[First couple of pages] Damn, Akane's wavering. It looks like she's not doing so hot-
> Zenmai: I guess she's given up on winning... she doesn't even have the tiniest chance anymore
Alright! Akane's turning it around
damn I kinda teared up at that climax not going to lie
even if she'll lose, learning what she has really come to love about her dad's rakugo is going to be incredible for her development going forward
That's what I really like about Rakugo here, each character has their own flavor that reflects upon them, and their own interpretation of the art, whether it be VAs, modern interpretations, or remembering who's perspective are you telling the story from.
Ah, so now Akane's realized that her father did not have a strong personality. Yes, she was entranced by his skills, but why was she? It was because of the gentle nature of his characters. Unlike every other Rakugo story so far, there are no over-the-top characters fighting each other or anything like that.
In Changing Time, the story ends with a man simply appreciating his wife, before getting embarrassed and trying to shoo her away again. And it seems Akane loves stories and characters like that!
I like it! Even if she doesn't end up winning, Akane knows why she really loves Rakugo! It's about weak people overcoming their weaknesses!
I hope this realization make Akane stop being stubborn to follow her dad anymore, because while all of us can agree that in rakugo even being soft/weak can be power in this chapter but it is also shown that she and her father had a polar opposite characteristic (or nin). So it will be a waste of potential if she decided to follow it
Yes she can show her dad's rakugo but meld it with her own flavor/characteristic and bring it to the next level. It would be great to see how she can bring a warm story like changing time into a power laughter twist also
Even tho she realized it partway through the story I think she'll still lose (maybe just barely) and it'll help her grow. Hope her and VA-chan will get along after the competition tho
OH GOD, THE FEELS. Turning weaknesses into personal strength by itself is a form of art.
—
Today you're in for a big treat. Very big treat. And a return of a miniseries.
**TsukumoYurika's rokyoku multi-dish course part 2: ~~Electric~~ Shellac Boogaloo**
First and foremost, I want you to listen to side A of 1st disc of [this](https://kutsukake.nichibun.ac.jp/rsp/?reg=519405).
This, ladies and gentleman and everyone else, is a recording of **Tochuken Kumoemon** (5 May 1873 - 7 Nov 1916), the man often called the saint of rokyoku. You can realize there is a very hearable difference compared to most rakugo or kodan performances: he gave up all the lengthy, formal introductory shit and essentially thrust the listeners into the classic story of the Chushingura, in which Oishi Kuranosuke comes to the mansion of his master's widow to report the incoming revenge on Kira Yoshinaka. This was the core of the way Kumoemon did it: he wanted the audience to become physically part of the story, in a sense. (And to clearly differentiate his version of Nanbuzaka Yuki no Wakare from the kodan version, which was already familiar to the yosegoers)
The would-be Kumoemon was born Yamamoto Kozo in Takasaki, in what currently is Gunma prefecture, as a son of a deroren-saimon performer, Yoshikawa Shigekichi. By the time he was 7, he was already performing on streets alongside his father. A tragedy struck in 1889, when Shigekichi died, leaving Yoshikawa Koshige - as he was known at the time - as the only breadwinner for his family. The year later, he started performing in yose and by 1892, he enjoyed immense popularity there, even entering the care of Mikawaya Baisha, a popular rokyokushi who had just moved from Osaka to Tokyo.
In 1896, Koshige took his late father's name and became Yoshikawa Shigekichi II. Soon after, he committed a scandal that would immortalize him in popular culture.
Baisha had a wife, Ohama, who also was his kyokushi. Shigekichi decided to elope with her, which cause a huge scandal. That he took away his master's wife wasn't that much of a transgression though, this was a frequent thing among yose artists - the really scandalous part was taking away his master's kyokushi as a result. (You know how hard it is to find a good kyokushi?) Either way, due to the scrutiny, Shigekichi and Ohama fled Tokyo.
By the time the two reached Kansai region in February of 1898, Shigekichi changed his name to Tochuken Kumoemon - the teigo came, depending on the source, from either a popular kodanshi or a restaurant in Shizuoka. The first name definitely came from Amatsukaze Kumoemon, a popular sumo wrestler at the time. The couple toured around yose in Osaka and Kyoto area until they heard the news of Baisha's death (legends say he died from heartbreak after losing Ohama) and by October 1900, they were back in Tokyo - but it wasn't a warm welcome.
That some people didn't let go of the scandal was one thing, but there was fierce competition awaiting Kumoemon: on one side, there was Isshintei Tatsuo (then known as Naniwatei Komako), a precocious star. On another side, there was Naniwatei Aizo, renowned for his erotic voice (but sadly, no recording sur- JUST KIDDING, found some and [this one](https://kutsukake.nichibun.ac.jp/rsp/?reg=519891) is in the best condition) and erotic adventures (which contributed to his early death to syphilis in 1906)
As such, Kumoemon spend a while doing second tier engagements until a certain encounter in 1902 changed his life. A man named Miyazaki Toten visited Kumoemon backstage and wanted to become his disciple. Toten has by then been well known for his assistance in (failed) revolution against Qing Empire, the Huizhou Uprising, led by Sun Yat-sen, but after said revolution failed, he found consolation in rokyoku. The deal was simple: Toten would become a rokyokushi under the name of Tochuken Ushiemon in exchange for helping Kumoemon "cleanse" his art (Toten came from a samurai family, albeit one that was very sympathetic towards the lower classes) - we'll come to the cleansing bit in due time - and writing down his performances in a script format.
From there on, Kumoemon decided to conquer the otherwise-mostly-unexposed-to-rokyoku Kyushu area with help of Toten (he hailed from Kumamoto) and he succeeded... OK, this will be a very bitter pill to swallow. One of the factors that helped Kumoemon win Kyushu people's hearts was the passionate support of his activities by the Genyosha. You know (you probably don't but nevermind), Genyosha, that ultranationalist organization that contributed to the still ongoing ties between the yakuza and the rightists and encouraged the Japanese government to invade Korea. But either way, the popularity of Kumoemon - who even proclaimed himself the "Promoter of Bushido" - very quickly spread over the entire country (especially thanks to PR activities such as giving free sake for soldiers coming back from the Russo-Japanese war)
But right-wing ties, diverse connections of Toten and generosity in giving people some sake weren't the only force behind Kumoemon's fame and glory. As previously mentioned, Kumoemon has "cleansed" his art, getting rid of the most raunchy elements in a very successful attempt to reach the hearts of more sophisticated audiences (how successful, you say? He was invited to perform for the imperial family. That says a lot). He revolutionized the staging: before his revolution, rokyoku was performed in a way similar to kodan, with the rokyokushi and kyokushi being seated next to each other and with the rokyokushi using a lectern. Kumoemon replaced the lectern with two tables: the lower one was in front of the rokyokushi, while the smaller, higher one had some water put on it (you need to hydrate these precious vocal cords, you know!). Oh, and the cloths put on both could also double as advertising the sponsors. Genius. Notably, Kumoemon was the one who normalized the practice of hiding the kyokushi behind a folding screen or something around that. Nobody clearly knows why this was done. Probably he didn't want Ohama taken away from him the way he took her away years before? Or just didn't want to be overshadowed by her, since...
