A Whole Mess of Stuff: Tapeworms, Butt Bugs, Crying Kids, Pianos and Poop

A couple of months back I was inundating my blog with clips done byうるまでるび (Uruma Derubi) for Fuji TV's morning childrens TV show ウゴウゴルーガ (Ugo Ugo Ru-Ga - 0fficial site). These were perverse animated bonbons made for kids that included:

• A talking tapeworm that comes out of a person's ass and spouts a quote by Pascal
• Walking mandarin oranges from outer space that squeak and do... stuff
  
• A talking turd who juts out of a toilet to impart philosophy etc. **

These little clips were and are intensely popular in Japan and while the PTA in Japan went apoplectic due to their content, the li'l ones loved it.

Well, guess what? The husband and wife team that comprise Uruma Derubi are the demented geniuses behind that おしりかじり虫 (Oshiri Kajiri Mushi aka. the 'Butt Munching Bug') song that rocketed to popularity in the West after it got mentioned on BOING BOING several weeks back.

Looking from the outside in on Japanese TV, it would seem that this is normal fare-- but no, in fact it's not. Even Japanese folks find the 'Butt Munching Bug' to be so stupid it's funny and as Japanprobe reported last week, it's become a top-10 hit. Also, thanks to Japanprobe, they've posted a video to YouTube that includes an interview with the geniuses behind all of the Uruma Derubi cartoons. It's pretty rare to have this couple come out of hiding and do this sort of thing and in the grand tradition of Japanese manga (well, this time it's anime but you get it...) weirdos they're super cheery folks that would fit comfortably in a Paxil ad.

Original Oshiri Kajiri Mushi video:



Here's the interview with Uruma Derubi:



Here're 8 minutes of spinning reindeer, also done by them:



Moving on, the other week I posted about the Japanese commercials that make crying Japanese brats shut up. The actual episode of 探偵！ナイトスクープ (Tantei Knight Scoop) that investigated this claim was incredibly difficult to track down, but thanks to my wife, I've got it. Chances are pretty good that this link will disappear at some point soon seeing as Japanese broadcasters are cracking down on their content showing up on YouTube, so check this out soon, if you have a chance. (In Japanese, though...)

Here's the original ad, again, for reference:



(For the record, Takemoto Piano is a used piano shop. Therefore, the seemingly random inclusion of the kitty cat jumping off of the piano is meant to say that if your cat uses your piano more for a bed then you play it, it's time to sell it. So now you know!)

Here's the full Tantei Knight Scoop:


Previous blog postings for Ugo Ugo Ru-Ga.

** Notably absent are my all-time favorite cartoons by Uruma Derubi called ぶるたぶちゃん (Burutabu Chan!). The concept is simple, a dude who shits a lot. No wonder it was canceled. However, I have an amazing VHS tape of all of the Burutabu Chan! cartoons. Riotous. Here's a link to one. (Not a great one, but you'll get an idea of what it is...)