The Intersection of Manzai and Contrasting Tastes… What has changed and what has been left behind in the 22 years of “M-1” and “King of Conte”?

Asahi Suzuki’s “Thoughts” and “Insider’s Feelings” of the talented contestants left a lasting impression in his series “2022 M-1, The Road to KOC

Every year, when the broadcast of “M-1 Grand Prix 2022” (ABC TV/TV Asahi) comes to an end, for some reason I feel a little better. This is probably because the end of the year-end awards race, which has now become a major event, releases all the tension that I had been feeling subconsciously.

This year, in particular, I was in charge of a monthly interview series titled “2022 M-1, Road to KOC” for FRIDAY Digital, where I am writing this, and my emotions about watching the competition were even more heightened than usual. The more details I learned about the competition, the more I felt as if it were no one else’s business.

I interviewed them before the finals of the “King of Conte” and “M-1” competitions, and delved into their storytelling methods, turning points, and thoughts on the awards race. For the King of Conte, we had the opportunity to meet King of Conte ,Kagaya, and Yadan; for M-1, we had the opportunity to meet Kyu,Tokyo Hotayson, and Mama Tart.

In addition, I had the chance to interview Westland for Diamond and another media outlet, in addition to the serialized project, and this year I was able to learn about the thoughts and inner workings of a total of eight talented groups.

The micro always leads to the macro. I would like to look back on the characteristics of this year’s King of Conte and M-1, picking out the voices that left a lasting impression on each of the contestants.

The Biscuit Brothers, based in Osaka and winners of the KOC

In recent years, the King of Conte has become as exciting as M-1. In a positive sense, the tension of the competition seems to have increased since the judges other than Downtown’s Hitoshi Matsumoto were renewed in 2021 and the four previous champions were put in charge.

So what were the differences between last year and this year? The first thing that comes to mind is that the Osaka-based Biscuit Brothers became champions. This is the first time in five years, since Kamaitachi in 2017, that a contortionist who has worked hard at a theater in the Kansai region has won the championship.

There was a time in the late 1990s when conte became popular among young people and a “manzai ban” was issued at the Shinsaibashisuji 2-chome Theater, which produced Downtown and others, but since 2001, when M-1 started, manzai has again become the mainstream in Osaka.

In an absolute trend that “the majority of contortionists move their base of activities to Tokyo at some point,” in 2019 Cellulite Spa, Nippon’s president, and Longcoat Daddy formed a unit called the “Kansai Contortion Security Association” to protect Kansai’s contortion. They held regular live performances, and in 2021, a conte program with the same title was broadcast on ABC TV.

This no doubt motivated them and their colleagues who also work at the “Yoshimoto Manzai Gekijo” (Yoshimoto Manzai Theater). In fact, the Biscuit Brothers won this year’s “King of Conte” and the genius pianist won the “Women’s Comedian No. 1 Contest THE W” for their conte. This proves that even in Osaka, it is possible to achieve results in both manzai and conte.

Kansai contortionists have the basic rules of manzai (comic dialogue) ingrained in their bodies, and the pauses and tempo of the dialogues derived from them are pleasant. They are also comfortable with the pause and tempo of the dialogue that derives from this. To make the most of this, they must also be aware that in a common, everyday world, there is a sense of déjà vu and deliberateness.

The Biscuit Brothers have incorporated this good taste into an extraordinary worldview that is common to comic books. The Biscuit Brothers have successfully won by making us laugh with a “reality that can only be found in that world.

Kaga-ya’s laughter has been strengthened by exposure to Yoshimoto’s theater.

On the other hand, the Tokyo teams also made their presence felt at the competition. Of the teams we covered, Kinkoku was eliminated in the semifinals, while Kaga-ya andYadan advanced to the finals. What they have in common is that they are good at situation comedy.

Kagaya , Soya Kaga, and Sho Kaga made their first final in 2019. This year they returned as finalists for the first time in three years.

On the day of the show, they performed a skit depicting “the game between a man who hides his M temperament and a woman who plays the S temperament. The two sides of the story were played out by the doorway, with each side playing out their differences, their pretensions, and their true feelings. Although the performance received high marks from the judges, it was not enough for the contestants to advance to the final round. They could not advance to the final round.

