Looking to shed a few pounds? Check out this infomercial for Ega-chan's Boot Camp, a fan-made spoof on Billy's Boot Camp, the exercise DVD taking Japan by storm.

When not starring in mashup exercise videos, comedian Ega-chan (better known as Egashira 2:50) is busy shocking TV audiences with his obscene jokes and indecent exposure (although he does not appear on TV as frequently as he used to). The controversial Ega-chan was recognized as the comedian that Japanese people most love to hate in a poll conducted in 2005. He is usually seen wearing a pair of tights and no shirt -- the perfect outfit for a workout video host.

On several occasions, audiences outside Japan have had a chance to witness Ega-chan's shock tactics. In 1996, he was arrested by Turkish authorities for public indecency after getting naked, inserting a foreign object into his nether regions and doing a handstand as part of a guerrilla performance (for TV Tokyo) staged in front of a crowd of spectators at an oil wrestling tournament. In a less shocking but also entertaining incident, he was arrested in North Korea in 2003 for placing a Korean-language version of a "Nan de darou?" sticker (a gift from some Korean comedians he met at party) on his bus driver's chest. "Nan de darou?" -- which translates into English as "Why is it so?" -- was a Japanese phrase popularized in the early 2000s by an atrociously silly song by comedy duo Tetsu and Tomo, who happened to be travelling with Ega-chan in North Korea at the time. Apparently, "why is it so?" is a forbidden phrase in North Korea, so the sticker was seen by the authorities as a sign of dissidence. Ega-chan was arrested and detained for questioning.

Trivia aside (thanks, Wikipedia Japan), Ega-chan's Boot Camp has the makings of an effective weight loss tool, mainly because Egashira is such an entertaining spaz. Some of his moves might be difficult to replicate, though.