#owarai

[nerdiertides]

The Final Volume of 'Show-ha Shoten' Heads to Shelves Next Month

(Featured Image Source: © Akinari Asakura / Takeshi Obata / SHUEISHA / Viz Media) Add the conclusion of Azemichi and Taiyo’s comedy journey to your collection when the 11th and final volume of Show-ha Shoten! is released in North America next month! © Akinari Asakura / Takeshi Obata / SHUEISHA / Viz Media One-Way Ticket to the Top just finished putting on the greatest performance of their…

The Final Volume of 'Show-ha Shoten' Heads to Shelves Next Month

[ithurtstolookatwhatitusedtobe]

ウッチャンナンチャン (1991)

[blaze-n-rekka]

Japanese comedian Moody Katsuyama posts another Yakuza-esque photo, fans go wild

YouTube – shimamiya Comedian Moody Katsuyama posts another funny photo in the spirit of a popular video game series, Yakuza, causing quite an uproar among fans. As posted on Twitter, Moody Katsuyama shares yet another photo in the spirit of the Yakuza video game series. 龍が如くサブストーリー「挟まって動けなくなったムード歌謡歌手」 #龍が如く pic.twitter.com/oukzlKjsGP— ムーディ勝山 (@katsuyama0611) April 16, 2024 Yakuza Side Story –…

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[grizzlyofthesea]

Man, Japan sure knows how to advertise stuff.

[superfurytamago]

Every Japanese comedy reference in Jujutsu Kaisen chapters 240 and 241

EDIT: Added one more reference to Audrey that I completely missed out when I was writing this post. Putting my self-proclaimed Japanese comedy otaku title to shame!

I was a Japanese comedy otaku way before I got into manga and anime, which is why I get way too excited whenever I spot Japanese comedy references in other forms of media. Granted, the plot is totally coherent even without knowing the references, but please indulge me as I find myself a rare opportunity to talk about Japanese comedians. All English panels are sourced from Manga Plus and Japanese panels are my own digital copies.

Preface about Japanese comedians

Japanese comedians usually form duos called "combi" in Japanese. Some may form trios or even quartets, but duos make up the overwhelming majority. Solo comedians are becoming more common, but like Takaba, most if not all of them had started out as a duo that didn't work out over time.

Nabe Nabe Entertainment and Pony

Reference to Watanabe Entertainment, a major entertainment agency in Japan. The most famous comedian group under Watanabe's management will be the comedic trio Neptune, and the above panels reference them indirectly as well.

Another talent management agency mentioned is Pony, which is a reference to Sony Music Artists Inc (SMA). Yes, they manage comedians as well lol. Agencies have distinct styles of management, which eventually shows in the type of comedians they manage. Kenjaku assumes that Takaba is with Pony because SMA has managed to propel an impressive number of solo comedians to fame despite the comparatively smaller scale of management. They also lean more slapstick than the "cooler" forms like skits and monologues. In fact, Takaba reminds me of Koume Dayū:

Laughing Dog? Vocabula?

Both Laughing Dog (Warau Inu) and Vocabula (Vocabula Tengoku) were incredibly popular variety TV serial programmes that Neptune appeared in during the 1990s and early 2000s. Takaba admires Neptune, which is why he chooses to sign with Nabe Nabe rather than Pony, even if the latter may actually manage him better.

Kenjaku wondered for a second why Takaba didn't cite Vocabula as the reason he admires Neptune, because Vocabula was the one that gave Neptune their shot to fame, and they absolutely reached superstar levels of fame during the time. Laughing Dog came later, when they were already established as household names.

The reason why Kenjaku walked back on it with "I guess that's obvious enough" has to do with the nature of the two programmes. Laughing Dog was a sketch comedy programme like Chappelle's Show, while as the name may suggest, Vocabula focused on wordplays, puns, and parodies. Comedians were voted based on how they performed the jokes. Here's a short clip of Neptune on Vocabula:

While here's a sketch from Laughing Dog (the second, third, and fourth green leaves members are Neptune lol):

Of course Takaba was inspired by Laughing Dog, "I guess that's obvious enough".

Backbone! My backbone!

An actual short gag (ippatsu gag or lit. one-shot gag) by Haranishi from the duo FUJIWARA:

It's not the first time Akutami has referenced an actual short gag in the series. Perhaps you may remember Itadori's unfortunate reunion scene at the sister school goodwill event:

This is a gag from Kojima Yoshio:

You have my condolences, Itadori.

Comedians and auditions

Kenjaku is dressed like a stereotypical TV producer here. This dates back to Japan's asset price bubble; during which, tying a cardigan over the shoulders was a staple look among TV producers and directors. In this scene, Takaba is auditioning like he would for a part in a variety TV show. Struggling comedians like Takaba often audition for variety shows that showcase a series of comedic skits or manzai. Pass the audition and you get a spot to perform on national TV.

Comedians and theatre

Most comedians who don't get their big breaks on TV spend a large part of their careers in small theatres. A typical comedy show consists of several groups of comedians performing their skits or manzai, and the theatre will hand out feedback forms like the above. It seems like Takaba used to go by the stage name Pinchan.

