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NR 1h 28m

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.

Top Cast

  • Ryu Morioka

    Ryu Morioka

    Kenji Sanemichi

  • Tomoya Maeno

    Tomoya Maeno

    Kazuya Unno

  • Haru Kuroki

    Haru Kuroki

    Natsumi Takahashi

  • Hirofumi Arai

    Hirofumi Arai

    Takuma Kurosawa

  • Mari Yamachi

    Mari Yamachi

    Hinako Kurosawa

  • Hako Oshima

    Hako Oshima

    Kaoru Murata

  • Kenta Kunai

    Kenta Kunai

    Tairo Murata

  • Jyo Hyuga

    Jyo Hyuga

  • Yuya Matsuura

    Yuya Matsuura

Overview

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.

Rating

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