Emi-Abi
03/09/2016
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.
Movie Information
Ryu Morioka
as Kenji Sanemichi
Tomoya Maeno
as Kazuya Unno
Haru Kuroki
as Natsumi Takahashi
Hirofumi Arai
as Takuma Kurosawa
Mari Yamachi
as Hinako Kurosawa
Hako Oshima
as Kaoru Murata
Kenta Kunai
as Tairo Murata
Jyo Hyuga
as
Yuya Matsuura
as
Yoshiki Saito
as
