Katsudou Dai Shashin "Mankatsu"

On 2004 July 31, a new TV series called Katsudou Dai Shashin "Mankatsu" (roughly translated Big Movie Show "Mankatsu") began to air on the Japanese satellite station WOWOW. The series featured a unique format; a series of vignettes ("Short Corners") would play followed by a fifteen minute "Mini Stage" story. Another series of vignettes would play before the thirty minute "Main Stage" story would play. Another series of vignettes would end the program.

Two main stories were broken down into a "mini stage" of fifteen minutes and a "main stage" of thirty minutes. Eight vignettes called "Short Corners" were interspersed through the hour from a rotation of eight possible titles. Finally, three "Real Copy Gravure Idol Corner" segments were aired in the middle.

The stories and vignettes are all based on previous manga work by Monkey Punch. One of the more notable vignettes is "Lupin World" featuring our favorite band of thieves frustrating Zenigata at every turn. The name "Mankatsu" is given to vignettes revolving around the antics of various apes and monkeys that can only speak by saying "Mankatsu". Quite often, the Lupin cast would show up in these shorts as well.

Nearly all of the stories showcased Monkey Punch's ribald sense of humor. Two shorts focused solely on puns and wordplay to give the viewer one mental visual (usually sexual in nature) but then reveal a completely different, innocuous visual.

In the middle of the episode would be a "Real Copy Gravure Idol Corner" segment featuring a lovely idol/model. These segments did not make it onto the DVD release though, likely due to copyright issues. Mankatsu is still being broadcast in reruns, and the entire series has been released in a DVD box set. You can view more information and images at the official Japanese site.