I want to adapt these for the school festival! A roundup of comedians’ manzai, sketch comedy, and one-liner gags
Many students are probably thinking about putting on a comedy show as an attraction for their school cultural festival.
It sounds fun to perform a one-liner, do a manzai routine or a sketch, and make everyone laugh by showing your material on stage! But the tricky part is deciding what kind of material to perform.
It would be great if you could create your own original material, but that’s not so easy.
That’s why we recommend imitating or arranging popular comedians’ routines and performing those! In this article, we’ll introduce recommended bits from popular comedians—whether manzai, sketches, or one-liners—without limiting the format.
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I want to adapt these for the school festival! A roundup of comedians’ manzai, skits, and one-shot gags (11–20)
Joiman
Joyman does laid-back rap bits with a slightly biting edge.
Their rhythm and resonance—paired with Mr.
Takagi’s distinctive movements—are playfully funny and sure to tickle your comedy switch! It’s great fun to pick various themes, like Sengoku-era warlords, and riff freely back and forth.
If you can, work in rhymes or similar sounds—people might go “Whoa!” and give you props.
It’s a comedy game where the relaxed vibe is part of the charm.
Try exaggerating your moves and just have fun with it!
sizzle
Shizuru’s sketch comically portrays the odd rules and relationships that arise during play.
It evokes childhood memories while delivering laughs through unexpected twists.
It starts as an ordinary game of “Daruma-san ga koronda,” but before you know it, it evolves into a mysterious psychological battle—handled with exquisite timing.
Performers can heighten the humor through facial expressions and pacing.
It’s perfect for a school festival; it gets even livelier if you portray familiar friends’ personalities or bring in the homeroom teacher as a character.
The bit tests acting skills with subtle line nuances and sudden shifts to seriousness, but that challenge also makes it fun to perform.
It’s a sketch whose surprise turns leave a lasting impression on the audience.
Pekopa Shoinji Taiyu
Pekopa is a comedy duo consisting of Taiju Shoinji, a straight man with a distinctive visual-kei/host-style vibe, and Shuhei, the funny man.
They reached the finals of the 2019 M-1 Grand Prix, where Shoinji’s “gentle tsukkomi” became a hot topic and boosted their popularity.
Among their lines, the phrase “Let’s turn back time,” often used when they redo a scene, drew so much attention that it was even nominated for the 2020 New Words and Buzzwords Awards.
Even if you don’t replicate a Pekopa routine verbatim, it’s recommended to use this phrase as a reset when you make a small mistake on stage.
Shimofuri Myojo
Shimofuri Myojo is a representative comedy duo of the so-called “Seventh Generation” of Japanese comedians.
In the 2018 M-1 Grand Prix, they became the first winners born in the Heisei era and also the youngest champions in history.
The duo consists of the straight man (tsukkomi) Soshina and the funny man (boke) Seiya.
After their M-1 victory, Soshina went on to win the R-1 Grand Prix as a solo act.
Seiya has also appeared in the R-1 as a solo performer; his act where he wears a judo uniform with bells and sings “Se-se-Seiya” gained popularity.
Their manzai is characterized by Seiya darting around the stage and Soshina delivering deadpan retorts with a stern face while extending his left hand—a unique style.
If you perfectly imitate their movements and style, it should be hilarious!
Nakayama Kinnikun
Nagayama Kinnikun’s signature gag, “Power,” is memorable for its full-throttle pose and shout, which can be called the symbol of muscle comedy.
It has the power to instantly draw in the audience at events like school festivals.
More than the number of lines, momentum and timing matter; just shouting “Power!” at the right moment instantly brightens the atmosphere.
Incorporating workout-style movements and visually impactful costumes makes it even more faithful to the original.
It can be performed solo, but arranging it for multiple people boosts the laughs and makes it shine on stage.
It takes the resolve to go all-out, but in return you’ll get big applause and lots of laughter.
situation impersonation
“Situation impersonations,” performed in skits by many comedians—including the Nakagawake duo—take slices of everyday life and exaggerate them in a funny way.
If you showcase one at a group dating party, it’s sure to liven up the room! Pick a situation that you’re confident will hit the mark, adjusting it to the age group and vibe of the participants.
While party tricks at a group date are usually done solo, it might also be fun to spontaneously rope someone in without any prior planning.
I want to adapt these for the school festival! A roundup of comedians’ manzai, skits, and one-shot gags (21–30)
Fusūya
When it comes to what makes Fu-suya appealing, it has to be their dynamic gags.
In the midst of classic manzai or sketch routines, they suddenly unleash high-energy jokes whose words don’t necessarily make literal sense, which can really catch you off guard.
They build words by taking the last character of the previous one, like in shiritori, and the other person then links it to another word they associate with it.
It’s a powerful, full-body style of comedy that gets laughs through sheer momentum, even if the meaning isn’t clear.
It perfectly suits performers with strong, energetic personas, and if someone without a particularly active image uses it as a reference, it can add an element of surprise.
