Morning Musume on Boing Boing

Morning Musume have hit the (little) big time! Today as I was reading Boing Boing (www.boingboing.net), as I do every day, I saw what appeared to be former Morning Musume member Abe Natsumi's eyes, with a slab of beef strapped to her forehead. There is a link to a video of the game that she and other members of Morning Musume are playing. The video comes from a Christmas special that aired in 2002, if I remember correctly. I actually have that show on videotape, and it is hilarious. Someone subtitled the video clip on line, but it really does not require any knowledge of Japanese or English to enjoy the clip. In their TV appearances over the years, Morning Musume have played hundreds of games, and this game has got to be one of my all-time favorites. The girls pop their heads up through holes in a clear plastic enclosure. An iguana-like lizard is let loose, and approaches the girls. The object of the game is to let the lizard come as close to you as possible before bailing (popping out of the hole). Abe Natsumi is particularly prone to screaming, as the clip shows. On a side note, Goto Maki has a few iguanas as pets, so it probably was not terribly scary for her. Also, Yoshizawa Hitomi's blank expression is priceless! As a fan I must point out an error in the description of Hello! Project on the Boing Boing site: Minimoni is no longer together, so you can no longer see them touring. And as for Tsunku, I think it is quite a stretch to describe any of the groups he has been in as "ginormous boy bands."

Update (2:30pm): Apparently, CNN trolls Boing Boing for stories (an excellent idea). According to this blog entry, Morning Musume have made it on CNN for this story!

Related Post: Book review of Ikoiri Musume