First Runner-up Garens: “I think anything is OK as long as it's popular.” |

Comedy duo Yarns won second place in the 2023 M-1 Grand Prix. The duo, made up of Maki Narahara, in charge of the bokeh, and Shunnosuke Idei, in charge of the tsukkomi, are from Osaka NSC, but have gained popularity among a wide range of generations through their stand-in manzai. In an interview with News Crunch, we asked them to take a look at M-1, how it formed, its expansion into Tokyo, happy words from the big names, and their dreams for the future.

M-1 Grand Prix where all you saw was the 'winner'

–Did you go into the 2023 M-1 Finals feeling like, “I'm definitely going!”? Let me know if you have anything in mind.

Narahara:In 2022, all I said was “win.” Winning the final match. Also in 2023, I thought we should definitely go to the finals, and I always said nothing but win.

an idea:I agree. Of course it's a win, but you can only win if you make it to the finals. I felt the same way. However, if you lose in the semifinals again, it could be mentally dangerous.

– I watched him on the semi-final field in 2022 and 2023, and I thought 2022 was really disappointing… However, I watched it thinking that I would definitely make it to the finals in 2023. Was the story set at an early stage?

Narahara:Well… I think it was before 2022. Around the summer of 2023, the transfer story came to mind, and I somehow thought: “I want to go to the finals with this story.” Well, at that time it was more than 15 minutes (lol).

an idea:From then until the finals, I must have touched on this topic hundreds of times.

– I think the situation changed clearly after M-1. What do you think about that?

Narahara:The amount and type of work I do has changed a lot, and my income has probably changed a lot. At the time of this interview, it hasn't even started yet, so I don't have a real feeling, but I've been told there are possibilities for it (lol). You can also hire a moving company! This makes me happy (lol). This way, your options will increase as your income changes.

an idea:I am also really happy that customers now come to visit us. I'm really happy that these days, even when we perform live, we can still sell enough to fill a certain amount of space.

– I have been watching Yarin's film for a long time, and at a certain point, about two years ago, I had the impression that it was starting to become so popular that the theaters were buzzing. What do you think about this, is there something you have both consciously changed, or has the direction changed if you are doing things the same way as before?

Narahara:I think it's probably both. I think all the things I changed and the things I didn't change fit together well at the same time.

an idea:I tend to get bored easily, and I'm the type to give up and make minor changes if I don't get results, so I guess I've always tried to keep changing. I think about two years ago, everything, including the era, our age, and our way of thinking, fit together perfectly. The same applies to my fashion, I am constantly working on updating my inner and outer appearance.

I thought I had no choice but to survive somehow.

–The duo's name comes from a song by Southern All Stars._{[*من “YARLEN SHUFFLE ~ قداس الحملان ~”]}It's who, isn't it? Can you tell us again why you decided to form a duo?

an idea:We both came from NSC in Osaka, my partner is a year older than me, but at the time we were working as a separate duo. Then, around the same time, the duo broke up. Maybe around the fourth or fifth year? So I thought about quitting being a comedian, but at the time, my partner talked me out. So I said to myself: Do you think this is the last time?

–Mr. Narahara, did you originally have your eye on Mr. Eddy?

Narahara:When we split up at the time, I thought it would be impossible if we didn't do something we hadn't done before. In the end, even if we cooperated with a partner, we didn't see any results for four to five years, and somehow it became the prototype of the Yarens we have today… At that time, I was thinking: “I want to do a Manzai like this,” and I thought of Appearance and other things, my partner was the best fit for me, and that's what happened.

– Please tell us more about “this type of manzai”.

Narahara:I'm from Osaka, so I'm from the Kansai region, but I've never mastered standard Manzai before, so I thought I'd give it a try.

–I see that Mr. Eddy, who is not from Kansai, falls into this category. Does it also include things like the fact that it takes a lot of confusion?

Narahara:Well, now that I think about it again, there have been a lot of them since then.

an idea:Yes. However, although I am not a specialist in it, I try to do a type of manzai that is more relaxed than the more relaxed manzai. I tried many different types of manzai and it didn't work, so I thought: “This is all I have to do.” I felt like I decided to use this as a hack and decided I had no choice but to survive somehow.