Dark days to M-1 Grand Prix 2008 Although they happily jumped into a comedy career, they stayed unsuccessful for several years. One day, six years since their debut, a TV
play writer called Wakabayashi in person and told him "Kasuga has no talent as a
tsukkomi. If you want to play a boke, you'd better look for another partner." Wakabayashi, then the boke of the duo, relayed the comment to the then tsukkomi Kasuga, but he initially thought Wakabashi was just joking around and did not believe him at all. They eventually swapped their roles, went through a trial-and-error process, and finally they made the first appearance on
terrestrial TV on New Year's Day of 2008. On December 21, 2008, the two made it all the way into the final round of the M-1 Grand Prix of the year from the
consolation match. During the first session in the final, they were temporarily in the top position above the other eight duos, but eventually ended up 2nd behind
Non Style.
Rise to popularity Shaving his
sideburns (a hair style called a "techno-cut"), wearing his hair parted "80/20" (80% of the hair is combed to the right and the rest to the left) and a pink sweater vest, Kasuga, a unique arrogant character, has been broadly accepted by audiences since the M-1 Grand Prix. In October 2009, Kasuga was chosen with Wakabayashi as a new regular member for "
Waratte Iitomo", the nation's most popular afternoon TV show, and a radio personality for "
All Night Nippon", one of the longest-running radio programs in Japan.
Character on stage Kasuga walks heavily and slowly with his proud 101 cm chest expanding toward the center of the stage. At the opening, he drops a bossy comment to female audiences such as "Would you like to deliver Kasuga's baby?" In manzai, he tries to shoot
tsukkomi and each time it turns out to be terribly off-the-line boke. Also, he interrupts Wakabayashi's talks with delayed responses and frequent gags. In manzai and talk, he responds back saying "Oui" ("Yes"). Holding up his
index finger, he yells "Toos!" meaning "Hey!" or "I did it!" Some of his other recurring gags include "Onigawara", "Apa" and the "Kasu" dance.
Penny pincher His stingy life style has been introduced in many variety shows. He says that he wants to save as much money as possible to buy a
single-family home in the future.
Other ventures Kasuga participated in
K-1 kickboxing in 2007. He retired after two fighting matches due to
ruptured eardrum. Kasuga has represented Japan at the
Finswimming Master World Cup, organized by the
Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. He won a bronze medal at the 2015 event in
Ravenna,
Italy and a silver medal at the 2016 event in
Prague,
Czech Republic. Kasuga started
bodybuilding in 2013 and placed fifth at the 23rd Tokyo Bodybuilding Tournament in 2015. He did not qualify at the 24th event in 2016. Kasuga ran a YouTube channel under the name Hideo Furui, which was discontinued in December 2021. == Personal life ==