#7「ジェラードン（前編）〜新チャンピオンと振り返るKOC2026〜」

The Morning After KOC2026 — "We Have Nothing Now"

The KOC2026 grand finale was held on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Long Coat Daddy, the 2025 champions, surrendered their title that night and opened the podcast the very next day by saying they were "no longer the current champions" and were "people with nothing now." Recording took place on October 18, with that raw, just-finished feeling still hanging in the air.

Member Domayon had also served as a judge at this year's KOC — a role he described candidly as "something I wanted to do, but once I was actually doing it, it was genuinely grueling." His partner spent the day in the green room watching all the performances alongside BKB, thinking to himself, "that looks rough."

"Forecasting Cloudy Weather" — The Burden of Being a Judge

Domayon summed up the judging experience with a vivid metaphor: it was like being a rookie weather forecaster tasked with reporting on a cloudy day. Rain gives you clear advice — "bring an umbrella." Sunshine lets you say "watch out for heatstroke." But a cloudy day is hard to put into words. Because every group delivered genuinely funny material, determining where to award high scores and where to pull back left his heart tangled and conflicted. He acknowledged that the event as a whole was wonderfully exciting, but from a judge's perspective, it was an exceptionally tough assignment.

The Secret Judge Appointment — The Tomoshige Misdirection Incident

Domayon's appointment was kept confidential ahead of the show, but word had spread in comedy circles that a different comedian had been confirmed for the role. Moguryider's Tomoshige believed and repeated that misinformation, inadvertently creating a misdirection. Domayon laughed, saying he had "ended up putting another comedian in a position of unintentionally telling lies."

There was another unintentional clue: a group photo from the "Comedian General Election," which both Long Coat Daddy and Jeraldon participated in, was missing Domayon — something that, in hindsight, was a giveaway for anyone paying attention. About five minutes before the announcement, Nobuko tapped him on the shoulder at the venue and asked, "Why isn't Domayon here?" He noted that at least he was able to deliver a complete surprise to Nobuko, and he closed the story with a laugh.

What to Do with 5 Million Yen — Harley Negotiations and a Mural in Takanabe-cho

Jeraldon's Kamichi and Nishimoto then joined the recording, running on almost no sleep just eighteen hours after their victory, with press interviews continuing nonstop. They also took over the champion jacket — passed down from the inaugural KOC winner in 2008 all the way through 2025 — though they noted it was "really hard to move in."

The 10-million-yen grand prize was split evenly, giving each member 5 million yen. Nishimoto admitted he has long dreamed of owning a Harley-Davidson — a new one runs about 5 million yen — but since he lives on an allowance from his wife, it all comes down to negotiation. The conversation spiraled into comedy: "Isn't the prize money really hers, since she made it possible for you to focus on comedy?" and "If you give her a 10% bonus — 5.5 million — you'd have to top it up 500,000 out of your own pocket." They landed on a realistic conclusion: he'd probably pocket 500,000 for himself.

Kamichi is a coffee enthusiast who co-runs a YouTube channel about coffee with Yarenzu's Reiku. He's considering using part of his prize money to rent a dedicated space for that project. He also serves as a goodwill ambassador for Takanabe-cho in Miyazaki Prefecture, a town that already features two murals of rapper Gadoro (ガドロ). He expressed his hope to have a mural of himself painted there as well.

Behind the Winning Skit — How a Muscle Tear Gave Birth to the Izakaya Comedy

Kamichi's performance in the winning izakaya skit — particularly his detailed, expressive portrayal of a drunk customer — was singled out for special praise. The road to that skit was anything but straightforward.

Two days before the semi-finals, Kamichi was performing a female pro-wrestler character at Lumine when he "slipped so badly he got a muscle tear," forcing the pair to withdraw from the semi-finals entirely. He joked that "my body was rejecting how unfunny the material was." That withdrawal proved to be a blessing in disguise: they were able to hold the izakaya skit in reserve. The female pro-wrestler character wasn't abandoned — she was reimagined with a different gender and occupation, reborn as someone who had recently changed careers to work at a magic bar.

Long Coat Daddy shared a parallel experience: they had once withdrawn from the semi-finals due to COVID, which allowed them to avoid performing a skit they weren't confident in and preserve stronger material for the following year. Both groups arrived at the same conclusion: "Taking a year off can be effective."