User:Freshgavin/Sandbox/Downtown (Owarai)

Downtown (ダウンタウン) is a Japanese comedy unit (kombi) consisting of two comedians (お笑い芸人, owarai geinin), Hitoshi Matsumoto (松本人志) and Masatoshi Hamada (浜田雅功). Downtown is probably the most influential kombi to come from Yoshimoto Kōgyō, and is arguably the most popular kombi in Japan today. While best known for their stand-up act and their role as host of numerous Japanese variety shows (including the long running HEY! HEY! HEY! MUSIC CHAMP), they also occasionally perform in movies and television drama, and in the past have even released music singles.

Starting out as a manzai unit from Hyōgo in 1983, it is now said that as a result of their massive popularity and the relative domination of their employer, Yoshimoto Kōgyō, the Kansai dialect (in which both performers usually speak) has come to be associated with Japanese comedy (owarai) as a whole.

On television, Mastumoto often goes by the name Ma-tchan (松ちゃん), and Hamada by Hama-chan (浜ちゃん). As with many owarai kombi, there exists a boke and a tsukkomi. Matsumoto is the boke of the two and often puts up with light physical abuse (it is common for the tsukkomi to hit the head of the boke whenever he says something rude or rediculous) from Hamada, the tsukkomi. Hamada is also known to attack other talents similarly, whether boke or not.

Now showing
Downtown are currently listed as hosts of the following programs:
 * HEY!HEY!HEY!MUSIC CHAMP on Fuji Television (Since 1994)
 * ダウンタウンDX (Downtown DX) on Yomiuri Television (Since 1993)
 * ダウンタウンのガキの使いやあらへんで!! (Downtown's Kagi no tsukaiyaarahende!!) on Nippon Television (Since 1989)

Movies
Both members of Downtown played major roles (Harada was a main character) in the popular 2001 movie, 明日があるさ (There's Always Tomorrow, Ashita-ga aru sa).