ItalianoGeinoujin Kakudzuke CHECK! 2016 New Year Special program overview
Broadcasting date/time: 1 January 2016, 18:00~21:00 (Japan time)
Program Summary
First-rate celebrity teams will face rating checks with different categories like taste-tests or music, and with each error of judgment they will slide down the ranks from first-class → normal → second-rate → third-rate → imposter and the lowest rank causing them to be unfit to be shown on screen in this definitive edition of the household original Kakudzuke (rating) variety show! This time, Hamada Masatoshi and Shiro Ito will be acting as the Kakudzuke Masters. Among the esteemed guests, who are of the true first-class, and who aren’t even worth to be shown on screen!? In the mayhem and unpredictable events which unfold this time, both Hamada and Ito go crazy too! Which of the first-class entertainers can remain on screen until the end!?
This time, there’s a special rule for GACKT who has 36 consecutive correct answers without making a single error! Said Hamada, 「As the other guest stars will get an idea of which is the correct answer once GACKT enters the “A/B rooms”」, without knowing which room GACKT chose until the end of each Check, there will be an A/B Room specially for GACKT to use that is shutoff from the other guest stars and the viewers! The tension and considerable thrill is inevitable with this being a first in the history of 「Kakudzuke CHECK」!
Ranking Check
Check 1 「Wine」
In the annual wine tasting challenge, a super rare vintage of Bordeaux, France’s finest wines, the Château Lafite-Rothschild, makes an appearance! A supreme red wine from one of the top 5 chateau in Bordeaux, it is a vintage wine of about 90 years old from 1923, and is a gem worth more than 1 million yen. The wine it is to be compared with is a table wine worth 5 thousand yen a bottle. Those performing the check are Tatsuo Umemiya, Koji Ishizaka, Rino Katase, GACKT, Rina Uchiyama, Sano Hinako, Ono Nonoka, Yurina Yanagi.
Check 2 「Musical Sensitivity」
A 「Musical Sensitivity」where they listen to an instrumental trio of violins and cello. The two instruments, one a famous instrument crafted in 1716 during Stradivarius’ finest golden era 「Stradivarius Natchez」, and the other also crafted in the golden era, the 「Stradivarius Tartini」which was used by Tartini who was a reknowned violinist and composer of Prague’s court orchestra. And, a famous instrument that is one of only three in the world 「Gasparo da Salò」. These three instruments cost 3.2 billion yen to play (!) and will produce the music for the check. The instrumental trio to be compared to consists of beginners’ violins and cello （totla cost of 800,000 yen）. For this check, it will be challenged by Hiroki Matsukata, Kazuhisa Kawahara, Kaku Chikako, Kitayama Hiromitsu & Nakayama Yuuma, Kiritani Mirei, and qualifier entertainers.
Check 3 「Taste-test」
From the restaurants which regularly appear on the famous Michelin guide, they will examine the flavours of the finest-ingredients which have been cooked with top-notch skills. For this check, they will participate in their teams, and there will be time to exchange opinions if they are at odds. While the ingredients used are clearly different, this is a difficult test which have always plagued first-class entertainers.
Japanese restaurant 「Kitsubame」’s Soft‐shelled Turtle Hot Pot（3,800 yen）and frog (300 yen each)
French restaurant 「Restaurant tateru yoshino GINZA」’s acclaimed luxurious dessert, Mille-feuille made with Échiré butter (2,300 yen) and margarine (200 yen per 100 grams)
Japanese restaurant 「Nico」’s Steamed Abalone Steak （7,800 yen market value）and normal abalone （200 yen per piece）
Chinese restaurant「Mizuyuki」’s Braised Shark Fin (9,000 yen) and man-made shark fin (600 yen per 100 grams)
Japanese restaurant「Ginzaichigo」’s Sea Bream Rice（5,000 yen market value） and frozen tilapia（400 yen per fish）
「Jean-Georges Tokyo」’s Sea Urchin Toast Jalapeño & Yuzu (3,500 yen) and Chilean frozen sea urchin (350 yen per 100 grams)
Also, Hamada and Ito will be participating in this Check. The ingredient that they will taste with their tongues is top-quality Matsuba crab. They will be comparing Japanese restaurant「Tetsu An」’s Matsuba Crab Hot Pot (30,000 yen) with frozen snow crab (200 yen) but, like last year, they are divided on the answer this year as well…
Check 4「Wind Music」
They will be listening and distinguishing between the pro wind instrument orchestra「Tokyo Wind Symphony Orchestra」and the amatuer「Tamagawa University Wind Symphony Orchestra」. Established in 1963, the「Tokyo Wind Symphony Orchestra」is an award-winning talented orchestra which has won in the Japan Wind Symphony Orchestra Academy Awards and more. On the other side is the amatuer「Tamagawa University Wind Symphony Orchestra」.
Check 5「Bonsai」
They compare between a work produced by the award-winning bonzai artist who has won the Prime Ministers’ Award among others and represents Japan, Kobayashi Kunio（100 million yen）and a candy bonsai that was made with mochi and bean paste.
Check 6「Beef」
The finest fillet of Hida beef, which has become Japan’s number 1 beef in recent years, makes an appearance in the form of the ultimate grilled steak from the famous restaurant「Teppanyaki Kaika」! The super high quality steak that is worth 20,000 yen per 100 grams will be compared with ther supermarket bought American beef（900 yen per 100 grams）. If they get the last Check wrong, they will fall by 2 ranks in one go. Finally, the teams who will disappear from the screen will emerge!
Source: asahi.co.jp
Translation: GACKT ITALIA Team
Translation © GACKT ITALIA