#350 お母さんお久しぶりです

Episode 350: Seven Years in the Making

The October 4 episode of Laland's (ラランド) Koedame Radio (声溜めラジオ) on GERA marked the 350th broadcast — somewhere around seven years on air. Recording took place after a long stretch of rain finally broke and autumn skies returned. The episode opened in typical fashion: Nishida (西田) tried to verify the "seven years?" figure using his own mental arithmetic while looking at the script number, drawing laughs from his partner. Their honest reflection on 350 episodes was that they always seemed to say "there's nothing left to talk about" — and yet, every week, the material shows up.

An Impromptu Musical with Tomodachi Ore-kun

Nishida talked about a recent live event he took part in alongside comedian Tomodachi Ore-kun (友達オレくん). The format was high-wire: the two were given settings and characters on the spot and had to construct four musicals from scratch in real time. Kidoairak (キドアイラック) handled the music, reading the room and dropping in cues at exactly the right moments. The audience loved it. But in the taxi on the way to the after-party, Tomodachi Ore-kun went silent — and was asleep before anyone noticed. He had said it was "more exhausting than a solo live show," and his body apparently agreed.

At the second after-party, mutual staff member Hasumin (ハスミくん) arrived full of energy at 1 a.m. despite having three deadlines the next day. Nishida noted that Hasumin picks up every online reaction and organizes it carefully — "he really watches everything," was the impression he came away with.

'Cancel Storms' Don't Exist

Nishida laid out his theory on X and the concept of online outrage. His argument: the word "炎上" (enjō — usually translated as "going viral in a bad way" or "cancel storm") is itself wrong. X is a town where only arsonists live, so a fire starting there is not a public scandal by any reasonable definition — if a fire breaks out in a town full of arsonists, it isn't exactly news. The ordinary public has no awareness of whatever erupts on X, which means there is no public opinion being formed there. Nishida said it is important to keep that perspective, and he framed the remarks with younger comedians in mind — those who tend to build their careers around X metrics. He noted that a fuller discussion would be available in the membership tier.

Ota Ueda, and a LINE from Mom

Moving to the listener-mail segment, Nishida talked about his two-week guest stint on the radio program Ota Ueda (大田・上田). Week one was light — jacket fashion, man-made-object jokes. Week two got more personal. Host Ota (大田さん) spontaneously told Nishida to call his relatives on air. He reached his aunt, who gave him only evasive, half-hearted replies — earning Ota's blunt verdict: "That was a pretty useless aunt."

Nishida then called his mother. She didn't answer. He sent a LINE: "We haven't been in touch lately. It's been hot — please stay hydrated and take care of yourself." No reply came before recording wrapped. After the episode aired, a message arrived: "Long time no talk. I'm doing well here. I see you on TV. Take care of your health and keep at it." That message — specifically the opening line, "Long time no talk (お久しぶりです)" — is where the episode's title comes from. Nishida said he has not been in contact with her since.

Ota offered a serious piece of advice: being on bad terms with a parent is something you will regret one day. He shared that his own father, shortly before he died, told him "you were never really that fond of me, were you" — and that it still haunts him. The tonal swing from laughter to that moment was striking.

Nishida also read out hostile comments from older viewers who watched the Ota Ueda broadcast: "His awful personality is written all over his face," "I sincerely hope the police get involved," and "Don't go showing up somewhere new, you stupid pig." His response: "New venue always brings them out. It just means the audience pool expanded. That's a good thing" — followed by "I'll find you in hell and kill you," delivered as a punchline.

A Scene at the Hotel New Otani

The Ota Ueda recording was held at the Hotel New Otani (ホテルニューオータニ). Nishida showed up in a T-shirt, jeans, and Crocs, and was stunned by the hotel's sheer size — a full constellation of shops that felt like walking through a small town. In the hallway he almost walked into a foreign woman, apparently Chinese, wearing a dress that looked a hundred times more expensive than his entire outfit. She apologized to him in perfectly fluent Japanese. He was visibly surprised.