Nishikigoi, the Oldest M-1 Champion, Reveals the “Big Trouble Right Before the Final
Hasegawa: "If Takashi hadn't picked me up, I would have quit as a comedian." Watanabe: "Masanori-san is my Doraemon." The two talk about everything from the backstage of the final, which they challenged with their wounded bodies, to their ambitions for the future!
“Our ‘master,’ Hollywood Zakosho (47), who has been taking care of us since the beginning of our duo, said to us, ‘You’ve become the best manzai performers in Japan. I was so happy.
So says Takashi Watanabe (43) of Nishikigoi, the winner of the “M-1 Grand Prix 2021. Masanori Hasegawa, the joke guy, passed the 50-year mark in July 2009. This was a great accomplishment, beating the previous record of 38 years held by “Torosalmon”.
The day after the final, I interviewed them directly, still excited. They told us how they were feeling.
Watanabe: “I’m honestly happy! My dream has come true. My dream has come true. I haven’t changed at all, but everyone is congratulating me, so it’s like I’ve been reborn in another world.
Hasegawa: “I received about 300 congratulatory messages. I received about 300 congratulatory messages. As I read them, I gradually began to feel that I had won.
Watanabe: “Among the people who helped me, besides Zakosho, Mr. Eiji Kotoge (45) also congratulated me. We happened to be at the same TV station, so I went to his dressing room, but all he said to me for 10 minutes was, ‘That’s amazing. I don’t know what was going on with that guy (laughs).
Hasegawa: “I really didn’t know if I could win until the end. Actually, I was worried about something: ……. At the live performance the day before the final, I hurt my back when I did the monkey catching story I did on the final stage.
Watanabe: “What, I’ve never heard that before?”
Hasegawa: “It’s a story with a long history, I did the same story a month ago in business and got a back injury. But I thought I couldn’t change it now, so I didn’t tell you. I got through the final with my energy.
Watanabe: “I’ve had 40 shoulders for a long time, and I can’t lift my left shoulder. I’m really happy to have won this year (laughs).
Immediately after the victory, the two hugged each other and shed tears. When I asked them again about their impressions of each other, they gave me unexpected answers.
Hasegawa: “I didn’t know how good I was until I met Takashi, and to be honest, I thought it was time since I turned 40. Takashi was the one who taught me how to shine when I had been dull. I can’t thank him enough.”
Watanabe: “Masanori-san is like ‘Doraemon’ to me.
Hasegawa: “What? What do you mean?
Watanabe: “Well, he’s more than just a human being, he’s a creature called Masanori. That’s why I don’t have to pay attention to him, and I can be myself. That sense of distance suited me. Also, like Doraemon pulling out tools from his four-dimensional pockets, there are more and more silly gags coming out, which is similar.
Hasegawa: “We met after we had both experienced many things. Maybe the timing was also good.
Finally, I asked them about their future ambitions.
Watanabe: “I haven’t decided on my next goal in comedy yet. I want to take my time to find it. In my private life, I’d like to use the …… prize money to go on a grand tour of Ginza (laughs).”
Hasegawa: “There are many things I want to do, including my dream of appearing in ‘Tetsuko’s Room,’ but most of all I want to continue to perform on stage. Manzai is my ‘youth,’ and I want to continue doing it even when I’m 60 or 70.”
The “star of the middle-aged” is not done yet.
From the January 7-14, 2022 issue of FRIDAY
PHOTO： Takero Yatsuka (1st photo) M-1 Grand Prix Secretariat
