is an

impersonation An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for impersonating someone: *Living history: After close study of some historical figure, a performer may dress and speak "as" that ...

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

owarai special program broadcast on

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

on May 3, 2009. It is a renewal of '' Monomane Battle'', which ended its broadcast on January 4 earlier that year.

Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun. It is the List of Solar System objects by size, fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 t ...

serves as the presenters of the event with Hélène Hayama and Mika Oguma providing additional assistance, replacing the previous

Naoko Ken Naoko Ken（研ナオコ, Ken Naoko, born July 7, 1953）is a Japanese singer and actress. She is well known for her comedy roles featuring idiosyncratic looks, and a string of successful torch songs that gained popularity in the late 1970s a ...

and Hiromi.

Rules

''The Tournament''

* The event is held in a

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

fashion, with groups of competitors divided into blocks beforehand. * The contestants must prepare material for a match, the semifinal and the final. * The 24 competitors are split into three sets of eight blocks. The semi-finals are made up of the winners of each block. The final consists of four contestants. * The winner is awarded a prize of 1 million Yen (equivalent to approximately 10,000 dollars).

''The Survival''

* Personal one-on-one matches are decided through lottery cards.

Presenters

Chairpeople

** Jun Nagura **

Ken Horiuchi is a Japanese comedian who performs ''Manzai#Boke and tsukkomi, boke'' in the comedy trio Neptune (owarai), Neptune. He is nicknamed . He also creates stories for the trio. Horiuchi's persona on stage and TV is known to be immature, childish and ...

Taizō Harada is a Japanese comedian and actor who performs '' boke'' in the comedy trio Neptune. He is nicknamed . Harada is represented with Watanabe Entertainment is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate and a member of the Watanabe Production ...

Progress

* Hélène Hayama * Mika Oguma (''The Survival'')

Contestants

''The Tournament''

Hiroiki Ariyoshi is a Japanese comedian and singer who is represented by Ohta Production. Saruganseki Born in Aki District, Hiroshima, Japan, Ariyoshi formed the owarai duo Saruganseki with Kazunari Moriwaki in 1994. The pair became famous through the variety t ...

Ungirls is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of and . They have featured on a number of television shows. The duo are employed by Watanabe Entertainment, and are mainly active in Tokyo. Members * , Born February 8, 1976 in Fuchū, Hirosh ...

Ijiri Okada , born is a Japanese comedian, impressionist, and television host. His hosting credits include ''Gilgamesh LIGHT'', a revival of the 90s show ''Gilgamesh Night'', and the Nogizaka46 variety show ''NogiBingo!'' Okada is represented by Horipro. He ...

, Satoshi Onoma and Twotone Aoki,

Kannazuki Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with th ...

, Kōji Tomita,

Croket! , also spelled ''Korokke!'', is a Japanese manga written and illustrated by Manavu Kashimoto. It was published by Shogakukan in '' CoroCoro Comic'' from April 2001 to November 2006 and collected in 15 bound volumes. It received the 2003 Sho ...

The Newspaper ''The Newspaper'' is the largest independent student newspaper in Canada with circulation on and around the University of Toronto. It has been published by non-profit corporation Planet Publications Inc. and financially self-supported since it ...

, Shinobu-chan, Tamiaki and Ryu, Chōshin Juku,

Nakagawake is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Reiji (礼二) and Tsuyoshi (剛). Reiji and Tsuyoshi are actual brothers and their last name is Nakagawa, hence their unit name Nakagawake (Meaning ''House of Nakagawa''). They are employed b ...

Yuki Nishio Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Yuk ...

, Nobu and Fukkey,

Hanawa is a Japanese singer and comedian raised in Saga City. He began his career in 1997 going throughout the 2000s distinguishing himself by use of his bass guitar throughout comedy acts. He rose to fame in Japan during 2003 for a comical song abou ...

Akimasa Haraguchi Akimasa (written: 晶雅, 彰正, 顕正, 明正, etc.) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese astronomer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese samurai and politician *, Japanese politician {{given name ...

, Vitamin S, Takashi Kanemitsu (of Plus Minus),

Makita Sports () is a Japanese manufacturer of power tools. Founded on March 21, 1915, it is based in Anjō, Japan and operates factories in Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates, Thailand, Indonesia, Malay ...

, Monster Engine, Hōsei Yamasaki,

Kōichi Yamadera is a Japanese actor, narrator and singer from Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture. He graduated from Tohoku Gakuin University's economics school and is currently affiliated with Across Entertainment. Before that, he was affiliated with the Tokyo Acto ...

