Atsuko Okatsuka: The Intruder

I'm so glad my sister told me to watch Atsuko special! She had me laughing all the way through!! Her jokes were extremely relatable and would be so with a diverse audience and delivered perfectly!

I also love that she mentioned mental illness in her special. It's still a stigma in the AAPI community and she is "normalizing" it! It takes a lot of creativity and charisma to mention the topic and as an Asian mental health therapist I'm here for it!

Atsuko is also extremely kind too! I've dm or commented on other female Asian comedians specials but she'll actually reply! Atsuko is gonna be the next big comedian.

I was lucky enough to watch Atsuko create this special over the last year AND I managed to grab a ticket to watch the taping of it, and I couldn't be happier with the final result.

Atsuko's warmth and love for the craft of standup shines through in this special as she takes the viewers through the circus-ride that is her brain with hilarious bits about mental health, food, old person socialization, sisterhood & the infamous intruder.

Unlike many other specials I've seen, this one doesn't have any dead pockets of humorless sadness as she milks each bit fully before moving on to the next stop on the Hilarity Express.

Atsuko is fun as hell + a wonderful weirdo and if you like laughing, definitely check this special out!

I loved every minute of this stand-up special. Even though I love standup comedy, I often find specials to be a drag with lots of up and down moments throughout- not the case here with The Intruder.

Each line carefully delivered with exquisite timing and precise pacing throughout the show, Atsuko Okatsuka nails a fresh take on life experiences making content fresh and lively. Put the show on during a whim and it did not disappoint- was laughing the whole time.

I suspect we can continue to expect amazing things from Atsuko in the future. Definitely would recommend to friends and family over and over again.

Atsuko is so magnetic and charismatic! I think THE INTRUDER is going to be one of my favorite re-watchable comedy specials. It's extremely entertaining and fun. The visual aspect of the special is really engaging, as well. It's noteworthy that this is directed by another stand-up favorite of mine, Tig Notaro. The stage backdrop is a beautiful compliment to the material and the performer. Atsuko has such a colorful and unique style that you can't help but follow her intently. It's usually likely I'll get distracted by my phone during stand-up specials, but I never even picked my phone up during this one! It's a fantastic way to spend your time!

Watched this because of its rating and was hoping for a fresh voice. And she is. Her comedy is also clean. Her best lines got me chuckling. Most of her material is related to her family being immigrants, which I can relate to. Awkwardness adjusting to America yet being subject to the old world values is a well-known tension in such families, but still rich enough ground to mine for comedy. Some of the humor also centers around having aging family members, and her relation to her white husband.

Why my reviews title? All 8 written reviews at the time of this writing were 10's! Obviously not terribly objective, the average is less than 7. What isn't this special a 10? I think she stretched her material a bit thin - repeating a line several times, long pauses, a lot of non-funny asides with the audience. None of these criticisms are fatal, just the signs of a new talent.

I'm looking forward to her next special.