<h3><span class="strongInContent">The next one will win the world&#8221;!</span></h3>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Den, Taiko, and Rinapippi of the comedy trio &#8220;Linda Color ∞&#8221; won second place in &#8220;Gurunai Omoshiro-so&#8221; (Nippon Television Network Corporation) on New Year&#8217;s Day 2012, and are now sought after for their variety shows. Where did they come from and where are they headed?</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We asked them to speak frankly about their current situation, including how the trio was formed, how &#8220;Charismanzai&#8221; came to be, the influence of their unit live members, episodes with their closest senior comedians, and the background behind Taiko&#8217;s character that made Daigo of Chidori say, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to win the world next. Taiko is our secret weapon.</span></p>
<p><a href="#" data-ident_hash="42bfb8bd"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/63607015c0e409362e705b8dcdc884ca.jpg" alt=""></a></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Taiko is our secret weapon.</span></h3>
<p>&#8211;On New Year&#8217;s Day this year, he won second place in the &#8220;Gurunai Omoshiro-so&#8221; competition. Since then, Rinapippi has been the main actor on &#8220;Chance no Jikan&#8221; (AbemaTV), Taiko has appeared on &#8220;Aiseki Shokudo&#8221; (ABC TV), and other individual activities have also been remarkable.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Den: To be honest, I had a vague idea about Rinapippi, but the speed to Taiko was too fast. Daigo-san from Chidori is crazy (laughs). (Laughs.) It was Chidori who first found out how to make Rinapippi interesting, so I can only be grateful to him, but I think he found it a little faster than I had planned. But I think he found it faster than I did. He said, &#8220;Taiko is our secret weapon, so please let me hide it.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Taiko: I appreciate that. I am simply surprised that I can get so much work after 5 or 6 years of no sales. What I do has changed a lot from before.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Rinapippi：I enjoy doing different things every day. I think I am more excited about the variety of things I can do than anxious.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Den：Rinapippi has a different potential. Before a performance, both the performers and the staff are a little tense. Only Rinappi is drawing on the whiteboard backstage (laughs). I think that mindset must come from their roots, and I think they are not ordinary comedians in the way they sit on their stomachs.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="I don't think you need to be restricted to the confines of comic comedy. ......"></div>
<div class="expapp-yahoo-paragraph-break"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Let&#8217;s do comedy in a broader entertainment context.</span></h3>
<p>&#8211;I think that Den and Taiko were doing well as a duo, appearing on &#8220;Ukemen&#8221; (Fuji Television/ irregular: Nov. &#8217;18 &#8211; Jun. &#8217;19, regular monthly: Aug. &#8217;19 &#8211; ended Sept. &#8217;20). ～I think she was doing well, appearing in &#8220;Ukemen&#8221; (Fuji Television/ irregular: Nov. &#8217;18 &#8211; Jun. &#8217;19, regular monthly: Aug. &#8217;19 &#8211; Sep. &#8217;20). Why did you decide to include Rina Pippi?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Den：We were doing well enough to have a full house at every new material live performance, but during the Corona period, we began to look at ourselves and feel that our truly unique style might be found somewhere other than the &#8220;M-1 Grand Prix&#8221; evaluation.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> I love manzai, and because I had been dealing with it for so long, I felt that there was no need to be restricted by the boundaries of manzai. I had always been a &#8220;local funny guy&#8221; type, and I didn&#8217;t become a comedian by watching manzai or M-1, so I felt I was being forced into something.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Just as I was beginning to think about &#8220;doing comedy in a broader entertainment context&#8221; before becoming a comedian, I met Rinapippi at a live performance of her new material. Then I started rapping, dancing, and using other free forms of expression to create material.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_393431" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 9504px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-393431"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="066b0efa"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/10/8c260a5e7445b2a4529a33b7ce72c434.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-393431" class="wp-caption-text">Just as I was beginning to think, &#8220;Let&#8217;s do comedy in a broader entertainment context before becoming a comedian&#8230;&#8221; (Den)</figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p>(Den) &#8212; Rinapippi, what were you doing when &#8220;Ukemen&#8221; started?</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Rinappi: It was right after I left Yamagata for Tokyo, so I got a job at a ramen restaurant and made ramen every day. Some days were from noon to night, some days were late at night, and when I got home, I would just go to bed. I would cut off the hot water and go to bed, cut off the hot water and go to bed, and so on (laughs). I don&#8217;t think I even heard the word &#8220;comedy.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Two years ago, I was working at a shisha shop when I went to see Linda Colour perform live, and a friend of mine was a fan of both of them and invited me. I don&#8217;t mean to be rude, but at the time I didn&#8217;t even know that there were professional or amateur comedians, and I thought it sounded really fun, so I impulsively said I wanted to join.</span></p>
<div data-friday-ad-slot="AD_inArticle"></div>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Taiko: I found out about it at a story meeting after a live performance. I went to a coffee shop, and a girl I didn&#8217;t know was there and said, &#8220;I&#8217;m joining today. I panicked, but I felt like I had no choice but to do it, since she had already said she was going in and we were together. Basically, Den tends to report after the fact. We have known each other since childhood, and we know each other&#8217;s personalities, so it would be a waste of time if we talked about it. So I accepted it as it was.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Den: I&#8217;m sorry (laughs). It&#8217;s amazing, isn&#8217;t it?</span></p>
<p>The story behind the birth of &#8220;Charismanzai,&#8221; Mr. Suga-chan Supreme No. 1, and Mr. Great Adventure. (Ryosei-san, Ibuku Ipponmichi) and Den&#8217;s life together, etc. can be read in the paid version [FRIDAY Subscription].</p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-start"></div>
<p><a href="https://friday.gold/article/279434" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span class="strongInContent"> The paid version 【</span><span class="strongInContent"> FRIDAY</span><span class="strongInContent"> Subscription] is here.</span></a></p>
<div class="expapp-no-provided-scope expapp-no-provided-scope-end"></div>


 Comedy researcher and freelance editor/writer. Former band member, former broadcaster. Loves all kinds of entertainment. Published "Shimura Ken Theory" (Asahi Shinbun Publishing) in April 2021. Currently updating his personal website, "Immortal Writing Blues. http://s-akira.jp/

 Asahi Suzuki

 Sugizo

 The comedy trio "Linda Color ∞" won second place in "Gurunai Omoshiro-so" on the first day of New Year's Day 2012, and are now sought after for their variety shows. Where did they come from and where are they headed?

The Making of “Linda Color Infinity” Runner-Up of Omoshiro Sou

Access Ranking