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The story
Bakushou Mondai’s Hikari Ota, appearing on the August 30 broadcast of “Sunday Japon,” praised Sandwichman’s Mikio Date (51) — currently hospitalized and resting after suffering a stroke — and his partner Takeshi Tomizawa as “national treasures” and “Japan’s greatest manzai duo,” offering words of encouragement. Ota’s own partner, Yuji Tanaka, suffered a stroke himself a few years ago, and his comments are believed to draw on that experience. On 5ch, Ota’s remarks sparked a wider debate about Sandwichman’s actual comedic chops, a “is it manzai or sketch comedy” style debate, and even comparisons to Downtown and Untouchable, with opinions sharply divided.
August 30, 2026, 12:20 PM
Bakushou Mondai’s Hikari Ota appeared live on TBS’s “Sunday Japon” (Sundays, 9:54 AM) on the 30th and sent warm words of encouragement to Sandwichman’s Mikio Date (51), who has been hospitalized and undergoing treatment after suffering a stroke as announced on the group’s official website, and to his comedy partner Takeshi Tomizawa (52).
The show covered the official announcement, details of Date’s condition that Tomizawa shared on his blog, and a message from Date that Tomizawa read aloud during Nippon Broadcasting’s live show on the 29th. It has been announced that Date will focus on treatment and rest for the time being.
Source: news.livedoor.com / Original article here
What people said
There are two types of comedians
Those who only do humor young people get
And those who do humor that works for everyone from kids to grandparents
The type that only does humor insiders understand has exploded in numbers
Who's "Anta"?
If you mean Untouchable, they're totally not funny anymore
No worries there
Because Kuchibue Naruo — who just broke up the duo Warafuji Naruo — is going to take over the name "Mikio Date II" (a joke riffing on the kabuki tradition of inheriting a stage name)
Nasunakanishi doesn't seem to have changed at all
It probably varies by person, but some people who can bounce back, do bounce back
Depends on the severity
If blood flow to the blocked area is restored quickly it can be mild
In bad cases you could end up with paralysis on one side
Wait, Downtown actually did manzai?
Doesn't seem like they ever did memorized routines
Downtown never made it as manzai comedians and were on the verge of quitting show business entirely
As a last-ditch effort they pivoted to being TV personalities going the "Tunnels of the West" route (mimicking the hit Tokyo duo Tunnels), and that blew up huge
In other words, Downtown had zero talent for manzai
Sandwichman's manzai is really "character-sketch manzai" where they play roles
It'd make sense to do sketch-style manzai if multiple characters showed up
But they're just doing one-on-one sketches dressed up as manzai
So they don't really give off a "manzai comedian" vibe
They're sketch comedians at their core to begin with
They turned sketch material into manzai just so they could enter the M-1 Grand Prix
Even they themselves see it that way
if his condition is actually pretty serious
Ota's partner Tanaka had a stroke a few years back, so he's probably speaking from that experience
And mediocre sketch comedy at that
They're passing off low-level material as "stuff everyone from kids to grandparents can enjoy"
And blatantly playing for likability on top of it
Random TikTokers' bits are funnier than these guys' material
Genuinely funny manzai is the kind that feels like an extension of free-flowing conversation
Sketch comedy is their actual main gig anyway
In a way they're an "Enta" act (from the show "Entertainment no Kamisama")
But producer Gomi spotted Sandwichman's talent early and sensed it'd be a waste to box them into the typical "relatable observational" style that acts from that show usually did
Anjash wasn't an "observational comedy" act either, so it's not like Enta was ever locked into that style
Just competition-style manzai that any amateur could pull off
On pure skill alone, Takatoshi were better
2011 was just a lucky year for them — what with Shinsuke Shimada retiring and everything
That's exactly the kind of thing that's wrong with Hikari Ota
Ota's wife and manager, Mitsuyo Ota, is a descendant of Matsunaga Danjo (the notorious warlord Hisahide)
Even Tanaka, who gets absolutely roasted by him in public,
goes as far as saying "I love Ota because he's kind" — that says a lot
Background and Key Points of the Discussion
Sandwichman originally debuted as sketch comedians and, in order to compete in the M-1 Grand Prix, reworked their sketch-style material into manzai form — a history that repeatedly fueled the thread’s “is it sketch comedy or manzai” debate. Ota’s partner, Yuji Tanaka, also suffered a stroke and went through recovery a few years ago, and his encouragement this time is believed to draw on that experience. A stroke’s after-effects can vary enormously depending on how quickly it’s treated and which part of the brain is affected, which is why opinions in the thread split between “mild cases can fully recover” and “it depends on the after-effects.” Note that the speculative comments about the Date family lineage and the reasons behind the duo’s popularity are not confirmed facts.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisokusoku+) thread “Hikari Ota praises Sandwichman as “national treasures” and “Japan’s greatest manzai duo,” encouraging stroke-stricken Date’s recovery.”
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