[Full text] “Saraba Seishun no Hikari” “Our comedy is not the high road. But we are running pretty fast on the side road!”

Tickets for the national tour starting in spring continue to sell out!
A difficult time due to scandals and other problems,
He dared to withdraw from the awards race and found a way to make a living.

Nowadays, I only need to take one day off a month. Even when I do get a day off, it is usually for planning meetings or filming for YouTube.

The man smiling with white teeth is Tetsuya Morita, 44, of the popular comedy duo Saraba Seishun no Hikari (Farewell, Light of Youth).

His partner is Azuma Bukuro (40). Both of them play the part of a bloke and a comedian, and Morita is solely in charge of making up stories. Although they do not have many regular programs, they have made many appearances on TV, including three regular radio programs and four regular online programs on Abema TV. Their YouTube channel has easily over 2 million subscribers (main and sub channels combined), and the total number of views has reached over 700 million, making it a very popular channel.

And what has further cemented the popularity of “Saraba~” is their solo live performances. Since 2005, the band has been on an annual tour of Japan, with larger venues each year, all of which have been sold out. Morita says, “We have toured eight times since we started the tour.

This is the eighth time we’ve started the tour, and it’s always a blast. We are still doing the same vulgar material (laughs). (laughs). I don’t think the clientele has changed that much. It’s not that the audience has become more excited. I feel that many of them are calm and watch our comedy. The older ones are in their 50s. I would say there is a 50/50 split between men and women.

Currently, he is active not only on TV and radio, but also in a variety of other media.

We like TV, so we do everything we can on it, and we are active on YouTube because it allows us to express our colors the best,” says Morita.

Withdrawal from the awards race marked a turning point

The two met at the Shochiku Entertainment Training Institute in Osaka and formed the duo in 2008. They first tried out for the “King of Contest” (KOC) and the “M-1 Grand Prix” in 2008, shortly after their formation, and four years later they made it to the finals for the first time at the “King of Contest 2012.

The winner at that time was “Baikingu”, and the two had the two words “winner” in their minds until their second joke, but when “Baikingu” said, “What a day! brought a burst of laughter from the audience, and they regrettably had to give in to tears. KOC” has since made it to the finals from 2012 to 2006, with the exception of ’16. On the other hand, “M-1” lost in the semi-finals four times and made it to the finals in ’16.

In 2001, “Saraba” became independent from Shochiku Entertainment, to which he belonged, and established his own private agency, “The Moritoh.

I graduated from Shochiku for various reasons. Back then, I was very conscious of wanting to win awards at any cost. I wanted to win the world someday. But gradually I began to think that it wasn’t about winning the world. I became aware that it was not about being the best, but just doing the material I liked and making a living.

The image of “Saraba” was that of a regular in the awards race. However, after the 2006 season, he announced his graduation from the awards race.

After discussing it with Morita, I decided to stop participating in the awards race,” said Azuma.

Yes, I thought it wasn’t worth it to try for awards.

Morita also agreed. What does he mean when he says that the awards race is not worth it?

Morita said, “I had a jinx that even if I worked hard all year to come up with a story, if I drew the lottery for the first place, there was no way I could win. This year, the top entry, “Long Coat Daddy,” won, but that was really true at the time.

Award races were originally meant to be a dream come true. It was supposed to be a way for those who were not making any money at all to get to the side that was making money. Nowadays, however, I think there are more duos who enter the awards race because they want to sell on TV, or because they want to be in the awards race.

On the other hand, he also went through an ordeal.’ In ’13, Higashibukuro had an affair with the wife of a senior comedian, which led to a scandal. Higashi Bukuro was later exposed by several other women in ’21 as pregnant and having abortions.

The first scandal had a big impact,” he said. In Tokyo, it was like I was being scolded by everyone. But they allowed me to compete in the awards shows regardless. I was grateful for that.

But, as expected, they have been quiet lately. If you’re going for it, Mr. Friday, go for the ‘farewell geisha Shinichi’ (laughs).

(laughs) “No, you’re the one who’s going to do that! (laughs)” (Morita).

Graduation from the awards race – usually a big risk for a comedian. Strangely enough, however, as soon as they stopped participating in award shows, they began to get more work. The reason for this was that they were able to concentrate on their solo live performances. As they had more time to spend on the creation of their material, the level of perfection increased, and the reputation of their live performances gradually grew. The decision to withdraw from the awards race was truly a turning point.

Guests are most comfortable

In 2006, they opened their own YouTube channel. The channel is a great source of entertainment for the guests, including the staff. Morita says, “Well, YouTube is a great place to plan and do projects.

Morita says, “Well, YouTube is the most fun, including the time we spend thinking about projects. Sometimes I get two hours of sleep because of that.

The president of “The Mori-Higashi” is Morita, the vice president is Higashi, and the manager divides the pay equally among the three.

It’s true, it’s split three ways. That was decided from the beginning. I think it’s amazing that the manager assured them that, although there is a bias in the work, if they just put up with that, they can live happily. I don’t think there are any managers who receive that much money (laughs).

When they were young, Morita admired “Downtown” and “Ninety-Nine,” while Higashi Bukuro was impressed by Ken Shimura.

But I don’t think their own comedy is the royal road they admired. Rather, it is a side road. It’s more like a side road on the side of the highway. Well, we are running at a rather high speed,” said Morita.

The peak they are aiming for is….

I want a house with a garage in Tokyo, especially in Gotanda.

I don’t have anything. As long as I can play golf, that’s all I want. I’m not interested in anything else. If I can play golf and manage to stay in this world, that’s enough for me.

Many comedians think that their goal is to be an MC and have their own TV show, but Azuma is different from them.

I like TV, and I want to continue. However, it is difficult when you have your own TV show because you have to compete with the numbers. In that sense, I’m probably most comfortable being a guest on someone else’s show.

Morita laughed.

Morita and Morita say that live performances are the way of life for them. That is the “high road” for comedians, isn’t it?

From the December 12, 2025 issue of FRIDAY