Popular duo “DOUBU-HIGASHI” talks about their expansion into Tokyo… Beyond 900 stages a year, “If you stay in Osaka, there’s nothing more”.

Ryosuke Higashi (33) and Shosei Daitoh (33) of the comedy duo “Double Higashi,” which has been together for 12 years and won the “ytv Manzai New Comer Award” and the “ABC Comedy Grand Prix” in 2011, have attracted much attention. The duo, whose powerful banter is delivered in the Kansai dialect, are a hot comedy duo that can be described as “Osaka’s award-winning duo.

Double Higashi” has become a household name in the Kansai region, performing on 900 stages a year, which is one of the highest numbers among comedians. In April of this year, the duo made the decision to leave their familiar surroundings in Osaka and move to Tokyo. The duo, who are now trying to spread their wings on the national stage, reveal their true feelings about their struggles in Osaka and their decision to enter the Tokyo market at this time.

I got sick from working too hard.

–In ’23, they won the Kansai prize race and advanced to the semifinals of the “M-1 Grand Prix” as a wild card. What was the reason why you did not advance to Tokyo at that time?

Daito: I got busy right around that time, and I thought, “Let’s just do my best in Osaka for now. But my workload suddenly increased, and I got very sick. Until last year, I was performing on about 900 stages a year.

Azuma: In Osaka, TV stations and theaters are very close to each other, so I can usually do six or seven jobs a day. On weekends, I would first perform manzai at a theater and then go to a TV station to appear in a live TV show. After that, I go to two theaters, perform on three or four stages, and then record for TV again. Finally, I would come back to the theater and perform live until 10:00 p.m. ……

Daito: Osaka is a place where you can do that. Basically, I was given two days off a month, but there were months when I didn’t have a day off because people would ask me, “Excuse me, can you go to this?

Azuma: Two years ago, my manager and I were talking about how it would be great if we could make it to Tokyo at the same time we made it to the “M-1” final, but I had a lot of work outside the stage. We were also working on location from morning till night. But we had to work on location from morning till night, and that’s how it came to this point.

Daito: All of our Osaka work went to “Captain Gokai. From now on, I think the two of us will have to handle that hellish schedule (laughs).

I should have left for Tokyo for the sake of my juniors.

–I was surprised when you appeared on “Kamaitachi no Shiranai” (MBS TV) broadcast in January this year, because you seemed to be comfortable in Osaka, where you have theater appearances and regular programs.

Azuma: I think Osaka is a very good environment in the sense that you can eat and do a lot of manzai. However, I can’t imagine the scenery expanding.

Daito: I find myself saying, “I can’t come up with a vision at all. To some extent, I have been on Kansai’s information program “Seyanen! (MBS TV), but as long as I stay in Osaka, I will never be known on a national level.

(MBS TV), but as long as we stay in Osaka, we will never be known on a national level. Even if young people and comedy fans support us now, 20 years from now, when we become old men, we will have no fans. Thinking about that, I think we need to appear on national television at least once in order to taper off.

Azuma: I feel that if we don’t become famous in the future, we will only go downhill.

Daito: Even if you stay in the Osaka theater, the system is such that only a handful of people who really work hard will be able to eat. A while ago, it was Double Higashi, Kabeposter, and Husuya. Now, it’s Captain Goukai, Donut Peanut, and so on. If you can’t get into that slot, it’s tough.

Even if you can get 100,000 a month, it is hard to get 200,000 or 300,000. People in Tokyo earn money through social networking and other means, so I feel that they are not so attached to the theater, but Osaka is a theater culture.

Azuma: Of course, the younger generation is aiming for the same framework, and they would not be able to enter if we were there. So it is both a feeling of “we have to keep the cycle going” and a thought of “if we stay here forever, there will be nothing more to do.

Milk Boy was able to become the “M-1” champion, and I think they chose Osaka because they knew what they were suited for. Such cases are rare, and I think most young people are thinking about moving to Tokyo.

In the paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD,” the two talk candidly about everything from secret stories with senior comedians to a “certain female talent” they are eager to perform with, as well as their thoughts on the “M-1 Grand Prix,” which they say is their biggest goal.