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, comedy sketches, and one-liner gags (1–10)
sandwich board man
A popular duo from Sendai! Here are some ideas inspired by Sandwichman, known for humor that never hurts anyone.
Beloved by kids and adults alike, their routines often feature punchlines that are just slightly off from a classic setup and perfectly timed comebacks, which many people find addictive.
The rhythm is pleasant, and the humor that seeps out from their close relationship is a key point.
While the themes are simple and easy for anyone to understand, the unexpected twists in their jokes grab your heart.
Why not try arranging something similar with a close friend?
JaruJaru
JARUJARU is a comedy duo that has achieved excellent results in numerous award competitions, including winning King of Conte 2020.
Comprised of Junpei Goto and Shusuke Fukutoku, they don’t fix roles as boke or tsukkomi, and entertain viewers with a wide variety of sketch styles unlike anything anyone has seen before.
They don’t just do sketches either— they also perform manzai, and in manzai they basically use a double-boke style.
If you’re going to perform their material at a school festival, a faithful replication might be your best bet.
They have some bits that are so varied you might find yourself thinking, “What is this?” but because their style is so meticulously constructed, getting the adaptation wrong could lead to a major flop.
Pick your favorite JARUJARU routine and try performing it as if they’ve possessed you!
Tokyo 03
Set against student-life events that everyone experiences, this Tokyo 03 sketch charms with its unique atmosphere born from misunderstandings and crossed wires among the characters.
The boys’ authentic back-and-forth over room assignments and nighttime excitement on a school trip unfolds almost like a drama, drawing the audience into their emotions.
If you’re adapting it for a school festival, consider creating a girls’ version as well, or choosing a travel destination unique to your region.
Since the rhythm of the dialogue is everything, repeated practice will make the humor stand out even more.
With a structure that balances empathy and laughter, it’s sure to energize both performers and audience alike.
Sisonne
Sissonne, the champions of King of Conte 2014, are known for clear, relatable sketches that expand on everyday situations.
Characters with odd ways of thinking or moving appear in familiar scenes and draw laughs.
Jiro, who plays the boke, often performs in drag, which is also a notable highlight—taking inspiration from that could liven things up.
The contrast between a normal person and a weird one is crucial, so it’s important to see how perfectly you can play “normal” and how far you can push a wildly eccentric character.
praying mantis
Let’s take Kamaitachi as a reference, since they do both manzai and sketches and are active on variety shows.
One of their trademarks is Yamauchi’s expressive face; whether he’s the boke or the tsukkomi, he delivers his lines with great energy.
Balancing that is Hamaie’s cool demeanor, which creates a gap between the two that also makes people laugh.
On YouTube, they sometimes swap the boke and tsukkomi roles and perform sketches, so using that as inspiration, it could be fun to switch roles and do a series of short bits in succession.
Sunshine Ikezaki
This is a one-shot gag by the comedian Sunshine Ikezaki.
It’s a self-introduction gag, but the key is that he seems like he’s about to say his name and then keeps putting it off.
If you try to imitate it, use huge gestures and scream so loudly it sounds like your veins might pop!
Air Stairs
The sketch duo Kukai Kaidan, who won King of Conte 2021, are hugely appealing for their outlandish characters and premises.
Their intense, fully realized worlds go beyond simple setups of boke and tsukkomi, delivering laughs while also instilling a sense of unease.
The unique worlds alone are entertaining, but they also often add visual impact—whether by stripping down or using distinctive costumes—so be sure to value appearance when taking inspiration.
Although Suzuki Mogura makes a strong impression at the start, an important point is the structure where, as the story progresses, it turns out Mizukawa Katamari is actually strange as well.
Keep that in mind and be deliberate if you incorporate this approach.