belittling a serious subject? i would say that's a pretty good definition of comedy.

fat boy falling off a waterslide is also belittling a serious subject.
jon stewart and steven colbert do a LOT of belittling of serious subjects.

laughter is the best medicine, no?

I had a similar idea when I was 7 or 8.

New York (and other major metropolitan area) skyscrapers could be connected by a network of waterslides that allowed quick access up or down Manhattan. Office attire may need to be rethought, and perhaps in winter it would be more of a luge, but same idea.

Need to go uptown but can't afford the taxi, change into your trunks and onto the uptown express tube slide you go!

Colombian kids have it made!

Trying to dive off a waterslide? Such a Darwin nominee

Well, this is my first comment on Videosift, and I'm still not sure of the protocol. (Though I've been watching videos here and reading your comments for a while, so I feel I know you all oh-so-well.)

This clip brings warmth to my heart. When I was in boarding school I fell foul of a mildly similar prank: my bed having been taken to the middle of the lawn in front of the girls house before I (or, more importantly, they) wakened. Thank God there were no waterslides in the immediate vicinity.

More importantly: has anyone ever had a heart attack and/or stroke on one of these insane Japanese shows?