Riddle Maestro Nezucchi Makes a Comeback: From YouTube to TikTok Sensation

Nezucchi, 48, a comedian known for his riddles, is once again attracting attention among young people because of TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

 

The reason for this is that TikTok and YouTube Shorts, with their short playback time of about one minute, and riddles, are a perfect match, and have exploded in popularity.

The YouTube “Nezucchi Channel” has about 230,000 registered users, which is small compared to other celebrity channels, but with over 4,000 videos and a maximum number of views of over 7 million, the number of views and the number of videos are exceptional. Nezucchi looks back on the process that led to this situation.

“The buzz started last August, and the number of subscribers kept growing. Young people started coming to my monthly solo shows, and tickets sold out quickly after they went on sale. However, 98% of my gigs are men, and I am a little disappointed that there are no women in the audience (laughs).”

His first breakthrough came in 2010. He had a part-time job at a local factory when he was in college, and in January 2010, he appeared as a Town Factory Entertainer on Ametalk! He attracted attention by performing riddle after riddle, beating out all the other popular comedians in the audience.

In his next appearance, he attracted attention for his riddles, and a comment by Hiroyuki Miyasako, 53, a former member of the Ameagari Kesshitai, made him a sought-after performer.

“Miyasako told me, ‘Nezucchi, this year the boom will come,’ and true to his word, I suddenly became very busy. That year I had no holidays at all, and the only day off I had was the one day I asked the office to free up for a wedding. After the wedding in Aomori, my wife’s hometown, I worked from the next day without a honeymoon.”