The group first gained attention for their acting ability and fresh take on material, and their recent frequent appearances at Yoshimoto Kogyo’s theaters “Yoshimoto Eternal Hall” and “Yoshimoto Eternal Dome” have strengthened their comedy.

Kaya said that this changed the way he approached the corners and planning of live performances, and that “as I was allowed to work with him, I saw firsthand how he would say these things at these times,” and “how he would get back together with these people.

Kaga also mentioned the increase in the number of junior members over the course of his career, and said, “The first-time performers are definitely harder to work with than we are. So, in order to create an atmosphere that makes it easier for them to perform, I have come to think of myself as the one who should lead them.

Having been trained in a theater that places top priority on popularity, we can imagine that “easy-to-understand laughter” will be used even more in their comedy acts in the future.

Tokyo03’s Iizuka praised Yadan as “the funniest.

Yadan Honma Kid, Nakajima Kyou, and Long Size Ito, all members of Sony (SMA NEET Project), continued to polish their material at Beach V, a theater owned by the company. After losing in the semi-finals six times, they finally made it to the final of the King of Conte this year, finishing in third place.

Sony has produced many strong performers in the past, including Baikingu, Hollywood Zakoshisho, Akira 100%, and Nishikigoi. In the theater, a culture of comedians giving each other advice naturally emerged, and the company became “a strong office in the awards race.

However, “Beach V” is a small theater with a capacity of 70 people. In order to get used to a larger stage, this year they held a solo live performance at “Za-Koenji 2,” which has a capacity of about 250 people. There, Buffalo Goro A. gave him some advice.

He told me, “You don’t have any pressure,” and “It’s okay to go ahead,” he said. He told me, “You don’t have any pressure,” and “You can go ahead and do it. I thought to myself, “I see. I learned a lot from Mr. A, such as how to make a good impression.

Buffalo Goro A belongs to Yoshimoto Kogyo. Like Kaga-ya, it seems that their interactions across office boundaries were put to good use in this competition.

In the finals, they performed “Barbecue,” in which a surprise on a dead body escalates, and “Rain,” in which a man goes berserk by hurling innuendo at a weather forecaster. The performance received high praise from Satoshi Iizuka of Tokyo03, who exclaimed, “That was the funniest thing I’ve seen today.

Story structure, characters, word sense, and acting ability. All were excellent, as was Cotton, who came in second. While this year’s competition featured situation comedy with even greater precision than last year’s, it seemed that extraordinary comedy like that of the Biscuit Bros. was countered.

This year’s M-1 Grand Prix was a tumultuous affair.

Whoever wins this year’s M-1 Grand Prix, I feel a great sense of discomfort. This was the comment made by Kenji Yamauchi of the Kamaitachi, who served as MC at the press conference announcing the M-1 finalists.

It is true that this year’s M-1 was a tumultuous one from the preliminary rounds. In the quarterfinals, Ranjyatai, the last year’s group , was eliminated. Metal Butt was moved up as a wild card, but he did not make it to the finals and lost the right to participate in the Loser’s Resurrection.

The Indians, the recent face of the tournament, lost in the quarterfinals, and Oswaldo also lost in the semifinals. In addition to first-time entrants Yoneda 2000,Kabeposter,Kyu,Diamond, and Male Blanco, the day arrived with fresh final members: second-time entrant Sayaka,Vacuum Jessica,Longcoat Daddy, andWestland.

There were also very few so-called “orthodox” shaberoku manzai. Including Oswaldo, who won in the loser’s bracket, there were only two groups, including Sayaka. Kabeposter is a comedy group that makes you laugh with a comfortable tempo and structure, with some elements of comedy thrown in.

Westland is a tongue-twister, and Kyu and Diamond both have a quirky way of making a joke. Vacuum Jessica andLongcoat Daddy are comic comedians, Male Blanco is a comic comedy that makes you laugh with “how and when to die,” and YONEDA 2000 has a fantastic worldview and rhythm.

It can be imagined that the too many variations led to Yamauchi’s aforementioned comment.

Westland won the championship through friendly competition with its juniors.

The winners of the competition were Hiroyuki Iguchi and Futoshi Kawamoto of Westland.

