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The story
The October 14 broadcast of “Suiyobi no Downtown” (Wednesday Downtown) aired a segment testing the theory that “adults going all-out can chase a cabbage white butterfly no matter how far it goes.” The butterfly they had been protecting met an unexpected end when it was ultimately attacked by ants, and the remark comedian Morita Tetsuya of Saraba Seishun no Hikari made to a tearful Shibuya Nagisa was reported online as sparking a “minor controversy.” On the 5ch Geinou/Sports News+ thread, discussion focused less on Morita’s remark itself and more on whether Shibuya’s reaction was over the top, the structure of the segment, and the biology of cabbage white butterflies.
[“Suiyobi no Downtown”] Saraba’s Morita causes minor stir — remark to tearful Shibuya Nagisa over cabbage white butterfly’s unexpected ending called “the worst (crying)”
The October 14 broadcast of TBS’s “Suiyobi no Downtown” aired the “adults going all-out can chase a butterfly however far it goes” theory.
The attitude of Saraba Seishun no Hikari’s Morita Tetsuya toward a tearful Shibuya Nagisa, moved by the emotional ending, has caused a minor stir.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Higashi-Bukuro (from comedy duo Jungle Pocket) really is likable, isn't he
It happens once in a while,
so I think it's fine
That's the whole point
"even we don't really get it, but it looks fun so let's just try it"
is the most entertaining part of this show
The chicken race where Saraba's members got handed 10,000 yen every 10 seconds was great too
no normal show would pull that off
and the hidden rules baked into it made it even better
There are tons of them in Nerima Ward, which has a lot of cabbage fields
it's not daikon radish — cabbage is the main crop there
that part matters
He once got invited onto a memorial program for the racehorse Tempoint
and couldn't stop laughing, going "lol a horse died lol and there's a memorial show for it lol that's ridiculous lol"
Host Sanma was stunned
after that Ebisu became a regular on Sanma's shows
Casually shooting something down completely
is just classic Ebisu-san
There was also the time, while promoting a movie he was in,
he said "this movie's boring"
and "the director has no talent"
I figured it'd end up like that so I didn't watch
didn't expect it to get attacked by ants though
glad I skipped it
what bugged me more was Shibuya-san shouting things like "no! stop, stop!" at the top of her voice
She's free to be moved by it,
but that reaction felt way too shallow
The background jeering (gaya) was loud, yeah
Didn't watch it, but so that's how it was
no wonder Morita laughed
adults shouldn't be getting all choked up
Adults from that older generation, around the era of manga writer Tetsu Kariya ("Oishinbo"),
used to say "it's happier and freer out in nature!"
and would take pets away from kids to release them into the wild
so it's actually good to learn this is what really happens to them
knowing it'll die within two days makes it worse, especially since it bounced back once already
As for the one they nicknamed "Roland," that downpour probably did it in
its wings were already tattered
even if it's an act, that's way too much reaction for just a bug
You guys are seriously rotten to the core
just let her have it, "yeah yeah, sure"
"we'll mark it with a permanent marker"
and nobody questioned that part?
I was like, wait, what?!
since a cabbage white's wings are covered in scales that repel water
It had expert supervision, so it's probably fine
Well, Shibuya was just playing the role the producers wanted.
Same goes for Morita.
If I were Morita, I'd say "let's do a mantis next time"
once it starts cannibalizing, nobody will react like this anymore
is probably what I'd say
basically all you need is a splash of cold water on the mood
Is it because they're sticking to the idea that you can't fight the laws of nature?
Letting the footage of it being attacked by ants just keep rolling — this show is as messed up as ever
So you're saying wreck the ants' meal.
They did brush them off at points, actually
If anything, they were brushing the ants off with their hands
If you're going to say "don't fight nature," then taking the eggs home in the first place was already wrong, and releasing it into the wild is weird too
but ending its whole life stuck in a bug cage is sad as well
About the only insect that doesn't sleep is maybe the antlion lacewing
and across all living things, it's really just jellyfish
and even they actually drop into a sleep-like state
I once saw a big caterpillar writhing around in my garden, and on closer look it had a swarm of ants attacking it — once it stopped moving it had vanished before I knew it
they probably hauled it all the way back to the nest
It was right after a torrential downpour, so it probably couldn't fly properly and got taken down because of that
what I want from this show is to watch young comedians get put through brutal stuff while Hamada cracks up watching it
Yeah, it's not the same unless Hama-chan's cackling with delight
Makes me nostalgic for Hama-chan losing it with joy during those "somebody's actually there" prank segments
It was so funny watching Takano and Minamikawa get hit with that "somebody's actually there" prank five or six times in a row lol
Background and Key Points of Debate
“Suiyobi no Downtown” built its reputation on segments that deliberately poke fun at heartfelt, emotional setups, and this segment follows that same pattern. The exact wording of Morita Tetsuya’s “remark” wasn’t specified even in the original article, so the thread’s reactions were based on fragmentary information. The debate split along two lines: whether Shibuya Nagisa’s tearful reaction was over-the-top performance or genuine emotion, and whether Morita’s comment should be read as the show’s usual brand of humor or as a lack of consideration. On top of that, there was plenty of trivia-driven pushback about the biology of cabbage white butterflies — their water-repellent scales, whether marking them with a permanent marker was really appropriate, whether they sleep, and so on — showing just how much interest there was in the scientific side of the segment.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[‘Suiyobi no Downtown’] Saraba’s Morita causes minor stir — remark to tearful Shibuya Nagisa over cabbage white butterfly’s unexpected ending called “the worst (crying)”.”

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