"Nothing good has happened lately," "I don't belong at work," "I'm not popular with women to begin with." A radio program that will take in the frustrations of middle-aged men like these is "Nishikigoi's Watanabe Takashi's Late Night, Middle-Aged Men Be Bold," which began airing on Bunka Broadcasting in April. This program, which airs every Saturday at 3:30 a.m., or early Sunday morning, is a very late time slot and is the first radio talk show hosted by Watanabe Takashi of the comedy duo "Nishikigoi" as a solo personality.
This program, which started in April, is a "radio show for middle-aged men" where Watanabe, who openly admits to being a fan of adult videos and hostess clubs, delivers "middle-aged talk" in a slightly weary tone that is wonderfully comforting. "I like radio, but I get tired of the high-energy talk aimed at young people." For middle-aged men like that, this show has just the right amount of energy.
The topics covered—snack bars, hostess clubs, adult videos, changes in health, etc.—are all things that any middle-aged man would instantly relate to. You'll find yourself chuckling to yourself, thinking, "Ah, everyone thinks and worries about the same things." And yet, the laid-back conversation has a touch of melancholy, making it perfect for listening to while drifting off to sleep late at night before a holiday.
The third episode, which aired on April 18th, began with Watanabe's impressions of listening to her own talk objectively. She said, "The first broadcast was very fresh," and "I felt embarrassed listening to it, but I also felt that I have room to grow," indicating that she felt a sense of accomplishment from her first solo program.
The show immediately featured letters from listeners who had listened to the first broadcast. Watanabe seemed quite enthusiastic about a request for a program exploring hostess clubs and bars across the country, saying, "Maybe we could do it from Edogawa Ward (with Hyper Pero-chan from the comedy duo Ganso Ichigo-chan). Maybe we could just do it with audio." He also shared an update on his recent activities, mentioning that he's been drinking with Hyper Pero-chan quite often lately.
In the segment "The Old Man Wants to Be Scolded," where a sweet, sadistic woman who's good at scolding older men who have made embarrassing mistakes scolds them, they featured a submission from a listener who suffers from hemorrhoids. The submitter, who bleeds for a while after using the toilet and always puts toilet paper between his legs, recounted an incident where the toilet paper fell out of the hem of his sweatpants while shopping at a convenience store, and he left the store like that. In response to this episode, Watanabe commented, "First of all, you should go to the hospital." She further added, "Old men have experienced all sorts of pain, so they just endure it. Their sense of pain has become numb," speaking on behalf of the old man's reasons for not going to the hospital, and engaged in a funny but slightly melancholic middle-aged talk that resonated with people of the same generation.
A strangely sexy, sweet-and-sadistic comment was read aloud to the poster, but towards the end of the segment, it was revealed that the voice belonged to Mana Sakura. Furthermore, it was announced that she would be appearing as a guest on the show for the first time in the next episode.
Upon hearing this surprise, Watanabe exclaimed, "Manatee (Sakura's nickname) is coming! That legendary creature! A manatee!" showing the most excitement he had all day. Perhaps this honesty, showing a boyish expression when it comes to things he loves, is also part of this old man's charm.
Next time, what kind of reaction will Watanabe have to Sakura's appearance? Will he be overjoyed to meet his idol, or will he deliberately maintain his calm, old-man demeanor...? All eyes will be on Watanabe, a rising star who is set to liven up the old-man community, and Sakura's reaction to him. The program can be listened to on "Radiko" for up to one week after broadcast, and archives from the first episode can be listened to on "Spotify".
