Cyril : Famous in Japan (of course), famous in Taiwan, China, HK, Korea, and the States.
That says it all really.
Actually, no it doesnt, there is more to be said... continue reading
What I feel sets Cyril apart from a lot of TV style magicians is the fact that everything about his act / performances / skill, etc... is versatile.
A lot of people these days become specialists in one or maybe a few things. The first time I saw him on a TV show here in Japan, he did card manipulation, which immediately turned to money manipulation, producing hundreds of 10,000 yen bills (10,000 yen = 100 USD, about).
Next time I saw him, he did a private close up show for three people, only using cards, and he even through in a Mnemonica routine!
After that, there was a TV special where he only did rubber bands (longest crazy man's handcuffs routine I have ever seen), followed by some of the sickest cigarette magic I have ever seen (I cant believe I actually used the word 'sickest').
On his regular street performance shows, he does everything from cards, levitations (good ones IMO), coins, pretty much everything you expect. But even in his street performances, he pulls out things like his previously mentioned Hamburger production, producing a lizard from a Lacoste T-shirt, Cell-phone from a magazine.
Finally, maybe the reason I think he is one of the most talented magicians is because, he takes classic tricks like the ID, and creates amazing new ways to present them. He has such an original mind, and he comes up with amazing ways to cater to the Japanese crowd. Regular US based working magicians, if for some reason magically were able to speak Japanese for a day, would not be able to get the reactions that Cyril gets, because the people here in Japan are attracted to different things, and Cyril takes every bit of that to his advantage.
OH, and yeah.. his instant clothes changing is great =) (gotta love those shells)!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=zHmUfQhlcT8
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=WhCgATjD0sg&feature=related
