gonzo

Whatever the reason, there’s something incredibly funny about watching an Asian man perform ridiculous dances with a deadly serious expression. We saw it not too long ago with the online explosion of Gangnam Style, and we’re seeing it now with an influx of foreign interest in Japanese comedian, Gonzo. This man is known for his choreographed tambourine dances, always performed without cracking so much as a smirk. If not for his crazy outfits, you might think that he was taking his performances just a bit too seriously!

In recent years Gonzo has made multiple appearances on Japanese television and has become fairly well-known within the country. Nevertheless, it came as a surprise when a recent YouTube clip from one of his performances in Akihabara started attracting global attention.

In the clip, Gonzo dances to the 1985 hit single, Friends, by Rebecca. His skill with a tambourine is truly superb, though it seems ever at odds with the colorful spandex and serious expression that he wears. The dichotomy between his overall appearance and passionate dance makes it hard not to laugh, provided you’re not too traumatized by the image of a middle-aged man jiggling in a leotard. The real height of the performance comes when Gonzo removes his glasses and begins smacking himself in the face with the tambourine. All perfectly timed to the music, of course.

The title of the hilarious video is 「タンバリンマスターGONZO　フレンズ2013（仮）」 (Tambourine Master GONZO Friends 2013). In the few weeks since it was posted, it’s amassed more than 900,000 views and has been shared on countless foreign websites, earning it a lot of attention from world-wide Internet users. The comments that people leave behind come in a number of different languages and range from excitement and wonder to disbelief at the man’s very existence.

Truly, this is the height of Japanese humor.

▼   Here we’ve included the full clip, for your viewing pleasure.

Source: Net Lab