Comedy Trio “Monkey Base” Won Two Consecutive “Moon Laughs” Live Performances

2023-11-19

Orita, who was a famous student comedian, changed the name of the duo as soon as he entered a training school

–Orita and Matsuyama attended the same high school, right?

Orita: I had decided to become a professional comedian since my first year of high school, and at that time, Matsuyama and I would do manzai at school festivals and other events. We would say, “What are you doing, man?” When I think about it now, it was too low to be shown to others. We were of the M-1 generation, so we were all doing manzai.

Matsuyama: After graduating from high school, we both went to different universities and formed our own duos, but on Orita’s 20th birthday, I called him and said, “I want to be a professional comedian, too,” My experience of participating in the “M-1 Grand Prix” with Orita grew inside me.

Orita: He told me passionately, “I don’t know if you will work with me, but I will become the kind of comedian who will ask you to work with me,” I replied, “Then let’s work together,” but he unexpectedly put the matter on hold, saying, “No, I’ll become a man worthy of you by the time I graduate from college.” (Laughs.) After graduation, I didn’t see any particular growth, but I quietly formed a duo called “Potential Hit” and entered Ota Productions’ training school in 2015.

”I had decided since I was in my first year of high school that I wanted to become a pro, and at that time I was doing manzai with Matsuyama at school festivals and such.”

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–I see. On the other hand, what about Tomoyappu’s school days?

Tomo: When I was in high school, I participated in the Kagoshima prefectural qualifying round of “High School Manzai” with my friends from the same handball club, and we won. It was a small story because we only had a dozen or so pairs play at the Aeon Mall, but at the time I was soaring with excitement. I was so excited. That was the beginning of my desire to become a professional comedian.

After entering TUFS, I formed a comedy duo called “Methane Hydrate” with some members of a comedy club at ICU (International Christian University) in my neighborhood, and we appeared several times in a TV program called “Student Heroes!” (TV Asahi).

Orita: I was quite a famous student comedian, but for some reason I kept it under wraps.

Tomo: The period of time you spent as a student comedian does not count toward your career record, does it? I was a bit embarrassed at the time to be listed as a “student comedian” That was one of the reasons why I entered a training school. Despite this, I was disappointed when Matsuyama spread the word to his classmates that we were “Methane Hydrate” (bitter laugh).

Orita: I think Tomoyappu really didn’t like it because it raised the bar. In the midst of all this, Old Parr continued to win first place during the first year of the training school. We were the only group that stood out from the rest of our classmates.