Japanese game shows are legendary for their ridiculousness. The latest video from one of these shows to hit the internet features a woman video taping while inside a glass box. Normally that would be odd but not concerning; however, the terrified woman is also getting shoved around in the glass box by a very large grizzly bear.
The woman is panicking throughout the 44-second clip, audibly screaming as the bear pushes, lifts and knocks over her glass box. It’s hard to blame her for freaking out. It would be startling to be that near to a predator, but if that’s the point of the game show, that’s what the contestant signed up for. It’s not as if players are normally blindsided by the basic premise. Usually, shows at least give people a heads up, but regardless, that doesn’t make her ordeal any less terrifying.
The clip is reportedly reportedly from a Japanese game show called Sekai No Hatte Madde Itte Q!. The bear-oriented game is called “Predator Shield,” which is a pretty apt description. More importantly, it makes me wonder whether there are other carnivores that get rotated into the equation. Maybe a run-in with a lion or a shark or even a vulture? I need answers, or at least more clips.
While Japanese shows are pretty crazy specimens, the “Predator Shield” sketch is not the craziest Japanese game show we’ve ever seen. We’ve also brought you the one where two women blow the body of a dead cicada back and forth attempting to get the other to swallow it. Eventually one woman does end up swallowing the creature, so yes, that bizarre game is about as gross as it sounds. Nevertheless, that’s small potatoes compared to the outrageous game show in which men attempt to sing karaoke while they are given a handjob by an attractive young woman. There are no grizzly bears involved, but still, it’s wild (and NSFW).
When you strip away all the bells and whistles of these shows, however, the basic point is largely the same as American game shows: to put random people in pressure packed situations to see how they respond. Sometimes we watch them try to answer questions on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, sometimes we see them try to find food on Survivor, and sometimes that means we watch a bear attack them while they’re inside a box.