Their manzai was really quite simple. As Kawamoto gave the “To be or not to be quiz,” Iguchi’s tongue became more and more extreme. In the second, he blasted Osaka’s M-1 as “annoying! In the second film, he made an impact on the viewers with his wry and witty delivery.

When I interviewed him, Iguchi said that there was one more factor that led to this year’s M-1: “After losing in the quarterfinals last year, I immediately had good material,” and “my activities in variety shows.

I was very happy to be performing with Stretchy’s, Mama Tart, and others like them. When we launched “Manzai Kobo” (a monthly live show hosted by Westland, in which two new material is performed each month), we decided to perform with younger members of the group instead of those of the same generation.

The juniors naturally had more momentum at the live shows, but we continued to perform as the last performer so that we would not become old-fashioned. I think this is what led to our success in the M-1 finals.” ( From Hiroyuki Iguchi’s statement, “‘M-1 Grand Prix’ second final, a direct hit on Westland, ‘I want to be really popular,'” published in bizSPA!)

Tokyo Hotelison Shogo, who lost in the quarterfinals this year, said early on that “one of the three groups (author’s note: Mama Tart, Stretchies, and Hitsuji Neiri) will probably make the finals. In fact, Mama T art and Stretchies are making their first semifinal appearance.

Next year, the youngsters who work around the Nishi-Shinjuku Narugeki theater, which opened in 2021 by the comedy live management company K-PRO, may stir up the competition.

Both Diamond and Kyu are too much of a work of art.”

On the other hand, Kyu Piro of Titan, the same agency as Westland, said, “I’m trying not to be in such a hurry (for the M-1 finals) that I lose my form. This is a stance that is unique to these comedians, who perform “interesting conversations.

Diamond Ono Ryusuke , who, like Kyu, has a strong sense of originality in his manzai, said, “If it is a form that has never been seen before, there is no correct answer yet, so what you have done becomes the correct answer. I think that kind of manzai suits me better.

In the finals, when Kyu mentioned “two completely different things,” Piro said, “They are both ____, aren’t they? and other similarities. Diamond’ s partner Ono was puzzled by Nozawa Export’s list of strange words, such as “unisex cars” and “eating and drinking at a reasonable price,” but he kept on correcting him.

Kyu and Diamond did not fare as well, placing 9th and 10th, respectively, but they must have realized that they had experienced the finals once before.

Personally, I felt as Ryuichi Hamaya of Kamaitachi said in the video “[M-1 Consideration 2022] Kamaitachi talked about M-1 Grand Prix 2022” on the YouTube channel “Kamaitachi Channel”: “I feel that Diamond and Kyu are both too much like works of art. So it is easier to watch if there is a sense of yose and incompleteness, on the contrary.

We will keep an eye on how the two groups change to compensate for their “watchability” without sacrificing their originality.

Manzai and comedy are beginning to function in different genres.

In this year’s M-1, runner-up Sayaika showed her ability in chatty manzai, while third-place Long Coat Daddy and fourth-place Male Blanco showed the potential of manzai comedy. Westland also proved the strength of its systematic manzai, which can win not only for its tongue-in-cheek fun, but also for its two stories in the same package.

And while the King of Conte, like last year, had well-made material that ranked high, it also seemed to show that it is possible to win with “unusual inner reality” and “good tempo,” as the Biscuit Brothers did.

In addition, comments by judges Hitoshi Matsumoto and Eiji Kotoge of Baikingu made it clear that the “dark turn” as a form of direction can sometimes have a negative effect.

Looking at both competitions from a different perspective, I feel that “M-1” has a stronger “oikyoku” and “konte” color, while “King of Conte” seems to have more of a Kansai flavor. It is interesting to note that, coincidentally, the strengths of manzai and konte have crossed over, and the weapons of both have begun to function in different genres.

The race for the two grand prizes is now being shaped not only by the quality of the finalists’ material, but also by the judges’ points of view, reactions on social networking services, and the feedback battle that comedians talk about on YouTube and radio programs after the competition.

What kind of stories will be created in the future as more precision and impact are demanded? We will continue to follow the trends as long as we can, in awe of the comedians who continue to fight.