[Impressions of each duo] Amazon Original The Ultimate New Duo Battle: THE GOLDEN COMBI

I had been waiting for this release for so long.
I watched every single trailer at least three times and consumed all the related pre-release content.

With expectations raised to the absolute limit, my impression after finishing the main show can be summed up in one word: "incredible."

Looking beyond the content itself, I was first struck by the sheer scale of the set and the coolness of the entrances.
And in contrast to that, the absurdity of the improv skits really stood out, which was excellent.

Also, before watching, I thought, "Isn't it cruel to have the audience vote on the duos that aren't funny?" But since "funny duos" can involve popularity contest elements and could lead to votes being concentrated on just one, this system of "if you get laughs, you won't be eliminated" actually felt quite logical.

Furthermore, I couldn't imagine anyone other than Chidori hosting a large-scale streaming program where failure isn't an option, and the sub-MC, Hayashi-san, also did a great job hosting without ever getting in the comedians' way, so I thought the casting was perfect.

Because of that, I was able to keep laughing without feeling any unnecessary noise at all.

I absolutely want them to do a second season.

The only thing I'd like to see improved next time is the roulette that stops at intervals I've never seen before lol
Since they went to the trouble of building such a luxurious set, I couldn't help but think they should have used the back screen for each duo.

Conversely, I think the production team was so perfect that that's about the only thing I can think of to complain about.

Below are my impressions of the duos.

1. Kuruma-Noda

The moment the three duos for the final were decided, honestly, I felt like this duo hadn't hit a home run outside of Tsurutaro-san's skit and the candle-eating bit.

Compared to that, I felt that "Do-mae-Hirai," who consistently hit singles with every prompt, or "Horiken-Yashiki," who were a bit sneaky by dropping out of the skits early and creating explosive home runs multiple times through their relationship, had generated a higher total amount of laughter up to that stage, so I even thought this duo was at a disadvantage.

However, the moment I saw their skit where they dove into the acting of Nakamura Tomoya and Kimura Yoshino, I was convinced that this duo would win.

It was that explosively funny.
When I try to list the funny scenes from this Golden Combi, this skit is the first one that comes to mind, and above all, I thought their strength in delivering that at the very end was the reason for their victory.

Furthermore, I got the impression that this duo also had luck on their side.

I think the best draw in the dressing room gag segment was Tsurutaro-san, whose very existence is a joke, and the fact that the loser's revival match happened just when the audience was thinking, "I wanted to see more of them..." is something you can only call "having it."

You could call it "a nose for the big moment" or "the makings of a champion," but I felt they had that kind of invisible gravitational pull.

Throughout this broadcast,2times, in the audience vote for "vote for the funniest duo," this duo never lost1time.1I thought this spoke volumes about the characteristics of this duo.
Once again, congratulations on your victory.

Knowing the result, I rewatched the "Golden Combi Preparation Video" on the Reiwa Roman official YouTube channel, and they just looked so happy and excited about winning that I thought, "Aren't these two just too cute???"

As for Kuruma-san, he rapped in a tie-up song with Reisan, "I'll win every battle, so I'm invincible."
While listening to this song, it would be funny if he had flopped, but since he won, it's cool, so I was thinking, "I just don't want them to lose in a half-hearted way."

And then, to think they would actually pull it off by winning. Too cool.

2. Seiya-Akiyama

As they mentioned in the review video on the Ini-Mini Channel, it was indeed a shame that the editing made it seem like they were relying on Takeda Tetsuya-san's repeated gags.

However, I was really happy to see Seiya-san's improv skills during Michieda-kun's unreasonable prompt.

I really love those moments when a cornered Seiya-san keeps blurting out incoherent words at the top of his lungs. I laughed until I went crazy.

And regarding the "Your hair parts are overlapping!" bit, Seiya-san was amazing for coming up with it in that situation, but I thought Akiyama-san was amazing too.

