Rahmens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rahmens
Rahmens logo.gif
Native nameラーメンズ
NationalityJapanese
Alma materTama Art University
Years active1996-2009
GenresOwarai
Members
  • Jin Katagiri
  • Kentarō Kobayashi
Websitewww.rahmens.net
Same year/generation as:

Shinagawa Shoji

Rahmens (ラーメンズ, Rāmenzu) is a Japanese comedy duo, referred to as an owarai kombi, consisting of Jin Katagiri (片桐 仁) and Kentarō Kobayashi (小林 賢太郎).

Formation[]

Katagiri and Kobayashi met as students and formed a conte group in 1996 while studying printmaking at Tama Art University in Tokyo. They became popular on a national scale after appearing on the NHK show in 1999.[1] Thereafter, Rahmens generally appeared for live performances on stage rather than on televised programs. Kobayashi reported that he personally was motivated more toward stage performance because the idea of being a TV celebrity was unappealing, and did not want people coming to see him simply because of his TV presence.[2] Of the pair, Kobayashi is generally responsible for scriptwriting and stage direction behind the group's performances.[1][3]

Their last live performance was in June 2009 during their "TOWER" tour.[4]

Notable performances[]

Promotional image of Rahmens with Jin Katagiri (left) and Kentaro Kobayashi (right)

Rahmens appeared in a regional "Get a Mac" ad campaign produced by , where Katagiri portrays the PC, and Kobayashi portrays the Mac. These advertisements were similar in some respects to content in ads featuring John Hodgeman and Justin Long,[5] but some noted subtle differences in the duo's body language and tone from other "Get a Mac" commercials that were intentionally done for the sake of appealing to a Japanese audience, where ads that directly compare brands are generally not well received.[6]

Rahmens was also featured in a series of short films called "The Japanese Tradition." The films were directed by with screenplay done by Kobayashi.[7] These films were comedic explanations of customs related to various topics such as sushi and apologizing.[8][9]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Meet the comedy duo Rahmens". GaijinPot. GPlus Media. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  2. ^ Tanaka, Nobuo (17 December 2014). "Silence is golden in art-comedy for all". The Japan Times. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  3. ^ William (12 August 2014). "Kentaro Kobayashi's stage design celebrated in exhibition at Spiral". Japan Trends. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Playlist". Rahmens.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  5. ^ Chafflin, Brian. "Apple's "Get a Mac" Commercials Turn Japanese". The Mac Observer. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  6. ^ Fowler, Geoffrey A.; Steinberg, Brian; Patrick, Aaron O. (1 March 2007). "Mac and PC's Overseas Adventures". Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  7. ^ Walter, Shane R. J.; Hanson, Matt (2005). Motion Blur: Graphic Moving Imagemakers. London: Laurence King. ISBN 1856694658.
  8. ^ "The Japanese Tradition". The Japanese Tradition (in Japanese). Japan Culture Lab. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  9. ^ Hashi. "Are the Rahmens Japan's Funniest Comedy Duo?". Tofugu. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
Retrieved from ""