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The story
On the October 17, 2026 broadcast of “King of Konto 2026,” the trio Jerardon took first place, winning 10 million yen in prize money and claiming the title of the 19th King. They topped a field of 3,445 entrants, but on 5ch’s live-discussion threads, congratulations took a back seat to a heated debate over how the scores were handed out. Posts questioning the judging criteria itself piled up — from the point gap with finalist duo Kaerutei to whether the scores for the last act, Dau 90000, were even justified — turning what should have been a simple victory report into something much messier.
[King of Konto] Jerardon crowned 19th champion, tops field of 3,445 acts
“Kyujin Box presents King of Konto 2026,” the TBS program that crowns Japan’s top sketch-comedy act, aired on the 17th (6:00 PM). Trio Jerardon won, taking home 10 million yen in prize money, topping a field of 3,445 entrants to become the 19th King.
The moment the win was announced, Attack Nishimoto wiped away tears of emotion, while Kamichy beamed, “Whether it’s a trio or a duo, I’m glad we got to show everyone that we can be funny!”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
Jerardon
Act 1 = Act 2
Kaerutei
Act 1 > Act 2
These scores don't add up.
Jerardon's first act was clearly funnier than their second,
and Kaerutei's second act was funnier than their first.
There it is, another armchair judge.
https://video.fc2.com/ja/content/20220228U77Wdv4z
Keep it under 2 minutes, please.
Well, it was sort of sketch-like, I'll give it that.
There's no way Jerardon's second-act sound design came together with just a quick rehearsal.
They've got one ready for everybody, you know.
Though I knew Jerardon would win before I'd even seen their act.
Jerardon's first act was so funny it banked them a +10 point cushion, so they could afford to flop a bit and still come out fine.
It's the same every time — the last three acts are running on fumes for their second bit.
Sounds like you're the type who needs the straight man to spell out the joke before you get it.
The second act was funny, but the first wasn't that great.
Then again, maybe there's something you only pick up on watching it live. Who knows.
Are they weak at unscripted stuff (hiraba)?
If Nakano's unscripted game is a 50, Nishimoto's is like a 3.
Dau was jaw-droppingly unfunny, so there's nothing unfair about it.
Kotouge regularly hands out scores in the 80s, so it's not like Dau's score was uniquely low.
Jerardon's even good at making thumbnails for their YouTube sketches.
Kaerutei probably should've brought something with more punchlines for the finals — low-key, deadpan sketches tend to have fewer laugh beats.
Wait, they even do sketches on YouTube?
but Dau 90000?
Feels like something you guys would hate.
With only 5 minutes and that many people on stage, Dau couldn't really use them.
They'd already lost before they even went on.
If they'd had even one cute girl in the lineup…
I had high hopes for Yadan, honestly.
But this year they were clearly off their game.
Kaerutei's second act was a shame, though — such a waste.
If anything, I thought Kaerutei's second act was the better one.
Kaerutei's first act and Jerardon's second both felt like they were just coasting on character gimmicks — not great, in my opinion.
Jerardon just muscled through on a visual punchline (deochi — a gag that lands the instant you see it) and nothing else.
That's part of what sketch comedy is, though.
If it's just about wordplay, go compete in a manzai contest instead.
Though there was definitely one guy in there who just wasn't needed, no matter how you look at it.
Apparently that was originally about a 20-minute bit from their solo live show, condensed into 5 minutes, and a storyline about a woman was supposed to kick in right after.
If they'd built a bit from scratch for 5 minutes it might've worked out better, but either way, you don't need 8 people for that.
It's like the only goal was to make sure they won.
I figured the judges were already sure they'd won and just padded the score for a bigger finish.
They had enough of a lead to win with an average of 90, so it couldn't be helped.
Gotta bump the score up a little to make it look good, right?
That's just how comedy works.
In sketch comedy, whoever has the funnier, stronger character wins.
That's exactly what's wrong with this competition.
If they didn't let in a childish crowd that laughs at stuff like that, the results would be completely different.
Why would they bring out such a mediocre bit for the competition?
Isn't that one of the weaker pieces in their repertoire?
They were probably trying to finals-ify it.
It's obvious that if Nanamagari went full-on with their real style, the dumb crowd would've screamed in horror.
Background and points of debate
King of Konto has seven judges score each act out of 100 points, with the average deciding the winner. In a close final, opinions tend to split over how much a strong first act should count as a “banked” lead going into the second, and this time was no exception — the thread was divided over both the point gap between Jerardon and Kaerutei and how Jerardon’s second act was scored. Behind the posts calling the scoring unnatural lies a suspicion that scores meant to reflect skill alone were instead nudged to heighten the broadcast’s drama. That said, since there’s no way to confirm what the judges were actually thinking, this remains an unverified theory rather than established fact. It’s also worth noting that the claim that the final act’s time slot was a compressed version of an originally longer routine comes from hearsay within the thread, not from any primary source.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geino Supo Sokuho+) thread “[Entertainment] ‘King of Konto 2026’ — Jerardon wins! Crowned 19th champion, tops field of 3,445.”
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