While filling the split second of silence until Seiya-san came up with it, he focused all his nerves on every move Seiya-san made as he slowly started to move, and synchronized his movements to grasp the composition he wanted on the first try—isn't that just too amazing???
It was a move that could only be done if he completely trusted Seiya-san, and I was even moved by it.

The gag that followed, where they were told to "just do a skit," was also good.
I really felt the "duo" dynamic in the way they went from a beginning where their intentions didn't match to gradually shifting into a rhythm skit and going down with the ship together.

Personally, the "Worst, I got tangled in a jump rope with Ninkaku-shisho!!" bit in the loser's revival match was the best. No matter how many times I imagine it, the situation is just too nonsensical.

Also, in the bonus video after it ended, the goodness of them just continuously saying "it's thanks to each other" is truly nothing but likable.

I hope both of them stay exactly like that forever.

3. Horiken-Yashiki

Everyone is saying it, but this duo was definitely the most intense.

At first, it felt like Yashiki-san's ability to drop out of the skit and shut down Horiken-san, who was running wild, in one shot was covering for him.

Normally, dropping out of a skit with this mechanism feels like a foul, but Horiken-san was so out of control that it felt like he had no choice but to drop out, and since the audience's consensus was that Yashiki-san would definitely drop out, I don't think it looked cold at all.

However, the roles were reversed due to Michieda-kun's unreasonable prompt.

Due to the nature of the prompt where they had to say strange school rules "alternately," Yashiki-san suddenly had to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in "gag-making" with Horiken-san, a monster who never misses a gag.

As a result, they ended up failing on that stage.

The soul-stirring cry of "I thought I was going to lose because of me!!" that followed really touched me.

It's not quite the "This is the worst!!" from the 2019 M-1, but why is Yashiki-san's "soul-stirring cry," who is often seen as cool, so charming?

And the scene where Horiken-san immediately went to cover Yashiki-san's mouth, saying "Don't say that," because he felt responsible for failing, was just too cool.

I felt an unfathomable bond in the fact that he wasn't drunk on his own success and was seriously trying to win as a duo.

After that, Yashiki-san was cornered again when Riho Yoshioka-san gave him an unreasonable school rule prompt.

I was even moved by the scene where Yashiki-san, who went second, hit a home run with trembling hands after Horiken-san had naturally snatched up a huge laugh.

Everything was seriously riding on that one gag.
The outcome for the two of them, and by extension, the flow and watchability of this program.

No matter what ending you think of, it couldn't end without getting a laugh there.
That's why I really felt the soul in Yashiki-san, who came up with the right answer on the first try.
And Horiken, who happily accepted that, was also super cool.

After the last prompt ended, Yashiki-san said, "I felt like I was finally able to get a laugh through the power of the duo."

This duo showed the most correct growth story of an impromptu duo as a Golden Combi.1At first, I thought they were a foul-play duo that kept dropping out of skits, but surprisingly, they were the duo that followed the program's intent the most.

Isn't it precious that Yashiki-san, when asked "You don't want to do it again, right?" after it ended, said, "I wouldn't mind doing it again with Horiken-san, or rather, I don't want to do it with anyone but Horiken-san"????

I think the Golden Combi was worth holding just to see this.

4. Nagata-Jiro

This duo is cheating.
Because, it's obvious they would be funny.

That was my impression when the pairings were first announced, but when I thought about it carefully, I realized that nominating Jiro-san for a duo might actually be a thorny path.

Because, if it were a completely impromptu duo, you could make excuses if you didn't get a laugh, but because this duo has such a deep relationship, they absolutely cannot afford to fail.

If Nagata-san thought, 'If I'm going to form a duo, it has to be Jiro,' while knowing that risk, I thought that was incredibly passionate.

Throughout the main show, the two of them were in perfect sync.
The way they handled the impromptu curveballs thrown by Michieda-kun and Riho Yoshioka, without even making eye contact, instantly deciding who would take the lead based on the tone of their voices or movements, felt like a real duo, and it gave me goosebumps.

