There has been a recent trend among Japanese comedians to go big — with their workouts. Toshiaki Kasuga, Nakayama Kinnikun and Yoshio Kojima all incorporate flexing into their routines, playing up macho stereotypes for laughs. However, Shun Kaneko isn’t laughing.
“On Japanese TV, when a muscular person comes out, they’re there for the sole purpose of being ridiculed,” Kaneko says. “They basically want to show the audience that you can feel good about yourself because all these buff guys are idiots. I really, really want to change that.”
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