Chapter 79: The Comedy Club

“Ugh…”

Aiko was startled by Kisaragi Kiyo’s intensity and took several steps back.

Seeing her good friend suddenly grabbed by a “strange auntie,” Rika also became nervous. But she looked at herself, then at the “strange auntie,” and felt she probably couldn’t win a fight against such a big “strange auntie.” So, she turned to Okada Yukiko, who was about the same size.

“Bad guy, let go of Aiko!”

Rika pushed Okada Yukiko, trying to shove her between Aiko and Kisaragi Kiyo as a shield.

The members of The Blue Hearts really couldn’t bear to watch their usually mature and capable manager continue to embarrass herself, so they quickly came over and pulled Kisaragi Kiyo away.

Kisaragi Kiyo finally calmed down. She bowed apologetically and said, “I’m sorry, I’m a fan of Rena… Aiko. I was a bit excited to see her in person.”

“Uh, hahaha,” after the initial awkwardness, Okada Yukiko put on her professional idol smile. “Um… we still have to go record a show, and we’re a bit short on time…”

“Oh, oh, of course,” Kisaragi Kiyo immediately understood Okada Yukiko’s meaning and quickly made way. “Please, go ahead.”

Okada Yukiko led the two children past, and Kisaragi Kiyo was still watching their retreating figures.

“Kisaragi-san, they’re already gone. What are you still looking at?” Kōmoto Hiroto asked strangely.

“What show do you think they’re going to record?”

“How would I know? I don’t work at the TV station.”

“Come on, let’s follow them and see.”

“Huh? We have a show to record too.”

“Then you guys go record your show. I’m going to see Aiko first.”

With that, Kisaragi Kiyo had already followed in the direction Aiko’s group had gone.

The members of The Blue Hearts were a bit speechless, but there was still some time before their show started, so they eventually followed Kisaragi Kiyo as well.

After all, if Kisaragi Kiyo could go see Aiko, they could tag along and see Okada Yukiko.

The TV show Aiko was participating in was called The Night Comedy Club. As an early variety show, it was very popular in the 1980s, and its two hosts would both become extremely famous in the future.

One was called Akashiya Sanma, and the other was Tamori.

If you added Takeshi Kitano to the mix, you would have the three great mountains of the Japanese comedy world.

Today’s theme for The Night Comedy Club was “Child Actor Showdown.” The production team had invited five child actors, including Aiko, to talk about their lives as child actors, showcase their skills, and had also invited the popular idol Okada Yukiko to act as a judge and evaluate the child actors’ performances.

Mmm…

This lineup had the distinct feeling of making dumplings just for the sake of the vinegar.

To be clear, it wasn’t a suspicion. This particular episode was specifically produced to promote the drama Mother.

The Mother production team, of course, didn’t have that much clout, nor did Bubble Witch. This was due to Otake Shinobu’s personal connections. She was an old friend of the host and producer of The Night Comedy Club, Akashiya Sanma.

Their relationship had always been good. In the future, after Otake Shinobu’s husband passed away, she would even marry Akashiya Sanma.

However, sometimes, some people are just better off as friends rather than spouses. Otake Shinobu and Akashiya Sanma divorced less than four years after getting married.

After their divorce, their relationship actually improved again. They even joked on television about “possibly remarrying,” but they never did.

“Yukiko-chan, we meet again! You’ve been on my show so many times, we can be considered old friends now.”

“Hai…”

“What do you mean, ‘been here so many times’? This is clearly my first time seeing Yukiko-chan!”

“First time? I clearly remember many times!”

“Of course, it’s the first time! If such a cute girl had come many times, how could I not remember?”

“Is that so? I clearly remember Yukiko-chan being on the show many times.”

“What show are you even remembering?”

“Huh? Isn’t this Waratte Iitomo!?”

“This is The Night Comedy Club!”

