Hitoshi Matsumoto: World's funniest man?

 

Brace yourselves dear readers for what you are about to read are my personal thoughts about entertainment and in particular, comedy of the world. My views may appear controversial to some, but nevertheless, I write my thoughts regardless to be as authentic as possible. I will not shy away from any opinions of mine that may offend or upset certain parts of the internet nor will I bend the knee to cancel culture or any other such nonsense. 

On to the topic that may upset some readers, I truly believe that the Western entertainment industry, Hollywood, and even comedy is on the decline. Nowadays, instead of coming up with new, interesting, inventive and unique original concepts and stories, we see countless unnecessary remakes and reboots being made. We also see so called writers attempt to make changes to the works of old and even arrogantly state that they are "fixing" non-existent issues. We saw this in the comments of the Netflix adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, the Amazon production of Lord of The Rings and many more. It is a mistake to use language such as "updating it for modern audiences" as more often then not, that makes the work lose it's original meaning and purpose. Along with the endless remakes and unimaginative dribble coming from Hollyweird, comedy is also dying. Gone are the days of comedic geniuses such as Bill Hicks, 80's Eddie Murphy, George Carlin and Richard Pryor. It's deemed offensive to be funny these days and it's left us with the most untalented and unfunny people on the planet masquerading as talented comedians. People such as Amy Schumer, Melissa McCarthy, James Corden, Jon Richardson, Stephen Colbert, Kevin Hart etc are painfully unfunny. The only possible western comedians that sometimes may get a reaction that isn't turning them off from me are Ricky Gervais, Bill Burr, Stewart Francis and potentially Bill Bailey. 

In contrast, there's a ton of funny comedians from the East. For example, Ameagari Kesshitai, Bananaman, Beat Takeshi, Chidori, Cocorico, Egashira 2:50, Itao Itsuji, Yoo Jae-Suk, Ji Suk-Jin, Jimmy Onishi, Lee Soo-Geun to just name a few. Unlike in the West, there is no outrage when jokes are made, pranks are pulled and thus comedy is still alive and well. Nobody in the East is actively looking to be offended by anything and wouldn't therefore go on social media and play the victim in order to get someone or something cancelled. 

There is one man who stands above the rest of the comedians of the world imo and that man is Downtown's Hitoshi Matsumoto. Matsumoto who grew up in a poor household in Amagasaki, Hyogo would meet Masatoshi Hamada at Ushio Elementary School. This was the start of the legendary comedy duo, Downtown. Since their debut in 1983, the pair have been one of the most influential and prolific duos in Japan. Although, ironically they received very few chuckles and even got heckled when they first started until 1987,  when they rose to idol-like popularity and status due to hosting the show Yoji Desu Yoda. 

Matsumoto's boke is the perfect foil to Hamada's tsukkomi. The reason why I have singled out Matsumoto in particular is his amazing comedic talent. From his timing of perfectly placed jokes to knowing when to let others have a chance to shine, the man knows his craft. He also has the knack for going on comic tangents and referencing things in the funniest way such as comparing co-hosts and guests to various historical figures and celebrities as well as mascots and inanimate objects. For instance, the Gaki No Tsukai episode of chiki chiki about Subei where he referenced Nicole Fujita and wondered whether she'd deem the food they made Instagram-able was hilarious. He also makes a very respectful and welcoming host on his tv shows such as Documental, Hey Hey Hey Music Champ, Hitoshi Matsumoto no Suberanai Hanashi, Downtown Now, Downtown DX etc. Folks from the West may recognise him as the screaming Japanese man meme which was from an episode of Gaki No Tsukai, one of my favourite shows to watch. He is also partially responsible for the popular Silent Library games as they started in Gaki no Tsukai.

Not only does he possess extraordinary talent but he also possesses writing ability as well. He has written and directed movies such as Big Man Japan, Symbol, Saya Zamurai and even had a small role in R100. Symbol in particular shows his creativity and comedic talents as the movie is focused on one small white room. The small setting allowed Matsumoto to showcase his acting and comedic chops as he reacted to the bizarre situations that unfolded whilst pulling and tugging on random objects that popped into the singular location. His ultimate goal is to escape but don't let the comedic elements fool you, Symbol has meaningful things to say. 

Along with his ventures into Moviemaking, Matsumoto has also suffered for his art. In 2010, it was revealed through his talent agency, that he had injured his left hip and as a result had to 2 episodes of Gaki no Tsukai until his return in August. During the 2012 Batsu game, he himself revealed that he had a stress fracture and yet despite doctor's orders, participated in the batsu game. 

Still as popular as always, Hitoshi Matsumoto shows no signs of slowing down just yet as he keeps a busy schedule with his hosted shows. This is a wonderful thing as it shall be a terribly depressing day whenever he decides to be done with comedy.