Haruka Nishimoto, former Pirate who became a dental assistant: “At the time, I did the ‘dachu-no’ pose 100 times a day.

He made his debut in 1997 and got his big break in “Vocabulary Heaven”!
She is now working as a dental assistant.

Recently, I’ve been working as a dental assistant. This year will be my sixth year!　I would like to increase my entertainment activities little by little from now on.

Haruka Nishimoto (46) of the former popular comedy duo “Pirates,” formed with Yoshimi Asada (44) in 1997, answers with a slightly embarrassed expression.

After passing an audition for the variety show “Bokyabura Tengoku” (Fuji Television) broadcast from ’92 to ’99, they won the right to appear on the show, and their one-shot gag, “Dattechu no,” a sexy pose in which they hold their breasts between their arms, became their big hit. ‘ In 1998, she took the world by storm, winning the “Ryu-Yougo Taisho” award. At the time, they attracted public attention as a new duo that combined gravure and comedy, but she revealed that she had mixed feelings about it.

I wanted to be an actress when I entered the industry, so when I formed the duo, I was confused about my position in the gravure and comedy genres,” she said. But I was still around high school age, and I couldn’t say anything. …… I also had a hope that if I could sell my name, I might become an actress.”

However, despite her confusion, her work as a comedian increased rapidly after her appearance on the show. There was a time when she almost had a mental breakdown.

I was really busy at the time. It was normal to record three to four shows a day, and I only had one day off a month. I would have one day off a month. No matter where I went, I was instructed to do the “dachu-no” pose, and at times I did it more than 100 times a day, even hurting my back. I was so busy that I lost track of what I was doing, and it was hard.”

He also recalls that the sales methods used in those days were “special” in the case of “Pirates.

For example, if we had a 30-minute slot, we would perform a comic or a skit, but we were different. For example, if we had a 30-minute slot, everyone would do several pieces of material, but we didn’t have any material (laughs).

So, we would sing and dance to “Pink Lady” for about 20 minutes. …… For the remaining 10 minutes, we would use the scripts that the scriptwriters gave us and somehow get by. They made me sing, dance, and do other idol-like things, and I even cried to my manager, saying, ‘I want to quit.