“Sabinuki.” — A Social Experiment Documentary
If you remove gasoline from a car, how do you make it run?
If you remove the cash register from a store, how do you handle payment?

In everyday life, we tend to solve problems by adding something.
But sometimes, by removing something, truly innovative services and products are born.

“Sabinuki.” is a social experiment documentary that dares to remove one essential element from familiar systems—much like removing wasabi from sushi—and observes what happens when something is intentionally taken away.

Episode 3: Manzai Without the Tsukkomi
As lifestyles changed dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, more people came to seek laughter.
But when, exactly, do people laugh?
To explore this question, we chose manzai, a traditional form of Japanese comedy enjoyed by many, as the stage for our experiment.
Manzai is built on the interaction between the boke (the funny one) and the tsukkomi (the straight man). In this experiment, we removed the tsukkomi and examined what happens to “laughter” itself.
The experiment was carried out with the cooperation of two comedy duos, Kaminari and Akina.
Both are known for their sharp tsukkomi style—but what happens when that element is removed?
The experiment was supervised by Professor Ryuta Kawashima, Director of the Institute of Development, Aging and Cancer at Tohoku University.

Episode 4: A Wedding Without Tears
Following “laughter,” the next essential human expression we explore is “tears.”
It is often said that people become more prone to tears as they grow older, but what exactly are tears?
To investigate, we conducted an experiment using weddings—occasions where people are naturally moved to tears.
Participants watched a wedding video and we examined whether people could cry even at someone else’s wedding.
How does the brain respond, and at what moment do tears emerge?
Together with Professor Katsuki Nakamura of the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University, we analyzed the moments most likely to evoke tears.
In the final segment, a wedding movie was created for the junior colleague of the show’s MC, Kazuya Koyabu.
Will he cry?