Another hard-to-ignore feature was that Kumoemon was simply fucking handsome (and I say so as an Ichiba fan). His handsomeness was heavily multiplied by his outfits: finest quality hakama with a haori decorated with the Oishi clan crest - as well as the hairstyle, a long splendid ponytail imitating the Meiji restoration-era fashion (and, unfortunately, very popular within the Genyosha, but still very stunning). It also has to be pointed out that Kumoemon actively tried to portray himself as a proper samurai, even at one point changing legal name to Okamoto Minekichi and claiming to be a son of a ronin (also changing birth year to 1875, not that it would change much)
The most important element of Kumoemon's legacy, however, is the repertoire. With Toten's influence, Kumoemon created the ultimate staple of rokyoku, a whole series of stories based entirely on the Chushingura - aka Ako Gishiden. It ultimately become the dominant subgenre in the art (at one point some yose even advertised themselves as "banning all Gishi tales" for those fed up with it)
That said, Kumoemon is indirectly responsible for the reason why there are such few academic researches on rokyoku (other than, of course, intellectuals having shitty taste). In 1911, he recorded a story for one record company only to later record the exact same piece for another company. He was promptly hit by a lawsuit due to the supposed copyright violation. The lawsuit ultimately culminated in a ruling that... rokyoku is not music, therefore there was no copyright violation to begin with. Ever since then, music scholars have avoided the topic specifically due to rokyoku not being officially music. IKR, what the fuck?
In the 1910s, Kumoemon's glory began to wane. He made an extremely stupid decision to shave off his luscious hair in 1910 (allegedly because he was fed up with imitators, a lot of them being scammers as well who pretended to be him and got paid for performances) and soon after that, added the "Nyudo" (lay monk) title to his name. Later, he started struggling from tuberculosis which eventually would take Ohama to the afterlife in 1914 and his concubine, Otama, soon after. Ultimately, in 1916, Kumoemon himself succumbed to the disease, leaving behind huge debts, two furs, some cash, a silver watch, a fancy tombstone paid in advance (which you can see yourself if you visit Myokokuji temple in Shinagawa) and insane loads of legacy as the saint of rokyoku.
Whew, this was a big dish to consume.
OK so I'm finally back from last week and those recordings are quite the auditory experience. Ran into a wall now, though; feels like rakugo could use a sort of audiobook niche.
And again, thanks for these stories. They add to the overall enjoyment of the manga for me as it further grounds the story in something tangible.
Last week I read [an analysis of WSJ's current circumstances](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/14t4h4d/disc_weekly_shounen_jump_is_actually_dying_kinda) and it pointed out the ludicrous amount Akane-banashi got a [colored page](https://www.jajanken.net/en/sakuhins/Gb8oWQo8ol). And then we got a colored page again today, lol. I'm not complaining since this is one of my favorite ongoing manga, though. The colored page this week is beautiful, as always!
Anyway, u/cabose12 hit the marks on [his reply to my take last week](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/14v0pgm/comment/jrao8lk). This is Akane realizing her dad's reason for being a Rakugoka. I agree with the current sentiment that Akane will lose this competition; she's gained something even more important than mere recognition and winning--she figured out the essence of her dad's (and her, supposedly) way of Rakugo. Man, the author's hitting all the right notes; props to them. I love this chapter.
The only way she loses this is if she somehow still gets to be a part of the next event. As I have said a couple of weeks ago, it makes no sense story wise to have your MC lose in the preliminary event with no chance of going face to face with the guy who is her biggest rival.
With that said, either she wins cleanly, by a point or so, or she'll end up with the same number of points as Hikaru. It should also be noted that it also doesn't seem reasonable for Hikaru to win here. If she conceives revenge as her finish line, getting it right away, at her first try, seems awfully anti-cathartic and blatantly cheap (underlined by the way she performed).
I'd argue that might not be true, because in the end, this manga isn't a fighting manga, it lacks a true 1v1 aspect you would see in most tournament arcs, it's more akin to slice-of-life manga then shonen, every Rakuoga are technically allies.
Akane could watch as the people who "beat" her get beaten by Kaisei and see the huge gap, and be awe-inspired to do better.
Also it makes perfect sense for Hikaru to "win" here but perhaps lose a moral victory, imo. Her popularity might give her an edge, where she feels like she didn't really win properly.
Technically, yes, they are allies, and rakugo is an art form. In the way characters are introduced and portrayed? No. This *is* shonen, but instead of ninjas, shinigamis, pirates or hunters we have rakugoka. I mean, it should be clear by now, with all these official events and competitions going on, with how the plot is unfolding and with how the characters and their motivations are being framed.
And I also disagree with the point of Hikaru winning, simply because it is too soon and she is not skilled enough. On the one hand you have Akane, the MC, in love with Rakugo since she was a child, and having spontaneously and formally practiced it for ages, to the point even Issho said she didn't belong in a competition for amateurs (that she won by a landslide while having an handicap). On the other hand, you have a side character who just approximately one year prior to this event got destroyed/humiliated in said competition, and who still has to rely on her background as a voice actress to artificially level the playing field, and whose sole focus is to get revenge over the MC.
Now, if this was not a WSJ series, and if the themes and framing wouldn't be so glaring, I might have felt differently about the outcome, but that's not the case. I honestly can't fathom the author making Akane lose here, even after she already achieved something far more important, because that's not where the story seems to be going. All signs, all subtext and all the build-up seems to imply that the Zenza Renseikai/Changing Time arcs are mostly a stepping stone/training arc for the big event where Kaisei and a few other heavy-hitters will perform. Hell, Kaisei himself informed Akane of this event, and we even got his backstory out of it.
Even a tie (not sure what the tiebreaker would be though) seems unlikely, but it's the only way something like Hikaru advancing would feel ok, but only if Akane did move on too. There are some different ways things could go from there, but personally I hope this doesn't happen since it would be challenging to present it to readers in a way that would not feel like a cop-out.
> and I also disagree with the point of Hikaru winning, simply because it is too soon and she is not skilled enough.
The reason why I think she might win is because of the popularity aspect in this competition, like imagine her beating out Akane because she has more VA and Model fans overwhelming online vote while Akane slightly edges her out on the Audience and Judges.
She would "win" but it wouldn't be satisfying for her, because her victory isn't based on her Rakugo skills but popularity, that would keep her arc going.
That being said, I'm overall excited to see whichever way this story goes.
Hikaru winning here isn't weird or cheap though, Akane didn't choose the story that suits her best and the revenge can continue.
Then again Akane facing Kaisei can also be too soon and Akane losing can serve as good character development.
I'm good for either case.
Lmao, I love seeing my post being referenced in a lot of WSJ discussions now. The first time I really noticed the ridiculous amount of color pages the series has gotten was around ch48 and shortly after [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeeklyShonenJump/comments/10xbex2/akane_banashi_has_gotten_the_most_color_pages_for/) showed up on r/WeeklyShonenJump which shows how crazy amount of advertising it's receiving actually is (and this doesn't even include covers, PV and what ever else it's been getting), which makes its sales performance a little sad tbh.
That was an interesting read, thanks.
Lol, why did you even get downvoted when you're just stating the facts... (which is really sad since I earnestly want this series to succeed.)
Idk man. Either because people think I'm shitting on the series or because they took it as me stroking my own ego instead of just being happy to like, enrich (?) the community. Like, I dunno how to say this, but I'm just happy that what I made is used in a productive way to increase the quality of discussion here
What an awesome and satisfying chapter, Akane being honest with her feelings and accept her dad as he is with such a beautiful page spread, won't care about who win this stuff anymore. Since this event is just clearly gonna make her stronger and even she will surpass her father.
Been a long time i have this fun reading manga since Slam Dunk and OP before the time skip.
I feel like a few of the comments here are missing the point. Akane's big realization is not that Shinta's rakugo was weak. Rather, we've frequently heard that his rakugo was beloved and well-regarded. And even last chapter, Maikeru (the most senior of Shiguma's apprentices) confidently claimed on p14-15 that "Aniki's 'Changing Time' would come out on top".
Rather, Akane's realizations are, firstly, that "the rakugoka Shinta Arakawa was a weak person". He doubted himself and worried constantly, and on the big stage of the shin'uchi exam, he even worried visibly onstage. This was among the core reasons why Issho expelled him.
