American Police Batsu 2017/18 – Part 3 Extended Translator’s Notes

Don’t worry everyone, Clippy is here! Back with Volume 3 of the Culturally Impaired Edition! Sorry it’s a little late, been preoccupied with the 2018 Olympics…

If you want more information on Japanese culture, language, etc that are referenced in the American Police Batsu, you’ve come to the right place. Hopefully I can answer any questions you may have regarding some of the specific references. If not, feel free to ask in the comments.

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Sento/Public Baths
Public baths are pretty common in Japan. Meaning that several people will bathe together in a large bathing room. It can range from luxurious fancy baths with an outdoor view to more humble and common ones like you see here. There are some strict rules to follow in public baths, such as most bathhouses will absolutely forbid tattoos of any kinds due to affiliation with the yakuza. (There are some bathhouses that will allow small Western style tattoos, but if it’s obvious that you’ve got the yakuza type tattoos, you’ll be turned away.) If you’re more curious about the culture of public baths in Japan, read more about it here.

Hotaru Yukijiro
Hotaru is a famous Japanese actor. He’s most well-known for his roles in the Japanese movies, Garo. He’s also been in Japanese pink films (softcore porn) early in his career.

Murata Takehiro
Murata is another famous Japanese actor and has been in several Godzilla films. He’s been in several TV series as well ranging from detective crime mysteries, family dramas, and even samurai dramas.

Nakajima Hiroko
Nakajima is a Japanese actress who has been in several dramas and films. One you may know is the live action adaptation of Barefoot Gen.

Thai Kick
His actual name is Torsu na Nontachai. He’s been in several of the Batsu games and is a regular in the DVD portion of the show, particularly for Thai kicking Tanaka. He’s also appeared in some Japanese commercials. Torsu actually owns a Muay Thai gym in Tokyo and has 30 years of professional Muay Thai under his belt, so he’s pretty legit. Check out his website if you want to learn how to Thai kick from Thai Kick!

Crime Dramas and Cliffs
It’s an overused trope to use a steep cliff for the climax of Japanese police/detective dramas. Something about hearing the roaring waves crash against the cliff and the chance that you could easily fall to your death that makes it the setting of choice for the conclusion, I guess.

Tuk Tuk
These kinds of cars are often seen in Southeast Asian countries. They kind of work like taxis where the driver takes you where you want to go as you look out at the bustling towns and cities. They’re not really known to be safe, but most of the time, the tuk tuk drivers know what they’re doing.

Thanks to my Thai friend, Bartholomew Sanic, for this info.

I’ll go from left to right, top to bottom. I will skip the regular Batsu members since we already know who they are.

Team Miyasako

Hakata Hanamaru: Hanamaru is a boke comedian, part of the Hanamaru-Daikichi Hakata duo. He specializes in doing impressions. He also acted as Kamen Rider Brave’s father on Kamen Rider Ex-Aid.

Miyasako Hiroyuki: Miyasako is a comedian and actor who has appeared in a couple of different Batsus since Downtown are senpais to Miyasako and Hotohara’s comedian duo, Ameagari Kesshitai. He’s appeared in several variety shows as well as voiced for animes like Mazinger Z Infinity, Crayon Shin-chan, and Piano no Mori. He’s also voiced for some of the Yakuza games for PlayStation.

Kikuchi Ami: Kikuchi is a gravure idol and Japanese tarento (talent). She was also in the idol group, Idoling!!!

Matoba Kouji: Matoba is an actor and tarento who has appeared in shows and movies like Mito Komon, Saka no Ue no Kumo, Terra Formars, etc.

Lotti Nakaoka: Nakaoka is the boke half of the Lotti comedian duo. Watch this somewhat mismatching J-Pop music video by mihimaru GT that Nakaoka is in.

Team Fujimoto

Fujimoto Toshifumi: Fujimoto is the tsukkomi half of the FUJIWARA comedian duo. He says his head/face is huge, so an ongoing joke is that someone will say, “Is it me or does this studio feel small?” and he’ll reply, “It’s because my face is huge!”

Cunning Takeyama: Takeyama is a tarento, actor, and boke comedian for the Cunning duo. He’s appeared in several variety shows and voiced Master Splinter in the Japanese dubs of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadow.

Shinohara Shinichi: He’s a retired judoka who has won silver for Japan in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics in the Men’s Judo +100kg class. He now appears in TV shows, commercials, and voices for anime.

Takizawa Karen: Karen is a fashion model, actress, and ballerina. She won a contest for Japanese magazine Seventeen as Miss Seventeen in 2008. Her father is Ukrainian and her mother is half-Japanese. She also acted as Eline Suda/Aquarius Zodiarts on Kamen Rider Fourze.

Chihara Junior
Chihara Junior is the younger brother of the comedian duo, Chihara Kyoudai, with his older brother, Seiji. He has appeared in other Batsu games in these team game skits as a host. He regularly appears in several Japanese variety shows.

“Stop saying it like Helen would!!”
Yelling, “Helen!!” is a common phrase for imitation of Nishikawa Kiyoshi, which is Nishikawa Helen’s husband. Fujimoto said “Kareeen!” just like how Kiyoshi would yell, “Helen”.
This bit of info was brought to our attention by Reddit user ch3311 today, so the subs will need some corrections…

URRRRUUUUFUI~
Matsumoto and Fujimoto are just messing around. No real significance, but still funny.

Tuna Auction
Japan’s biggest fish market, Tsukiji, is very famous for their tuna auction. It’s pretty intense and although limited visitors are allowed, they’re very strict as it is a place for business, not a tourist attraction. You have to go to the market as early as 3am to catch the auction and if you ask me if it’s worth watching, I say no as I’m more interested in eating tuna than watching people do their early morning work. But it’s up to you if you want to watch it. Be aware that the famous fish market is being moved from Tsukiji to Toyosu this fall in preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and to update it to a more modern setup. Watch this YouTube video to see how the auction works.

Visual Kei
Just like the T/N says, it’s a music/fashion movement. It’s often compared to glam rock with the extraordinary style. The music usually includes punk rock, heavy metal, gothic rock, experimental, pop, and electronic. Famous Japanese band, X Japan, is credited as one of the founders of the movement. Here’s an example of what Miyasako is imitating.

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That’s all for today. As always, if you guys have additional questions, feel free to leave a comment. Hope you guys enjoyed this volume of the Extended Translator’s Notes!

[EDIT]: Thanks to Rider Sensei and Reddit user yunlien for more details on Hanamaru and Karen for their roles in Kamen Rider. Huge thanks to Reddit user ch3311 for explaining the Karen/Helen joke because none of us knew what the hell it meant.

Clippy signing off!