"Talent," or tarento, is the cushiest job in Japan -- maybe in the whole world. Though you are expected to have some kind of skill (gei), once you achieve a level of regularity as a TV variety show guest, the work is self-perpetuating, though it's by no means guaranteed forever. And rarely do successful tarento have to actually demonstrate their skills. They just have to be themselves.

If comedy seems to provide the shortest route to tarento stardom, it is also the most crowded, and distinguishing oneself from the next chucklehead is becoming more and more of a challenge. That's why many of the comedians who've had the most TV exposure in the past few years aren't always comedians in the strictest sense. They're more like guys with gimmicks.

One such guy is Michael, who performs elaborate aerobic dance steps while smiling broadly and telling one-liners that are mostly pun-based. Another single-monikered funnyman is Hiroshi, a former host-club employee who dresses the part (tacky suit, open collar) and, with hands in pocket and gaze cast downward, frets about the injustices he suffers and the general pointlessness of life in a woebegone voice.