Kingkong’s Nishino Reveals His ‘Never-Hire’ Checklist for Young Staff: ‘Salary Thieves,’ ‘Gloomy People’

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The story

Akihiro Nishino of the comedy duo Kingkong posted his “10 conditions for young hires I will never take on” on his X (formerly Twitter) account. Lines like “anyone who says quality over quantity is the worst possible cost-performance” sparked backlash on the forum thread, with posters accusing him of demanding work that skirts Japan’s labor laws and mocking the vibe as a “homey black company” (sarcastic slang mashing up a friendly job-ad buzzword with the term for an exploitative workplace). Even so, some commenters admitted there’s something to the underlying point about the importance of putting in the reps.

Kingkong’s Nishino: What are the traits of young hires he’ll never take on? “Flat-out salary thieves,” “won’t even talk”

Akihiro Nishino (46), of the comedy duo Kingkong, updated his X (formerly Twitter) account on the 27th, publishing his “10 conditions for young hires I will never take on.”

Nishino wrote: “People who say ‘quality over quantity’ right from the start → chasing quality before you’ve even put in the reps is the worst possible cost-performance,” and “Gloomy people, people who speak too quietly → it spreads through the team, so you end up paying extra just to fix the mood.”

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

2AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:10
Watching Showa-era retro exploration videos on YouTube is way more fun than watching Peace-kun from Omiya Park (a local peafowl mascot).
3AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:11
If it's attracting that many talented people, what's the problem?
10AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:18
Re: #3
It's not about talent.
This is exactly the kind of thing a shady CEO who works people harder than labor law allows would say.
7AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:17
That's straight out of the macho American entertainment-business worldview.
I much prefer the deep, anguish-filled European approach to arts and culture.
139AnonymousAug 28, 2026 03:40
Re: #7
You mean like one of those European art films that air on local TV late at night — a man and woman with cigarettes dangling from their mouths mutter something in a dim, curtained room, and two hours later it's just… over?
8AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:17
There goes Nishimura spouting nonsense again 😗 (likely means Nishino)
11AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:19
I wouldn't want to hire a guy like Nishino.
12AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:20
Can't see himself objectively, yet has no trouble sweet-talking everyone else with fancy-sounding words.
13AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:20
A boring comedian is simply a salary thief.
17AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:23
People who don't go around trash-talking him online —

well, that's because it's basically a cult, isn't it.
67AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:18
Re: #17
This guy sounds fully ready to write off even legitimate employee complaints as "haters."
Sounds exactly like the kind of employee a cozy, "at-home" black company (an exploitative workplace with a friendly-sounding front) would want.
22AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:28
Isn't this basically what Keisuke Honda used to say?
Did he rip it off?
34AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:38
Re: #22
I'd bet almost everything Nishino says here is just secondhand wisdom from the CEOs and investors he hangs around.
41AnonymousAug 28, 2026 00:46
Calling yourself a "comedian" is just an escape hatch.
What has this guy actually achieved as a businessman?
It's not like he's taken a company public or anything.
57AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:05
A good company normally takes someone with flaws like that,
builds up whatever strengths they have,
and trains away the weak points.
So doesn't this just mean it's an incompetent company that can't — or won't — train its people?
59AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:07
Re: #57
Exactly.
What's the point of proudly declaring "we have zero intention of developing people" — that's just admitting your own incompetence.
80AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:24
*Except for Hiroyuki-san, apparently.

Peak lame.
84AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:27
Re: #80
The best part is you tacked on the polite "san" instead of just dropping the name bare — that's the funniest bit.
81AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:25
Re: #1
This is probably just him venting because his company is packed with nothing but this type:
the "please let me learn at your side, Nishino-san!" crowd,
the "I may have nothing but enthusiasm, but I'll give it my all!" crowd.
Sounds exactly like something a Poupelle true believer (fan of his "Poupelle of Chimney Town" franchise) would say.
89AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:31
Re: #81
How adorably naive of you to think Nishino actually does enough real work to have anything to complain about.
You're precisely the kind of pure, simple soul he's looking for.
82AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:25
Well, fair point — most people who say "quality over quantity" are usually just trying to dodge putting in the reps.
85AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:27
Re: #82
Something I only figured out once I got older:
the ones with real stamina are the ones who win.
88AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:30
Re: #85
Yeah, unless you're either extremely sharp or extremely dim,
it's the ones with stamina who put in the volume that end up growing and getting results.
95AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:37
Re: #88
Honestly, just moving fast alone tends to get you noticed anyway,
and I've never once met someone with good stamina who was also a negative thinker.
99AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:43
Re: #88
I think that can go either way depending on the job and the balance needed.
Whether quantity or quality is "right" really depends on the case.
103AnonymousAug 28, 2026 01:46
Re: #99
Nah, in practice there's almost nobody the advice "think about quality before putting in the volume" actually fits.
Honestly, I've never even seen that pattern play out.
129AnonymousAug 28, 2026 03:19
Re: #103
I think we're probably just starting from different assumptions about what "quality" means here, or picturing a different situation.

In an environment where a single mistake is costly, you'd coach for quality (accuracy) first and ask for volume later.
On the flip side, in an environment where mistakes are tolerable or time pressure matters more, you'd prioritize quantity over quality.

I wrote my comment on the simple assumption that the balance shifts depending on which factor matters most.
138AnonymousAug 28, 2026 03:38
Anyone working under Nishino to make garbage anime like that is a straight-up slave.

*This article has been compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Kingkong’s Nishino Akihiro: What are the traits of young hires he’ll never take on? “Flat-out salary thieves,” “won’t even talk”.”

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