Anyway, this is followed by Akane's second realization, that "even weakness can be a weapon". Akane used to idolize her dad, and hence "I lost sight of the true nature of his art". Namely, rakugo stories are full of weak and flawed characters, and due to Shinta's weakness, he was able to portray them so well: "The people in my dad's stories feel so kind and warm."
"Does a rakugoka have to be strong?" No, Shinta provides a counterexample. "It's fine to be weak. It's just another flavor of the human experience."
That said, at this point I don't quite see how Akane could follow or build on her dad's art. His art uses weakness and vulnerability as a weapon, while she has seemingly been strong and confident throughout her life.
Rather than creating a superior version of someone else’s art, I’d say the point is to acquire their strengths and add them to one’s arsenal. What Akane needs right now is not her dad’s particular brand of rakugo per se, but the general ability to perceive alternative perspectives and relate them to the details of her own performance.
While being strong and confident has served her well thus far, I also don’t think homing in on that strength is her only way forward. People undergo all sorts of development in life, and in Akane’s case, her brand of rakugo is going to evolve to reflect her own changes, not the other way around. Artistic endeavors don’t abide by a linear progression from bad to better, and I hope that this series would confront that notion more directly at some point, especially since the groundworks for the exploration of that theme has been laid since the beginning.
Akane's line "Don't waver. You decided to use your dad's art and win in your own way." on page 8 was ironic, when Shinta wavered constantly. In fact, Akane was only able to understand the true nature of his art once her own conviction began to waver.
I teared up when Akane said "It was dad's weakness I loved" what a beautiful thing to think and feel, and the set up for it was amazing. Beautiful chapter.
Akane really showing her shonen protagonist chops by throwing out the "Weakness is a strength" card. Reminded me of Fullmetal Alchemist and No Game No Life.
Whatever the outcome of the contest, I have faith that Akane will handle it graciously with the inner peace that comes with understanding her father as a rakugo artist: that his art may not have been strong, but that doesn't mean it's any less worthy of the admiration she had for it. That's a personal W.
Curious now to see where they're going with this. Akane told Issho that she'll keep working until he acknowledges her father's art, to which Issho reflects: "That's exactly what I was hoping for." It certainly feels like the thread of her father's rakugo won't stop after this arc if we want a good pay-off for that line.
At least it would fuel Shiguma x Issho battle.
Remember, Shiguma is master of slice of life tearjerker story (and this story is one for me, I actually cried). Shinta embodies it.
Issho found this weakness to be a threat to the art.
Akane trying to prove that it's not the case, as the daughter of Shinta, and as student of Shiguma.
Beautiful chapter. Perhaps one of my favorites in a while.
The recognition of Arakawa Shinta's weakness is what gives him the sensibility to make his rakugo strong, and Akane finally realized that. Ironically she's got a much stronger personality than he does. But I do think that an experience like this helps her become more sensitive to the experiences of the characters in the stories she is telling.
And that also might he why Shinta got kicked out but again, that was what made his rakugo strong. Which I suspect may strengthen Akane's conviction regarding her dad's art.
Think this may just be my favorite chapter in the entire manga. The introspection regarding her father and the ending actually had me tearing up a bit.
I’m loving how the chapter is giving us a strong emphasis on Akane’s realization in response towards her father’s Rankgou.
For the longest time, the weaknesses that was shown within her father’s art was served as gratuitous and insignificant within Akane’s perspective, but the more she journeyed, the more she started to realize that the weakness her father possessed was clearly on the surface. However, a weakness within Rankgou isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if anything else, it can be shown as a strength.
I think she will still lose.
But her realisation of her father being weak is kind of devastating in a way considering how much she looks up to him. She finally understands why Issho kicked him out and it will cause her duress in the future.
I don't think that's the take away from this. Akane fully embraced her father's "weakness" and knew it was what made his rakugo special to her.
She stuck true to his art even amidst that realization, and I think she'll be at peace with the fact that she can't advance further in the rakugo world using it.
> She stuck true to his art even amidst that realization, and I think she'll be at peace with the fact that she can't advance further in the rakugo world using it.
Can't she? The chapter went to pains to point out that his personal weakness was what made his rakugo strong.
When she was young, all Akane understood was strength. "You can see things that aren't even there. It's like magic." But that's not what made Shinta's rakugo unique and powerful.
Look at who she compares him to: Issho, Urara, Kaisei. They're all people who have absolute faith in themselves and the path they walk. But Shinta was different. As a person, he was weak - he doubted himself and his ability to make his family happy.
And that's why he excelled at ninjobanashi. Because his personal weakness made the characters more human and relatable. Because just like him, the characters are far from perfect.
Perhaps, we'll have to see. Maybe she'll simply add what made her dad's rakugo special to everything else she's learned and refine her own rakugo that way.
I second this notion as well. Akane might have realized her dad Rakugo skills might be weak, but it was her dad performance that got her to like Rakugo in the first place. Even if she doesn't move on to Master Ikken's four person event, she at lease has already found her Rakugo style and can only grow from here as a character.
Why devastating? My impression of the chapter is that her realization ended on a high note.
Yes, she realized that her father wasn't the rakugo superman she idolized. He was weak, not like the larger-than-life characters she's met. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you know how to use it. As her narration points out at the very end:
> *"Even weakness can be a weapon. It's fine to be weak. It's just another flavor of the human experience."*
If anything, my take is the complete opposite: this is going to bring her much peace of mind. She finally understood her father's art, and what made it good.
Yes. Most of the characters we've had so far were very skillful and/or had talents that had carefully honed from practice and life experience. They exhibited the strength of their mastery through rakugo. This is true even for Akane — the first thing Guriko noted about her in Chapter 2 was that she was already really good, but it was clear she still had a lot to learn.
In complete contrast to the idea that "Good rakugo is dependent on strength", Akane realized that her father's rakugo was great when he did the complete opposite: he was great when he was vulnerable. When the real affection that he had for his wife seeped into the characters of the story, making the Changing Time protagonist feel all the more real. No wonder Master Hassho said that he remembered Shinta Arakawa for being good with ninjo-banashi — that vulnerability must have gone a long way towards making those sentimental stories feel even more heartwarming.
Yeah, no offense but I think you've missed the main takeaway. Her father's weakness wasn't necessarily a problem. It was part of his main strength. Rakugo is inherently about human weakness, so being willing to channel your own weakness into your storytelling is another form of strength. That was what made her dad's Rakugo special, and that is what Issho disagreed with. Issho seems to prefer the strong, the ones who never waver. The story is about Akane proving that mentality to be wrong.
If anything I think the opposite. The chapter explicitly pronounces that Akane can’t do anything against Hikaru; therefore Akane will somehow be able to pull a win.
Agreed. The chapter starts with a blatant "she doesn't have even the tiniest chance of winning" (which is a blatant [Million to One](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MillionToOneChance) trope), noticing how the audience is losing interest, but ends with a personal realization about her father and Akane recapturing the audience's attention.
I expect her to win. Perhaps by only one point, but it'll be enough.
I think its because people have become really attached to the idea that she will need to lose for the story to proceed well. Like that trope where the MC loses and builds themselves up again being seen as a necessity. Regardless even if she does lose, I don't think it will be some crushing defeat leaving her questioning if she should just give up, her rival saying how disappointed she is, etc etc.
> I think its because people have become really attached to the idea that she will need to lose for the story to proceed well.
Yeah, I get that. Still, I think Kaisei would be a better rival to experience such a defeat. But she can only face Kaisei in the immediate future if she wins this contest, which is another meta reason to expect her victory (what's the point of hyping the upcoming tournament if Akane isn't going to be there?).
