Heh. Nice one, Rob. 
Brent, I’m just trying to show that assumptions shouldn’t be made about me and my ‘on-screen’ persona.
To further illustrate that point, a good deal of Tomo’s boke act would fall flat with me because when I’m in business mode, that sort of thing just triggers a bland, unverbalized, “Yes, and?” response. It’s a straight man response that is so straight that it goes all the way back around to throw it back in her face, and doubling down only makes it worse.
The closest analogue I can think of in Japanese comedy is the old man sitting at the kotatsu, completely unfazed by whatever insanity is going on around him, and calmly sipping his tea. And if anything does happen to disturb his personal sphere of Wa, then retribution is swift and painful for the offending party.
And even then, Ben isn’t playing it for laughs, which further defeats her act.
Trust me, I know because I’ve been on the receiving end of that before.
On-screen Ben will play along at times, but only when the situation allows for it, and even then it’s going to be a sort of, “Okay, you can have it!” in a Bugs Bunny vs Daffy Duck fashion (Because that’s what Ben grew up with). And true to the image, Tomo will, more often than not, be Daffy.
Brent, I’m just trying to show that assumptions shouldn’t be made about me and my ‘on-screen’ persona.
To further illustrate that point, a good deal of Tomo’s boke act would fall flat with me because when I’m in business mode, that sort of thing just triggers a bland, unverbalized, “Yes, and?” response. It’s a straight man response that is so straight that it goes all the way back around to throw it back in her face, and doubling down only makes it worse.
The closest analogue I can think of in Japanese comedy is the old man sitting at the kotatsu, completely unfazed by whatever insanity is going on around him, and calmly sipping his tea. And if anything does happen to disturb his personal sphere of Wa, then retribution is swift and painful for the offending party.
And even then, Ben isn’t playing it for laughs, which further defeats her act.
Trust me, I know because I’ve been on the receiving end of that before.
On-screen Ben will play along at times, but only when the situation allows for it, and even then it’s going to be a sort of, “Okay, you can have it!” in a Bugs Bunny vs Daffy Duck fashion (Because that’s what Ben grew up with). And true to the image, Tomo will, more often than not, be Daffy.