Kirin’s Exit: New Contender Eyes Coveted Seat After Six-Year Run

Since “Downtown” star Matsumoto Hitoshi, who has seven regular programs and many special programs, announced that he would be taking a hiatus, there has been much speculation as to who would fill in for him. Who will fill in for Matsumoto?

In the meantime, “Downtown DX” and “Downtown no Gaki no Tsukasa ya Aahenden! (both on Nippon Television Network Corporation), for which “Downtown” does not have a stand-in, and his partner, Masanori Hamada, is the sole MC. (both on Nippon Television Network Corporation), with his partner Masatoshi Hamada serving as MC alone! Night Scoop” (ABC TV) was recorded with regulars Kanpei Hazama and Canning Takeyama serving as deputy directors. Matsumo to Nakai” (Fuji Television) changed its title to “Dareka to Nakai” and replaced Kazuya Ninomiya.

In a special program, Fuji Television’s Saturday premium “IPPON Grand Prix” was broadcast on February 3, with Bakarhythm replacing Matsumoto as acting chairman. The program itself was a great success, but on social networking sites, the following comments were made,

“I still miss Matsumoto as the chairman.

I still want Bakarhythm to participate as a respondent. I want Bakari to participate as a respondent, and I want the chairmen to rotate.

I want Bakari to participate as a respondent,

I’ll get used to it soon anyway. （I got used to it right away even when Gentleman Shimada left.

Even with Bakari, there was enough tension.

The opinions were evenly split between those for and against the program. In response to these reactions, a person in charge of variety program production at a key station commented.

In response to these reactions, a person in charge of variety program production at a key station said, “When asked, ‘Which duo will replace Downtown in leading the variety shows in the future? The answer to the question, “Which duo will replace Downtown to lead variety shows in the future? The TV stations are still struggling to find a replacement, although the names of “Chidori” and “Kamaitachi” have been mentioned.

Amidst such a situation, “there is a duo that is rapidly emerging on the Internet and in the industry,” according to the person in charge of the project. The source said that it is the “Kirin” duo.

Akira Kawashima and Yutaka Tamura of “Kirin” will appear on the January 28 broadcast of “Sports! Dassa Cute Video Grand Prix” (NTV) broadcast on January 28 for the first time in six years. Needless to say, Kawashima was the first MC for “Lavit! (TBS), but as for Tamura, I think the general assessment was that it would be impossible. However, when it was announced that the two would be working together, Tamura’s reputation was unexpectedly strong on social networking services, to the surprise of those involved in the program, according to a TV magazine writer.

(TV magazine writer) “Indeed, when the announcement was made that the two would be co-hosting the show, the social networking sites were filled with comments such as,

Tamura’s presence makes the Kirin even more interesting.

Kawashima has become too big, but Tamura’s talk actually sold the show first.

Tamura’s location work is superb! Tamura’s location work is superb! He’s actually a good talker, so I have nothing but high hopes for what the two of them will do together.

Many people praised Tamura, with some saying, “I was just going for it because a seat was available,

Some of them even commented, “Is he going for it because there’s a seat available?

Some of the comments were surprising. Some of them even commented that they were surprised at Tamura’s performance.

Naturally, the comments are probably based on comparisons with “Downtown,” but I hear that Tamura’s ability is not so highly regarded, even though Kawashima’s is not yet. …… What was surprising, however, was the surprisingly large number of viewers who said they would like to see Tamura as MC.

Speaking of Tamura, his autobiography “Homeless Junior High School Student” (Wani Books), published in 2007, sold over 2.22 million copies and earned 200 million yen in royalties and copyright income. Since then, his work with the duo has decreased, and people tend to have the impression that Tamura is a comedian who can only play basketball,

Tamura’s “Homeless Junior High School Students” also attracted attention when he gave an episode of “Hitoshi Matsumoto’s Slip ‘n Talk” (Fuji Television) that was a big hit. At the time, Tamura, who was sociable, cheerful, and a good talker, was more useful on talk shows than Kawashima, who was said to be extremely shy and nekkid.

The success of their book led them to neglect their work as comedians, and a disparity between the duo appeared, but Tamura’s work as a reporter for “Detective! Night Scoop. There have been rumors of their “breakup” several times, but in the past few years, they have been able to continue their career as a “sports team” on “AMETALK! (TV Asahi), and in October last year, they held their first live talk show in six years. With this as an opportunity, we expect to see a lot more exposure as ‘Kirin’ this year,” said a person involved in the production of commercial variety shows.

Furthermore, entertainment journalist Hiroyuki Sasaki has this expectation.

The goal of comedians is to have a TV show with their own name on it. However, the hosting business is fraught with the risk that once a scandal strikes, the entire show may disappear. In this respect, they have a cleaner image and are more likable than other duos.

The day when “Kirin” will be the program’s crown jewel may not be far off in the future.