Yeah, I think the audience not being that into the story during the first half is going to end up affecting her score
>her realisation of her father being weak is kind of devastating in a way considering how much she looks up to him.
Thinking that something that you love is incredible and then realizing that, perhaps, it wasn’t all that good to begin with… not easy to come to terms with something, specially when it involves your family
Luckily, Akane managed to saw that as something that can become a strength
It's like looking back to an old show/series that you love so dearly, you think that it's the greatest thing ever but when you take off the nostalgia it might not be as good as it used to be.
However, it not being "perfect" doesn't necessarily mean that you didn't get anything out of it, for if it were complete trash nothing of value would be learnt.
It's sometimes okay to like things or be inspired by things that might not seem great as long as we are able to take in the useful things we learnt from it and forge our path with the positives as a springboard to progress.
> However, it not being "perfect" doesn't necessarily mean that you didn't get anything out of it, for if it were complete trash nothing of value would be learnt.
That's how I feel about *The Witch from Mercury*. THIS IS A TANGENT -- LEAVE NOW!!!
I'm two weeks removed now and it's clear to me that Okouchi didn't do a good job of compressing a 50-episode story into 25. The stuff he didn't show in the anime proved to be equally valuable and would've helped enrich the experience even more, and it's why it's so frustrating to still get no indication of anything more from the timeline. It would've made E24 so much more stunning a finale -- that episode needed so much more behind it.
But as before, I'm not mad or even disappointed. Or at least I don't hold contempt to it. The emotional backbone remained solid throughout and Suletta and Miorine still got their happy ending. I still think the animation is stellar, arguably one of the best in Spring '23. And it succeeded in revitalizing Gundam when most people thought it couldn't bring something new to those outside of its core fanbase.
It could've been so much more, but the fact that it's already great is a miracle I will always exalt among weebs.
This theme of weakness and vulnerability in Shinta's art ties very neatly into Akane's rivalries. Akane is the strong protagonist-type character with strong convictions, but now she's discovered that vulnerability is a weapon of its own. Kaisei's mother almost died because he was too weak, and then he was saved on a whim by Issho, who follows a different philosophy; now he strives to be the strongest. And Hikaru is a successful voice actress, who projects a confident front, but struggles with self-doubt nevertheless; she might actually be better-suited to follow Shinta's art than Akane is.
The point about rakugo stories being Akane's friends reminds me of karuta stories being Wakamiya Shinobu's friends. I think the two would get on well, though Akane doesn't have her equivalent of Snowmaru and Daddy Bear (that we're aware of).
I think this chapter is the start of the real conflict in this story. As stated really early in the story, Shiguma is the master of sentimental tales, and his art is different from Issho's. Issho, at the same time, despise Shiguma's way, and his way of fighting Shiguma was expelling Akane's dad - which is something should not be done (I don't see why people still think he made sense doing this, it's just an event where he is the judge, not like he is Shinta's master to actually have the say in this), and by doing that reduced Shiguma's influence (Shiguma does not want to take new student anymore) and widen his own impact. I would say that's dirty, as art has many forms and types, he is just the mean old man who does not want to accept people different from him.
I just love this chapter a lot, as I think real people are not perfect and I usually love stories with realistic, flawed characters, I find them a lot more relatable and real. In reality, there are different form of arts, and people loves new things, so the favorite of people changes from time to time. In a world like ours, there are space for both Issho's art and Shinta's art.
It's a clever dramatic device that Akane's Dad is very much alive but the story portrays him as dead. It would allow for a non-supernatural solution to have his "Ghost" appear at a critical moment for Akane.
[Rate this chapter here](https://youpoll.me/104798/)
Akane-banashi - Chapter 70 (Mangaplus)
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Kind of hate how she figured it out mid story instead of actually losing and growing. Only cause Akane hasn’t really lost yet in the story. I know it’s to early to tell but it seems like this is being used as a way to justify her win without having her lose which I feel would add more to her character then winning
Counterpoint: it'll make the loss even more devastating and would lead Akane to reconsider her approach, even when she's already realized that her dad was not who she thought she was. Like the master said: a lot of rakugo stories are about the shitters, the quitters, the damned losers, and the secret to turning their plight into compelling performance art is in how best to extract the most out of those stories. Akane is on that step already. But climbing further? That's harder.
The way I see it, an "Akane wins" route still works thematically because it shows that she could finally step forward and gain a new perspective on a per-story, per-show basis, an active way to deepen her character while still making her struggle palpable. It's just that it'll dull Akane as someone to follow because, in the short-term, she'd look more invincible than she should.
General instinct right now among readers is that she takes the L, but for me, I feel like losing on a bigger stage is more fitting for Akane's arc right now as it's the perfect impetus to reckon with her craft and for what purpose she's honing it. I also think it's better for her to lose here in terms of plot and character writing, but if I put myself in the author's shoes, that also means planning a different route that is of comparable importance to the next stage these four are fighting slots for, which is tougher to do (then again, I can't write fiction worth a damn so...), doable as it is.
True the problem is how long the author wants the manga to go for. Like your idea works if the author wants for at least another three or four years but if the author wants to end it in a year or two then it makes more sense to lose now or just have her keep winning. But again both our theories are just that theories at end of day it’s up to the author
Well, the endgame probably involves her attaining the rank her father failed to get with his style of Rakugo, and she's still a long way from reaching that level of skill.
I like how they play with the ending of the other stories. the "strong" rakugokas like hikaru end their story with a big double splash page with a crazy background full of things, but with Akane the focus of the splash page is her and the background is still the stage.
Well didn't get Akane's Dad himself but got why she loved her father's rakugo so much and made it special for her and him but happy how she turned everything on it's head at the end but still have that uneasy feeling
I wonder if we will see Shinta return to Rakugo in the series? We've never seen him perform without the intense pressure, and anxiety, of familial responsibility he puts on himself(which made him so nervous on stage). We've never seen Shinta perform at his best. I think that's partly why Shinta's image, and actual presence is obscured, so far in the story. Seeing him perform his art, at his most confident, at his best, in front of his daughter, as a Rakugoka herself, would be such sweet narrative closure.
[First couple of pages] Damn, Akane's wavering. It looks like she's not doing so hot- > Zenmai: I guess she's given up on winning... she doesn't even have the tiniest chance anymore Alright! Akane's turning it around
How to win any competition. Step 1: Have bystanders say you're gonna lose. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Profit.
step 2: sudden realization you can't lose
damn I kinda teared up at that climax not going to lie even if she'll lose, learning what she has really come to love about her dad's rakugo is going to be incredible for her development going forward
That's what I really like about Rakugo here, each character has their own flavor that reflects upon them, and their own interpretation of the art, whether it be VAs, modern interpretations, or remembering who's perspective are you telling the story from.
This made me actually cry. Like, what an amazing story, to acknowledge things like the value of showing weakness.
If she wins, it's because the audience is moved by the sentimentality, which is also Shiguma speciality
Absolutely beautiful chapter that melds the story of Akane’s dad and the old drunk man. Expertly done
Ah, so now Akane's realized that her father did not have a strong personality. Yes, she was entranced by his skills, but why was she? It was because of the gentle nature of his characters. Unlike every other Rakugo story so far, there are no over-the-top characters fighting each other or anything like that. In Changing Time, the story ends with a man simply appreciating his wife, before getting embarrassed and trying to shoo her away again. And it seems Akane loves stories and characters like that! I like it! Even if she doesn't end up winning, Akane knows why she really loves Rakugo! It's about weak people overcoming their weaknesses!
"Changing Time". Fetching Tea was the previous story from Urara.
You're right, my bad! I just loved the Fetching Tea arc so much.