''The Survival''

Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Ungirls, Ijiri Okada, Kannazuki, Kuwabata Ohara, Kōji Tomita,

Yoshio Kojima is a Japanese comedian famous for appearing only in a small bathing suit, during both performances and interviews. Among his well-known catchphrases are ''Sonna no kankei nee'' (そんなの関係ねぇ or "that has nothing to do with it", u ...

, Croket Sakurazuka Yakkun, The Touch, Zabunguru, Shinobu-chan and

Megumi Fukushita is a Japanese feminine given name. In Japanese, the word megumi means "blessing; grace." Written forms While the word megumi means blessing and can be written using that kanji, it may also be spelled using other kanji, such as the kanji for l ...

and Maki Aizawa, Tamiaki and Yoppi, Chōshin Juku, Take2, Tony Hirota and

Chihiro Sakurai Chihiro (ちひろ, チヒロ,千尋) is a female and male Japanese given name. Written forms Chihiro can be written using various kanji, which can alter the name's meaning: *千尋, "thousand fathoms" *千博, "thousand gains" *千裕, "thousan ...

and Kōenji Pulsar, Doburokki, Nakagawake, Yuki Nishio, Yūki Ninomiya, Nobu and Fukkey, Hanawa, Akimasa Haraguchi, Harō Ueda, Vitamin S, Takashi Kanemitsu (of Plus Minus), Hori,

Ken Maeda was a Japanese comedian, impressionist, actor and choreographer. He was nicknamed . Maeda was born in Suginami, Tokyo. He was represented with K Dash Stage. Maeda graduated from Tokyo Metropolitan Agricultural High School. At the same school, ...

, Mitchy, Hōsei Yamasaki, Kōichi Yamadera, Ryu and Twotone Aoki and Hazuki Pal

Judges

''The Tournament''

Akira Nakao was a Japanese actor, television personality, and artist from Kisarazu, Chiba. He was represented by the Furutachi Project agency. Biography Nakao attended Chiba Prefectural Kisarazu High School from 1958, and entered Musashino Art University ...

, Kunikazu Katsumata, Peeko, Miyuki Itori

''The Survival''

Tsutomu Sekine is a Japanese comedian, singer and television presenter. His former stage name is . He is represented with Asai Kikaku. His daughter is ''tarento'' Mari Sekine. Sekine is partnered with Kazuki Kosakai, who is a junior at his talent agency and ...

, Suzanne,

Tsunku , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q. As a songwriter, Tsunku is the primary producer for Morning Musume and other Hello! Project acts, such as Co ...

Aya Sugimoto is a Japanese TV personality, actress, dancer, author, gravure idol and singer born in Kyoto. She also had a J-pop career in the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Career Early life Aya Sugimoto grew up in Kyoto under a "strict" upbringing, making ...

, Ayana Tsubaki

Broadcast dates

Results

First match

A Block B Block C Block D Block E Block F Block G Block H Block

Semi-finals

A Block B Block C Block D Block

Finals

{, class="wikitable" !Rank!!Order!!Name!!Performance!!Score , - , , 1st, , 2nd, , Nakagawake, , Maikuyo Kuruyo, , 34 , - , , 2nd, , 4th, , Kōichi Yamadera, ,

Louis Armstrong Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed "Satchmo", "Satch", and "Pops", was an American trumpeter and vocalist. He was among the most influential figures in jazz. His career spanned five decades and several era ...

performing "

When the Saints Go Marching In "When the Saints Go Marching In", often referred to as simply "The Saints", is a traditional black spiritual. It originated as a Christian hymn, but is often played by jazz bands. One of the most famous jazz recordings of "The Saints" was made o ...

", , 31 , - , , 3rd, , 3rd, , Hori, , Various celebrities reading

Momotarō is a Folk hero, popular hero of Japanese folklore. His name is often translated as ''Peach Boy'', but is directly translated as ''Peach + Tarō (given name), Tarō'', a common Japanese given name. ''Momotarō'' is also the title of various books, ...

, , 26 , - , , 4th, , 1st, , Kōji Tomita, ,

Toshiyuki Nishida was a Japanese actor. He won two Japanese Academy Awards for best actor, for '' The Silk Road'' (1988) and '' Tsuribaka Nisshi 6'' (1993). He also won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for '' Get Up!'' and '' Tsuribaka Nisshi 14'' (2003). O ...

's wedding speech, , 9

Related programs

* '' Tamori no Sekai Sokkuri Taishō'' * '' Shijō Saiko Sokkuri Taishō'' * '' Bakushō Sokkuri Monomane Kōhaku Utagassen Special'' (

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

) * '' The Monomane'' ( TBS TV)

External links

Official site
* Nippon Television original programming Japanese television specials 2009 television specials 2009 in Japanese television