Even Japan had a 1980's comedy boom!

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on November 7th, 2004

Japan Times Online is following the soap opera revolving around Shinsuke Shimada, a wildly popular standup comic who has been accused of assaulting an employee of the talent agency he works for:

One of Japanese show business’s greatest success stories is Shinsuke Shimada, a former juvenile delinquent who made his name as a comic during the manzai (standup comedy) boom of the early 1980s. Possessed of a nimble wit, Shimada has since become one of the most sought-after emcees on television. He currently hosts eight different quiz or variety shows, and until last spring helmed TV Asahi’s Sunday morning news program. In addition, as a self-taught financial wizard, he has written several best-selling books about investment strategies for lay people.

The rest of the story is fascinating, not just for the window it provides into the Japanese comedy scene, but for the analysis of Shimada.

…Though his accomplishments are considerable, it’s easy to discern a lack of self-esteem in Shimada’s transparent efforts to come off as being just as smart as the college graduates he often works with. In the past, even the most successful comics never stepped outside comedy, which was considered a low profession…

It’s gets even weirder! If you have five minutes, you can read the whole thing.

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