P-1? C-1?

The fictional C-1 is a reference to an actual long-running competition M-1 Grand Prix, while the fictional P-1 which Takaba mentioned earlier is a reference to another competition R-1 Grand Prix. M-1 is restricted to manzai performed by two people or more, while R-1 is open to solo comedians only. There are several important annual comedy competitions in Japan. Winning these big-name competitions is usually the ticket to fame for many comedians, but even then it may not work out for everyone.

Idol shows

It has become customary to have established Japanese comedians host Japanese girl groups TV shows, and I pretty much agree with Takaba's take on why. If you're a fan of idol groups like Morning Musume, AKB48, Nogizaka46, or Idoling!!!, then you would be familiar with Japanese comedians like Ninety-Nine, Ariyoshi Hiroiki, Bananaman, and Bakarhythm.

By the way, Takaba was watching TV while eating cup noodles after the above panel. The lines are from a well-known manzai performed by comedy duo Audrey. This particular joke with them going "hehehe" at each other is a staple in their early manzai:

In fact, take a closer look at the apartment that Takaba lives in. It's based on the actual apartment Kasuga (pink vest guy on the right) used to live in, named Mutsumi-sō. His shabby apartment and extremely thrifty lifestyle had been featured in many variety TV shows in the past. He lived there for more than 20 years, and the apartment was actually quite a tourist spot for fans of Audrey. Kasuga's Japanese Wikipedia article even has a photo of it as seen below, which is what I think Akutami referenced from. The interior is largely based on Kasuga's apartment as well:

Bonus Japanese comedy!

Akutami has taken inspiration from actual Japanese comedians in the past. In chapter 153, two of the spectators look eerily like comedy duo Sandwichman:

And how can we forget Ken, the fellow comedian who gave Takaba advice in chapter 146:

He's based on Kendo Kobayashi, and if you've seen images/clips of Akutami dressed up as Mechamaru, that was when he went on Kenkoba's show:

Wow that was long. Thanks for indulging the squealing Japanese comedy fan in me!

[notanerrandboy]

Smiling out loud - Chapter 16

Chapter title: 5 + 1 times (T part I)

Summary: Five times Tanaka cries in front of Endô, and one time he doesn't. 

Characters: Tanaka, Endô

Word count: 531

Disclaimer: I’m only doing this for fun!

(Crossposted on AO3)

---

The first time Tanaka cried in front of Endô he was sitting in front of the latter’s house, the sight of scraped knees making the other boy rush over and shout: “Are you okay?!”

Tanaka looked up in surprise, forgetting to be shy of his tear-streaked cheeks in the process, but the boy didn’t seem to notice as he immediately crouched and pulled Tanaka’s fingers away from the wound with such care that the already big lump in his throat grew tenfold.

“I’ll go inside to get band-aids, so stay here, okay? Don’t move!” The boy stood up and ran into the house, leaving Tanaka alone again. Now he was able to think a little clearer; he didn’t recognise the boy, but judging by the school uniform they attended the same school, which of course could mean anything but so far the boy had only been nice to him and it caused Tanaka to let out a relieved sigh.

He heard a door slam shut, and the boy was once again by his side, cotton and band-aid in his hands. He carefully cleaned the wound, making small talk as he did so as if situations like these weren’t anything unusual to him.

“How did this happen?”

“I- I just tripped on the curb, I wasn’t looking-“

“For how long have you been sitting here?”

“Only a couple of minutes, if you hadn’t come by I probably would’ve tried to get home…” Tears still trickled down his cheeks, if just a little slower. He was touched by the thoughtfulness this boy was showing him, despite not knowing him, and a smile found it’s way to his lips even as he clenched his teeth in pain.

“There!” The boy gave the band-aid he just put over the wound a light pat and stood up to wipe his brow with the sleeve of his uniform jacket. “My little brother trips a lot so I’d like to think I’ve gotten pretty good at doing this. Do you live far from here? Will you be alright on your own?”

Tanaka couldn’t help but giggle. “Uh, I live here. Just a little further down the road.” The giggle soon turned into laughter as he saw the confused expression forming on the boy’s face.

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious.”

“But how could I have missed that? I’ve lived here for years!”

“So have I, maybe we leave for school at different times or something?” That had the boy rubbing his chin in thought.

“Now that you mention it, I tend to run late a lot…” The admission had them laughing together again, and then the boy reached out his hand to pull Tanaka up.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Endô Shôzô.”

“Tanaka Naoki, and it’s nice to meet you too.”

“So what do you say? Wanna go to school together tomorrow?” Tanaka smiled, the pain in his knee completely forgotten.

“Sure! See you tomorrow - and Endô?” His new friend had turned to leave, but stopped in his tracks to give him a curious look. “Thank you.”

A wide, toothy grin appeared on Endô’s face, one that Tanaka suddenly felt very happy about being able to see more often from now on.

“Don’t mention it.”

---

[notanerrandboy]

🎊🦓 Happy birthday Matsumoto! 🦓🎊

[notanerrandboy]

🎊🐘 Happy birthday Endô! 🐘🎊