Quiz $ Millionaire (クイズ$ミリオネア, Kuizu $ Mirionea), sometimes referred to as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?,[1] is a Japanese quiz show based on the original program of the latter title. It premiered on Fuji Television on April 20, 2000, and aired its final episode on January 2, 2013. The show was hosted by television personality Monta Mino (みの もんた, Mino Monta) throughout its entire run.[2]

Quiz $ Millionaire
Also known asWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Japaneseクイズ$ミリオネア
Created by
Directed byKeiichi Tanaka
Presented byMonta Mino
Narrated bySeigo M. Takei (2000)
Kyōya Kimura (2000–2013)
ComposersKeith Strachan
Matthew Strachan
Country of originJapan
Original languageJapanese
Production
ProducersToshihiko Matsuo
Hanako Aso
Hiroyasu Hanazono
Running time53 minutes–3 hours[1]
Production companiesCelador International (2000-2006)
2waytraffic (2006-2013)
Original release
NetworkFuji Television
ReleaseApril 20, 2000 (2000-04-20) –
January 2, 2013 (2013-01-02)

The main goal of the game is to win ¥10,000,000 by answering fifteen multiple-choice questions correctly. There are three lifelines - Fifty-Fifty (フィフティ・フィフティ, Fifuti Fifuti), Phone-a-Friend (テレフォン, Terefon) (a phone call to four supporters who are in one place), and Ask The Audience (オーディエンス, Ōdiensu). Whenever a contestant answers the fifth question correct, he is guaranteed ¥100,000. When a contestant answers the tenth question correct, he is guaranteed ¥1,000,000.

This version has the distinction of having the most top prize winners in the worldwide Millionaire franchise,[3] and is the only version of Millionaire with a narrator. Seigo M. Takei (武居“M”征吾, Takei Emu Seigo) was the first announcer of the show before being replaced by Kyōya Kimura (木村 匡也, Kimura Kyōya) in August of the show's debut year.

Broadcast history

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The show was broadcast every Thursday[4] regularly from April 20, 2000 to March 29, 2007. From May 3, 2007 onward, the show was brought back for occasional specials, with the most recent one being broadcast January 2, 2013.[1][5]

Super Millionaire

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Super Millionaire was a spin-off of Quiz $ Millionaire. The show was broadcast twice, with the first episode raising the grand prize to ¥20 million. The series also added four new rules:[6]

  • There were only 10 questions, as opposed to the normal 15.
  • Questions 1-5 had 4 choices, and 6-10 had 2 choices, meaning contestants could not use 50:50 after the 5th question.
  • Contestants could not walk away on the 9th or 10th questions.
  • There were no guaranteed sums.

Clock format

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In 2009, the series became the first international version of Millionaire to adopt the clock format from the US version of the show.[6] Contestants now have time limits for each question: 30 seconds each for questions 1–9, 1 minute each for questions 10–12, and 3 minutes each for questions 13–15. Usage of lifelines temporarily pauses the clock. However, unlike the US version, the remaining time after giving an answer for that question is void. Contestants who exceed the time limit on a given question without giving a "final answer" are forced to walk away with whatever winnings they have at that point.[citation needed]

Payout Structure

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Answering a question correctly is worth a specific cash prize at each level. Contestants who successfully answer questions on levels with bolded amounts in the table below are guaranteed to leave with no less than the cash award at that level should they incorrectly answer a later question.[7]

Question number Question value
1 ¥10,000
2 ¥20,000
3 ¥30,000
4 ¥50,000
5 ¥100,000
6 ¥150,000
7 ¥250,000
8 ¥500,000
9 ¥750,000
10 ¥1,000,000
11 ¥1,500,000
12 ¥2,500,000
13 ¥5,000,000
14 ¥7,500,000
15 ¥10,000,000
Super Millionaire payout
Question number December 23, 2007 March 27, 2008
1 ¥10,000
2 ¥100,000
3 ¥250,000
4 ¥500,000
5 ¥1,000,000
6 ¥2,500,000 ¥1,500,000
7 ¥5,000,000 ¥2,500,000
8 ¥10,000,000 ¥5,000,000
9 ¥15,000,000 ¥7,500,000
10 ¥20,000,000 ¥10,000,000

Top prize winners

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Civilians

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Name Transliteration Date
國光恭幸 Yasuyuki Kunimitsu[8][9] July 27, 2000
永田喜彰 Yoshiaki Nagata August 10, 2000
今尾奈緒子 Naoko Imao November 2, 2000
能勢一幸 Kazuyuki Nose February 15, 2001
坂本ひとみ Hitomi Sakamoto December 13, 2001
菊地晃史 Akifumi Kikuchi June 27, 2002
江口みち子 Michiko Eguchi August 1, 2002
長田直美 Naomi Nagata November 14, 2002
三島祥子 Shōko Mishima May 8, 2003
田中ちよ and 田中一也 Chiyo and Kazuya Tanaka June 24, 2004
菊池友久 Tomohisa Kikuchi April 28, 2005
濱田敏彦 Toshihiko Hamada May 26, 2005
野添潤子 Junko Nozoe June 29, 2006
大井恵子 Keiko Ōi July 27, 2006

