Oshi Day Has Passed, A Story About King of Conte Masters

The trigger for liking someone was usually television.

That was about the only opportunity to learn about people in entertainment.
It was an era where appearing on TV or not was a major event for comedians.

Nowadays, they can distribute content on YouTube or radio themselves, and there are ways to be discovered.
It has become an era where the power of people connecting TV and comedians is no longer needed.

I love the M-1 Grand Prix uncontrollably.
I can't go into detail about the routines from the past, but just watching that program makes my heart race, and I watch it with tears welling up—tears of laughter and tears shed from being overwhelmed by the passionate feelings the comedians pour into the M-1 Grand Prix.

Because of that program, I came to like a certain manzai duo and started going to the theater.

This is a different story, not about that manzai duo.

I couldn't imagine what kind of audience would be at a theater I was visiting for the first time, and I couldn't tell my friends to go with me, so I went in alone and was surprisingly nervous.
That day was what's called a yose, where about 10 groups of comedians were performing.
I don't really know the difference between a yose and a live show, but besides the comedians I wanted to see, there were comedians I didn't know.
Comedians who wouldn't appear on TV.
It's quite difficult to find the humor in comedians you don't know when seeing them for the first time.
Because their self-introduction is their routine.
Sometimes it's confusing when the duo's name doesn't match their routine.
Unconsciously, I actually pay quite a bit of attention to the duo's name.
After the opening, and after a few groups had performed their routines,
on the big screen,
it said "Manei Buranko" (Male Blanco).

A title? A duo name? The display disappeared along with the mysterious name, the lights came up, and there was a plain-looking duo sitting on a bench.
The standard for "plain" varies from person to person, but for me, who didn't know the breadth of the comedy world, they were "comedians who didn't look like comedians."
By appearance.

And,
with an attitude of "They're not that funny, right?", I just watched the two of them interacting on the bench.
It would be over in just 4 minutes.
That's what I thought.

I was suddenly drawn in during the final part of the sketch they were performing, and while my heart felt warm, I was shedding tears by the time it ended.
And I could hear the person next to me sobbing too.
Just 4 minutes.
But 4 minutes nonetheless.

At that time,
even though I was alone at the theater feeling nervous,
I felt like I wanted to talk to even a stranger and say, "That sketch by Male Blanco was incredibly good, wasn't it?"
I wanted to share that feeling that only those who saw it could understand.

From then on, if Male Blanco had a solo show, I would go to see it, and although there weren't many live shows other than their solo ones, since around last year, the number of live shows featuring Male Blanco has increased.
Hehe.

In 2020, there were 5 solo live shows.
All of them were new material.

It takes so much energy to do even one solo show!
And they show it to us in a different style every time.

After their live shows, they come out for something like a curtain call, but the way they leave with few words and looking shy is also not very comedian-like.

Such a Male Blanco finally made it to the finals of the King of Conte in 2021!

If only that sketch I saw back then could be broadcast on national TV...!
I had been thinking that, so I was incredibly happy.
I was cheering for them in my heart, of course, but since I have a sense of mission to spread comedy, I told my old friends in a modest way on the day of the King of Conte.

"Hey,

today is the King of Conte.

If you can watch it, the comedian I like is
Male Blanco,
I'll just let you know that!"

Of course, it was the first time for my friends.
Even just telling them a little bit would change how they watch it.

Male Blanco, who had hardly performed sketches on TV, showed their true colors and advanced to the final battle.

They didn't win, but for a first-time appearance, that was sensational.
After that, their appearances at Lumine and theaters in Osaka increased, and I think many people have come to know them.

They are the only comedians I came to like from a theater routine, not from TV.
There aren't many people whose trigger for liking them is this vivid.

I want to watch this sketch and talk about it together.

Thumbnail left,
Norihiro Urai.

He is second to none at putting people to sleep.
I want you to find the YouTube video where Urai counts sheep.

Thumbnail right
Masaaki Hirai

I have a note account

The 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons' gameplay videos I did for a while were too funny

They are holding a solo show

After the King of Conte ended, a friend reached out to me
They said they thought of me when they saw Men's Blanco

It makes me so happy that I am associated with Men's Blanco in someone's memory

#MensBlanco
#Comedy
#Conte
#NorihiroUrai
#MasaakiHirai
#TendonKi
#FavoriteComedian