#233 シニアァ！

Two Weeks of Overruns — Back to the Regular 30-Minute Format

The hosts opened by looking back on the previous two episodes, both of which had run well over an hour to coincide with the King of Conte broadcast. Those recordings were a scramble: one week a staff member showed up late; another week taping was moved up, leaving almost no time to prepare. With that stretch behind them, they declared plainly, "This is a 30-minute show," and made a point of flagging it for any listeners who had found the podcast through those specials—newcomers expecting another long episode shouldn't be disappointed when normal service resumes.

Jerardon Wins King of Conte; Second Straight Correct Prediction

This year's King of Conte (キングオブコント) was won by Jerardon (ジェラードン). The host boasted that he had nailed it with his "initial prediction" (初動)—a genuine, gut-feel pick made before watching any of the routines on the night—for the second consecutive year. "I'm not that desperate to get it right," he admitted, but the pride was impossible to hide.

Jerardon began as a trio before a membership change brought them down to two, a transition the host compared to his own show: "It'd be like some stranger joining us and then one of the Higashis quitting." He described Nishimoto-san's tears at the moment of victory as genuinely moving, and reserved his deepest admiration for the fact that even after finding a foothold on television, Jerardon had never stopped feeling the frustration of not yet winning a conte championship. "That hunger is incredible," he said.

Praise for Yadan's Nagai-kun, and the Foru-kachi Controversy

A running joke emerged when the host kept calling the duo Yadan (やだん) by the name "Yahhoi" (やっほい)—which is actually a song and signature phrase of Yadan's, not the group's name.

On the subject of Yadan's Nagai-kun (長井くん), the host was effusive. At a joint event at Nakano Kokaido (中野公会堂), Nagai-kun performed an enormous amount of material with no script whatsoever, working entirely from verbal instructions given on the day and memorizing everything on the spot. "Nobody else could do that—it's impossible," the host said. A Hitotsubashi University (一橋大学) graduate, Nagai-kun displayed a quality that seemed implausible for someone only three years into his career. The host also offered warm words for Kaerutei Iwakura (カエル亭・岩倉さん), a long-time acquaintance who started out in manzai and had worked his way all the way to the conte finals: "He's been at the top of theater battle rankings for years."

On the judging controversy: one judge scored Foru-kachi (フォール勝ち) just 1 point, which the rules allow. What drew criticism was Foru-kachi's response—a self-important post on X addressed "To the adults," expressing anger in an arrogant tone. The host's view: giving 1 point is within the rules, but the reaction had no "cuteness" to it. He contrasted Foru-kachi with Nadal (ナダル), who has the kind of character that can absorb controversy and spin it into comedy. "When you're that dominant, nobody can play along with you—it never turns into something funny."

After-Talk Special Plans — A Trumpet Player?

The hosts talked about how to keep the annual King of Conte after-talk special fresh year after year. Ideas floated for next time included inviting a performer onto the show, bringing in someone who plays an instrument, and—specifically—arranging a trumpet player. They also considered surveying contestants but admitted they were nervous about it: "They're our juniors, so we'd probably only get polite answers—but what if someone was actually angry at us?"

The Shinkansen Green Car "Smelly Foot" Incident — The Story Behind the Title

After a two-man show in Nagoya, the host paid out of his own pocket to ride home in the Shinkansen Green Car. From the moment he settled in, he noticed a smell he couldn't identify. He was seated by the window; he looked around and found nothing. Then he glanced to his left.

The man in the seat directly behind him—somewhere around 45 years old, salt-and-pepper hair—had fed his bare foot upward through the gap created by the host's reclined seatback, hammock-style, with the foot pointing toward the ceiling. The man had originally been in the window seat, but window seats don't offer a gap when the seat in front is reclined, so he moved to the aisle seat specifically to take advantage of the opening. All of this while the Green Car—which comes fitted with a perfectly usable footrest—sat right there. "It was just kind of... squelching out," the host said. And it smelled.

Internally he was screaming "Shini-ya!" (死にーや)—roughly "Drop dead!"—but he stopped himself from pulling the seat back upright, worried that doing so would make it look as if he were the one causing a scene. He sat there and endured it all the way to Shin-Yokohama (新横浜), where the man got off the train and the ordeal ended. The episode title "Senior-a!" (シニアァ！) is a pun: "shini-ya" sounds like "shinia" (senior), and the exaggerated "ァ!" captures the silent anguish of the whole experience.

The Post Went Mildly Viral, Even Making the News

The host shared the story on X, where it picked up 7,000 likes—what he calls a "choibazu" (ちょいバズ), a mild viral moment. It was then covered by a news outlet, which brought a flood of replies from outside his usual audience. The most common type offered countermeasures: "I would have pretended to spill my juice on him" and "I'd have slammed the seat back as hard as I could." One commenter told him that as a comedian he should have come back with something funny. His reply: "What am I supposed to do? I can't say it wouldn't be funny since I never tried it, but... it sounds like it wouldn't be."

The thread spilled into a broader debate about Green Car manners, with people sharing stories of tourists talking loudly for the whole journey, and one passenger who fully reclined his seat and rested his feet on the headrest of the seat in front. Even the premium cabin, it seems, is no guarantee of a peaceful ride.