Jungle Pocket (owarai) explained

Jungle Pocket
Genre:	Conte, manzai
Active:	2006 -
Employer:	Yoshimoto Kōgyō
Current Members:	Shinji Saitō Hirohisa Ōta Otake
Footnotes:	Same year/generation as: Naomi Watanabe Sabara Seishun no Hikari

is a Japanese comedy duo consisting of and . They are graduates of the Yoshimoto NSC Tokyo 12th generation and employed by Yoshimoto Kogyo. They are mostly active in Tokyo.

Members

Current

Hirohisa Ōta (太田博久) Born December 10, 1983 in Toyota, Aichi. Plays the boke. He is the main writer of the group's material and skits. His wife is the fashion model, Chihiro Kondo.^[1]
Otake (おたけ) Born December 2, 1982 in Chūō, Tokyo. Plays the ponkotsu role, a persona that has become synonymous with Otake's character. He is currently a member of the comedy-focused idol group, Yoshimotozaka46.

Former

Shinji Saitō (斉藤慎二) Born October 26, 1982 in Yachiyo, Chiba. Plays the boke, but has recently transitioned to also playing the tsukkomi. He aspired to be an actor before becoming a comedian and graduated with a degree for acting at the Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music before joining Yoshimoto NSC.^[2]

Career

The unit formed at a banquet party right before the 12th generation graduation when Ōta and Otake decided to partner up, with Saitō joining afterwards to form the trio. At first, Ōta was not thrilled to team up with Saitō.^[3] The name Jungle Pocket is named after the famous racehorse Jungle Pocket by Saitō who was a fan of the horse.^[4] Saito has gone on to own one of Jungle Pocket's last crops, a filly that he named Omataseshimashita, as well as making cameo appearances in the anime adaptation of Umamusume, which feature an anthropomorphized version of the horse.^[5] ^[6] ^[7]

Jungle Pocket made several appearances on King of Conte for their conte and M-1 Grand Prix and The Manzai for their manzai. They reached the semi-finals for King of Conte 6 years in a row until 2015, when they made it to the finals for the first time. Since then, the group gained popularity and make frequent appearances on television.

Yoshimoto Kogyo announced on October 7, 2024, that Saito would be dismissed from his job, after being found out that he was arrested for having committed sexual assault in July against a 20-year old woman in a bus at a filming location in Tokyo. Saito himself confirmed the action. The remaining members will continue as a duo.^[8] ^[9]

Achievements

King of Conte

2008 - 2nd Round
2009 - Semi-Finalist
2010 - Semi-Finalist
2011 - Semi-Finalist
2012 - Semi-Finalist
2013 - Semi-Finalist^[10]
2014 - Semi-Finalist^[11]
2015 - Finalist (4th Place)^[12]
2016 - Finalist (Runners-up)^[13]
2017 - Finalist (4th Place)^[14]
2018 - Semi-Finalist^[15]

2007 - 2nd Round
2008 - 3rd Round
2009 - Semi-Finalist
2010 - Quarter-Finalist
2015 - Quarter-Finalist

The Manzai

2011 - 2nd Round
2012 - Certified Manzai Comedian
2013 - 2nd Round
2014 - Certified Manzai Comedian

External links

Official Profile on Yoshimoto

Notes and References

Web site: ジャンポケ太田、人気モデル近藤千尋と"うなぎ婚"！婚姻届提出 - SANSPO.COM（サンスポ）. Sanspo.com. ja. Sankei Digital. 2015-10-08. 2019-05-07.
Web site: 活躍する先輩たち｜演劇専攻｜専攻紹介. Toho Gakuen College of Drama and Music. 2019-05-07.
De☆View 2013 April Edition (Oricon Entertainment)
【ジャンポケ斉藤、名馬を語る】全人類に見てほしいジャングルポケットのベストレース3選 . 2021-09-29 . Shinji . Saito . ja . 2024-02-26.
Web site: オマタセシマシタ競走馬データ . 2023-02-27 . netkeiba.com . ja.
Web site: イザ！編集部 . 2023-12-28 . 「ウマ娘」映画化、主人公はジャングルポケットネット「斉藤さんおめでとう！」「フラグだったのね」アニメ3期最終回のワンシーンも話題に . 2024-05-07 . イザ！ . ja.
1787463523855147023 . uma_musu_movie . 劇場版『ウマ娘プリティーダービー新時代の扉』に登場する新キャラクターとキャストをご紹介！ . 2024-05-07 . ja . live.
Web site: 7 October 2024 . 吉本興業、ジャンポケ斉藤慎二との契約解除を発表「大変重く受け止めております」【コメント全文】 . https://web.archive.org/web/20241007064633/https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2348262/full/ . 7 October 2024 . 7 October 2024 . Oricon . Japanese.
Web site: 7 October 2024 . Comedian Shinji Saito investigated over sexual assault . https://web.archive.org/web/20241007065546/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/10/07/japan/crime-legal/comedian-saito-sexual-assault/ . 7 October 2024 . 7 October 2024 . Japan Times.
Web site: キングオブコント2013. 2019-05-07. 2019-05-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20190531180553/http://www.king-of-conte.com/blog/2013/2013/08/2013-9fa8.html. dead.
Web site: 準決勝進出者発表！ - キングオブコント2014. 2019-05-07. 2019-05-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20190531210211/http://www.king-of-conte.com/blog/2014/2014/08/0830-1.php. dead.
Web site: 決勝進出者10組発表！ - キングオブコント2015. 2019-05-07. 2019-04-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20190411125526/http://www.king-of-conte.com/2015/2015/08/10.php. dead.
Web site: 決勝進出者10組発表！ - キングオブコント2016. 2019-05-07. 2019-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20190529043842/http://www.king-of-conte.com/2016/2016/09/10.php. dead.
Web site: キングオブコント2017決勝進出者決定！ - キングオブコント2017. 2019-05-07. 2019-02-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20190227190428/http://www.king-of-conte.com/2017/2017/09/2017.php. dead.
Web site: 準決勝進出者速報！ - キングオブコント2018. 2019-05-07. 2019-04-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20190424050600/http://www.king-of-conte.com/2018/2018/08/post-11.php. dead.