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.”

He traveled around the country on a variety of shows and on regional sales trips. The workload at that time was so heavy that he only took naps on the road and had no time to relax at home. Perhaps due in part to his efforts, “toto no tai” won a Top Ten New Words and Words of the Year award in 2010.

 

“There was a time when I earned 5 million a month, including the prize money from the awards race, but I was only busy for one year in 2010. I spent my busyness in Getz I talked to Dandy Sakano, who got his big break with Getz, and he told me, ‘Don’t worry, it’ll all go away after a year,’  and he was right. I still did some local business on weekends, but the Great East Japan Earthquake caused a sharp decline.”

The mood of self-restraint caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the entertainment industry hard. Around 2002, his TV appearances were close to zero, his local business was decreasing, and his savings were dwindling. At that time, a video production company recommended that he try YouTube.

“I started with the sweet words, HIKAKIN-san is making hundreds of millions of yen with this, but with only a few dozen views a day, I thought it was impossible (laughs). But every morning as part of my routine, I would do riddles at home on my smartphone, which my wife held up. However, once I woke my wife up at 5:30 in the morning before I went golfing and she was furious because I was going to take a video now, so I made it a rule to take a video the night before on days when I have to work early in the morning (laughs).”

Every day, he would come up with a new story, and his wife would shoot the video and send it to the production company. The videos continued to be updated, but the number of views was not very high, ranging from a few dozen to a few hundred.

“I’m sorry to the staff at the video production company, but at that time, I thought of it as nothing more than a story book,” he said.

He said that he used YouTube instead of a story book. A solo show requires about 50 minutes of material, and the idea was that by taking a one-minute video a day, he could make a 30-minute video in a month, which would serve as the basis for his material.

“It’s like an open book; it’s hard to make a 50-minute comic story from scratch, but it’s a lot easier when you have a foundation,” he said, “You can make a good story around a 30-minute video by including current events.”

He has been working hard on his YouTube channel for some time now. The sudden buzz that began in August of last year was triggered by Nezucchi’s official TikTok channel, which was started by the staff of a video production company without his permission.

“Last June, an acquaintance approached me and said, ‘You started TikTok?’　I was approached by someone who said, ‘You’re getting a lot of buzz.’ I told him I didn’t think I was on TikTok, so I told him I wasn’t, but when I checked, it said Nezucchi official. I looked it up and found that the staff of the video production company that I asked to edit my YouTube videos had opened an official account on their own (laughs).”

 

Nezucchi is once again the man of the hour. The staff at the video production company was delighted to receive a silver plaque, which is given to YouTubers who reach 100,000 subscribers, at their office. When asked about his goals for the future, he responded in the manner of a stage performer.

“I get a question from the audience,” he said, “and with a cheerful smile, I say, ‘I’m done! That is the kind of comedian I want to be.”

I hope to see a smiling Nezucchi in 30 years.

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If you are interested in Nezucchi’s stage performances, check out this page!

2023 Geikyo Rakugo Nagoya Yose Special Event: Nezutsu’s 60 minutes in Osu Engeijo
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Doors open at 18:30 / Concert begins at 19:00
Price 2000 yen in advance, 2500 yen at the door (unreserved seats with a serial number)
On sale now at Lawson Ticket (L code 42349) and others!
Inquiries: Rakugo Art Association TEL 03-5909-3081 (11:00-17:00)

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