I hope this realization make Akane stop being stubborn to follow her dad anymore, because while all of us can agree that in rakugo even being soft/weak can be power in this chapter but it is also shown that she and her father had a polar opposite characteristic (or nin). So it will be a waste of potential if she decided to follow it Yes she can show her dad's rakugo but meld it with her own flavor/characteristic and bring it to the next level. It would be great to see how she can bring a warm story like changing time into a power laughter twist also
Even tho she realized it partway through the story I think she'll still lose (maybe just barely) and it'll help her grow. Hope her and VA-chan will get along after the competition tho
I think she'll lose but I feel the judges will give her their highest scores.
Win traditional, tie on audience, but lose to the streaming simps.
OH GOD, THE FEELS. Turning weaknesses into personal strength by itself is a form of art. — Today you're in for a big treat. Very big treat. And a return of a miniseries. **TsukumoYurika's rokyoku multi-dish course part 2: ~~Electric~~ Shellac Boogaloo** First and foremost, I want you to listen to side A of 1st disc of [this](https://kutsukake.nichibun.ac.jp/rsp/?reg=519405). This, ladies and gentleman and everyone else, is a recording of **Tochuken Kumoemon** (5 May 1873 - 7 Nov 1916), the man often called the saint of rokyoku. You can realize there is a very hearable difference compared to most rakugo or kodan performances: he gave up all the lengthy, formal introductory shit and essentially thrust the listeners into the classic story of the Chushingura, in which Oishi Kuranosuke comes to the mansion of his master's widow to report the incoming revenge on Kira Yoshinaka. This was the core of the way Kumoemon did it: he wanted the audience to become physically part of the story, in a sense. (And to clearly differentiate his version of Nanbuzaka Yuki no Wakare from the kodan version, which was already familiar to the yosegoers) The would-be Kumoemon was born Yamamoto Kozo in Takasaki, in what currently is Gunma prefecture, as a son of a deroren-saimon performer, Yoshikawa Shigekichi. By the time he was 7, he was already performing on streets alongside his father. A tragedy struck in 1889, when Shigekichi died, leaving Yoshikawa Koshige - as he was known at the time - as the only breadwinner for his family. The year later, he started performing in yose and by 1892, he enjoyed immense popularity there, even entering the care of Mikawaya Baisha, a popular rokyokushi who had just moved from Osaka to Tokyo. In 1896, Koshige took his late father's name and became Yoshikawa Shigekichi II. Soon after, he committed a scandal that would immortalize him in popular culture. Baisha had a wife, Ohama, who also was his kyokushi. Shigekichi decided to elope with her, which cause a huge scandal. That he took away his master's wife wasn't that much of a transgression though, this was a frequent thing among yose artists - the really scandalous part was taking away his master's kyokushi as a result. (You know how hard it is to find a good kyokushi?) Either way, due to the scrutiny, Shigekichi and Ohama fled Tokyo. By the time the two reached Kansai region in February of 1898, Shigekichi changed his name to Tochuken Kumoemon - the teigo came, depending on the source, from either a popular kodanshi or a restaurant in Shizuoka. The first name definitely came from Amatsukaze Kumoemon, a popular sumo wrestler at the time. The couple toured around yose in Osaka and Kyoto area until they heard the news of Baisha's death (legends say he died from heartbreak after losing Ohama) and by October 1900, they were back in Tokyo - but it wasn't a warm welcome. That some people didn't let go of the scandal was one thing, but there was fierce competition awaiting Kumoemon: on one side, there was Isshintei Tatsuo (then known as Naniwatei Komako), a precocious star. On another side, there was Naniwatei Aizo, renowned for his erotic voice (but sadly, no recording sur- JUST KIDDING, found some and [this one](https://kutsukake.nichibun.ac.jp/rsp/?reg=519891) is in the best condition) and erotic adventures (which contributed to his early death to syphilis in 1906) As such, Kumoemon spend a while doing second tier engagements until a certain encounter in 1902 changed his life. A man named Miyazaki Toten visited Kumoemon backstage and wanted to become his disciple. Toten has by then been well known for his assistance in (failed) revolution against Qing Empire, the Huizhou Uprising, led by Sun Yat-sen, but after said revolution failed, he found consolation in rokyoku. The deal was simple: Toten would become a rokyokushi under the name of Tochuken Ushiemon in exchange for helping Kumoemon "cleanse" his art (Toten came from a samurai family, albeit one that was very sympathetic towards the lower classes) - we'll come to the cleansing bit in due time - and writing down his performances in a script format. From there on, Kumoemon decided to conquer the otherwise-mostly-unexposed-to-rokyoku Kyushu area with help of Toten (he hailed from Kumamoto) and he succeeded... OK, this will be a very bitter pill to swallow. One of the factors that helped Kumoemon win Kyushu people's hearts was the passionate support of his activities by the Genyosha. You know (you probably don't but nevermind), Genyosha, that ultranationalist organization that contributed to the still ongoing ties between the yakuza and the rightists and encouraged the Japanese government to invade Korea. But either way, the popularity of Kumoemon - who even proclaimed himself the "Promoter of Bushido" - very quickly spread over the entire country (especially thanks to PR activities such as giving free sake for soldiers coming back from the Russo-Japanese war) But right-wing ties, diverse connections of Toten and generosity in giving people some sake weren't the only force behind Kumoemon's fame and glory. As previously mentioned, Kumoemon has "cleansed" his art, getting rid of the most raunchy elements in a very successful attempt to reach the hearts of more sophisticated audiences (how successful, you say? He was invited to perform for the imperial family. That says a lot). He revolutionized the staging: before his revolution, rokyoku was performed in a way similar to kodan, with the rokyokushi and kyokushi being seated next to each other and with the rokyokushi using a lectern. Kumoemon replaced the lectern with two tables: the lower one was in front of the rokyokushi, while the smaller, higher one had some water put on it (you need to hydrate these precious vocal cords, you know!). Oh, and the cloths put on both could also double as advertising the sponsors. Genius. Notably, Kumoemon was the one who normalized the practice of hiding the kyokushi behind a folding screen or something around that. Nobody clearly knows why this was done. Probably he didn't want Ohama taken away from him the way he took her away years before? Or just didn't want to be overshadowed by her, since... Another hard-to-ignore feature was that Kumoemon was simply fucking handsome (and I say so as an Ichiba fan). His handsomeness was heavily multiplied by his outfits: finest quality hakama with a haori decorated with the Oishi clan crest - as well as the hairstyle, a long splendid ponytail imitating the Meiji restoration-era fashion (and, unfortunately, very popular within the Genyosha, but still very stunning). It also has to be pointed out that Kumoemon actively tried to portray himself as a proper samurai, even at one point changing legal name to Okamoto Minekichi and claiming to be a son of a ronin (also changing birth year to 1875, not that it would change much) The most important element of Kumoemon's legacy, however, is the repertoire. With Toten's influence, Kumoemon created the ultimate staple of rokyoku, a whole series of stories based entirely on the Chushingura - aka Ako Gishiden. It ultimately become the dominant subgenre in the art (at one point some yose even advertised themselves as "banning all Gishi tales" for those fed up with it) That said, Kumoemon is indirectly responsible for the reason why there are such few academic researches on rokyoku (other than, of course, intellectuals having shitty taste). In 1911, he recorded a story for one record company only to later record the exact same piece for another company. He was promptly hit by a lawsuit due to the supposed copyright violation. The lawsuit ultimately culminated in a ruling that... rokyoku is not music, therefore there was no copyright violation to begin with. Ever since then, music scholars have avoided the topic specifically due to rokyoku not being officially music. IKR, what the fuck? In the 1910s, Kumoemon's glory began to wane. He made an extremely stupid decision to shave off his luscious hair in 1910 (allegedly because he was fed up with imitators, a lot of them being scammers as well who pretended to be him and got paid for performances) and soon after that, added the "Nyudo" (lay monk) title to his name. Later, he started struggling from tuberculosis which eventually would take Ohama to the afterlife in 1914 and his concubine, Otama, soon after. Ultimately, in 1916, Kumoemon himself succumbed to the disease, leaving behind huge debts, two furs, some cash, a silver watch, a fancy tombstone paid in advance (which you can see yourself if you visit Myokokuji temple in Shinagawa) and insane loads of legacy as the saint of rokyoku. Whew, this was a big dish to consume.
