is a Japanese

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

trio consisting of , and who have featured in a number of television shows. They are graduates of the

Yoshimoto NSC The Yoshimoto New Star Creation, commonly called NSC or Yoshimoto Academy, is the comedy school established by Yoshimoto Kogyo in Japan. History There are currently two campuses, the original ''NSC'', established in 1982 in Osaka and the Tokyo br ...

Tokyo 4th generation class and are employed by

Yoshimoto Kogyo is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in 1912, Osaka, as a traditional theatre, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai (comedy) talent, produci ...

. Formed in 1998, they are the winners of King of Conte 2011 and are mostly active in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Members

* Ryūji Akiyama (秋山竜次) Born August 15, 1978 in Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū,

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

. Plays the '' boke''. He is the main writer of the group's material and skits.『テレビ・タレント人名事典（第6版）』日外アソシエーツ、2004-06 Edition, Page 22 - * Hiroshi Yamamoto (山本博) Born September 5, 1978 in

Ōra, Gunma is a town located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 26,267 in 10,382 households, and a population density of 840 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Ōra is located in the extreme south ...

. Plays the ''

tsukkomi The following glossary of words and terms (generally of Japanese origin) are related to ''owarai'' (Japanese comedy). Many of these terms may be used in areas of Japanese culture beyond comedy, including television and radio, music. Some have be ...

''. * Hiroyuki Baba (馬場裕之) Born March 22, 1979 in Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū,

. Plays the '' boke''.

Life and career

Akiyama and Baba have known each other since

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

, attending the same school from then to high school in their hometown of Moji-ku, Kitakyūshū. Akiyama moved to

after graduating high school with the initial goal of opening up a grocery store in Daikanyama. This changed as he instead enrolled in the

and invited Baba to also enroll and move to Tokyo. The two of them formed the unit ''Akiyama-Baba'', with Akiyama as the ''boke'' and Baba as the ''tsukkomi''. However, the group struggled as Baba's role paled in comparison to Akiyama, and they determined that he was not fit to be a tsukkomi and invited Toshiyuki Itakura (Currently in the comedy duo,

Impulse Impulse or Impulsive may refer to: Science * Impulse (physics), in mechanics, the change of momentum of an object; the integral of a force with respect to time * Impulse noise (disambiguation) * Specific impulse, the change in momentum per uni ...

) to play the tsukkomi role. The three formed a trio called ''Zenairu'', but was quickly disbanded soon after as Itakura preferred to play a boke role.Broadcast 2016-03-04

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed su ...

『Uchimura Derasu』 Yamamoto was in the same 4th generation class as Akiyama and Baba, but had formed a unit called ''Yamamoto Yamazaki'', which disbanded after 2 months when his partner quit NSC. After other failed attempts at forming a unit, Yamamoto heard about the disbandment of ''Zenairu'' and approached Akiyama and Baba. The three formed the trio in December 1998 and debuted the year after, making strides in their career with various television appearances in the 2000s. Akiyama in particular gained popularity, becoming a regular participant in the '' oogiri'' competition special program IPPON Grand Prix. In 2011, the trio won King of Conte.Broadcast 2011-09-23 TBS TV ''King of Conte 2011''

Media

This list consists only of media appearances made by the trio when they appear together as Robert.

Current regular programs

Television

* ( Kyushu Asahi) (2019–Present) 1st and 2nd Wednesdays * ( TBS TV) (2011–Present) * (

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

) (2004–Present) Semi-regular * (TBS TV) (2014–Present)

Web series

* (

AbemaTV Abema (, stylized as ABEMA) is a Japanese live TV streaming website owned by the entertainment company, AbemaTV, Inc. that provides over-the-top media services to customers in Japan. The website primarily acts as an online television network, ...

) (2018–Present)

Movies

Cromartie High – The Movie is a 2005 Japanese live-action film directed by Yūdai Yamaguchi (who had previously made ''Battlefield Baseball'') and starring Takamasa Suga. The film is based on the manga ''Cromartie High School'' by Eiji Nonaka which had also been previous ...

(2005)

Commercials

* Proto Corporation (2002-2003) *

Takara Takara Co., Ltd. (株式会社タカラ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Co., Ltd. to form Takara Tomy. The Takara motto was 遊びは文化」("playing is culture"). Products Toys In ...

(2004) *

Hanjuku Hero is a Japan-exclusive series of real-time strategy video games. It is directed by Takashi Tokita and published by Square Enix (formerly Square). The series contains four main titles and a spin-off game. The main titles are ''Hanjuku Hero'' (1988), ...

(

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

, 2005) * uno (

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world and ...

, 2006) *

Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...

(2006) * Qosimo (

Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure system ...

, 2006) * Sanpo Foods (2008) *

Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and are 2006 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fourth generation of the Pokémon (video game series), ''Pokémon'' v ...

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

(

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

, 2008 - 2009) *

Mizkan is a Japanese company that produces vinegars (including seasoned rice vinegars, balsamic vinegars, and wine vinegars), mustards, salad dressings, authentic East Asian sauces, nattō, and other food products. It is based in Handa, Aichi ...

(2014) * Kapuriko (

Ezaki Glico , commonly known as just Glico, is a Japanese multinational food processing company headquartered in Nishiyodogawa-ku, Osaka. It does business across 30 countries, in North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. Overview Ezaki Glico's primary b ...

, 2015) - alongside

Miru Shiroma is a Japanese singer and model. She is a former member of Team M of the Japanese idol girl group NMB48. Career Shiroma passed NMB48's first-generation auditions in September 2010, debuting on 9 October 2010 at Tokyo Aki Matsuri. Her stage d ...

(

NMB48 NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is base ...

) *

Gyu-Kaku is a chain of Japanese yakiniku restaurants History First entered yakiniku restaurant business in 1996 and opened its first franchised restaurant in 1997 after changing to the current name. The first overseas restaurant was opened in the U.S ...

(2016)

Voice acting

Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea ''Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea'', is a 2006 Japanese animated fantasy film, the ninth in the ''Pokémon'' film series, and the fourth and last to be set in the ''Advanced Generation'' series. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and written b ...

- Korean ver. (2006) * Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007) * Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008) * Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)

References

External links

Official Profile on Yoshimoto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robert Japanese comedy troupes