Celebrities

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Name Transliteration Date
馳浩 Hiroshi Hase November 23, 2000
鈴木大地 Daichi Suzuki September 18, 2003
新庄剛志 Tsuyoshi Shinjo[10] January 2, 2004
堀江貴文 Takafumi Horie December 30, 2004
細木数子 Kazuko Hosoki December 30, 2004
堺正章 Masaaki Sakai April 7, 2005
田中康夫 Yasuo Tanaka April 7, 2005
柏木由紀子 and 大島花子 Yukiko Kashiwagi and Hanako Oshima April 21, 2005
小泉孝太郎 Kotaro Koizumi January 2, 2006
浅野ゆう子 Yūko Asano March 23, 2006
為末大 Dai Tamesue September 14, 2006
坂東三津五郎 (10代目) Bandō Mitsugorō X October 5, 2006
デヴィ・スカルノ Dewi Sukarno[11] October 26, 2006
紺野美沙子 Misako Konno February 15, 2007
谷原章介 Shōsuke Tanihara July 5, 2007
富司純子 Sumiko Fuji March 27, 2008
徳光和夫 Kazuo Tokumitsu March 27, 2008
ビートたけし Takeshi Kitano January 30, 2009
太田光 Hikari Ōta[12] April 1, 2009
芦田愛菜 Mana Ashida[1] January 2, 2013

Kids

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Name Transliteration Date
小林宏太郎 Koutaro Kobayashi September 6, 2001
南川克博 Katsuhiro Minamigawa September 6, 2001
棚橋紗夕 Sayuu Tanabashi September 4, 2003
片岡菜摘 Natsumi Kataoka September 4, 2003
黄原暁 Jō Kihara August 26, 2004
芦田愛菜 Mana Ashida January 2, 2013

Merchandise

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Several home versions have been released based on the show. The first of these was a board game released in 2001 by Takara Tomy,[13] who later released another electronic version of the game.[14] A version for the PlayStation game console was released on December 20, 2001,[15] with an updated party version released for the same console in 2002.[16] A book entitled "Complete cheats! Quiz $ Millionaire" (完全攻略! クイズ$ミリオネア, Kanzen kōryaku kuizu mirionea), was released by Fusosha on March 20, 2002.[17]

In addition, Visiware and Sony Pictures Television have released an app based on the program's format for iOS and Android devices. Mino introduced the app during the special that aired on January 2, 2013. The app allows home viewers to play the game simultaneously, being asked the same questions featured on the show.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Visiware and Sony successfully launched the 2nd-screen application for Fuji-TV's Who Wants to Be A Millionaire in Japan". Visiware. Archived from the original on May 4, 2013. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  2. ^ Tomoko, Yamakawa. "Japan, Power Exporter of Program Formats". Webzine. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  3. ^ "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire". Gameshow Hall of Fame. January 21, 2007. GSN.
  4. ^ Brasor, Philip (June 1, 2000). "Who Wants to Say he's a Millionaire?". The Japan Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  5. ^ ソニー・ピクチャーズ テレビジョンの大人気フォーマット番組 「クイズ$ミリオネア」が復活! (in Japanese). Sony Pictures Television. December 25, 2012. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  6. ^ a b Jacobs, Chris (May 15, 2014). "Quiz Show Underground: Quiz $ Millionaire". Otaku Drive Time. Archived from the original on September 3, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
  7. ^ "Quiz $ Millionaire". GameSHOWS.ru.
  8. ^ Schaeffer, Gary (August 9, 2000). "'Millionaire' quiz show import does not work in Japan" (PDF). Laredo Morning Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  9. ^ "Chris's Final Answer". Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK). Season 30. Episode 11. 11 February 2014. Event occurs at 33:38.
  10. ^ 新庄剛志 バリ島で悠々自適のフリーダム生活 (in Japanese). Asagei+plus. December 20, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  11. ^ デヴィ夫人は、ギャラが激安! (in Japanese). Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  12. ^ クイズミリオネアで爆笑問題の太田が1千万円獲得! (in Japanese). April 2, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  13. ^ "Millionaire quiz board game (japan import) [on Amazon]". Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  14. ^ みのもんたのボイスで番組をバーチャル体験! トミー「クイズ$ミリオネア」 (in Japanese). Game Watch. January 24, 2002. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  15. ^ "Game Box Shot: Quiz $ Millionaire (JP, 12/20/01)". Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  16. ^ 家族みんなでファイナルアンサー? 『クイズ$ミリオネア わくわくパーティー』 (in Japanese). September 28, 2002. Retrieved May 6, 2014.
  17. ^ 完全攻略! クイズ$ミリオネア (in Japanese). Retrieved May 7, 2014.
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