<Addition on 1/7/2024.
Mr. GACKT achieved a “personal winning streak record of 76” today.
<Addition on 1/1/2023.
Mr. GACKT is “fully recovered” and achieved a “personal winning streak record of 71” today.
Speaking of popular New Year’s programs, Masaaki Sakai (1946- ) once gained popularity for many years for his “expert performances” in the “New Year’s Kakushigei Contest” broadcast by Fuji Television from 1964 to 2010.
Currently, “Celebrity Ratings Check,” a TV Asahi affiliate in which Masanori Hamada (1963- ) and Shiro Ito (1937- ) serve as MCs (rating masters), has become a “New Year’s tradition,” hasn’t it?
１．What is “Celebrity Ratings Check”?
The “Celebrity Ratings Check” was originally born out of the “Entertainer Ratings Check” section of the TV Asahi program “Let’s go with the popular people!
The New Year’s program began in 2005. The teams that cannot answer the questions are dropped from “top entertainers” to “ordinary entertainers,” “second-rate entertainers,” “third-rate entertainers,” “look-alike entertainers,” and “not worthy of being shown.
The main checks include “wine,” “sense of sound (comparison of fine and common musical instruments, comparison of professional and amateur performances, etc.),” “sensitivity (comparison of real and imitation jewelry and paintings, comparison of professional and amateur calligraphy and flower arrangement, comparison of pedigreed and hybrid animals, etc.),” “first-class common sense (table manners, wedding and funeral etiquette, etc.),” and “food (taste). manners, etc.),” and ”food sensation (taste).
While only the performers can tell about the “wine” and “texture (taste),” the other checks can be done by viewers, which may be an attractive feature.
What is interesting about “wine” and “texture (taste)” is that “gourmet boasters” such as Tatsuo Umemiya, while full of confidence in what they say, miss the mark spectacularly.
In such a situation, only “GACKT” (1973- ), as an individual, boasts a record of 58 consecutive wins as of January 2019.
<Addition on 1/1/202020.
Mr. GACKT achieved a “personal record of 62 consecutive wins” today.
Recently, since it is almost certain that Mr. “GACKT” will answer correctly, the style has changed to only him waiting for the correct answer in the “special room”.
But, you may ask, “How can he be the only one who can string together the right answers? Isn’t it a trick? Is he being told the correct answers or hints in advance?”
Once, in “Quiz Derby,” cartoonist Hara taira (1943-2006) was called an “alien” by host Ohashi Kyosen (1934-2016) because he gave correct answers to “questions that seem impossible to answer,” but I strongly suspect that this was “yarase” (being told the answers in advance) in the program production.
２．About “GACKT”
GACKT is a singer-songwriter and actor from Okinawa, Japan. He is currently residing in Malaysia.
I have never heard of his music, and he does not seem to have any particularly well-known hits in general.
He played the role of Uesugi Kenshin in NHK’s historical drama “Fu-Rin-Kazan” in 2007, which is about as memorable as it gets.
Since he is a musician, it is not difficult to imagine that he has an excellent “sense of sound. However, it is surprising that he can distinguish “wine,” “texture (taste),” and even “authenticity of bonsai.
Is he that well versed in “wine” and does he have a discerning palate from eating French cuisine and other fine foods? I have the impression that he is a mysterious and variously “enigmatic person,” such as “one meal a day + sugar restriction,” “stoic muscle training,” and “has not eaten rice for 20 years.
Manga artist Hara taira, who appeared on “Quiz Derby” hosted by Ohashi Kyosen, boasted an astounding 74% correct answer rate. I have a feeling that this is because of the program’s direction, “Maybe he was given a hint of the correct answer in advance by the question author or the program’s producer?”
It is a well-known fact that there are many “lies” on TV.
As a side note, a rare exception to this rule is Tetsuko Kuroyanagi of “The World’s Mysterious Discovery! ”
She had such a high percentage of correct answers that she could be called the “Queen of Quizzes.
The next theme of the show is announced in advance, so she read about 10 books on the subject before recording.
So it is no wonder that she had a higher percentage of correct answers than most people.