Emi-Abi

Up-and-coming manzai stand-up comedy duo Emi-Abi has lost consummate funny man Unno (a surprisingly touching Tomoya Maeno) to an accident, leaving conceited straight man Jitsudo (Ryu Morioka) to contend with his diminished career prospects as a bland, pretty face entertainer. Guided by his manager Natsumi (Haru Kuroki), who demonstrates stronger comedy chops than her own star, Jitsudo comes to learn the circumstances of his friend's passing, as well as the life-and-death stakes of a career in comedy. Demonstrating a careful balance of tone across tragedy and deadpan and gross-out humor, writer/director Kensaku Watanabe expands "Emi-Abi"'s hilarious premise into a strikingly assured meditation on artistic rivalry and self-actualization.

Cast

Ryu Morioka

Ryu Morioka

as Kenji Sanemichi

Tomoya Maeno

Tomoya Maeno

as Kazuya Unno

Haru Kuroki

Haru Kuroki

as Natsumi Takahashi

Hirofumi Arai

Hirofumi Arai

as Takuma Kurosawa

Mari Yamachi

Mari Yamachi

as Hinako Kurosawa

Hako Oshima

Hako Oshima

as Kaoru Murata

Kenta Kunai

Kenta Kunai

as Tairo Murata

Jyo Hyuga

Jyo Hyuga

as

Yuya Matsuura

Yuya Matsuura

as

Yoshiki Saito

Yoshiki Saito

as

Reviews

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