“Our Comedy Isn’t Mainstream, But We’re Racing Down the Side Roads!” — Saraba Seishun no Hikari

Tickets for their nationwide tour this spring continue to sell out! Even during challenging periods, such as scandals, they deliberately stepped away from award competitions to find a new path

“These days, if I get even one day off in a month, it’s lucky. And even when I do get it, it usually ends up being filled with YouTube planning meetings or shoots,”

says Tetsuya Morita (44) of the hugely popular comedy duo Saraba Seishun no Hikari, flashing a bright smile.

His partner is Higashi Bukuro (40). Both share the roles of boke and tsukkomi, with Morita primarily handling writing. While they don’t have many regular TV shows, they appear frequently on television, have three regular radio programs, and four regular online shows on platforms like Abema TV. Their YouTube channels, combining main and subchannels, have over 2 million subscribers and more than 700 million total views.

A major factor cementing Saraba’s popularity is their solo live tours. Since 2017, their annual nationwide tours have grown each year to larger venues, all of which sell out. Morita explains:

“This is our eighth year touring, and every venue is lively. We still do our usual crude jokes (laughs). I don’t think the audience has changed much over the years. It’s not like we’ve become a screaming fan kind of act. People calmly watch the sketches, which is nice. Age-wise, audiences go up to their 50s. The crowd is mixed, men and women about half and half.”

They are now active across TV, radio, and various other media.

“I like TV, so I appear as much as possible. But YouTube allows us to really show our own style, so we actively do that,” Morita says.

A Turning Point: Withdrawing from Award Competitions

The duo met at the Shōchiku Geino training school in Osaka and officially formed Saraba Seishun no Hikari in 2008. They first attempted King of Conte (KOC) and M-1 Grand Prix the same year. Four years later, they reached the finals of King of Conte 2012 for the first time.

That year, the winner was Viking. Up to their second sketch, Morita and Higashi Bukuro thought victory was within reach, but Viking’s “What a day!” unleashed thunderous laughter across the audience, and the duo narrowly missed the top spot. Subsequently, Saraba reached the KOC finals every year from 2012 to 2018, except 2016. In M-1, they were eliminated in the semifinals four times, though they made it to the finals in 2016.

In 2013, Saraba left Shōchiku Geino and established their own personal office, The Morihigashi.

“We graduated from Shōchiku for various reasons. Back then, all we wanted was to win awards. We dreamed of conquering the comedy world. But gradually, we realized it wasn’t about being number one. We just wanted to do the sketches we liked and make a living,” Morita explains.

They had long been associated with award competitions, but in 2018, they announced their departure from that circuit.

“Higashi and I decided to stop participating in award competitions,” Morita continues.

“Yeah, we realized chasing awards just wasn’t worth it,” Higashi adds.

So what does not worth it mean?

“Even if we spent a whole year creating the best material, if we drew the first spot in the lineup, there was almost no chance of winning—that was the superstition. This year, Long Coat Daddy won from the first spot, but back then, it really was like that. Award competitions were supposed to be about dreams—giving those who weren’t making a living a chance to get to the other side. Nowadays, it feels like most duos enter competitions not to chase dreams, but to get TV exposure—or they do sketches just to enter competitions,” Morita says.

They also faced trials. In 2013, Higashi Bukuro was involved in a scandal after an affair with a senior comedian’s wife was revealed. Later, in 2021, multiple women accused him of pregnancy and abortion incidents.

“The first scandal definitely had an impact. In Tokyo, it felt like we were completely shunned. But at least the award competitions still let us participate properly, which we were grateful for,” Morita recalls.

“But these days, it’s much quieter. If Friday wants a story now, you should go after ‘Omiokuri Geinin Shinichi’ instead (laughs),” Higashi jokes.

“No, that’d still be you! (laughs),” Morita responds.

Graduating from award competitions would normally be a huge risk for comedians. Yet, paradoxically, as soon as they stopped participating, their work actually increased. The reason: they could focus fully on their solo live shows. With more time to refine their sketches, the quality improved, and audience reception gradually rose. Their decision to withdraw from competitions thus became a true turning point in their career.

The Guest Spot Feels the Most Comfortable

In 2018, the duo launched their own YouTube channel, where the lively and fun atmosphere—including the staff—comes through clearly. Morita says:

“Honestly, YouTube is the most fun, even counting the time it takes to plan the content. Sometimes it means only getting two hours of sleep, though.”

At The Morihigashi, Morita serves as president, Higashi as vice president, and the manager is the third member. The three split their earnings equally.

“It’s true. One-third each. That was decided from the start. There’s some imbalance in the work, but as long as you accept that, you can live happily. I think our manager is amazing for asserting that. I doubt there are many managers out there getting that much (laughs),” Morita adds.

When they were younger, Morita admired Downtown and Ninety-nine, while Higashi Bukuro looked up to Ken Shimura.

“But our comedy isn’t the classic path we admired. It’s more like a side road. We’ve been running along the side lanes of the highway, but at a pretty good speed,” Morita explains.

Their personal goals are modest:

“I want a house with a garage in Gotanda, Tokyo,” says Morita.

“I don’t need anything. As long as I can play golf, that’s enough. Honestly, I’m not interested in anything else. Just being able to play golf and stay in this world is sufficient,” Higashi says.

While many comedians view hosting their own TV show as the ultimate goal, the two take a different approach.

“We like TV and want to continue, but with a solo show you constantly have to battle ratings, which is tough. In that sense, appearing as a guest on someone else’s show might actually feel the most comfortable,” Morita laughs.

For them, live performances are their true path—the main road of comedy, perhaps, in their own terms.

From the December 12, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”