Furthermore, I feel like this duo was the one that created the most laughter not just as a 'competition' style of comedy for the Golden Combi, but as 'variety' comedy.

For example, when they were nominated by Michieda-kun, the scene where they jumped into a skit saying, 'I've figured out it's about two times each,' or when they meta-jokingly used the TT Brothers to create a flow, were memorable.

This felt like the fruit of the know-how they cultivated on 'Ariyoshi no Kabe,' and it made me grin.

This duo was also asked to perform consecutively, or given clearly difficult themes like 'rhythm comedy,' and because they were good at building up the variety aspect, I felt like a large amount of material to drop them was also thrown at them simultaneously, so I felt a bit sorry for them.

However, the fact that they ended it with a roar of laughter every time was nothing but their own raw talent.

It couldn't be helped, but since they didn't fail at all, I thought it was a waste to have them dropped on Riho Yoshioka's stage.

The final theme involving acting with Yoshino Kimura and Tomoya Nakamura, I wish I could have seen these two do that too...

5. Sawabe-Maeda

This was also passionate...

When I saw Sawabe-san on the selecting side, I was incredibly excited, wondering, 'Who will he choose?'

When the lid was opened, it was the choice of Maeda-san, with whom he has a deep relationship through 'Knight Scoop,' but who is unexpected to the public.

I thought it was incredibly exquisite.

If anything, I even thought it was a great decision to choose Maeda-san, who is a completely different type from Iwai-san, or rather, uniquely distorted even among all comedians.

This is because even if Sawabe-san, who can get along with anyone, brought a normal funny person, it would just be normally funny, and I couldn't picture them winning.

Therefore, I felt a comedian's soul in Sawabe-san that wouldn't let it end as just a receiver, feeling the gambling sense of bringing someone who is like '{0or 100,' and I was genuinely happy.

This duo also had absolutely no scenes where they failed during the main show.
The American joke and such, I laughed until I went crazy...
I am not at all convinced that they were eliminated in the second stage.

Certainly, due to the nature of the judging, which is to 'drop one duo that isn't funny,' I thought the clear negative point of 'the patterns are similar' might have been this duo's weakness.

But I still think it was a thrilling joke that more than made up for that.

The loser's revival also felt like the funniest one as far as it was aired.
Wasn't the joke, 'It's not about other people, it's about what I think,' too funny???

6. Hirai-Dozen

This duo didn't miss from start to finish.
In the first place, isn't it too extreme to not miss a single thing in improvisation?
Their 'ogiri' (quick-witted comedy) is too strong. It's on another dimension.
Even in the open field, they didn't miss a single joke.
I wonder what is going on inside these two's heads.

First of all, I think this duo was the funniest in the first theme, 'A doctor you've never seen before.'
In the first place, their acting is too good, and when I wondered what they would say after suddenly starting to cry, it was '...I don't know,' which is too funny.

In the second stage alien skit, both of them wore full-body tights, didn't show their faces, didn't speak a word, and still got huge laughs. Too extreme.
Usually, silence is too scary, so people would talk, but I thought their nerve was extraordinary.

The way they handled the APA Hotel president in the third stage was also brilliant.
While being taken aback by the unexpected guest, they managed to create one development with the 'ogiri' of the crown program name, and connected it to the 'Asian Hollywood actress I don't know' bit they had prepared, which was too brilliant.
And not being greedy like 'one more development...', but winning and escaping while still getting laughs was very clever, and it gave me goosebumps watching it.

The 'Softball Baseball Observation Club' in the fourth stage was also too amazing.
It felt so right, like 'Have you done this ogiri once before?' This isn't a level of funniness you can produce with no time.
Observing softball is funnier than hardball, and it suits the appearance of the two lanky guys with glasses too well. It was already scary.

These two absolutely never missed.
Therefore, in this competition where the judging method is to 'drop the 1duo that wasn't funny,' I was completely convinced that they boasted unparalleled strength.

