Indians: From a chance encounter to a unique and powerful duo

Entertainer　インディアンス　 Akihiro Tabuchi / Kim

■ Profile
Formed in 2010, this comedy duo consists of Akihiro and Kimu Tabuchi, who met at NSC Osaka.
They won the Newcomer Award at the Kamigata Manzai Awards in 2012 and have advanced to the finals of the M-1 Grand Prix for three consecutive years since 2019.
Currently active on stage, television, and radio, on March 22nd, they will be recording their first solo live performance as an Indians band.DVDReleased.

The popular comedy duo "Indians" have been finalists in the M1 Grand Prix for three consecutive years and have also appeared on many TV shows. Their first DVD, packed with the current state of the Indians, will be released on March 22nd. In this article, we spoke to the duo about their careers so far and their future prospects, in addition to highlighting the highlights of the DVD.

■ The Kansai comedy spirit is ingrained in me. Before I knew it, I was aiming to become a comedian.

Tabuchi: I was always messing around when I was a student. It was especially bad when I was in high school. I was told to skip answers in class because I would be a nuisance to the other students taking exams. My mother says that I had been saying since I was in junior high school that I wanted to be a comedian.

Kim: When I was a student, I also tried to stand out by forming a band or joining the cheering squad. I was often teased a little and would respond back. I don't actually like being teased (laughs).
I think the reason I wanted to become a comedian is because I grew up in Osaka, an area overflowing with comedy. After that, I saw Untouchable's manzai in 2003 and it sparked a desire to do manzai like that. But I didn't have anyone to go to NSC with me, so I was scared to go alone and went to university. But the comedy classes I encountered there were so interesting that I decided to go to NSC.

Tabuchi: NSC was pretty tough. By summer vacation, half of the members were gone, and people were dropping out one after another. The teachers would criticize us harshly during our comedy routines, so that really strengthened my mentality. We were divided into classes based on how funny we were, and I was always in class B.

Kim: I joined the group right away and we were in the A class. I was the one writing the material, but I had a weird switch that turned on and I started being too stoic and pushing them to respond in 0.5 seconds, so we broke up.

Tabuchi: They don't usually do things like 0.5-second tsukkomi (comedy quips), though. (laughs) Nowadays, we discuss the theme of our material together, and then we each come up with our own ideas, with me doing the boke (funny jokes) and Kimu doing the tsukkomi (comedy quips). People often say, "I don't know how much of it is scripted," but it's pretty much scripted plus there's some ad-lib. We get bored, so we add more. Sometimes Kimu is laughing without making any tsukkomi (laughs).

■After a trial start and passionate love calls

Kimu: I formed a comedy duo with Tabucchi after I graduated. It was introduced to me by a classmate. I thought, "Oh, he's that guy from B class," so we tried doing a manzai act together and it was so much fun! That's when I realized that during my time at NSC, I'd never thought of my partner as funny.

Tabuchi: On the contrary, I thought, "They're in A class, so they're not funny?" (laughs). However, out of the few people who asked me, I thought he was the most reasonable, so I decided to try teaming up with him. Kimu has mellowed out a lot now, but back then he was disliked, so I was asked about 100 times, "Why are you teaming up with Kimu?" (laughs). Actually, I got tired of it too, so we broke up once.
I was working with Subaru from Miki, and Kimu would contact me almost every day. It was really bizarre...

Kim: I felt like "Subaru-san took Tabucchan away from me!" I sent him material saying "Let's go back again," went to see his plays, and studied Tabucchan.

Tabuchi: However, I thought, "If you say so, I'll give it another go," and bowed my head to Subaru, and returned to the Indians. It feels like a dozen years have passed since then. It's strange, even for me.

Kim: Even now, my strong desire to team up with Tabucchi hasn't changed. If I had been cold towards him or thought he was different, I don't think I would have gone this far.

■ Using the reaction at the theater as motivation, they continue to move forward and aim to win the M-1

Tabuchi: The most rewarding thing is the reaction in the theater. I get excited every time we perform a new skit. We practiced it over and over together against the wall, and then finally we perform it on stage. When the reaction is good, it motivates us. And that ultimately leads to winning awards. In the spring of 2019 and 2021, we performed skits that we thought might be good enough for this year's M-1, and when that belief turned into certainty, I was so happy.

Kim: Of course, we dream of winning the M-1. We want to be popular and be well-received, that's what we're all about. Incidentally, the skit "Old Man Girl" that we performed at the 2019 M-1 was originally an ad-lib.

Tabuchi: Ad-libs often get a better response than material that's been carefully thought out. You can't think too much... it's difficult. I've been doing a campaign for a long time, "Let's say everything that comes to mind," and I try to say everything that I think is funny so that I won't regret it later.

Kim: I try to keep it relaxed and fun. I get nervous so I try really hard to brainwash myself.

Tabuchi: We both get nervous easily, so at M-1 we would just talk backstage and then go on stage. Idoling is important.

■Indians' first DVD released on Wednesday, March 22nd"Indians National Tour 2022 Odeko Full Open Tour ~Forehead Power for More Rice!~"Highlights

Tabuchi: Once you watch this DVD, you'll get a general idea of ​​who we are, so I highly recommend you check it out. It's the final day of the tour and our first solo performance at NGK, so it's an ideal situation, and the content is chock full of our favorite material.

Kimu: We coordinate our opinions on things other than the material every day, so we were able to decide on the material without any discrepancies.

Tabuchi: We're both stubborn, so if we disagree, we'll just go with one of our opinions. There's no compromise.

Kimu: Tabucchan suggested that we try it once if it breaks, so I'm going to give it a try first.

■ To become a comedian who can shine in various places and in various ways

Kimu: I'd be happy if I could increase my TV appearances, raise my profile, and eventually have my own TV show. I also think it would be interesting to combine it with music or other genres. I'd also love to be called on alone as a straight man. It's nerve-wracking, but I have to get through it...

Tabuchi: The turnover is so high that if you haven't made it to the M-1 finals once, you're considered a thing of the past. If I'm going to compete in M-1, I have to aim to win, so I think I need to think seriously about choosing work and finding time to create material.
Even after graduating from M-1, my life as a comedian will continue, so I've started to think that I can't continue living the same way. I'm currently searching for the best balance.

■Message to university students

Kim: I'm proud of my ability to take action, but I think you can also have a meaningful student life if you try out a variety of things without being picky.

Tabuchi: You have a huge amount of free time before you enter society, so I hope you spend it in a way that is wise and effective. You can do whatever you want, but don't just spend it aimlessly; you just have to concentrate. I think it's important to listen to lectures you don't understand well, and talk to people you don't understand well. I went to school every day, even if there were no classes. I think it's good to try and do a variety of different things while maintaining a sense of purpose.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on March 8, 2023 by Ayaka Yagi, a fourth-year student at Sophia University