The Second, a new manzai competition, took place on May 20. It was the one only for the comedy duos who have been performing manzai for sixteen or more years. I have been looking forward to it since I had heard a few months ago that it would have Ten Dara, my favourite duo. I had expected them to reach the final with Gallop, my other favourite duo. And I was convinced that they would beat Gallop. After the draw for the quarter-finals took place, however, the two duos had to face each other in the quarter-finals. The draw disappointed me and I lost interest in the competition. It was too early for the two duos to meet in the quarter-finals. As a result, Ten Dara lost to Gallop in the quarter-finals. And Gallop reached the final to win the competition. It was a natural consequence. There was no choice but to Gallop as Ten Dara had left the competition. Nevertheless, Gallop made me laugh so much that I admired them for their great performance.
On the other hand, the competition taught me that my point of laugher was not the same as that of the judges in the competition. I also have had the same experience in other manzai competitions. I know that if we are watching the same manzai, our point of laughter varies from person to person. It is greatly affected by various factors such as age and where we come from. But the variances have sometimes disappointed me and prevented me from enjoying the rest of the competition after being disappointed. It means that I should not have watched the competition. There is nothing worse than being depressed in a place where I should be laughing.

　新しい漫才の賞レース、「The Second」が５月20日に行われました。芸歴が16年以上の漫才師が参加できるレースです。数か月前に、このレースにテンダラーが参加すると聞いてワクワクしていました。ボクは、テンダラーとギャロップが決勝戦で戦い、テンダラーが優勝すると予想し、期待していました。ところが、組み合わせ抽選会の結果、この２組が準々決勝で当たってしまったのです。この抽選に失望し、この大会の興味が一気に薄れました。結果、テンダラーがギャロップ準々決勝で破れました。そして、ギャロップが決勝に進み、優勝しました。この優勝は当然です。テンダラーがいなくなれば、ギャロップしか残っていません。それにしても、ギャロップのパフォーマンスの素晴らしく、大いに笑わせてもらい、感心しました。
　でも、今回の大会で、ボクの笑いのツボが審査員と違うことも学びました。お笑いのツボは、年齢や出身に影響を受けるので、人それぞれ違うということはわかっています。でも、この違いにイラっとすることがあり、レースの残りを楽しめなくなります。賞レースは見るべきではなかったということでしょう。笑って楽しむ場で落ち込むのは最悪です。