The Real Reason Why “Failed Talent” is Back in Reiwa One after Another

Former “Othello” star Tomoko Nakajima (51) appeared on the August 19 broadcast of “Masahiro Nakai’s Friday Smile” (TBS). The brainwashing scandal that led to her departure from show business was “all a lie” and immediately made the Internet news.

She was also very active as a food reporter. “Although the truth is unknown, she boldly stated that she had sued the media that reported her brainwashing and won the lawsuit. At the end of last year, she appeared on “Guru Ninety Nine” (NTV), on which she used to appear regularly, for the first time in 16 years. She has been appearing on a succession of variety shows and is reputed to be close to getting another break with her undiminished beauty and talk ability” (production company director).

The number of cases in Reiwa of stars who have made it big again is increasing.

Tomomi Kahara, 48, who had a string of million-seller hits in the 1990s, moved to her husband’s entertainment company and entered variety shows in earnest. She has been called the diva of the Heisei Era, but she has been amused by the gap between the two as she takes on a variety of projects, including dieting. Ishida Issei (47) returned to Tokyo from Ishikawa Prefecture after his third divorce was reported in a women’s weekly magazine, and is gaining popularity as an NG-free celebrity.

Nakajima, Hanahara, and Ishida all have in common “overwhelming name recognition” and a “past of disappearing due to scandal,” according to an advertising agency official.

Each of them was a singer, actor, or female comedian at one time or another, and they are all well known and talented. All three were stars at a time when the TV industry was booming, so it’s interesting to just talk about the gap between the gorgeous lifestyles they enjoyed then and the lifestyles they enjoy now. It’s interesting just to talk about the gap between their gorgeous lifestyles back then and the way they live now.

The director of the production company mentioned above says that “harmless laughter” has taken root due to the trend toward compliance, but “the repercussions of that are pushing them forward.

While excessive teasing about one’s appearance is not accepted by younger viewers, it is also true that many viewers feel that “non-hurtful laughter” is not enough. As a reaction to this, since last year, scum comedians such as Suzuki Mogura (35) of KUKI KAIDAN and Yamazoe Kan (37) of Aiseki Start have been on the rise. Nakajima and the other “failure talents” who disappeared temporarily due to scandals have the same advantage of being able to make self-deprecating jokes as the scum comedians do. In fact, they have more guts than bum comedians and have more episodes than bum comedians, so the demand for them will not decrease for a while.

Shijiri-talent is also said to be a good match for Internet news.

In fact, the main audience for online news is people in their 40s and 50s, and they often read articles about celebrities who were active in the 80s and 90s, such as “Who are they now? More and more programs are focusing on making money from missed broadcasts rather than viewership ratings, so it is important to plan and cast a show that will generate buzz on the Internet. Shikkiri talents are well-known, easily get buzz on the Internet, and are paid a reasonable fee. With production costs being cut, there is no one else in the TV industry that is as valuable as Shijiri.

It seems likely that the stars of yesteryear will continue to return for some time to come.

From the September 9, 2022 issue of FRIDAY