A press conference was recently held in Tokyo to announce the entries for "King of Conte 2025" (TBS), which will decide the best comedy skit in Japan this year, with last year's runner-up "Long Coat Daddy" in attendance. Last year's final was an unusual result, with 1st place, 2nd place and 3rd place tied with a one-point difference, but Long Coat Daddy's Domae Toru spoke with humor about his enthusiasm for this year's competition, saying, "I think we'll definitely win this year. It's so much so that there's no need to hold the competition...no, maybe there's no need for it. I think it's fine for us to win!"
Regarding the fierce battle with last year's winners "Love Letters", Domae said, "I think we could have won (laughs). But we're switching gears this year, and I like last year's material, so we'll do it with all our might..." His partner Usagi joined in, saying, "Since the team we lost to by one point (Love Letters) is gone, we can do it this year. We should be able to win with the same material." Domae ended by saying, "We'll do our best."
The press conference was also attended by "Yadan", "Kaerutei", "Rainbow" and "Odaueda" and announced their participation. The previous tournament's winners, Love Letters, also made an appearance, and the press conference was hosted by the station's announcer , Maoko Hibi.
Iwakura of Kawaretei reflected, "Last year we were eliminated in the semi-finals, but to be honest, our material was really good. A lot of people told us it was funny." He added, "I think the funniest material is the one that comedians say is funny, but I want to make it to the finals and win."
Iwakura then revealed that he had brought up the idea of breaking up with his partner, Nakano Shuhei, during the tournament, saying, "I was hesitant to say this, but last year, when we were about to reach the quarterfinals, I told him, 'I don't find you funny at all anymore. I'm sorry, but I want you to break up.'" The press conference room was in uproar.
When asked how he felt at the time, Nakano answered with a smile, "I fully understood what people were saying, and decided to make a fresh start and change things. In fact, I haven't eaten ramen since then. That's quite an achievement for me! I'm trying to change things little by little in my own way. I came to the conclusion that it's more important than ramen."
After hearing Nakano's comments, Iwakura said with a wry smile, "We decided not to break up and to carry on on, and that we would work hard to win the King of Conte competition, but I told him right then and there that he was overweight and asked him to lose 10 kilos, but he hasn't lost any weight yet." However, he also expressed his confidence, saying, "I felt that the material from the semi-finals (last year) was good, and I also thought that he (Nakano) was funny, so we definitely won't break up. We're at our strongest (as a comedy duo) right now. He's the best partner ever!"
"King of Conte" is a comedy contest that has been held every year since 2008, and this year marks the 18th time it has been held. Any unit of two or more people can participate, regardless of whether they are professional or amateur, with no restrictions on their length of experience. Past winners include Tokyo 03, Robert, Kamomentaru, Baikingu, and Hanako. Last year, a record 3,139 groups entered, and Love Letters was crowned the 17th King. This year's final is scheduled to be broadcast on the TBS network this autumn. The winner will receive a prize of 10 million yen.
