Fire Thunder advances to the finals of "King of Conte 2025" for the third consecutive year, coming in third last year

The comedy duo "Fire Thunder" recently attended a finalist press conference for "King of Conte 2025" (TBS), which will decide the best comedy sketch in Japan this year, held in Tokyo. Yu Sakiyama, who plays the boke role in Fire Thunder, who took third place last year after appearing for the third consecutive year, vowed to avenge last year's loss, saying, "It looks like the third time's the charm."

When asked how it felt to have advanced to the finals this year, following on from last year and the year before, comedian Kotetsu commented, "I'm very happy to have made it three years in a row." Last year's finals were an unusual result, with first, second and third place tied by just one point, but Sakiyama commented, "Last year, it got to the point where it was hard to decide who would win, between us and Love Letters (who won). Love Letters were doing some weird material, so I thought they'd definitely win... but I still think the judging was strange," which got the crowd excited.

Usagi from last year's runner-up "Long Coat Daddy" retorted, "Last year, Fire Thunder came in third, right?" to which Sakiyama replied, "We were in second place based on how we were shown, so we were." Usagi looked back with humor, saying, "We were also wondering which one (Love Letters or Fire Thunder) should win, but Love Letters won, and Fire Thunder slipped into third place. Just when we thought we might come in third, they suddenly rose to second place, so apparently they can slip in sometimes."

When asked what he wants from this year's judges, Sakiyama joked, "I'd like them to watch last year's video again and see which one was more popular. If they were to judge properly, I think we'd come in second and Long Coat would come in first," making everyone laugh.

The press conference was attended by Fire Thunder, Long Coat Daddy, and the other 10 finalists: Shizuru, Tom Browne, Bernardo, Ganso Ichigo-chan, Rainbow, Aoi No. 1, Fire Thunder, Ultra Boogies, and Yadan. The event was hosted by Ryota Yamazato of Nankai Candies.

"King of Conte" is a comedy contest that has been held annually since 2008, and this year marks its 18th year. Any unit of two or more people can participate, regardless of whether they are professional or amateur, and there are no restrictions on their length of experience. Past winners include Tokyo 03, Robert, Kamomentaru, Baikingu, and Hanako. Last year, out of a total of 3,139 entries, Love Letters was crowned the 17th King. This year's final will be broadcast live on TBS on October 11th. The winner will receive a prize of 10 million yen.