Emi-Abi

Emi-Abi

2016 · 88 min · Drama, Comedy

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.

Directed by Kensaku Watanabe

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Cast

Ryu Morioka Kenji Sanemichi
Tomoya Maeno Kazuya Unno
Haru Kuroki Natsumi Takahashi
Hirofumi Arai Takuma Kurosawa
Mari Yamachi Hinako Kurosawa
Hako Oshima Kaoru Murata
Kenta Kunai Tairo Murata
Jyo Hyuga
Yuya Matsuura
Yoshiki Saito

Make it a double feature

3h 41m together

Emi-Abi

The Great Passage

Both from Kensaku Watanabe.

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