Sandal

To become a comedian who is seen as having fun doing comedy.

■ Profile

Formed in 2013. Reached the finals of the 1st Tsugikuru Comedian Grand Prix in 2019, the semi-finals of King of Conte 2019, and the semi-finals of King of Conte 2020 in 2020. In 2021, they appeared on NTV's "Gurunai Omoshiroso 2021" and held a solo live show on May 30th. They are currently appearing on the radio app GERA's "Sandaru no Piyo Piyo Sandaru" (updated every Monday).

The comedy duo Sandarru was formed after they attended the same training school. They have been competing in the King of Conte ever since they were formed, and have advanced to the semi-finals for two consecutive years. This year, they were selected from over 800 comedians and even appeared on the TV show Omoshiro-so. What is their ideal image of a comedian? We asked them about their experiences and thoughts up to now, as well as their outlook for the future.

■Have you always wanted to be a comedian since you were a student?

Mune: I hadn't even considered it. I did a manzai comedy routine at my high school cultural festival, but I hardly watched any comedy shows in middle or high school. But after I went to university, I started watching comedy DVDs like Downtown's Gotsu Ee Kanji and JaruJaru, and I thought, "This is what I wanted to do!"

Horiuchi: On the contrary, I had dreamed of becoming a comedian since I was in elementary school, and even wrote "I want to be a comedian!" in my graduation yearbook. From that time onwards, I watched a lot of comedy shows and comedy routines. In particular, I watched "Meccha x 2 Iketeru!" and "Uchimura Produce," and I thought, "It must be great that comedians get paid to mess around. It looks like fun. I want to be on that show too!", and at some point I started aiming to become a comedian.

■How did you two meet and why did you choose this company?

Mune: It all started when we were in the same class at a comedy training school. We were looking for someone in the class to do comedy with, and I had a few conditions. They were "close in age" and "from Tokyo." The reason I made the condition "from Tokyo" was because I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my seniors from Tokyo, like Summers and Ogiyahagi. I also wanted to be popular from a young age, like Ninety-Nine, and I wanted to team up with someone who looked pretty, if possible, so I formed the trio "Sandaru" with Horiuchi, who met all of these conditions, and another person (who later left the group).

Horiuchi: At the training school, we first introduce ourselves and do a one-liner comedy routine, and afterwards, the three of us - Mune, another member, myself and I - were talking about who wasn't funny, and we ended up naming the same person, which is how we became friends. I think we had similar sensibilities. I thought, "I want to work with people I can get along with as friends," so I think it was good that I was able to have fun with the two of them from the training school days onwards.

■Is there any work that has left an impression on you?

Mune: What left a lasting impression on me was when we made it to the semi-finals of "King of Conte" for the first time. Sandar has been appearing on "King of Conte" for a long time, but we were eliminated in the first round every year until our sixth year since we formed. When we made it to the semi-finals of a competition where we had continued to challenge ourselves, I remember feeling a sensation and a response that I hadn't understood before we got on that stage, and thinking, "I have to try a little harder."

Horiuchi: The one that left the biggest impression on me was "King of Conte." However, it wasn't when we made it to the semi-finals, but rather our performance in the second round the year before that that left the biggest impression. Up until then, I had never felt a sense of accomplishment when I performed on "King of Conte," but for the first time, the audience's reaction was so good, I felt a strong sense of accomplishment, and I was incredibly excited. In the end, we were eliminated in the quarter-finals that year, but I still treasure the material we performed in the second round that year.

■How do you create your material?

Mune: I'm the one who comes up with the basics. First, I tell my partner the premise of the material, and if he says it's funny, then I start creating it in earnest. I think that a funny material is already funny once I've explained it to him, so if I tell my partner the premise and he says it's not funny, I think to myself, "That means 50% of people don't think this material is funny," and I don't use it.
When I come up with material, I have never consciously thought to myself, "I'll have to think of a story," and ideas come to me in random moments while I'm watching other works, such as movies or TV dramas.

■Is there anything you are struggling with?

Mune: Recently, I've been getting more opportunities to appear on comedy shows, and one thing I've noticed is the unique challenges of comedians who mainly do skits. Manzai comedians go on stage as themselves, but skit comedians act out the roles they play in their material to make the audience laugh. However, when they talk, they have to comment as the comedian themselves, so they have to go beyond the role they played in their material. I always think that there shouldn't be a difference in the character between during the material and the talk afterwards, so it's really difficult to know how to convey the character during the skit and when talking.

■Do you have any future goals or challenges you would like to take on?

Mune: First of all, I'd like to make it to the finals of King of Conte. Also, I'd like to appear in a movie. A joke often becomes unfunny when you watch it again after it's no longer funny, but a movie stays with you for a long time. My dream would be to see my name in the end credits (laughs). Incidentally, one of our jokes is based on "Solitary Gourmet," so I'd love to appear in "Solitary Gourmet"!
I also want to become comedians who are considered funny even when they are performing alone. We have been mainly performing comedy, but I admire comedians like Bananaman who are considered funny even when each member is active on their own. Ultimately, I would like to become comedians who people think are funny just by having normal, relaxed conversations. And of course, I want to continue being a comedian who has fun doing comedy!

■Message

Mune: Being a comedian makes me keenly aware of the need for a wide range of knowledge. I don't think this is limited to comedians. There are times when I suddenly think, "I'm glad I did this," no matter what it is, so if you're unsure whether to do something or not, I think it's more fun to definitely choose to do it.

Horiuchi: I've been aiming to be a comedian since I was in elementary school, so I never thought about going to university. However, looking back now, I think it would have been better to choose the path you had from a variety of options, rather than cutting off your escape route and following the path that you felt was the only one possible. I hope that you will enjoy your time as a university student, while cherishing and being grateful to your parents. And I hope that all university students will enjoy watching us, Sandaruru.

Student Newspaper WEB February 15, 2021 Interview by Yamamoto Masato, 2nd year student at Meiji University

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