“I was wondering why you were here too…”

The show Tamori mentioned, Waratte Iitomo!, was a variety show he hosted alone. It aired from 1982 to 2014 and was certified by Guinness World Records as the “world’s longest-running live television show hosted by a single person.”

With the two hosts bantering back and forth, the atmosphere on set quickly became lively, with laughter erupting from the audience from time to time.

After the opening, the two hosts announced the theme of today’s show and introduced the child actors.

From the very beginning, the show showed its bias. Aiko was the last to be introduced, as the grand finale, and her introduction time was also the longest.

The other child actors had more stage experience than Aiko and knew how to stand, sit, and speak on a show. But this was Aiko’s first time in such a setting. Although she wasn’t particularly shy, she would sometimes unconsciously make inappropriate movements, like turning her head to look at the person she was talking to instead of the camera.

At times like these, Akashiya Sanma would use small gestures or words to subtly guide Aiko to look at the camera, to avoid showing the back of her head to the cameraman.

It could only be said that Aiko had indeed found the right mentor in Otake Shinobu. Without Otake Shinobu’s influence, no matter how good-natured Akashiya Sanma was, he would not have taken such good care of a random child actor.

However, Aiko’s overall performance was also quite good.

Especially during a Q&A session, when Tamori asked the child actors what the biggest challenge of being a child actor was.

Some answered memorizing lines, some answered acting, and some answered that staying up late was tiring…

However, when it was Aiko’s turn, her answer was “studying.”

Tamori asked why studying was the biggest challenge.

Aiko answered with a straight face, “It’s illegal for a child actor’s test scores to be too bad. The police will arrest you and put you in jail.”

Her serious little eyes were definitely not joking, but it just so happened to make the entire audience laugh.

Tamori was also a quick-witted person. He realized Aiko wasn’t telling a joke and also became serious, asking gravely, “Is that really true?! I think I’ve heard something like that too. Who told you that?”

“My big sister told me!”

“Your big sister sure knows a lot!”

“She does! My big sister knows everything!”

“Breaking the law is really scary.”

“Mhm, mhm.”

“Then you have to study hard and read a lot!”

“Mhm, mhm.”

“…”

This serious Q&A between the big and small person made the audience laugh until they cried.

After the Q&A, there was an acting competition segment.

The production team randomly selected classic movie scenes and had the child actors imitate the performances of the adult actors in the movies to showcase their acting skills.

The acting of Japanese actors can sometimes be particularly exaggerated. For example, to express excitement, some actors will forcefully close their eyes and nod while delivering their lines. Some say this is a continuation of stage acting techniques, but it is actually a form of laziness when one’s acting skills are insufficient. Just look at the performances of Japan’s top international superstars—Takeshi Kitano, Ken Watanabe—their acting is very natural and harmonious.

This exaggerated acting style was even more pronounced in the already immature child actors. It wasn’t until Aiko took the stage that everyone’s eyes lit up.

Aiko drew a scene from the classic romance film Camille, and “coincidentally,” it was a crying scene, her specialty. The progression from heartache to wavering, and finally to sobbing uncontrollably, that heart-wrenching feeling of tears streaming down her face without a sound, shocked even the two hosts who had been joking around the whole time.

Akashiya Sanma couldn’t help but sigh in his heart, no wonder Otake-san valued this student so much. She was simply a genius.

The audience members who had seen Mother, like Kisaragi Kiyo, felt their hearts being torn apart.

In the acting competition, Aiko won first place without any suspense.

The final segment was a talent show.

“Rika, Rika…”

Aiko invited her good friend Rika, who had been sitting in the audience, onto the stage. Upbeat music started playing, and the two little children performed a song and dance routine they had prepared for a long time.

“No matter what, everyone, let’s dance together!”
“Suddenly from the pot, a lying uncle appears!”
“Never forget, Edison was a great man!”
“This is common sense, da-da-da-larila!”
“Pitter-patter, pitter-patter…”