on the picture at the top of this post and look at the expanded version, Rose and Mary are talking about his appearance in the series and how much they want to meet him (旬くん）^^;.

The English and subsequently the useful Japanese (which is full of slang and natural ways of speaking you can’t get form a textbook) has also been made into a small book! Check Amazon.co.jp.

I would like to put an episode or two up to give more of a taster of the series, but they are always quickly taken down from Youtube and similar sites. Currently you can find an episode here though. But I guess it will be be removed any time soon.

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I recently came across an advertisement in Aera – a current affairs magazine in Japan while searching for information for my short dissertation I’m writing. It seems Nissan has teamed up with Plusheads (the company behind Golden Eggs) and are pushing their new line of car, the Nissan NOTE, covered with the catchphrases and bizarre characters that appear in Golden Eggs. I scanned the spread from the magazine in, so feel free to check out the Golden Eggs characters below!

I also found a couple of videos of recent adverts that have been airing in Japan to promote the car. Take a look – no subtitles though, sorry -_-”

In the second advert, Rose and Mary are building the car (a play on their usual role of cooking in the Golden Eggs series). They are talking about ‘nenpi’ (燃費) which means ‘fuel consumption’, as this car is marketed as having a low fuel consumption. For the growing amount of environmentally aware consumers, this seems to be a must nowadays. Somehow, having these two effeminate characters chat about the low fuel consumption is hilarious!

Still, I have to wonder, does this sort of advertising really work? It’s so obvious that they are using the success of Golden Eggs to push the car, but even so, I guess I want to buy it more than other cars now because I liked the series… Maybe consumers know they are being roped in, but enjoy it nonetheless? Hmm. Still, low fuel consumption *is* good… :P