Everybody's got to start somewhere. Sayaka Nagashima started promoting Korean computer games. Now, she's telling jokes and not wearing a bra. Progress? In the world of Japanese entertainment, yes, I guess.
Along with Shihono Itoh, Nagashima is one part of comedy idol group Majokko. Before she started telling jokes, she hawked games. Back in 2006, Nagashima starred in commercials for free online Korean computer games, along with coke-drinking celebrity Akina Minami, who appeared in Metal Gear Solid IV.
For the past five or ten years in Japan, South Korean computer game companies, especially free online games, have made a concentrated effort at cracking the Japanese market. Companies like Nexon and Hangame broadcast television commercials in Japan. Likewise, Japanese game companies, like Nintendo, are making a concerted effort at selling their games in South Korea.
Majokko is an idol group, but also supposed to be comedian. The two were dubbed "Majokko", meaning "young witch", after the head of their talent agency saw a witch on an erotic magazine.
Beginning in 2009, the two have been sporadically appearing on primetime television, performing their comedy act, which typically is based around their boobs.
In the zany world of Japanese comedy, people go to extreme measures to stand out, whether that's pretending that they are gay or naming themselves after video game characters. Majokko is no exception.
Once comedians become truly established and no longer simply a gimmick, then they cease wearing the goofy outfits and make-up. Take Imoto, a comedian who is currently attempting to do this, no longer wearing the drawn-on eyebrows that made her famous—and that she wore in this DS commercial.
Recently, they've become more risqué with their outfits and performances, incorporating "te no bura" or "hand bras" into their act. Likewise, male comedians have been known to appear on television in skimpy outfits. One comedian even routinely disrobes and then chases people around.
But compared to many of their colleagues, some of which also traffic in shock and sex, they're not that funny—at all.
Still, late last week, the duo released their first \single. They've said previously that their goal is to eventually become female comedians who always appear on television. And like so many comedians before them, the only way they'll do that, is ditch the silly (and revealing) costumes that are making them famous.
Check out Japanese television stills of them performing their act. While these are TV stills, they could be NSFW. There's also a Japanese-language YouTube clip of their act. It's work-safe.
(Top photo: Current)
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