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The story
On the October 16 broadcast of Bunka Housou’s “Otake Makoto Golden Radio!”, comedian Hikorohi revealed a remark she got from a friend over dinner on her birthday, the 15th. When asked her age, she answered “37” — and her friend immediately started googling on their phone to find out who else had died at 37, eventually triumphantly informing her that Van Gogh died at 37. Hikorohi wryly said, “I think I’ll have to cut ties with this person,” and host Otake Makoto agreed. On 5ch, the discussion drifted away from the friend’s remark itself and into a broader “relatable” pastime: comparing your own age to the age various celebrities died.
10/16 (Fri) 19:50
Comedian Hikorohi appeared on Bunka Housou’s “Otake Makoto Golden Radio!” on the 16th, and called out a friend who fired off one tactless remark after another on her birthday.
Hikorohi confided to main host Otake Makoto, “I have this rude friend…” The 15th had been her birthday, she explained, and she’d gone out to eat with a friend after work. “They said ‘Happy birthday,’ I said ‘Thanks,’ and then they asked, ‘So how old are you now?’ I said ’37.’ And then my friend went, ‘Hmm, I wonder who else died at 37?’ and started looking it up… Turns out Van Gogh died at 37,” she recalled.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
Maybe she's just someone who thinks about life and death every day.
Congrats 🎉 How old are you now?
Thanks.
I'm a 48-year-old geezer whose own wife and kids had nearly forgotten my birthday too.
Still, no need to say it out loud to someone's face.
Funny when it's about someone else, but you'd hate it if it were said to you…
I think everyone's lamented their own lack of accomplishment at some point after surpassing the age some famous achiever died at.
When I passed Yoshida Shoin's 29 and Sakamoto Ryoma's 31, I remember thinking, "I've done nothing with my life" lol
Hard to say without knowing the tone, but it does sound like she's not taking it well.
Guess she's finally been "discovered."
I think this one's going places.
If you wrote that seriously, that's kind of impressive
— in a different sense, of course.
Seems like that happens a lot
— people mistakenly assume the on-air persona carries over into everyday life too.
Jaco Pastorius — 35
John Coltrane — 40
Bill Evans — 50
Prince — 57
Miles Davis — 65
Kind of feel like these are life milestones to measure yourself against.
There are probably people who bring up the "27 Club" (musicians who died at 27) as a joke.
Since you're the same age, it can pass as a joke at both your expense.
When I turned 31, I remember we talked about how Sakamoto Ryoma died at 31, and how Takasugi died even younger.
Andy Hug — 2000 (died at 35) — K-1
Hashimoto Shinya — 2005 (died at 40) — Pro wrestling
Misawa Mitsuharu — 2009 (died at 46) — Pro wrestling
Mike Bernardo — 2012 (died at 42) — K-1
Hayabusa — 2016 (died at 47) — Pro wrestling
Yamamoto "Kid" Norifumi — 2018 (died at 41) — MMA
Kitao Koji — 2019 (died at 55) — Sumo / Pro wrestling
Takeru — 2023 (died at 51) — K-1
Akebono Taro — 2024 (died at 54) — Sumo / K-1 / MMA
Nishimura Osamu — 2025 (died at 53) — Pro wrestling
Now that I'm an old guy myself, this list is terrifying to look at.
I thought Kitao died even younger than that.
The one who died at 48 was…
Continued on the web~ (mimicking a TV show cutting to a sponsored web segment)
Re: #51
Aren't you guys being harsh?
Funny how it can also be read as a message to "keep on living."
When Saraba Morita, who borrowed 500,000 yen on that channel, brought it up on TV, he paid it back as 600,000 yen with interest added — and Okano Yoichi, who had absolutely nothing to do with it, blew up, yelling "That's basically declaring you're cutting ties with someone!"
Then cutting ties really is the right call.
And if they did it with no ill intent at all, that's genuinely unhinged, so cutting ties is still the right call.
Background and Key Points of Discussion
Bringing up “celebrities who died at the same age as you” on your birthday is a familiar bit that comes up again and again on 5ch. In this thread, people piled on with their own comparisons — Sakamoto Ryoma (31), Takasugi Shinsaku, foreign musicians who died at 27, lists of fighters’ ages at death — and the rambling tangent arguably generated more energy than Hikorohi’s original story. Opinions split over whether to read the friend’s remark as “harmless banter” or “a tactless comment”: some argued it’s fine between close same-age friends, while others felt it should be judged by how the person on the receiving end feels. It’s also worth noting that Hikorohi never named the friend on air, so any posts on 5ch claiming to identify them are pure speculation.
*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Hikorohi: “I Have a Rude Friend…” — Comedian Calls Out Friend’s Tactless Remark, “I Think I’ll Have to Cut Ties” — Otake Makoto Agrees.”
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