- London Boots Ichi-go Ni-go
London Boots Ichi-gō Ni-gō (ロンドンブーツ1号2号, meaning "London Boots #1 #2") are a Japanese comedy duo (kombi) that originally performed
manzai -style stand-up, but now are mainly known for their TV appearances and as hosts of a handful of off-the-wallvariety show s. The two members areAtsushi Tamura (田村淳) and Ryō Tamura (田村亮), and though they have the samesurname , there is no relation and they in fact come from very different backgrounds. Atsushi hails from Yamaguchi, and speaks with the standard accent of someone fromTokyo . Ryō, on the other hand, is fromTakatsuki, Osaka and speaks in a sometimes falteringOsaka dialect .The two met through independent comedy groups in Tokyo, and eventually coupled and began performing on the highly populated streets of Shibuya. They auditioned to enter
Yoshimoto Kogyo in 1994 at the same time as Penalty andDonDokoDon and were accepted by the company. After appearing onU-tchan Nan-chan 's "UN Factory Kabosuke ", they quickly found fame as they were recognized as two very talented "manzai-shi" (stand-up comedians). Though Ryō was most passionate about creating new "manzai" neta and arranging manzai acts, the much louder Atsushi began to see the potential of TV and his own ability to adapt to it. By the late 90's, London Boots, or "Lonboo" (ロンブー, "ronbū") as they are often called in Japan, had already landed a spot as the hosts of their own show.Ryo and Atsushi take very different approaches to their humor; while Atsushi will often wield his quick-witted comedic sense at his guests' expense, Ryō appears much more polite, attempting (often unsuccessfully) to correct Atsushi's behavior. (Atsushi has revealed Ryō's sexual trysts at various
fuuzoku locations on the air, though Ryō is married and has children.) Ryō tends to speak with a mixed Osaka and Tokyo dialect (for example: それ、あかんだろ ("sore, akan daro"), mixing "akan", common in theKansai dialect , with "daro", most common in standard Japanese), which only serves to accentuate his efforts at being polite. The irony of this situation is that Atsushi is supposed to be the boke and Ryō the tsukkomi, which suggests a reversal of their comedic roles.External links
* [http://www.lonboo.com/ Lonboo official homepage]
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