Ninety-nine (ナインティナイン, Naintinain), or Nainai (ナイナイ) is a Japanese comic duo from Osaka working for the entertainment conglomerate Yoshimoto Kogyo.
The pair have stated that one of the reasons that drove them to this decision was their combined admiration for Yabe's brother Yoshiyuki, who had entered Yoshimoto two years before and formed the comedic duo "Channels".
Their act is typical of manzai comedy duos, though they are also known for TV segments filmed in locales such as Hong Kong and Italy.
Yabe has tended to receive criticism from Japanese fans because his participation in their skits is small and out of proportion compared to the always active and effervescent Okamura, even as a straightman.
[citation needed] Okamura has consistently been a large-audience draw on Japanese TV for his wild antics, such as breakdancing while wearing only the cowl of anime/professional wrestling hero Tiger Mask.
As a sportscaster on the TV Asahi program Yabecchi FC,[1] he interviewed soccer players Ronaldinho and Alessandro Del Piero.