Hard Gay with Subtitles!

The most well-known character developed and portrayed by Sumitani is Hard Gay(ハードゲイ), introduced in 2002, as whom he finally rose to nationalprominence in 2005. While the official name is "Razor Ramon HG", he ismost frequently known as "Hard Gay", or simply HG. Dressing in a tightblack leather outfit reminiscent of the Tom of Finland art, he goes around performing acts of charity (yonaoshi, "social improvement") for unsuspecting bystanders while performing trademark pelvic thrusts and vocalisations, often accompanied by "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin.



Hard Gay makes regular use of a number of catch phrasesin his act; he usually makes his entrance in front of the camerashouting "Dōmō Hādogei dēsu" (Hello, this is Hard Gay), with armsthrust out and a spin afterwards. His self-introduction is thenfollowed by his famous “dance” moves. He often shouts "Fuuuuuu" (フゥ～!)or "Hoohhhh!" (フォー！), a running jokein his performances. He often stops people saying unfavourable thingsto him by shouting “sei sei sei sei sei” with his palm in front of theperson’s face. Whether this means anything is debatable, althoughSumitani has commented that “sei sei” is something that comes out fromhis mouth when he is not happy, and that he does not mean "say" as in to speak something. (Note: "sei", 性, also means "sex" or "gender" in Japanese.)

He recently started working with "Razor Ramon" manzai partner Makoto Izubuchi again, with Izubuchi taking the name Razor Ramon RG.He was brought in on the gimmick after it gained immense popularity.Izubuchi's character wasn't nearly as well received as Sumitani's, andhas since faded into obscurity.

In recent months, it has become common knowledge that Hard Gay isnot in fact homosexual nor particularly outrageous, but a rather normalmale comedian who is merely milking a character that led him tosuccess. Television programs in which he has appeared have increasinglymade reference to this, and he himself has significantly reduced his"comic" gay mannerisms in live appearances on variety and other typesof programs. While this initially increased his popularity, it remainsto be seen how long he can remain viable as the Hard Gay persona.







FUNNY! XD