Lion comments

Regarding the comment above that Kouhaku Uta Gassen is "no longer a contest" and has been an automatic win for the men since 2014: the red team (women) won the next two years (2015-2016), and as of the Jan 31, 2018 show, the overall record is white team (men) won 55% of all the battles and red team (women) won 45%. This is fairly even and the kind of results you'd expect from a fair competition, but really, this is a concert and year-end celebration. The "winner" is not the important part. Just be happy it's a fun and beautiful show full of entertainment and not some self-aggrandizing boring night of speeches like the US Academy Awards. Why does it matter who wins? It's just for fun, not to be taken too seriously by people who are obsessed with "men vs. women" issues. You get to see a night full of beautiful performances, smiles, accomplishments, and high spirits. That's the important part.