James May: Our Man in... - Japan

Bim, guess what? FUKAFUTOKY? Finally? No, but the concept is not so different. During a journey of several weeks from the northern islands to the southern ones, May seeks to penetrate the "specifics of the Japanese nature" through one haiku after another, costume changes, food, attractions, J-POP, encounters with the keepers of tradition and many current and historical “specifics" that might look strange from the perspective of the Western world. But he bursts out laughing at every hint of a phallic symbol, any talking robot, the extroverted and loudest guide in all of Japan, his own staff and everything else too. The series' biggest shortcoming is the imbalance of individual episodes; for example, the first and fourth are pure gold, while the third about Tokyo is almost annoying. That's a shame, but I still hope that the series “Bim bursting out laughing on the road" will continue. Because the main driver of the show is undoubtedly May rather than Japan. After all, he somehow summarizes everything rather than traveling. Which, in this particular case, paradoxically, is not a shortcoming, but an advantage. And a big one. It's basically more of a sitcom about the troubles of a babbling old man than a documentary. (16.02.2020)