Penguin no Mondai

These two shows share the same off-the-wall sense of humor, incorporating sometimes hilarious, sometimes mind-boggling surreal events like you would never expect to see in real life. Both series have two main characters, who in the tradition of Japanese comedy, play the "straight man" (Hare/Naoto) and the "idiot" (Guu/Beckham) respectively--one performing most of the unexpected comedic gags, the other responding with horror and struggling to stay sane in the midst of it all. The love/hate relationship between these two characters is also a feature of both shows, as is the cast of recurring minor characters who seem to have no problem ignoring the "idiot" character's strange antics. As a final similarity, both shows tend to sidetrack into "forbidden" territory--Penguin no Mondai relies heavily on toilet humor, while Hare+Guu uses sexual innuendo quite frequently. Neither is something you want to screen for young kids, unless you don't mind all sorts of awkward jokes afterward. read more