# 第702回「みんなアンドレ論」

- Show: 東京ポッド許可局
- Published: 2026-10-23
- Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/1123725677_d0356214deaf.html
- Audio: https://pdst.fm/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.megaphone.fm/TBS5132605841.mp3
- Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary.

Using the old pro-wrestling territory system as its central metaphor, Episode 702 of Tokyo Pod Kyokakyoku (東京ポッド許可局) argues that anyone who builds their own island can be the main-eventer on it. The trio backs the idea with two concrete cases: the magazine Halmek (ハルメク), targeting women over 50, topped Japan's overall magazine sales ranking in the second half of 2025, and Kyokakyoku itself has drawn major names — and devoted audiences — to its own radio island. From there the conversation ranges across the danger of self-labelling as an 'underground comedian' and the paradox of an increasingly fragmented media landscape that still funnels the biggest rewards to a tiny, universally recognised elite.

## What this episode answers

### Why does the pro-wrestling territory system map onto the structure of today's entertainment and media world?

Just as the old wrestling world had a boss in each region who ran shows as the main-eventer within his own territory, today's TV, radio, YouTube, and rakugo worlds each form independent territories with their own central figures — André the Giant was the sole exception treated as a top star in every territory.

### What gives a show like Tokyo Pod Kyokakyoku — an underground stream — grounds for confidence?

Even if they are bit players on the TV ring, Kyokakyoku draws an enthusiastic audience on its radio island and has had major figures such as Mari Hayashi (林真理子) appear on the show; the trio concludes that building their own island is itself the achievement, and there is no need to feel inferior about being an underground stream.

### Why has the magazine Halmek achieved the top ranking in overall Japanese magazine sales?

By narrowing its focus to women over 50 and providing age-specific information on topics such as grave-closing, job-hunting, and make-up, Halmek filled a gap in specialist magazines for a demographically thick audience, achieving 459,000 copies in the second half of 2025 and topping Japan's overall magazine sales ranking for eight consecutive periods.

### Why is it a problem to call yourself an 'underground comedian'?

It means slotting yourself into the 'easy-to-understand story' the mainstream demands — internalising a label stuck on you from the outside, the same act as calling yourself shy, which the trio says devalues your own island.

### Why does concentration of work and popularity at a single point occur even as multi-axis diversification advances?

When there are many axes, people gravitate toward what 'everyone knows,' concentrating attention and work on the already famous; countless stand-up comedy jobs go only to M-1 Grand Prix winners, and the 20 champion acts over the show's 20-year history dominate the work — cited as the textbook example.

## Article

## The Pro-Wrestling Territory Map

Last week's debate about 'we are the underground stream' led Makita Sports (マキタスポーツ) to pull out the pro-wrestling map he remembered from childhood. The old wrestling world had a boss in each region who ran shows within his own territory. El Canek in Mexico, Otto Wanz in Europe, Jerry Lawler in Texas, Roland Bock in Europe — when they came to Japan for Antonio Inoki's events they looked like supporting players, but back home they stood as main-eventers facing André the Giant. El Canek actually bodyslammed André in Mexico; he was a genuine star in his own country. André was the sole exception: wherever he went, every territory treated him as an unqualified top-tier performer.

The trio sees this structure overlapping directly with today's entertainment and media world. Hulk Hogan spent his apprentice years in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and chose to appear in the film *Rocky* just as he was starting to break through. Voices around him said 'you're almost there — now's not the time for a movie,' but the appearance launched him to full stardom. That cross-territory decision is a textbook example of a leap forward. Tiger Jeet Singh was unknown at home but broke through in Japan, and Stan Hansen is another foreign wrestler whose main stage ultimately became Japan.

## Tokyo Pod Kyokakyoku's Island, and Each Performer's André

Applying the map theory to themselves, Tokyo Pod Kyokakyoku has managed to build one island in the form of radio. On television they may be in 'El Canek mode,' yet at Kyokakyoku live events guests such as Iwai-san and Furuta-san have appeared, and on air Mari Hayashi — their 'André' — has come to them. In front of an enthusiastic audience, Kyokakyoku is the main-eventer of its own island. All three confirm the shared understanding: 'We're an underground stream, not the centre of the world map — but we built our own island.'

Makita Sports also holds a foothold in the acting world as a separate territory; Puchi Kashima (プチ鹿島) intersects with the academic and vaudeville worlds. How many worlds and maps you can cross into is what makes things interesting today, they conclude. In the rakugo world, a multi-universe expansion is already underway: Ichinosuke and Miyaji have risen from outside the Tachikawa school, and Kanda Hakuzan (神田伯山) of the kodan storytelling tradition has become hugely popular as a radio host. The trio reads all of this as proof that people who have proven themselves on stage are finally receiving the recognition they deserve, with no one slipping through the cracks.

## The Power of Niche That Halmek Proves

The conversation shifts to the magazine industry. All three are genuinely surprised to learn that Halmek — targeting only women over 50 — sold 459,000 copies in the second half of 2025 and claimed the number-one spot in overall Japanese magazine sales for eight consecutive periods. By concentrating exclusively on age-specific topics such as grave-closing (墓じまい), job-hunting, and make-up, it captured an entire demographic that still has a culture of spending money on magazines. Fujin Koron (婦人公論), where Puchi Kashima has a regular column, similarly centres its pages on features aimed at senior women. 'It's possible that what we always assumed was the mainstream has already stopped being the mainstream,' Makita says.

## The Trap of Calling Yourself an Underground Comedian

As segmentation deepens, the term 'underground comedian' (地下芸人) comes into focus. Sankyu Tatsuo (サンキュータツオ) flatly states he would 'absolutely never use it about himself.' Calling yourself an underground comedian is the same act as saying 'I'm just a shy person' — you are slotting yourself into the easy-to-understand story the mainstream wants. 'It's not as if we chose to be the leftover broth,' yet internalising a label stuck on you from the outside is precisely the wrong move. The structure is identical to terms like 'Third World' or 'developing country' — impositions from an outside perspective. The concept of the underground comedian is itself being commodified and packaged, and the trio stresses the danger of voluntarily fitting yourself inside that frame.

## The Age of Multi-Axis and the Paradox of Central Concentration

During the comedy boom and the age of *Enta no Kamisama*, the only axis was 'if you're not on TV, you're not a comedian.' Now there are multiple axes — streaming, live shows, radio — and that is what allows an entity like Kyokakyoku to survive. Yet the age of diversity is simultaneously 'the age of the one recognised name,' producing a reversal in which the already famous become even stronger. Countless stand-up comedy jobs go exclusively to M-1 Grand Prix winners, and work has concentrated among the 20 champion acts across the show's 20-year history. Getting 'big success' has actually become harder — yet the ability to demonstrate 'this scale is enough' through visible numbers and measurable audience passion has genuinely improved, and all three feel that shift clearly.

## Takeaways

- Like the pro-wrestling territory system, building your own 'island' makes you the main-eventer on it — Tokyo Pod Kyokakyoku is a successful example of an underground stream that did exactly that.
- Halmek's 459,000 copies and number-one ranking across all Japanese magazines in the second half of 2025 shows that a niche 'island' can surpass mainstream titles in raw circulation figures.
- Calling yourself an 'underground comedian' means internalising an externally imposed label, which amounts to devaluing your own territory with your own hands.