<h3>Two consecutive years of great success</h3>
<figure id="attachment_219719" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3601px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219719"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="11cc69d2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/TZ1_1906-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219719" class="wp-caption-text">Nishikigoi: Formed in &#8217;12. Masaki Hasegawa (left), a joker, and Takashi Watanabe, a comedian, both have more than 20 years of performing experience. Their first book, &#8220;Smoldering Middle Age Strikes Back&#8221; (Shinchosha) is now on sale.</figcaption></figure>
Last year, &#8220;Nishikigoi&#8221; left a mark in the final of the &#8220;M-1 Grand Prix&#8221; as the oldest finalist. The duo has returned after achieving their long awaited breakthrough with Masaki Hasegawa&#8217;s (50) physical comedy and Takashi Watanabe&#8217;s (43) sharp comedy. The duo broke their own record for the longest-tenured duo and advanced to the &#8220;M-1&#8221; final for the second year in a row.
FRIDAY interviewed &#8220;Nishikigoi&#8221; two days after the good news, and spent an hour talking to them about how they felt after they were selected for their second dream stage.
Hasegawa: &#8220;I was so happy when I was selected for the final. To be honest, I was worried about the semi-finals. I felt like I was more popular last year.&#8221;
Watanabe: &#8220;I felt that I was able to give my best performance to date. I was relieved when I heard the result.
Hasegawa: &#8220;I didn&#8217;t get nervous at all during the story. I guess it was because I felt that more people knew us. It was more like what we usually do at the theater.
Watanabe: &#8220;Really?　I thought I would be nervous too, but I didn&#8217;t change at all. I&#8217;m sure I&#8217;ll be nervous in the final, too.
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Hasegawa will be turning 50 this year. Watanabe is also approaching his mid-forties. The veteran who has been performing for over 20 years is more concerned about his conditioning than his mental condition.
Hasegawa: &#8220;Actually, just before the semifinals, I injured my back during a story. I do a lot of running around on stage, and at 50 years old, the strain on my back is ridiculous (laughs). My manager introduced me to a physical therapist and I managed to get over it.
Watanabe: &#8220;Sitting in the middle, moving around, our material is hard on the back.
Hasegawa: &#8220;Also, I have ten missing teeth, so my tongue is not very smooth. I have a one-shot gag where I shout &#8220;Raisin bread&#8221;, but one time I thought it wasn&#8217;t popular, so I asked around and found out that the audience didn&#8217;t know what I was saying.
Watanabe: &#8220;Even I, the person closest to me, misheard it as &#8216;chanpon men&#8217;.
Hasegawa: &#8220;At last year&#8217;s finals, I was warned by the all-giant master that I should get my teeth fixed. That&#8217;s what worries me the most.
Watanabe: &#8220;I&#8217;m worried about my forty shoulders. I can&#8217;t lift my left shoulder. It&#8217;s fortunate that it&#8217;s not my right shoulder, the one I&#8217;m supposed to make fun of.
Hasegawa: &#8220;From now on, I have to stretch properly before going on stage.
Watanabe: &#8220;Preparatory exercises before the stage. I don&#8217;t think such people should be doing comedy (laughs).
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This year, they graduated from their longtime part-time jobs and have been concentrating on comedy, mainly on TV shows. In their personal lives, they have made a big decision for their art.
Hasegawa: &#8220;We bought a TV for the first time in our lives. And it&#8217;s 40 inches. It cost 180,000 yen, including a recorder that can automatically record all programs. I thought it would be better to watch my own programs and study them.&#8221;
Watanabe: &#8220;I bought a 30,000 yen mom-chari before this summer. It&#8217;s for walking.&#8221;
Hasegawa: &#8220;I don&#8217;t get it! (laughs)&#8221;
Watanabe: &#8220;Masaki-san has gained weight, hasn&#8217;t he? You&#8217;ve gained weight, haven&#8217;t you? Since you&#8217;ve been working more, you&#8217;ve been able to eat well every day.
Hasegawa: &#8220;That&#8217;s right, I gained 10 kg in a year. I gained 10 kg in one year, and because of that, my suit got torn, so I had to buy a new one twice this year alone.
Watanabe: &#8220;You were really thin before that because you couldn&#8217;t eat.
Hasegawa: &#8220;My body is in bad shape, but in terms of nutrition, I&#8217;m at my best right now.
At the end of the year, they are going to challenge for the top of &#8220;M-1&#8221; again. Finally, we asked them about their enthusiasm for the final.
Hasegawa: &#8220;We&#8217;ve been saying this since we made it to the quarterfinals for the first time in &#8217;15, but we still want to win. Last year, we finished fourth. I feel like I&#8217;m within reach, and I want to go for it.
Watanabe: &#8220;I don&#8217;t have much time left because of my age. We think this year is our last chance, so we will literally &#8220;die&#8221; to win!
What will be the challenge of the veteran duo?
<figure id="attachment_219720" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3730px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219720"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8852e301"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/128A3742.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219720" class="wp-caption-text">A press conference for the finalists. Watanabe mentions &#8220;Moguerider&#8221; and Hasegawa mentions &#8220;Indians&#8221; and &#8220;Oswald&#8221; as rivals.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_219721" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 3648px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219721"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ef122634"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/128A3044.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219721" class="wp-caption-text">Nishikigoi Special Interview: &#8220;I&#8217;m literally dying to win!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_219722" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 5472px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219722"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="c4955505"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/128A3430.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219722" class="wp-caption-text">Nishikigoi Special Interview &#8220;I&#8217;m literally dying to win!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_219723" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2362px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219723"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6d850737"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/TZ1_1777.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219723" class="wp-caption-text">Special Nishikigoi Interview &#8220;I&#8217;m literally dying to win!</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_219724" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2717px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-219724"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5b83c652"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2021/12/TZ1_1860.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-219724" class="wp-caption-text">Special Nishikigoi Interview &#8220;I&#8217;m literally dying to win!</figcaption></figure>
From &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; December 24, 2021 issue

 Takero Yatsuka, Kazuhiko Nakamura (press conference photos)

 Last year, "Nishikigoi" left a mark in the final of "M-1 Grand Prix" as the oldest finalist. He broke his own record as the oldest finalist and advanced to the "M-1" final for the second year in a row. What are the feelings of Masaki Hasegawa and Takashi Watanabe?

Just before M-1! Nishikigoi: “I’ll endure the pain in my shoulder and back and die trying to win!

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