"ENGEI Grand Slam," a comedy festival where comedians perform their best material regardless of genre, including manzai, sketches, and solo comedy, will be broadcast on Fuji TV's "Saturday Premium" (Saturday 9:00 pm) on September 21st. This will be the 23rd time the show has been held, and the MCs will be the comedy duo "Ninety-Nine" and actress Mayu Matsuoka. Eighteen groups of comedians who are recognized by everyone as "funny" will appear and perform their best material.
The show will feature the familiar Bakusho Mondai, regulars such as Jinnai Tomonori, Knights, Haraichi, and Rocchi, as well as talented comedians from across TV stations, including M-1 Grand Prix (ABC/TV Asahi) winners Westland, King of Conte (TBS) winners Doburoku and Viking, and The W: The No. 1 Female Comedian Show (NTV) winner Yoshizumi. The eight-member comedy comedy duo Dow 90000, who are attracting attention as new stars not only in the comedy industry but also in the entertainment world, will make their first appearance on the show.
As part of the "corner project" which unfolds various new projects each time, the corner MCs for this show will be Knights' Hanawa Nobuyuki and Tsuchiya Nobuyuki, and the "ENGEI POP UP Gag Stage" will be held for the first time. Comedians use a pop-up device often seen on idol performances to blast onto the stage and perform their favorite gags in the two seconds or so they are in the air. The idea is to make the gags that once took the world by storm bloom once again by launching them into the night sky.
Knights' Hanawa Nobuyuki commented, "This year's ENGEI POP UP Gag Stage was a very high-level competition. I think it will probably be selected as an official event at the Los Angeles Olympics in four years (laughs). Also, I would like to ask viewers that since each performer's performance is over in the blink of an eye, when you watch the missed broadcast, please refrain from playing it at double speed, such as 1.5x or 1.75x (laughs)."
Tsuchiya Nobuyuki said, "I think that up until now, many comedy shows have had gag segments, but this 'ENGEI POP UP Gag Stage' may be the shortest gag competition in history. Blinking is prohibited, so please watch closely. I myself was watching from up close, and it was really funny to see the comedians' figures and voices disappear in the blink of an eye...It was wonderful to feel the melancholy! (laughs)." The comedians who will be performing are the following (in alphabetical order, titles omitted):
Westland, Ebisha, Oswald, Gakutensoku, Gerardon, Jinnai Tomonori, Dow 90000, Doburoku, Tom Brown, Knights, New York, Baikingu, Bakusho Mondai, Haraichi, Mitorizu, Yoshizumi, Laland, Rocchi
Yes! Akito, Onishi Lion, Kintaro., Joyman, Takayuki Haranishi (FUJIWARA), Hollywood Zakoshi Show, Masumi Yagi (Savannah)