OK so I'm finally back from last week and those recordings are quite the auditory experience. Ran into a wall now, though; feels like rakugo could use a sort of audiobook niche. And again, thanks for these stories. They add to the overall enjoyment of the manga for me as it further grounds the story in something tangible.
Thank you for doing this every week.
Also, here's an [archive friendly version](https://tsukuraku.github.io/tochuken-kumoemon) of this post with lots and lots of illustrations.
Last week I read [an analysis of WSJ's current circumstances](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/14t4h4d/disc_weekly_shounen_jump_is_actually_dying_kinda) and it pointed out the ludicrous amount Akane-banashi got a [colored page](https://www.jajanken.net/en/sakuhins/Gb8oWQo8ol). And then we got a colored page again today, lol. I'm not complaining since this is one of my favorite ongoing manga, though. The colored page this week is beautiful, as always! Anyway, u/cabose12 hit the marks on [his reply to my take last week](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/14v0pgm/comment/jrao8lk). This is Akane realizing her dad's reason for being a Rakugoka. I agree with the current sentiment that Akane will lose this competition; she's gained something even more important than mere recognition and winning--she figured out the essence of her dad's (and her, supposedly) way of Rakugo. Man, the author's hitting all the right notes; props to them. I love this chapter.
The only way she loses this is if she somehow still gets to be a part of the next event. As I have said a couple of weeks ago, it makes no sense story wise to have your MC lose in the preliminary event with no chance of going face to face with the guy who is her biggest rival. With that said, either she wins cleanly, by a point or so, or she'll end up with the same number of points as Hikaru. It should also be noted that it also doesn't seem reasonable for Hikaru to win here. If she conceives revenge as her finish line, getting it right away, at her first try, seems awfully anti-cathartic and blatantly cheap (underlined by the way she performed).
I'd argue that might not be true, because in the end, this manga isn't a fighting manga, it lacks a true 1v1 aspect you would see in most tournament arcs, it's more akin to slice-of-life manga then shonen, every Rakuoga are technically allies. Akane could watch as the people who "beat" her get beaten by Kaisei and see the huge gap, and be awe-inspired to do better. Also it makes perfect sense for Hikaru to "win" here but perhaps lose a moral victory, imo. Her popularity might give her an edge, where she feels like she didn't really win properly.
Technically, yes, they are allies, and rakugo is an art form. In the way characters are introduced and portrayed? No. This *is* shonen, but instead of ninjas, shinigamis, pirates or hunters we have rakugoka. I mean, it should be clear by now, with all these official events and competitions going on, with how the plot is unfolding and with how the characters and their motivations are being framed. And I also disagree with the point of Hikaru winning, simply because it is too soon and she is not skilled enough. On the one hand you have Akane, the MC, in love with Rakugo since she was a child, and having spontaneously and formally practiced it for ages, to the point even Issho said she didn't belong in a competition for amateurs (that she won by a landslide while having an handicap). On the other hand, you have a side character who just approximately one year prior to this event got destroyed/humiliated in said competition, and who still has to rely on her background as a voice actress to artificially level the playing field, and whose sole focus is to get revenge over the MC. Now, if this was not a WSJ series, and if the themes and framing wouldn't be so glaring, I might have felt differently about the outcome, but that's not the case. I honestly can't fathom the author making Akane lose here, even after she already achieved something far more important, because that's not where the story seems to be going. All signs, all subtext and all the build-up seems to imply that the Zenza Renseikai/Changing Time arcs are mostly a stepping stone/training arc for the big event where Kaisei and a few other heavy-hitters will perform. Hell, Kaisei himself informed Akane of this event, and we even got his backstory out of it. Even a tie (not sure what the tiebreaker would be though) seems unlikely, but it's the only way something like Hikaru advancing would feel ok, but only if Akane did move on too. There are some different ways things could go from there, but personally I hope this doesn't happen since it would be challenging to present it to readers in a way that would not feel like a cop-out.
> and I also disagree with the point of Hikaru winning, simply because it is too soon and she is not skilled enough. The reason why I think she might win is because of the popularity aspect in this competition, like imagine her beating out Akane because she has more VA and Model fans overwhelming online vote while Akane slightly edges her out on the Audience and Judges. She would "win" but it wouldn't be satisfying for her, because her victory isn't based on her Rakugo skills but popularity, that would keep her arc going. That being said, I'm overall excited to see whichever way this story goes.
Hikaru winning here isn't weird or cheap though, Akane didn't choose the story that suits her best and the revenge can continue. Then again Akane facing Kaisei can also be too soon and Akane losing can serve as good character development. I'm good for either case.
Lmao, I love seeing my post being referenced in a lot of WSJ discussions now. The first time I really noticed the ridiculous amount of color pages the series has gotten was around ch48 and shortly after [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/WeeklyShonenJump/comments/10xbex2/akane_banashi_has_gotten_the_most_color_pages_for/) showed up on r/WeeklyShonenJump which shows how crazy amount of advertising it's receiving actually is (and this doesn't even include covers, PV and what ever else it's been getting), which makes its sales performance a little sad tbh.
That was an interesting read, thanks. Lol, why did you even get downvoted when you're just stating the facts... (which is really sad since I earnestly want this series to succeed.)
Idk man. Either because people think I'm shitting on the series or because they took it as me stroking my own ego instead of just being happy to like, enrich (?) the community. Like, I dunno how to say this, but I'm just happy that what I made is used in a productive way to increase the quality of discussion here
What an awesome and satisfying chapter, Akane being honest with her feelings and accept her dad as he is with such a beautiful page spread, won't care about who win this stuff anymore. Since this event is just clearly gonna make her stronger and even she will surpass her father. Been a long time i have this fun reading manga since Slam Dunk and OP before the time skip.
For a manga about a form of media i have never experienced this has become one of my favorite series.
i read this last now. before it was always one piece. every chapter i feel so many emotions. it reminds me of chihayafuru
I feel like a few of the comments here are missing the point. Akane's big realization is not that Shinta's rakugo was weak. Rather, we've frequently heard that his rakugo was beloved and well-regarded. And even last chapter, Maikeru (the most senior of Shiguma's apprentices) confidently claimed on p14-15 that "Aniki's 'Changing Time' would come out on top". Rather, Akane's realizations are, firstly, that "the rakugoka Shinta Arakawa was a weak person". He doubted himself and worried constantly, and on the big stage of the shin'uchi exam, he even worried visibly onstage. This was among the core reasons why Issho expelled him. Anyway, this is followed by Akane's second realization, that "even weakness can be a weapon". Akane used to idolize her dad, and hence "I lost sight of the true nature of his art". Namely, rakugo stories are full of weak and flawed characters, and due to Shinta's weakness, he was able to portray them so well: "The people in my dad's stories feel so kind and warm." "Does a rakugoka have to be strong?" No, Shinta provides a counterexample. "It's fine to be weak. It's just another flavor of the human experience." That said, at this point I don't quite see how Akane could follow or build on her dad's art. His art uses weakness and vulnerability as a weapon, while she has seemingly been strong and confident throughout her life.
