The pictures he’d been drawing since he was a boy, and the comedy stage he stumbled onto in his student days without knowing his left from his right. The moment when those two paths crossed. And when a secret ingredient was added to the mix ___.
In this two-part interview, we unravel the creative background and trace the journey of Oho Shintaro—a multi-talented artist active as a comedian, manga artist, and illustrator—to understand how he arrived at his current style.
His Childhood Masterpiece, “Weird Guy”
Do you remember the first time you drew a picture?
Oho Shintaro (Oho) – Apparently, I started drawing on the back of flyers and things when I was in kindergarten. I liked drawing things like Ultraman and kaiju monsters.
When did you start drawing manga?
Oho – That was in elementary school. I think I started as part of a school club. I have a feeling I was already drawing things like four-panel manga and gag comics back then.
Were they original works?
Oho – Yes, they were. I’m sure at first I was just copying things I’d seen elsewhere, but at the time, I was drawing a manga titled “Weird Guy” (laughs).
“Weird Guy”!
Oho – That was my masterpiece. The content was just so silly. Well, he was bald, kind of like Namihei-san from Sazae-san. Back then, I just thought being bald was weird. Of course, I don’t think that anymore, but I was operating with a 90s kind of mindset. It was the sort of stuff elementary school kids would find funny—a character falling from a high place or being carried away by a bird. I don’t think you could even call them proper gags (laughs).
A bit like CoroCoro Comic.
Oho – Yes, exactly! (laughs).
Were you also a fan of comedy from a young age?
Oho – I grew up in a household that didn’t watch many comedy shows. It wasn’t forbidden, but there was a sort of atmosphere of, “Maybe it’s better not to watch too much of that?” So I didn’t watch much in junior high either, but then shows like On-Air Battle started getting popular, and I happened to see a sketch by Ogi Yahagi. I found it hilarious. That’s what instantly sparked my interest.
The Foundational Experience of “Surreal Comedy”
What prompted your shift from mainstream gag manga to your current style?
Oho – In junior high, I happened to read Famitsu, and I thought it was incredibly funny. Without even understanding that it was coming from a place of surrealism or absurdity, I was just like, “What is this?!” I became obsessed with reading it, and eventually, I started wanting to participate myself. They had a reader submissions corner where your work could get published if it was selected, so I started sending things in. I was so excited each week to see if my submission made it into the new issue. That was my adolescence, really. That was probably the beginning of me drawing the kind of manga that connects to what I do now.
In the second photo, he’s standing next to his admired Togawa K!
So you were presenting your manga to an audience before you started performing comedy. How did your career as a comedian begin?
Oho – It started in college when I performed a comedy sketch.
Was it a bit surreal, in the style of Ogi Yahagi?
Oho – No, not at all at first. I think it was very orthodox. I really had no idea what I was doing, so I felt like I just had to do something that looked the part. I was just copying what I saw. But what I truly liked were things that were a little off the beaten path, so I guess I naturally drifted in that direction. Ultimately, the material evolved into something I could really put my heart into.
A Mysterious Part-time Job in College and Becoming a Comedian After Graduation
Did you have any part-time jobs in college?
Oho – You know how in hospitals there are all sorts of specimen containers for medical tests? Well, for things like blood tests, they collect what they call “specimens.” There were these round, agar petri dishes used to culture those specimens to check for bacteria. For example, if it was a urine sample, you’d spread the urine on the dish. That was my job (laughs).
That’s incredibly surreal! I didn’t know a job like that existed (laughs).
Oho – I didn’t either (laughs). I was a bit hesitant at first, but it was simple, repetitive work, so I got used to it quickly. I’d put on a lab coat and gloves and just methodically spread samples (laughs).
You graduated from Kyushu University. What was your vision for the future, and what made you decide to become a comedian?
Oho – I honestly wasn’t thinking about anything. I enjoyed my student club activities, but I spent my time without any thought of getting a regular job. I wasn’t confident I could do well in a corporate environment, and I didn’t want to work anyway.
You didn’t think about becoming a comedian then?
Oho – I wanted to, but I didn’t have the guts to move to Osaka or Tokyo. It seems tough, right? I’d never even been to those cities. But just at that time, the talent agency I’m with now announced they were opening an office in Kyushu. I participated in a program where they scouted local amateur comedians to join the agency, and that’s how I got to where I am today.
Famitsu, Ogi Yahagi, a mysterious part-time job…
This sensibility towards the surreal, nurtured by these experiences, subtly began to blur the lines between two separate realms—comedy and illustration—without him even realizing it. Perhaps it was inevitable that the two would eventually blend together. In Part 2, we will delve into the unique “Oho Shintaro Style” born from this fusion of different domains.
