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The story
Comedian Nagano put forward a proposal to improve television on TBS’s “Weekly Sanma and Matsuko,” which aired on the 13th, arguing that STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (formerly Johnny’s Entertainment) appears too often on variety shows and that the roles of idols and comedians should be sorted out. On the same program, Matsuko Deluxe also voiced frustration with “comedians who get laughs by teasing idols.”
On 5channel, the discussion focused less on whether people agreed with the proposal itself and more on the fact that Nagano has close ties to former Johnny’s talent, including co-starring with them in films, along with comments looking back at the power dynamics between the TV industry and Johnny’s since SMAP’s heyday.
Nagano Speaks Out on TV: “STARTO ENTERTAINMENT Is Doing Too Much Variety”
Comedian Nagano appeared on TBS’s “Weekly Sanma and Matsuko,” aired on the 13th, where he spoke out about the state of variety programming.
Under the theme of making TV better, Nagano submitted a “TV improvement proposal,” saying, “I want to sort out the line between idols and comedians.”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
How many times has this been said?
Improv skills.
Especially their talk skills.
I think they're better and easier to use than comedians.
It's about likability and fan enthusiasm.
Jinnai's scary.
Not even funny.
That'd be boring though lol
But the viewers are watching for the idols anyway, so maybe that's fine?
It's his all-or-nothing comedy style — maybe that's why he doesn't get bashed, same as Egashira (Egashira 2:50, a comedian famous for extreme stunts).
Wait, what?
It's actually pretty well-regarded among movie buffs.
The funny thing is, the ones hyping them up most are Yoshimoto comedians, who throw their own weight around just as much in the industry.
Are there really that many guys who are huge Arashi fans?
If Nagano can call that out as well, then he's the real deal.
Unfortunately he works with Johnny's talent all the time, and even cast an A.B.C-Z member in his own movie 'Mad Mask' — he's benefited a lot from Johnny's connections.
After Hikaru Genji ended and Johnny's went into rapid decline,
SMAP got treated like a nuisance everywhere they went.
In dramas, actors looked down on them,
on variety shows comedians hurled abuse saying they weren't funny,
on music shows artists gave them cold stares,
and even TV stations and staff treated them carelessly.
Everyone was basically an enemy, so SMAP got aggressive too.
And once they made it big themselves, they turned around and started treating everyone else carelessly.
Kimutaku got lightly mocked by Kiyoto Hagiwara lol
Johnny's morning, noon, and night.
Blame SMAP for that.
Viewers have lost interest in comedy too.
That's just you, man.
Yeah, honestly, that.
The only people still watching TV are the ones who think trash-talking is funny.
It's just you.
Only someone that twisted up about it would think that.
That attitude he had, cursing after getting dropped into a hole on the Tunnels show,
totally failing to read the room —
I remember watching that and thinking, 'ah, this guy's no good.'
Guess he's actually pretty capable these days,
enough to say something like this.
He's always been edgy, so he hasn't wavered.
Even a guy like Nagano has only just now become able to complain about Johnny's.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
STARTO ENTERTAINMENT is the successor organization formed when the former Johnny’s Entertainment changed its name in 2023 following the sexual abuse scandal — without knowing that background, the context of this story can be hard to grasp. Opinions in the thread split along two lines, both framed as structural issues with Japanese TV: one holding that casting idols, who more easily draw ratings and sponsors, is simply market logic, and the other arguing that comedians have come to rely so heavily on insults and teasing that they’re no longer chosen on merit. At the same time, many commenters pointed out a possible contradiction in Nagano’s stance, since he himself has appeared alongside former Johnny’s talent, including in his own independently produced films. The discussion also branched into anecdotes about how SMAP was given the cold shoulder by the entire TV industry during their slump years — background that’s easy to miss from the comments alone, since the thread reads less as a reaction to this single remark and more within the long-running context of the shifting power balance between TV and Johnny’s/STARTO.
*This article is compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Nagano Speaks Out on TV: “STARTO ENTERTAINMENT Is Doing Too Much Variety” / “We Need to Sort Out the Line Between Idols and Comedians”.”
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