Kasou Taishou is a semi-annual show on NTV in which various amateur groups perform short skits, which are rated by a panel of judges. Especially in recent years, many of the skits have revolved around clever methods of "faking" cinematic special effects on a live stage. The show is hosted by Kinichi Hagimoto and Shingo Katori. Worldwide, the most famous of these skits, and among the most successful at "fake special effects" was a skit which is widely known as "Matrix ping pong".
Matrix Ping Pong is the name of a popular movie clip from the show showing performers mixing moves in the style of The Matrix with Ping Pong, using kurokos—stagehands in kabuki theatre—to hold the props up, facilitating humorous and otherwise impossible movements. Most of the elements in the performance are set against black, rendering the stagehands invisible at first. In fact, the scene appears to be a normal game of ping pong at first sight, until the incredible feats are performed. This performance, led by team captain Hideki Kajiwara, won the competition on March 31, 2003. The movie clip became an internet meme for a while.
International broadcast
The show is also aired internationally in some countries. Hong Kong airs this programme under the name of "全民創意爭霸賽" on the :zh:香港有線電視娛樂台/高清娛樂台|i-CABLE Entertainment Channel with Cantonese dubbing. Indonesia, Malaysia and Singaporeon the other hand airs it under the name of Masquerade. The Indonesian and Singaporean broadcasts under this title are aired dubbed, on RCTI in Indonesian and MediaCorp okto in English respectively, whereas the Malaysian broadcast on TV3 is aired with Malay subtitles. Southeast Asia also airs it as Masquerade on Sony Gem TV aired every Christmas Day. In the Philippines, the version of the show airs on GMA Network as part of Bilib Ka Ba Nights block of the network under the name of Masquerade and hosted by Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola, it ran from August 20, 2008 to March 11, 2009.
The show was featured in the music video for the 2004 single "Flamboyant" by British pop-duo Pet Shop Boys. Directed by Nico Beyer, the music video follows one of the real participants of the show that eventually goes on to win the competition with their recreation of billiards.
