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Small world: Chaos, comedy and conflict as human “Ants” swarm a gigantic set
29 November 2025
Japanese director Yujiro Honma and producer Shinichiro Yoshikawa talk about the making of Nippon TV’s unscripted original, Ants, winner of the 2025 ContentAsia Award for Best Original Game Show made in Asia.
When Japanese director Yujiro Honma first imagined the situation that would become the game show Ants, his vision was of a mass of people building a human pyramid. The picture was chaotic, comedic, a little ridiculous and strangely satisfying. “At a glance it looked so humorous and stupid, but also really compelling,” he says. Later, looking through his files for projects to pitch, he thought: “What if I turned them into ants? And built a humongous set?”
Honma started pitching Ants before the idea was fully formed. “I was developing it as I pitched,” he says. “I kept asking myself: What scene would surprise the audience? What would make them laugh? What would make them go, ‘Wow’?”
The breakthrough came when he flipped the usual competitive structure on its head. Instead of contestants battling one another, he had 100 people collaborate toward a single, absurdly simple goal – like transporting food items across a giant kitchen.
Which is exactly what Nippon TV did, creating a one-hour special that won the 2025 ContentAsia Award for Best Original Game Show made in Asia. The competition show was further developed by Fremantle North America for global expansion. Earlier this year, Fremantle acquired international rights outside of Asia but including Indonesia, India and Singapore, where Fremantle has production offices.
For Nippon TV producer, Shinichiro Yoshikawa, the opportunity was clear. “We hadn’t made a huge game show at Nippon TV for about 10 years,” he says. “When Yujiro pitched Ants, it felt like the right moment to challenge ourselves again.”
From there, the show ballooned — literally. Every challenge required extensive prototyping. “Simulations were crucial,” Yoshikawa says. “But the fun part was that during testing, completely new ideas emerged.” One of these – the swinging pendulum ...
Japanese director Yujiro Honma and producer Shinichiro Yoshikawa talk about the making of Nippon TV’s unscripted original, Ants, winner of the 2025 ContentAsia Award for Best Original Game Show made in Asia.
When Japanese director Yujiro Honma first imagined the situation that would become the game show Ants, his vision was of a mass of people building a human pyramid. The picture was chaotic, comedic, a little ridiculous and strangely satisfying. “At a glance it looked so humorous and stupid, but also really compelling,” he says. Later, looking through his files for projects to pitch, he thought: “What if I turned them into ants? And built a humongous set?”
Honma started pitching Ants before the idea was fully formed. “I was developing it as I pitched,” he says. “I kept asking myself: What scene would surprise the audience? What would make them laugh? What would make them go, ‘Wow’?”
The breakthrough came when he flipped the usual competitive structure on its head. Instead of contestants battling one another, he had 100 people collaborate toward a single, absurdly simple goal – like transporting food items across a giant kitchen.
Which is exactly what Nippon TV did, creating a one-hour special that won the 2025 ContentAsia Award for Best Original Game Show made in Asia. The competition show was further developed by Fremantle North America for global expansion. Earlier this year, Fremantle acquired international rights outside of Asia but including Indonesia, India and Singapore, where Fremantle has production offices.
For Nippon TV producer, Shinichiro Yoshikawa, the opportunity was clear. “We hadn’t made a huge game show at Nippon TV for about 10 years,” he says. “When Yujiro pitched Ants, it felt like the right moment to challenge ourselves again.”
From there, the show ballooned — literally. Every challenge required extensive prototyping. “Simulations were crucial,” Yoshikawa says. “But the fun part was that during testing, completely new ideas emerged.” One of these – the swinging pendulum — was discovered entirely by accident during a rehearsal.
As visually crazy as the set is, the heart of Ants lies in the human dynamics, and teams are deliberately varied — doctors, students, office workers... – to ensure unexpected interactions. “We put in a doctor to add something hopefully smart, some advice,” Honma says.
“You don’t often see 20 or 30 people in one frame, all trying to carry a giant piece of candy,” Honma laughs. “They collaborate, they argue, they strategise, they disagree. It’s funny, but it’s also real human behaviour.”
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