I caught this on NPR this afternoon and looked it up on their website. For jazz aficionados the humor is sublime.
http://www.theworld.org/2010/02/17/japanese-jazz-opera/
http://www.theworld.org/2010/02/17/japanese-jazz-opera/
A Music Video Beyond Description
- Thread starter jbtsax
- Start date
Great!
It's definitely weird, but it's not only weird, once you look beyond that you can see it's very very good!
The story line is from an ancient Japanese folk tale.
Bizarre and captivating at the same time. I like it 
Some of y'all might remember that one of the things that I'm interested in is anime, aka Japanese animation. Now, while watching Japanese TV says about as much of Japanese culture as watching US TV says about American culture -- as an example, most families are not like The Simpsons -- it does reveal something about likes/dislikes. If you want to extend it to culture, you can, but note that it's a tad stilted or caricatured.
Anyhow, one of the most popular anime ever is one that I've mentioned here a number of times: Cowboy Bebop. Not only does the soundtrack from this anime feature excellent jazz, bebop, etc. (see http://www.dipity.com/timetube/YouTube_Cowboy_Bebop for a catalog of YouTubage), it spawned about a dozen and a half very good selling CDs and the LIVE concerts featuring this music were very, very well attended -- if the video clips I've seen are any indication. The point: jazz is hot in Japan and has been for quite some time.
Japanese folk are also fond of all things Western, but that's kind of obvious, from the video. However, they do enjoy poking fun at Westerners, when they have the chance.
The other thing, regarding the "old folk tale" angle: a lot of anime is based on one or another folk tale or novel, generally one called Into the West -- of which there are so many adaptations, I can't even Google to get an original. However, if you watch anime for awhile, you'll find the characters in that skit were somewhat familiar.
Finally, Japanese humor can be totally bizarre. Sublime, sometimes, but generally sledge-hammer in your face obvious. If you thought this skit was bizarre, you obviously have never seen a Japanese game show or any anime that's considered "humor" (as an example, say, Excel Saga, which was so hyper, one of the voice actors damaged her vocal cords).
Anyhow, one of the most popular anime ever is one that I've mentioned here a number of times: Cowboy Bebop. Not only does the soundtrack from this anime feature excellent jazz, bebop, etc. (see http://www.dipity.com/timetube/YouTube_Cowboy_Bebop for a catalog of YouTubage), it spawned about a dozen and a half very good selling CDs and the LIVE concerts featuring this music were very, very well attended -- if the video clips I've seen are any indication. The point: jazz is hot in Japan and has been for quite some time.
Japanese folk are also fond of all things Western, but that's kind of obvious, from the video. However, they do enjoy poking fun at Westerners, when they have the chance.
The other thing, regarding the "old folk tale" angle: a lot of anime is based on one or another folk tale or novel, generally one called Into the West -- of which there are so many adaptations, I can't even Google to get an original. However, if you watch anime for awhile, you'll find the characters in that skit were somewhat familiar.
Finally, Japanese humor can be totally bizarre. Sublime, sometimes, but generally sledge-hammer in your face obvious. If you thought this skit was bizarre, you obviously have never seen a Japanese game show or any anime that's considered "humor" (as an example, say, Excel Saga, which was so hyper, one of the voice actors damaged her vocal cords).