Along with comedy duos who do manzai (two-man standup) or short skits, a rise in "pin geinin (solo comedians)" is another dimension to the current owarai boom.
Some make fun of celebrities, or just make fun of themselves, but funny lady Tomochika has chosen instead to create original characters in absurd yet everyday situations. She could be a ryokan waitress serving newlyweds, or a mama-san in a hostess club, or a voice artist who has to jump rapidly from one character to another. She totally inhabits these personas, and their ridiculous behavior invariably gets lots of laughs.
Before she became a comedienne, Tomochika, 31, was already a celebrity in her native Ehime Prefecture as a reporter for a local evening news show. Wanting to realize a childhood dream, however, she gave up parochial stardom and left for Osaka and New Star Creation (NSC), a well-known comedian school run by Yoshimoto Kogyo. She entered when she was 26, and since then her talent has blossomed.