Comedian High-Speed ​​Pudding

This life is dedicated to comedy. Aiming to become the best comedian in Japan

Comedian High-Speed ​​Pudding　Tsurumaru Yuto and Reitapi.

■ Profile
This comedy duo consists of Tsurumaru Yuto, a fourth-year student at Hokkai Gakuen University, and Reitapi, a first-year graduate student at Hokkaido University. They are members of the Hokkaido University Rakugo Research Society and are in their first year since forming. They are the first and second champions of the Hokkaido University Student Comedy Contest DAICON. They placed 5th in the University Student M-1 Grand Prix. They were eliminated in the second round of the M-1 Grand Prix in 2022 and 2023.

The first and second champions of the Hokkaido University Student Comedy Contest DAICON, Tsurumaru Yuto has 828 gags, starting with "Gag Show Time," and Reitapi has a sharp mind. We spoke to these two university students who continue to challenge themselves as comedians about their thoughts on comedy and their dreams for the future!

■How did you spend your time as a student?

Reitapi: I've loved comedy since I was in elementary school, and watched a lot of material on YouTube and other platforms. I had been thinking about joining a comedy club since before I entered university, so I joined the Rakugo Study Group at Hokkaido University without any hesitation. However, COVID-3 hit, and I continued to stay at home. It wasn't until my third year of university, when school reopened, that I really got into comedy. It was at that Rakugo study group that I met my partner, Tsurumaru.

Tsurumaru: Ever since I was little, I've loved standing out. I first thought about becoming a comedian when I was in my third year of university. When my girlfriend dumped me and asked me to try my best at something, I found out about Rakugo Club and decided to join straight away. I met Reitapi on the first day. It was before the deadline for a comedy contest, so we quickly formed a comedy duo and applied, and that's how we formed our comedy duo.

■What made you decide to seriously pursue a career as a comedian?

Reitapi: My studies were getting busier, and I felt like I couldn't balance comedy with my studies. At that time, I thought, "I'll just give up on comedy and do it as a hobby." I think somewhere deep down I had suppressed my desire to become a comedian. However, Tsurumaru kept persuading me, and before I knew it, I had decided to run away from home and quit graduate school.

Tsurumaru: I worked really hard to convince Reitapi. I've never seen anyone so funny, and I really wanted to do comedy with him. Reitapi may seem cool at first glance, but I feel he actually has more passion and determination than anyone else. I have absolute confidence in his comedy, so I want to enjoy the material he comes up with, grit my teeth, and give it my all.

■What is the reward and appeal of comedy?

Reitapi: I love comedy from the bottom of my heart, and my ideal would be to devote my entire life to it, so right now I just feel happy. Of course, there are difficult things every day, like money and hitting slumps, but I feel like I just have to persevere. I think comedy is an essential part of the world. It helps relieve stress, and it speaks to the deep psychology of human beings. What people find funny changes with the times. I think the ability to express such subtleties is the unique appeal of Japanese comedy.

Tsurumaru: We love comedy, and we perform our material with the belief that it's incredibly funny, so we're really happy when the audience laughs and gets excited. I don't think comedy is a profession that's part of society's machinery. However, I think comedians who dedicate their lives to entertaining people are really cool. I hope that the elaborate comedy culture that has been passed down until now, unique to Japan, will take root even more, and that we can create a society where people can easily come and see comedy shows.

■What are your future goals?

Reitapi: As a comedy duo, we are the best in Japan. First of all, we aim to win the M1 Grand Prix. We don't think too much about the future, we just try to make the people in front of us laugh. This is something I want to cherish. My personal dream is to get involved with Benesse one day, as I really love Shimajiro. I'm also good at kid-oriented material, so I'd love to do that someday!

Tsurumaru: I want to aim to be number one in Japan as a comedy duo, and also as a solo comedian. I want to win the R1 Grand Prix, show people that I can do it too, and get back at Reitapi (laughs). Personally, my dream is to appear on Fuji TV's "Run for Money." The reason I wanted to become a comedian was because I thought I could appear on my favorite show, "Run for Money." I'd love to appear on it someday and do some cool moves like Matoba Koji (laughs).

■Please give us a message for university students.

Reitapi: Live your life with dreams. It's fine to just go to college, get a job, and get married. But there's no right answer, and you can always start over. I hope you never stop trying to do what you want to do.

Tsurumaru: I want you to work hard at something. Use your mind and body to the fullest and do what you love so that you can look back on your time as a university student and think it was a really fun time.

Interviewed by Student Newspaper Online on July 23, 2024 by Rikkyo University fourth-year student Narina Ogata

Tsuda University freshman Ishimatsu Karin / Rikkyo University junior Ogata Narina / Nihon University freshman Omori Amane /
Yusuke Suzuki, 3rd year student at Hosei University / Maria Okabe, 3rd year student at Kunitachi College of Music