Episode 12 | From the Comeback Round to a Life-Changing Victory

The conversation about Nippon Elekitel Union was still going strong.

'The ability to draw you instantly into their world.'

'Perfect character creation.'

'Unbeatable in a one-to-three-minute performance.'

Kai was overwhelmed by the skill required to create such a strange, fully formed world in just a few moments.

Then Yuna brought up a comedy duo whose approach to humor was almost the exact opposite.

Sandwich Man.

Yuna: 'Nippon Elekitel Union takes the audience straight into an extraordinary world. Sandwich Man begins with everyday situations everyone understands and gradually bends the rules of common sense.'

One duo opens by revealing an utterly distinctive universe.

The other invites audiences into a familiar world, then slowly tilts it toward the absurd.

Kai: 'Their ability to connect with the audience and the overwhelming quality of their sketch construction.'

Yuna: 'They have an incredibly precise feel for what audiences understand, where something starts to feel odd, and when they'll want to laugh. That's why their sketches are so easy to follow. Even when Tomizawa says something wildly unexpected, Date's straight-man responses express exactly what the audience is thinking. They never leave people behind.'

It wasn't only the funny lines themselves.

The straight man gives voice to the audience's own questions and surprise.

So even when a joke takes an unexpected turn, the audience can stay right there with it.

And there was another unforgettable moment in Sandwich Man's history.

The 2007 M-1 Grand Prix.

They fought their way back through the second-chance round and went on to win the championship.

Kai: 'In terms of discovering talent, nothing in M-1 history tops that.'

Kai: 'A complete reversal of fortune.'

Creating an outstanding act and having the world discover that talent are two different things.

Perhaps that's why that moment, when the two finally came together, meant so much to Kai.

This time, Yuna changed the criterion and asked another question.

Yuna: 'If we're judging only how perfectly a sketch is constructed, is there a duo that matches or even surpasses Sandwich Man?'

Kai: 'On the perfection of the material alone, definitely Milk Boy.'

He didn't hesitate for an instant.

Now the subject was 'perfection.'

And it looked like this conversation still had somewhere else to go.