一発芸人 – The Pinnacle of Japanese Comedic Achievement

Japanese are a funny people.  It’s funny when someone who smokes four packs a day valiantly defends natto by claiming it’s “healthy.”  It’s funny how the shyest most stoic person in the office can suddenly turn into a jovial English-spouting volcano after two tea cups worth of Asahi.  It’s even kind of funny getting the Clinton/Obama question ten times a day (or from now on it will be the Obama/McCain question) from folks who never discuss politics with each other, even when the street is clamoring with obnoxious vans spewing Japanese politician names from loudspeakers to the point where they drown out the cicadas.

But more funny than the Japanese is the stuff the Japanese find funny.  A foreign visitor couldn’t be blamed if, on their first visit to Japan they only saw Japanese comedy and, judging by that, claimed the Japanese were underevolved.  Japanese comedy is heavily balanced in favor of puns, strange body movements, and people slapping each other in the face.  Every comedian, it seems, is limited to one trick in their arsenal of laughs.  Hence the name 一発芸人, a one-shot talent.

Scarily enough, these one-trick ponies are also demons in disguise.  A select few of them even have enough evil power to possess the bodies of Japanese students.  It’s scary– and the Japanese comedians that tend to possess students tend to be the most evil.  Look at some of the big names over the last three years and it’s horrifying:

Razor Ramon Hard Gay (a.k.a. HG)

Came into fashion shortly after I arrived.  As the name suggests, HG was a guy who showed up on TV in tight black leather and acted gay.  Or at least gay in the Japanese comedic mindset, which requires shooting your arms into the air and yelling “Foooo” really loud.  If that doesn’t paint a clear picture, just picture a bunch of teenagers trying to replicate this ad nauseam.  At the height of popularity, HG appropriately had a cover of the single YMCA by the Village People.  Honestly.  HG’s star eventually fell, and gave way to Taka and Toshi.

Taka and Toshi

Their gag, as would be expected, was a string of word plays combined with the skinny one smacking the fat one on top of his head.  Their signature line, 欧米か。 (Are you a Westerner?) was a calling cry to all Japanese kids to hit any foreigner they meet on the head.  A marvelous way to communicate the subtlety of Japanese culture, don’t you think?

… and then came the Anti-Christ.

Kojima Yoshio

A near-naked man shouting crazy absurdities while punching the floor.  For some reason his crazy-man act took flame faster than a misbalanced kanto lantern.  Within a month, every sentient being aged 3-18 was mimicing this crazy lunatic and his disturbing body motions and facial expressions.  Thank heaven they had the self-decency to keep their pants on.

Fujisaki Market

No star rose faster, or fell faster than these two.  Their gag was simple enough– to dance around in exercise uniforms and engage in short sketches that ended with lots of shouting of “Rai-rai-rai-rai… etc.”  The end of each sketch called for more dancing.  Their short is testament to the fact that, even if you’re only funny for five seconds, you too can achieve your full fifteen minutes of fame on Japanese TV.

Edo Harumi

This is the only person I’ve ever seen who made English gerunds the focal point of her comedy.  A gerund, for the unaware, is the ‘-ing’ form of a verb.  Every punchline of hers centers around some katakana cognate of an English gerund, and ending the final syllable with “guuuuuuuuuuuuu!” (read: the Katakana mutiliation of the word “good.”)  At least, it can be argued, Edo Harumi contributed something to the English education of the Japanese people– even if only showing the evils that spawn from katakana can produce.

Oh, and she wasn’t hitting anyone on the head or pretending to be gay.  +10 points for that.

And, the current flavor of the month is….

Sekai no Nabeyatsu

Whose only negative point is that he’s not funny.  Not that that matters.  His gag is to count numbers, and act like an idiot whenever he hits a multiple of three.  And… um… okay, that’s it.  That’s all he does.  Sadly, he doesn’t even have a picture on google images yet.  But, give it a week.  Maybe by then he’ll have his own CD.

Perhaps The Count from Sesame Street can do backing.