The September 26 broadcast of “Celebrity Rating Check: Autumn 3.5-Hour Special” drew a 10.8% rating, the lowest since the autumn special began in 2018. News reports claimed “GACKT’s absence isn’t the cause,” but on 5ch, users pointed to the men’s soccer international tournament airing opposite it, as well as the 3.5-hour runtime being a poor fit for the streaming era. Some also voiced distrust over GACKT’s long winning streak on the show, leaving the real cause of the ratings drop up for debate.
Autumn “Rating Check” ratings hit an all-time low — the “convincing reason” why it’s not about “GACKT’s absence”
Did a lot of people think a “Rating Check” without GACKT just wasn’t worth watching? The “Celebrity Rating Check: Autumn 3.5-Hour Special” (produced by TV Asahi/Asahi Broadcasting), aired on September 26, finished with a rating of 10.8% (Video Research, Kanto region, household ratings; same below).
It’s far from a low number, but it’s reportedly the lowest ever for the “Autumn Special” since it began in 2018. Is GACKT really to blame?
Honestly, watching an Osaka night-view video channel on YouTube is more fun than watching Peace-kun (the Omiya Park peacock livestream).
4AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:28
The pacing's terrible, there's no way today's young people would get into this show.
Feels like it's mainly popular with middle-aged and older folks who have time to kill.
5AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:29
Not bragging, but I've never watched this once.
Got no plans to start either.
Total waste of time.
84AnonymousOct 3, 2026 18:00
Re: #5
That post right there is the biggest waste of all, lol
6AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:29
GACKT's absence? Come on, GACKT's whole act is fake to begin with.
7AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:30
A dragged-out 3.5 hours in this 'taipa' (time-efficiency-obsessed) era 🤣😂🤣
8AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:31
What was on opposite it again?
I think it was something from the Asian Games
Even I'd have picked that over this.
9AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:32
Lord GACKT: 'What even are NISA's main stocks?' (NISA = Japan's tax-free investment program)
10AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:32
Nah, that's plenty high — pretty much no variety show hits double digits these days.
11AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:32
Does GACKT even have anything to do with it?
Most people probably have more fun binging short-form videos these days.
A tasting show that runs over 3 hours —
that format should've stayed back in the Heisei era.
13AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:32
I really don't think it was a good call to scrap the big preliminary round where Hamada bullies a huge pack of comedians and cackles about it.
14AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:33
If they'd actually given the Asian Games proper coverage, it would've gotten people hyped, obviously
with Olympics-level production and all
TV really is run by idiots.
15AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:33
If Mattsun and Hamada both flop too, they're going to lose all their authority.
16AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:33
That whole trend where everyone feels obligated to suck up and hype up GACKT no matter what
I really can't stand it.
19AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:35
The perfect show to leave running at 2x speed on TVer in the background while you actually watch a drama or anime in another window.
21AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:35
Sure, it's a tough call for amateurs, but the answers always end up split right down the middle — makes you wonder if it's rigged.
Every single time, more people get it wrong than right. Isn't that statistically off?
22AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:36
The guests were pretty lame, but it still pulled double digits.
23AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:36
Yeah, a variety show running over 3 hours is a tough sell these days.
32AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:41
Re: #23
Nobody but the New Year's crowd has the free time to sit through the same show for 3 hours straight.
Same goes for streaming.
24AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:37
I don't even get what's supposed to be fun about this.
25AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:38
Re: #24
It's fun if you watch it along with a live-commentary (jikkyo) thread.
27AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:38
Re: #24
It really comes down to the live commentary.
I recorded it this time,
but I'm not sure I'll even bother watching it back.
26AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:38
Breaking 10% on a weekday is actually pretty high.
28AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:38
I mean, the lineup felt more like second-string than A-list anyway.
29AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:40
Bring back the preliminary round
that's the part that's actually fun.
30AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:40
Doesn't matter if GACKT's on or not
not to the viewers, anyway.
31AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:40
Oh, so that's what was airing opposite it, huh~ I see~ well, guess that can't be helped then~
33AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:41
Even A-list celebrities only get a million yen appearance fee for this?
TV really is finished, huh?
35AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:42
Kura Sushi — which turns whatever Hama-chan cooks up on the show into an actual product afterward — has way bigger problems to deal with right now.
37AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:42
I stopped watching around when GACKT's win streak started
there's no way that's not blatantly staged
you could search the whole world and never find anyone who wins 87 in a row for real.
39AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:42
I can't stop thinking about this director named Monica.
40AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:43
Honestly I'd rather watch it if GACKT's NOT on, but I have no idea when it even airs
and even with the TV on I never watch terrestrial broadcast anyway.
42AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:45
Huh, it aired without me even noticing
by the way, isn't TBS doing its Thanksgiving Festival this season? Did that already air?
43AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:45
Wait, they were showing fencing? On TV, during primetime?
49AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:49
Re: #43
It was just men's soccer, obviously.
46AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:48
64AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:53
Even back on New Year's when GACKT was out sick, the ratings didn't budge, so GACKT has nothing to do with the ratings.
70AnonymousOct 3, 2026 17:55
Re: #64
Then I have no clue what the point of never letting him lose was, lol
91AnonymousOct 3, 2026 18:03
Re: #64
It's not about whether GACKT's there or not, it's about whether it's New Year's.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
The “Autumn 3.5-Hour Special” is a signature installment of Rating Check that’s been running since 2018, where celebrities guess whether wines, foods, and other items are genuine or fake. This time’s 10.8% rating is the lowest ever for this particular slot, but it still clears double digits for a primetime variety show, so it’s hardly a dramatic collapse. What split opinion on the thread was the theory that “the numbers dropped because GACKT wasn’t on” — many pointed instead to the men’s soccer international tournament airing opposite it, and to the 3.5-hour runtime itself becoming harder to sit through these days. At the same time, plenty of users remain skeptical about GACKT’s long winning streak, so opinions on the cast and format are still split. The thread’s reactions also highlight how hard it is for news coverage to pin a ratings swing on any single cause.
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