is a three-man Japanese conte group consisting of two boke

Glossary of owarai terms

This page describes words and terms relating to owarai . Many of these terms may be used in areas of Japanese culture outside comedy, including television and radio, music, or some may even be used in normal Japanese speech...

, , and - usually referred to as , and one tsukkomi, . Their trio name comes from the Kinnikuman

Kinnikuman

is a manga created by the duo of Yudetamago , which is composed of Yoshinori Nakai and Takashi Shimada. The manga was published in Shueisha's Weekly Jump, and received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen manga in 1985...

 character, Neptuneman

Neptuneman

' was a character in the comedic superhuman wrestling comic Kinnikuman. Originally appearing as a villain, like many such characters he turned over a new leaf after losing to Kinnikuman...

.

History

Taizo, born March 24, 1970, is most famous for his physical comedy and his tendency in television shows to be masochistic and raw. He was born in Hiroshima and raised in Tokyo. A few of his memorable conte were during Neptune's late night comedy show, "O-Nep!" which featured Taizo dressed in wrestling gear usually in a public location with a lot of young, female spectators. He would run into the crowd, grab a mini-skirt wearing female, and perform a tomoe-nage, flipping the girl over his head and onto a wrestling mat, exposing her underwear. He also had a character called "Mr. Hip," where he would "compete" with a bikini wearing female, bumping them into a pool and then mocking them. This tough-guy degradation of women became somewhat of a symbol of Neptune in the early 2000s.

Horiken, born November 23, 1969, in Kanagawa Prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

, tends to balance Taizo's macho, misogynistic demeanor with childish behavior and pranks. He is often known for his meaningless ippatsu gags, such as , while leaping into some physical contortion.

Nagura, many times left to simply observe the other two's antics, is the only member with Kansai heritage, being born on November 4, 1968, in Himeji, Hyōgo Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...

. He was originally a member of the manzai duo, , until his partner left him and he grouped together with Taizo and Horiken, which were then known as the group . He is continually mocked for his huge protruding jaw, and is many times compared to the skeleton of a Thai man (because of his emaciated, dark skin).

External links

• Profile at Watanabe Entertainment
  Watanabe Entertainment
  is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate and a member of the Watanabe Production Group. Its head office is in Shibuya, Tokyo and the company's principle functions include organizing television and radio programming, managing Japanese entertainers as well as hosting foreign entertainers on...