From our other sites
The story
Comedian Takaaki Ishibashi has now spent one year and seven months scaling back his public activities due to ill health. On the 27th of last month, he appeared on the giant screen at the retirement ceremony for Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks player Akira Nakamura, letting the public hear his voice for the first time in roughly a year and a half. Then, on October 21 — the day before his birthday — he was spotted walking around Tokyo, and reports describe him as drastically thinner, a stark change from the sturdy, 182cm frame he once had. He reportedly told his close friend Mikio Date, “My weight just won’t come back. But I feel really good physically.” He now looks set to skip New Year’s specials for the second year running, and on 5ch, threads mixed concern for his well-being with sharp criticism of the reporter who photographed him.
(details omitted)
With no roadmap to a comeback ever laid out, October 31 marked one year and seven months since Ishibashi’s hiatus began. On that day’s episode of Sandwichman’s The Radio Show Saturday (Nippon Broadcasting System), Mikio Date — who had just returned to the show himself after about two months away following a stroke — revealed that Ishibashi had reached out to him during his time off. When Date asked how he was holding up, Ishibashi reportedly said, “My weight just won’t come back. But I feel really, really good physically.” Around that same time, Ishibashi was spotted walking around Tokyo on October 21, the day before his birthday. His once-sturdy, 182cm frame had — just as he’d said — grown noticeably slimmer, to the point that he looked like a different person.
The last time before this that Ishibashi let the public hear his actual voice was a year and a half earlier, at the September 27 retirement ceremony for Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks player Akira Nakamura (36). When his image appeared on the giant screen at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, the whole stadium reportedly buzzed with surprise. A sports-newspaper reporter explains:
Source: news-postseven.com / Read the original article here
What people said
It'd be unusual for someone to bounce back easily after a serious illness.
And sneaking photos of him on top of that? Pathetic.
He's nothing but skin and bones.
— now even non-fans are catching on.
He's basically been banned from TV at this point.
Same as Matsumoto —
the only ones who want him back are probably his producers.
— everyone goes gray once they're old enough.
It's like a chunk of space got carved out.
— he just said he has no memory of it, but would like to apologize directly if he ever got the chance to meet her in person
. H-yama got away scot-free with a similar excuse.
You can tell he's been through a lot.
— that Mt. Fuji special had terrible ratings anyway.
He's got that cool MLB gear —
I wish he'd wear that as streetwear.
— fatties who can't shed the pounds.
"Calling someone a pig —
you've got some nerve!" (mock-dramatic movie-quote delivery)
They got permission for this one.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
It should be noted that neither Ishibashi nor his agency has officially disclosed his diagnosis or treatment — thread references to things like “chemotherapy” or “standard treatment” are purely speculation based on his appearance. Also, the “Fuji TV inappropriate gathering” scandal mentioned in the article involves a different person entirely, and the original article is careful to distinguish it from Ishibashi’s own situation. Opinions in the thread were split between those who said he “looks normal” and those who said he’s “nothing but skin and bones,” but the bulk of the comments consisted of concern for his health and criticism of the reporter who photographed him without permission during his recovery. Posts that singled him out for personal attacks, or that tied in unconfirmed allegations about other celebrities, have been excluded from this article since the facts behind them are unclear.
*This article was compiled by excerpting and summarizing the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread, “Takaaki Ishibashi, ‘My Weight Won’t Come Back,’ Spotted — Set to Skip New Year’s Specials for 2nd Straight Year, ‘Walking Steadily,’ Gray Hair Peeking From Under His Hat.”
Leave a Reply