A lovely surprise

Simple yet hilarious! A roundup of pranks and surprise gags

A Vocaloid producer who is also a music writerAraki Jakkan
I’ve worked in a variety of roles—regardless of pro or amateur settings—including live event PA, cameraman for video and photography, restaurant staff, and logistics center staff. I now spend my days as a part-time writer. I’ve contributed to music and manga websites with feature/review articles, and wrote the liner notes included as a bonus for 1st PLACE Inc.’s “IA SUPER BEST.” As for my music background, I started playing guitar in junior high and focused on band activities during my school years. For over 15 years since then, up to the present, I’ve continued releasing original tracks as a Vocaloid producer. My areas of expertise are Japanese rock, Vocaloid, and manga.
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSICsasashina
Deputy Editor of RAG MUSIC. JFC-certified fact-checker. I’m Sasashina, a mom currently raising an elementary schooler and a preschooler. During my student years at Kyoto College of Science and Technology, I studied a wide range of fields including sound, lighting, and video technology, building a foundation in comprehensive stage production and creative expression. After graduation, I joined a music production company, where I still work, consistently building experience in production and engaging in a variety of music-centered tasks. Currently, I mainly handle articles for children, drawing on what I’ve learned about parenting and what I feel and discover through daily interactions with my kids. I hope my work can be of help to you, even in a small way!

Pranks and surprises… Sometimes you just want to spring something on a friend and give them a scare, right?

But big, elaborate setups can be a hassle, so a lot of people are probably looking to try simple pranks instead.

In this article, we’ll introduce easy, low-effort pranks that are perfect for those moments!

We’ve gathered a wide range, from ones that need a bit of simple crafting to ones you can do with no setup at all—enjoy!

Just don’t forget to follow up afterward to make sure everything’s okay!

Simple yet hilarious! Pranks & Practical Joke Ideas Compilation (41–50)

There’s someone when I open the door.

[Special Effects Makeup] The theory that the scariest thing is opening a door and finding a grandpa there

There’s someone when I open the door.

It’s a simple jump scare where, when someone casually opens a room door, an unfamiliar person is standing right in front of them.

As shown in the video, the key is to fully become a stranger using special makeup or a costume.

It’s also important to time it just right for when the target opens the door.

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Simple but hilarious! Prank & practical joke roundup (51–60)

Secretly shake the carbonated soda

Prank that's likely to go viral

Secretly shake the carbonated soda

Isn’t this the kind of prank we all used to pull when we were little? You shake a friend’s plastic bottle while they’re away from their seat… brings back memories, right? By the way, as an adult, even if I knew someone had shaken my bottle, I’d still feel like opening it as-is and letting it spray everywhere just to give a big reaction… or is that just me? (lol)

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A scary face in the car window

I pulled a prank on my friend and they fainted lol

A scary face in the car window

The sight of an eerie face reflected in a car window is a classic pattern among ghost phenomena.

This prank takes inspiration from that situation where a scary face appears on a window.

While inside the car, you ask the target in the passenger seat to close the window, and as the window rolls up, a scary face that’s been attached there comes into view.

Because something is stuck to the clear window, the target feels a sense of wrongness, instinctively looks in that direction, and gets startled.

It’s recommended to use an image or photo with a strong impact—something that surpasses the mere feeling that ‘something’s on the window.’

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Swap the mud shampoo with real mud

Would they notice if you swapped the mud shampoo with just plain mud?!

Swap the mud shampoo with real mud

Here’s a prank where you replace the contents of a commercially available mud shampoo (sold by various brands) with real mud.

It’s super easy to do: take a store-bought mud shampoo bottle, fill it with regular mud you can find anywhere, give it to your target, and enjoy their reaction when they use it.

Never do this at public bathhouses, since it would bother other customers.

Set it up in someone’s home bathroom instead.

Please follow manners and rules while enjoying your prank.

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Biri-biri surprise/prank

I tried pranking my friend with a shocking pen!

Biri-biri surprise/prank

The shock pen you often see on variety shows: when you click to extend the tip or start writing, zap! An electric shock runs through it and surprises whoever’s holding it—it’s the classic prank gadget! Nowadays you can easily get one online for under 1,000 yen.

As shown in the video, it’s an easy prank to pull off with simple setups like, “Can you sign here?” or “Hey, draw something for me.”

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Contents of the suitcase

[Prank] I swapped the contents of their suitcase with a bunch of babies lol

Contents of the suitcase

Let me introduce a prank where you replace the contents of someone’s suitcase with a bunch of realistic baby dolls.

It’s exactly what it sounds like.

Prepare several baby dolls, take out the target’s belongings from their suitcase, swap them with the dolls, and enjoy their reaction when they notice.

The sight is pretty psycho and surreal, so the impact is huge.

If you record it as a video, it might be something everyone can look back on and laugh about later.

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Change the wallpaper

[Monitoring] What if your partner’s phone wallpaper was another female YouTuber…

Change the wallpaper

What kind of image do you use for your smartphone’s lock screen? Some people choose landscapes like the sky or the sea, others pick their favorite celebrities, characters, or photos of their pets—everyone’s different, right? So if that lock screen suddenly changed to a “What on earth is this?!” kind of picture, you’d be pretty shocked! If a landscape photo just turned into a different landscape, or a dog became a cat, you might not get much of a reaction.

So when you do it, go bold! Try something a bit creepy, or a photo of some random person that makes you go, “Who is that?” There are all sorts of fun things you could try!

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