That is precisely why I was convinced that they would lose to the two glamorous champions in the final 'choose the 1 funniest duo.'

Nevertheless, they were truly cool.
I think this duo was the winner in terms of the total amount of laughter earned through pure ogiri within the framework of an impromptu skit.

I thought, I hope both of them win King of Conte soon.

7. Saya-KAƵMA

When the pairing was announced, this was the one I couldn't imagine the most, and it made me excited.

A combination I've never seen before, and one I probably won't see again in the future.

In the sense that 'it seems like it could only be realized in the Golden Combi,' it was an incredibly attractive duo.

First of all, this duo was too funny from their entrance.

The VTR was also joking from start to finish, and the first joke at the time of appearance didn't even have the crucial lines in the microphone, so if I had voted at the appearance stage, I definitely think this duo would have been the winner.

From there, the feeling of KAƵMA-san going out of control was seriously lovely.

First, the initial doctor skit was funny on another dimension.
The idea of producing laughter by dropping a baseball is too amazing.

The second stage space skit was also good.
I enjoyed watching it because it felt like only the two of them could put a story where the couple's relationship deepens into a skit.

This duo lost in the third stage, but I was convinced of this.
However, that's not in a bad sense, and the feeling of not being able to handle the guest, Tenshin Nasukawa, well, and being fluffy from start to finish was also totally KAƵMA-like, so I was very satisfied.

I touched on it a little with the Noda-Kuruma duo, but I thought the luck of the guest in the third stage was also big.
If a person who is overwhelmingly on the funny side comes, with 'phrases that get laughs if you make them say it' or a bizarre character, it's easy to do, but I think Tenshin-san is a relatively plain person, so I feel it was difficult to handle him.
Well, I wonder if it's okay to call an undefeated martial artist a plain person.

I suppose the second round was to standardize that, but the fact that all duos were cut in the second round was because they couldn't surpass the impact of the first encounter, and all the good parts were taken by the first combination, I thought.

In that sense, I feel like they got the short end of the stick, but I was very satisfied because I saw enough of what I wanted to see.

8. Tsuda-Nagano

At the press conference, Daigo-san said, 'This duo did a different kind of work,' so I knew before watching that 'they'll probably lose immediately and work hard on the heckling...'

Even so, I watched with a glimmer of hope that 'maybe I'll see two cool people...', but as expected, they scattered brilliantly at the very beginning.

I have absolutely no objection to them being eliminated in the first stage. Nevertheless, I laughed to death at both 'CHARA' and 'Kimiko Date in plain clothes,' so the feeling of wanting to see how these two would fight in the later stages remained.

However, when I calmed down and thought about it, I thought that the reason I laugh so much at every move of the two might be because I have a body that reflexively laughs at Tsuda-san's loud tsukkomi and Nagano-san's abrupt jokes. I might be liking them too much to make a normal judgment.

Nevertheless, the 'variety' funniness of the Golden Combi from there is definitely thanks to them.

First of all, the heckling is always critical, and the two's voices really carry. Since it was a large special program, even though it was a long shoot, the fact that they didn't slack off on the heckling made me feel like I could see the two's spirit of 'at least let's work for our pay,' which was really good.

I definitely think this was a duo that was hired with the assumption that they would handle this kind of role after losing.
So, in that sense, I feel like they were the 1people who fulfilled their role.2people who fulfilled their role.

In the standby scene, the only thing adopted in the main show was Nagano-san's 'Kuwabata Ohara', after all.

Either way, there was no doubt that they were an indispensable duo for this streaming program.

◉ Finally

It was funnier than expected, so I definitely want a second one to be held.

For the second one, I have a feeling of wanting to see the participants this time again, and it seems interesting to have a chain where the side chosen this time becomes the side that chooses, and it also seems interesting to set up 8 completely different people.

My excitement for the next time hasn't stopped already.

It was incredibly funny.
Thank you to all the staff and all the performers.