Ryota Yamasato | |
|---|---|
山里亮太 | |
 Yamasato in July 2024 | |
| Born | (1977-04-14)April 14, 1977 (age 48) Hanamigawa-ku,Chiba Prefecture, Japan |
| Other names | Yama-chan |
| Alma mater | Kansai University |
| Employer | Yoshimoto Kogyo |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Comedy career | |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Genre | Manzai |
Ryota Yamasato (Japanese:山里亮太,Hepburn:Yamasato Ryōta; born April 14, 1977),[1] also known asYama-chan (山ちゃん), is a Japanese comedian and television and radio personality. He rose to fame in the 2000s as one half of themanzai comedy duo Nankai Candies. Outside Japan he is best known as one of the commentators on the reality television seriesTerrace House.
Yamasato is a member of the 22nd graduating class ofYoshimoto Kogyo'sNew Star Creation school of comedy inOsaka. His first knownowarai comedy duo was Ashigaru Emperor (足軽エンペラー,Ashigaru Enperā) together with Tomio Nishida from 1999 to 2003. Yamasato played the role of theboke or "funny man" to Nishida'stsukkomi or "straight man". He then formed Nankai Candies (南海キャンディーズ) with Shizuyo Yamasaki in June 2003.[2] However, in this duo Yamasato plays thetsukkomi, while Yamasaki is theboke. Nankai Candies took second place in the 2004M-1 Grand Prix,[2] leading to many television appearances and subsequently moved their base from Osaka to Tokyo. That year they also won the 25th ABC Newcomer Comedian Grand Prix Newcomer Award.[2] In 2005 they received the 40th Kamigata Manzai Grand Prix Newcomer Award and the 43rd Golden Arrow Newcomer Award.[2] They competed several more times in the M-1 Grand Prix; coming in ninth place in 2005 and eighth in 2009,[2] and being eliminated in the semifinals in 2008, 2016 and 2017. Beginning in 2007, Nankai Candies were not active much while Yamasaki competed as aboxer. She even became a women's middleweight champion before retiring from the sport in 2015.[3][4]
Beginning with season 3 ofTerrace House: Boys × Girls Next Door on April 12, 2013, Yamasato became a studio commentator on the reality TV seriesTerrace House.[5] He has continued this role on each installment of the franchise, where he is known as the cynical one who enjoys highlighting the house members' flaws.[6][7] In 2015, he was given his own spin-off onNetflix Japan'sYouTube channel titledYama Channel where he comments solo.[8]
Yamasato co-authored two books that were both released on June 25, 2013.News no Yomikata Oshiemasu! explains recent political and economic words in an easy-to-understand manner, whileYamasato Ryōta no 'Tarinai' Eigo teaches simple English for communication.[9]
Yamasato played the villain in the 2016Shuriken Sentai Ninninger vs. ToQger the Movie: Ninja in Wonderland.[10] Since October 2016, Yamasato and his fellowTerrace House commentatorYou have co-hosted the puppet showNehorin Pahorin onNHK Educational TV. They each voice mole puppets who co-interview the non-famous guest represented by a pig puppet. The anonymity afforded via the puppets and voice modulation allows the guests to talk candidly about topics not usually covered on mainstream TV, such asidolotaku orhost club addiction.[8]
Yamasato voiced the character Karasutengu in the 2017 anime filmPretty Cure Dream Stars!.[11] He releasedTensai wa Akirameta, a completely revised and updated version of his 2006 autobiographical bookTensai ni Naritai, on July 6, 2018, and it sold 100,000 copies in two months.[12] A fan ofOne Piece since its beginning, Yamasato voiced the character Donald Moderate in the 2019One Piece: Stampede film.[13][14]
Yamasato and fellow comedianMasayasu Wakabayashi are the main subjects of the 2023 biographical seriesPassion for Punchlines (だが、情熱はある,Da ga, Jōnetsu ga aru;lit. 'However, The Passion is There') onNippon TV, in which he was portrayed byShintaro Morimoto.[15]
On June 3, 2019, Yamasato married actressYū Aoi.[16][17] The two first met through Shizuyo Yamasaki, who co-starred with Aoi in the filmHula Girls (2006), and began dating in April 2019.[17] In episode six ofTerrace House: Tokyo 2019–2020, Yamasato credited his job on the show for the marriage, as Aoi is a fan and wanted to talk to him about it.[18] On February 10, 2022, the couple announced that Aoi was pregnant with their first child anddue in the summer.[19] On August 10, 2022, Yamasato revealed that Aoi had given birth to their daughter.[20]
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