I was afraid of being complained”…Former Pramai member Yoshimasa Iwahashi talks about his “answer to the coarse goods” and “M-1 theory”.
In a “manzai trance” after M-1 elimination
Yoshimasa Iwahashi, 46, formerly of “Plus Minus,” has moved to a 1K apartment in the countryside of Osaka after selling his mansion in Setagaya, Tokyo, following the termination of his contract with Yoshimoto Kogyo.
For more information on the anguish that led him to this point and the joy he gained from abandoning his position as a “successful manzai performer with a monthly income of 2 million yen,” see the articles “Yoshimasa Iwahashi, Former ‘Plus Minus’ Member, Leaves 2 Million Yen Monthly Income and Mansion in Setagaya to ‘50,000 Yen Apartment Life’ Happiness” in Friday’s main magazine and digital editions. Happiness of “living in an apartment”” in the article “Former ‘Plus Minus’ Yoshimasa Iwahashi.
The article was a big hit, and we spoke again with Iwahashi, who said, “The article went viral, and I was contacted by many acquaintances.
We asked him again about the article and the many contacts he has received.
When I was a comedian, there were many tense situations that could easily cause OCD, such as being in a studio with a TV camera pointed at you or going on stage to perform comic monologues.
The time I felt the most relieved after quitting my job as a comedian was when I was taking a shower. The fact that a warm shower stings means that my mind was very depressed. When I was a comedian, taking a bath was a hassle, but I have come to love taking a shower.
In the future, I would like to live in the countryside. I would like to build a house with a large yard, raise a golden retriever, paint pictures, and do work that I can get into. It would be great if I could live off that.”
The final of the “M-1 Grand Prix” will be held on December 22. Mr. Iwahashi, you have been described as an orthodox manzai performer, but what do you think of the recent manzai of the finalists?
You said, “The orthodox …… Noda Crystal’s “Magical Lovely” manzai.” I don’t understand the meaning of that, and I think it’s nonsense. If two people make the audience laugh in front of the center microphone, that is already manzai, in my opinion.
I think the M-1 is like a “manzai invention competition” where unconventional manzai is evaluated, like a presentation. It’s like a TV show that can’t be done at a Yose. So I thought it was absurd that there were people who said “it’s not manzai” when they were doing something new.
Q. What is the best manzai of your lifetime?
I think it would have to be the loser’s revival round in the last year of M-1 (’18) with “Plus Minus”. I had done my best, and I felt that I had completely made it to the finals. If we had made it to the finals, I thought we would have won with the momentum we had. If that had happened, I thought the era of us old men would still be going on. I think it was the turning point of the times. That was the Battle of Sekigahara.
Iwahashi described the manzai at that time as being in a “manzai trance,” a kind of zone in sports.
I was so immersed in manzai that I didn’t even know where I was. I was 100% focused on manzai. I was in a “manzai trance,” which happens only a few times a year. I was excited from the moment I stepped in front of the microphone and said, “Hello,” and I don’t remember much after the first part, when I said, “I’m going to kill you if you don’t revive me, audience,” and “It’s going to be hard to do. It was just fun.
Normally, I would hear voices falling from heaven like, “If you miss a pause, you won’t get any traction,” or “This is the part where you have to keep your voice tight, but if you say it in a quiet voice, you won’t get any traction,” or “If you do that, you’ll fall down,” but there was none of that. But there was none of that. The three minutes were over in the blink of an eye. I felt as if I had just slipped away. I have never been satisfied with my comic performances. Every time I do it, it’s a series of regrets, but at …… that time I had no regrets. It felt good to lose, on the contrary.”