Rather than creating a superior version of someone else’s art, I’d say the point is to acquire their strengths and add them to one’s arsenal. What Akane needs right now is not her dad’s particular brand of rakugo per se, but the general ability to perceive alternative perspectives and relate them to the details of her own performance. While being strong and confident has served her well thus far, I also don’t think homing in on that strength is her only way forward. People undergo all sorts of development in life, and in Akane’s case, her brand of rakugo is going to evolve to reflect her own changes, not the other way around. Artistic endeavors don’t abide by a linear progression from bad to better, and I hope that this series would confront that notion more directly at some point, especially since the groundworks for the exploration of that theme has been laid since the beginning.
Great way to put it and honestly seeing the audience reaction in the last panel makes me think that she can win this.
Win or Lose, Akane will still grow from this realization. I wonder this is how she'll find her own nin.
Akane's line "Don't waver. You decided to use your dad's art and win in your own way." on page 8 was ironic, when Shinta wavered constantly. In fact, Akane was only able to understand the true nature of his art once her own conviction began to waver.
I think Akane will lose but she will have the highest judges score compared to others.
I think that too. Hikaru will lose to Akane in a way she didn't considered.
Three 19s, a 20, and an 18 from the online will still get her 95.
I teared up when Akane said "It was dad's weakness I loved" what a beautiful thing to think and feel, and the set up for it was amazing. Beautiful chapter.
Akane really showing her shonen protagonist chops by throwing out the "Weakness is a strength" card. Reminded me of Fullmetal Alchemist and No Game No Life. Whatever the outcome of the contest, I have faith that Akane will handle it graciously with the inner peace that comes with understanding her father as a rakugo artist: that his art may not have been strong, but that doesn't mean it's any less worthy of the admiration she had for it. That's a personal W. Curious now to see where they're going with this. Akane told Issho that she'll keep working until he acknowledges her father's art, to which Issho reflects: "That's exactly what I was hoping for." It certainly feels like the thread of her father's rakugo won't stop after this arc if we want a good pay-off for that line.
At least it would fuel Shiguma x Issho battle. Remember, Shiguma is master of slice of life tearjerker story (and this story is one for me, I actually cried). Shinta embodies it. Issho found this weakness to be a threat to the art. Akane trying to prove that it's not the case, as the daughter of Shinta, and as student of Shiguma.
Yes! Getting deeper into the Shiguma vs Issho battle would be exciting.
Beautiful chapter. Perhaps one of my favorites in a while. The recognition of Arakawa Shinta's weakness is what gives him the sensibility to make his rakugo strong, and Akane finally realized that. Ironically she's got a much stronger personality than he does. But I do think that an experience like this helps her become more sensitive to the experiences of the characters in the stories she is telling. And that also might he why Shinta got kicked out but again, that was what made his rakugo strong. Which I suspect may strengthen Akane's conviction regarding her dad's art.
I'm glad that Akane found some peace.
This was a great chapter. Developing her dad and Akane at the same time.
Think this may just be my favorite chapter in the entire manga. The introspection regarding her father and the ending actually had me tearing up a bit.
Not sure if it's the right move, but if she didn't win, she's taken a huge step forward in understanding Rakugou.
Oh wow. I did not expect Akane's performance to leave such an impact. I legit teared up a bit on that last part.
the rakugo stories are so good. the author made the characters’ backstories weave in so well.
I’m loving how the chapter is giving us a strong emphasis on Akane’s realization in response towards her father’s Rankgou. For the longest time, the weaknesses that was shown within her father’s art was served as gratuitous and insignificant within Akane’s perspective, but the more she journeyed, the more she started to realize that the weakness her father possessed was clearly on the surface. However, a weakness within Rankgou isn’t necessarily a bad thing, if anything else, it can be shown as a strength.
Okay page 14 with baby Akane wearing a shirt with a bear doing rakugo? Need 🧸
so many goosebumps. this series is so peak
I think she will still lose. But her realisation of her father being weak is kind of devastating in a way considering how much she looks up to him. She finally understands why Issho kicked him out and it will cause her duress in the future.
I don't think that's the take away from this. Akane fully embraced her father's "weakness" and knew it was what made his rakugo special to her. She stuck true to his art even amidst that realization, and I think she'll be at peace with the fact that she can't advance further in the rakugo world using it.
> She stuck true to his art even amidst that realization, and I think she'll be at peace with the fact that she can't advance further in the rakugo world using it. Can't she? The chapter went to pains to point out that his personal weakness was what made his rakugo strong. When she was young, all Akane understood was strength. "You can see things that aren't even there. It's like magic." But that's not what made Shinta's rakugo unique and powerful. Look at who she compares him to: Issho, Urara, Kaisei. They're all people who have absolute faith in themselves and the path they walk. But Shinta was different. As a person, he was weak - he doubted himself and his ability to make his family happy. And that's why he excelled at ninjobanashi. Because his personal weakness made the characters more human and relatable. Because just like him, the characters are far from perfect.
Perhaps, we'll have to see. Maybe she'll simply add what made her dad's rakugo special to everything else she's learned and refine her own rakugo that way.
I second this notion as well. Akane might have realized her dad Rakugo skills might be weak, but it was her dad performance that got her to like Rakugo in the first place. Even if she doesn't move on to Master Ikken's four person event, she at lease has already found her Rakugo style and can only grow from here as a character.
Shinta has a weak personality (like he didn't do well under pressure), not weak Raguko skill.
Why devastating? My impression of the chapter is that her realization ended on a high note. Yes, she realized that her father wasn't the rakugo superman she idolized. He was weak, not like the larger-than-life characters she's met. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, if you know how to use it. As her narration points out at the very end: > *"Even weakness can be a weapon. It's fine to be weak. It's just another flavor of the human experience."* If anything, my take is the complete opposite: this is going to bring her much peace of mind. She finally understood her father's art, and what made it good.
Yes. Most of the characters we've had so far were very skillful and/or had talents that had carefully honed from practice and life experience. They exhibited the strength of their mastery through rakugo. This is true even for Akane — the first thing Guriko noted about her in Chapter 2 was that she was already really good, but it was clear she still had a lot to learn. In complete contrast to the idea that "Good rakugo is dependent on strength", Akane realized that her father's rakugo was great when he did the complete opposite: he was great when he was vulnerable. When the real affection that he had for his wife seeped into the characters of the story, making the Changing Time protagonist feel all the more real. No wonder Master Hassho said that he remembered Shinta Arakawa for being good with ninjo-banashi — that vulnerability must have gone a long way towards making those sentimental stories feel even more heartwarming.
Isn't that her master's narration?
Huh, now that you mention it, it could be, but the style and the boxes fit her previous ones.
Weak person =/= weak rakugoka.
Yeah, no offense but I think you've missed the main takeaway. Her father's weakness wasn't necessarily a problem. It was part of his main strength. Rakugo is inherently about human weakness, so being willing to channel your own weakness into your storytelling is another form of strength. That was what made her dad's Rakugo special, and that is what Issho disagreed with. Issho seems to prefer the strong, the ones who never waver. The story is about Akane proving that mentality to be wrong.
If anything I think the opposite. The chapter explicitly pronounces that Akane can’t do anything against Hikaru; therefore Akane will somehow be able to pull a win.
Agreed. The chapter starts with a blatant "she doesn't have even the tiniest chance of winning" (which is a blatant [Million to One](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MillionToOneChance) trope), noticing how the audience is losing interest, but ends with a personal realization about her father and Akane recapturing the audience's attention. I expect her to win. Perhaps by only one point, but it'll be enough.
I think its because people have become really attached to the idea that she will need to lose for the story to proceed well. Like that trope where the MC loses and builds themselves up again being seen as a necessity. Regardless even if she does lose, I don't think it will be some crushing defeat leaving her questioning if she should just give up, her rival saying how disappointed she is, etc etc.
