8
Feb
Pythagora Switch, and the Stomach Flu
Topic: Family and Friends, Japan 2007
For the past few days we’ve been watching Japanese children’s television - a lot of Japanese children’s television. Kai and Eidan were very sick with the stomach flu, and just as they were getting better, Maria and I came down with it yesterday. To keep the boys happy while they were sick, and to ease their parenting needs while Maria and I are sick, we’ve kept the TV on.
We all agree that, without a doubt, the best show is ピタゴラ スイッチ (Pitagora Suitchi - in English, Pythagora Switch). The closest parallel on American TV would be Sesame Street, in that there are recurring segments and characters. What makes Pythagora Switch fun to watch is the simplicity and humor of it - it has an innocent charm to it. Our favorite segments are the two that they close the show with: the elaborate marble mazes they build from household items (this segment is usually about 30 seconds, and someone put together an amazing 9 minute compilation of them on YouTube) and the Algorithm March. Eidan in particular goes crazy for this. A really entertaining example is on YouTube - the Algorithm March with Ninjas (the ninjas show up halfway through):
The steps and song in the Marches we’ve seen on TV are completely different from this one (with 4 guys from the Yomiuri Giants yesterday), so it’s not the same thing every time.
A somewhat disturbing twist on the whole thing is this video of several hundred prisoners in the Philippines doing their own rendition of the Algorithm March.
We were surprised to see Dora the Explorer on TV here. Instead of English and Spanish, it’s Japanese and English. It turns out that Dora’s vaguely Hispanic look passes for vaguely Asian as well. Dora’s actually been improving my Japanese vocabulary, as they always show pictures when introducing new words, and then they say them over and over (and over) again.
We’re hoping that Maria and I will feel better with one more good night’s sleep, as we have a flight scheduled to Hokkaido tomorrow, for the Snow Festival (the very unusual lack of snow this year, as well as a good overall description of the festival, made the Washington Post today). And, if nothing else, we could do with a break from TV 
February 8th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Half a world away and nothing has changed! We’re watching Dora and suffering with stomach bugs back in the states this week too.