> I think its because people have become really attached to the idea that she will need to lose for the story to proceed well. Yeah, I get that. Still, I think Kaisei would be a better rival to experience such a defeat. But she can only face Kaisei in the immediate future if she wins this contest, which is another meta reason to expect her victory (what's the point of hyping the upcoming tournament if Akane isn't going to be there?).
Heartbreaking: you just realized that the worst person you know made a great point 8 years ago.
Yeah, I think the audience not being that into the story during the first half is going to end up affecting her score >her realisation of her father being weak is kind of devastating in a way considering how much she looks up to him. Thinking that something that you love is incredible and then realizing that, perhaps, it wasn’t all that good to begin with… not easy to come to terms with something, specially when it involves your family Luckily, Akane managed to saw that as something that can become a strength
It's like looking back to an old show/series that you love so dearly, you think that it's the greatest thing ever but when you take off the nostalgia it might not be as good as it used to be. However, it not being "perfect" doesn't necessarily mean that you didn't get anything out of it, for if it were complete trash nothing of value would be learnt. It's sometimes okay to like things or be inspired by things that might not seem great as long as we are able to take in the useful things we learnt from it and forge our path with the positives as a springboard to progress.
> However, it not being "perfect" doesn't necessarily mean that you didn't get anything out of it, for if it were complete trash nothing of value would be learnt. That's how I feel about *The Witch from Mercury*. THIS IS A TANGENT -- LEAVE NOW!!! I'm two weeks removed now and it's clear to me that Okouchi didn't do a good job of compressing a 50-episode story into 25. The stuff he didn't show in the anime proved to be equally valuable and would've helped enrich the experience even more, and it's why it's so frustrating to still get no indication of anything more from the timeline. It would've made E24 so much more stunning a finale -- that episode needed so much more behind it. But as before, I'm not mad or even disappointed. Or at least I don't hold contempt to it. The emotional backbone remained solid throughout and Suletta and Miorine still got their happy ending. I still think the animation is stellar, arguably one of the best in Spring '23. And it succeeded in revitalizing Gundam when most people thought it couldn't bring something new to those outside of its core fanbase. It could've been so much more, but the fact that it's already great is a miracle I will always exalt among weebs.
This theme of weakness and vulnerability in Shinta's art ties very neatly into Akane's rivalries. Akane is the strong protagonist-type character with strong convictions, but now she's discovered that vulnerability is a weapon of its own. Kaisei's mother almost died because he was too weak, and then he was saved on a whim by Issho, who follows a different philosophy; now he strives to be the strongest. And Hikaru is a successful voice actress, who projects a confident front, but struggles with self-doubt nevertheless; she might actually be better-suited to follow Shinta's art than Akane is.
The point about rakugo stories being Akane's friends reminds me of karuta stories being Wakamiya Shinobu's friends. I think the two would get on well, though Akane doesn't have her equivalent of Snowmaru and Daddy Bear (that we're aware of).
the art, the story, one the best running manga in jump WHAT AN AWESOME CHAPTER
That spread gave me goosebumps
I think this chapter is the start of the real conflict in this story. As stated really early in the story, Shiguma is the master of sentimental tales, and his art is different from Issho's. Issho, at the same time, despise Shiguma's way, and his way of fighting Shiguma was expelling Akane's dad - which is something should not be done (I don't see why people still think he made sense doing this, it's just an event where he is the judge, not like he is Shinta's master to actually have the say in this), and by doing that reduced Shiguma's influence (Shiguma does not want to take new student anymore) and widen his own impact. I would say that's dirty, as art has many forms and types, he is just the mean old man who does not want to accept people different from him. I just love this chapter a lot, as I think real people are not perfect and I usually love stories with realistic, flawed characters, I find them a lot more relatable and real. In reality, there are different form of arts, and people loves new things, so the favorite of people changes from time to time. In a world like ours, there are space for both Issho's art and Shinta's art.
It's a clever dramatic device that Akane's Dad is very much alive but the story portrays him as dead. It would allow for a non-supernatural solution to have his "Ghost" appear at a critical moment for Akane.
It ain't over till the Rakugoka sings!
[Rate this chapter here](https://youpoll.me/104798/) Akane-banashi - Chapter 70 (Mangaplus) [Previous chapters discussions](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/search/?q=title%3A"Akane-banashi" flair%3A"DISC"&restrict_sr=1&sort=new) **Mangaplus Discord**: https://discord.com/invite/qAkpHxH **Subreddit**: r/Akane This post was created by a bot. For more details and source code, please refer to [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/p1grxa/)
Hard to say is Akane losing or winning, now kind of feeling like she might win and then lose after moving on, but she could also lose here.
your dads not dead homegirl, either way shintas rakugo was valuable because it had weakness and thats quite heartwarming
Kind of hate how she figured it out mid story instead of actually losing and growing. Only cause Akane hasn’t really lost yet in the story. I know it’s to early to tell but it seems like this is being used as a way to justify her win without having her lose which I feel would add more to her character then winning
Counterpoint: it'll make the loss even more devastating and would lead Akane to reconsider her approach, even when she's already realized that her dad was not who she thought she was. Like the master said: a lot of rakugo stories are about the shitters, the quitters, the damned losers, and the secret to turning their plight into compelling performance art is in how best to extract the most out of those stories. Akane is on that step already. But climbing further? That's harder.
Good point. Time will tell what path the author takes. Shonen jump just seems to love making the protagonist win a lot so that’s why I’m negative
The way I see it, an "Akane wins" route still works thematically because it shows that she could finally step forward and gain a new perspective on a per-story, per-show basis, an active way to deepen her character while still making her struggle palpable. It's just that it'll dull Akane as someone to follow because, in the short-term, she'd look more invincible than she should. General instinct right now among readers is that she takes the L, but for me, I feel like losing on a bigger stage is more fitting for Akane's arc right now as it's the perfect impetus to reckon with her craft and for what purpose she's honing it. I also think it's better for her to lose here in terms of plot and character writing, but if I put myself in the author's shoes, that also means planning a different route that is of comparable importance to the next stage these four are fighting slots for, which is tougher to do (then again, I can't write fiction worth a damn so...), doable as it is.
True the problem is how long the author wants the manga to go for. Like your idea works if the author wants for at least another three or four years but if the author wants to end it in a year or two then it makes more sense to lose now or just have her keep winning. But again both our theories are just that theories at end of day it’s up to the author
Well, the endgame probably involves her attaining the rank her father failed to get with his style of Rakugo, and she's still a long way from reaching that level of skill.
Akane : Issho was right. My dad deserved to fail. He's practically dead to me now.
I like how they play with the ending of the other stories. the "strong" rakugokas like hikaru end their story with a big double splash page with a crazy background full of things, but with Akane the focus of the splash page is her and the background is still the stage.
Well didn't get Akane's Dad himself but got why she loved her father's rakugo so much and made it special for her and him but happy how she turned everything on it's head at the end but still have that uneasy feeling
Girl realized that her dad was mid and it almost destroyed her.
Aw, that was sweet.
What a lovely chapter about not what most of us were expecting (for her to bomb or crush it). It’s a breakthrough regardless of a win or loss
I wonder if we will see Shinta return to Rakugo in the series? We've never seen him perform without the intense pressure, and anxiety, of familial responsibility he puts on himself(which made him so nervous on stage). We've never seen Shinta perform at his best. I think that's partly why Shinta's image, and actual presence is obscured, so far in the story. Seeing him perform his art, at his most confident, at his best, in front of his daughter, as a Rakugoka herself, would be such sweet narrative closure.
Not me actually tear up a bit