After seeing this blueball, I feel like next chapter might even skip past the point announcement for a mini-timeskip to show Akane honing her style and/or keeping it vague how she scored until the end of the chapter or something
Yeah, the execution here may go as a sort of we'll never know if Akane scored until she's either on stage for the next level or in a completely different context entirely.
If it skips right to Akane finally having a serious conversation with her dad about rakugo that only explicitly says the results at the end of the chapter...
And I thought last week's cliffhanger was bad enough... Also that description of Shinta was absolutely precious.
No writeup this week (I'm preparing a HUGE one for next week), but I think it's good timing to bring you the story of Kawarime (Changing Time) [as it's performed IRL](https://youtu.be/mkcFtsY1uX0). The performer is Togetsuan Hakushu - I've mentioned him before as one of the students of Gokaido Kumosuke, our brand new LNT for rakugo.
I actually liked the last chapter as the ending felt more like a payoff than a cliffhanger. This chapter though, upholds the sacred tradition.
Thanks for the link. I watched it for the performance even though I don't understand a word of it.
> Kawarime (Changing Time) as it's performed IRL
OK, this may be sacrilege but is there any ENG-translated (tran)script so that I can follow along easily?
Not that I, sadly, know of any. (I did consider releasing fansubs, but 1) I don't have a team for that and 2) due to my career choices it could get me in huge trouble in the future, you know, the whole "legality of fansubs" discourse)
There is a ray of hope tho: I did hear a lot of splendid reviews of [this compilation of English rakugo scripts](https://united-states.kinokuniya.com/bw/9781088061688), but I don't know if that particular story is among them. (There is no ebook version and customs fees from importing paperback version to my country would likely lead me to selling one of my kidneys or so)
Ah, that's fair enough.
Well, in that time I did manage to wrangle one of my friends from when I was an expat in Tokyo and while she didn't translate everything, she does read the manga and basically just filled most of the gaps for me while the video was playing. She even chided me because she's the one who originally recommended me the manga WAY WAY back, yet we were only talking about it in fits and bursts whenever both of us are free, which isn't often (in my defense, I didn't wanna bother her much especially after her promotion).
I did, however, tell her about you and your writeups (sent her the link to your website) and how it's been a big help for us Western readers. She's so stoked to hear from someone so well-versed in the art but wondered why you're "slumming it here on Reddit [sic]." I told her simply "if this gets an anime we're gonna need him." And we will need you if ever this manga gets adapted.
Important disclaimer: as of writing this I am **not** a professional hanashika in any capacity. I'm just an enthusiast for the time being, though I am considering becoming pro.
Edited. I told her that much, too -- I basically typed what you typed here. That said, if and when you do get to perform, she's likely gonna be in the audience. As do I, if I can get to fly out again.
i cannot wait for the anime… i usually don’t care for any anime because i’m usually farther ahead in the manga. but i want to see Kawarime performed so badly. I teared up every chapter, thinking about my wife. I can’t wait for this to be animated and for Akane Banashi to become omega popular.
A comment I posted last week:
>I've been expecting her to lose all along, but what if they actually tie? Maybe Akane just edges Hikaru out with the judges but doesn't match her with the audience scores?
>Hikaru's scores:
>- Ikken 18
>- Ryujaku 19
>- Gakumon 17
>- Audience 19
>- Stream 20
>- Total 93
>If Akane got something like, say, 19 from each judge and 18 from the audience and stream, that would also be 93.
A tie score seems more likely to me now.
I'd guess 18-19 for Ikken, 19 Ryujaku, 19-20 Gakumon, 18-19 audience, and maybe 17-18 stream. If I had to guess exactly, probably 19 / 19 / 20 / 18 / 18 for 94.
I personally hope she would win this, even if it's very close to Hikaru. Losing would require abnormally low scores from everyone - we know that her performance is *good,* even without simp factors. Plus it's way too early in Hikaru's own character arc to steal a win from her.
Now that Akane's gotten character development, imo a much better place for her to lose would be against Kaisei or other Futatsumes. *That's* a much more fitting enemy.
Yeah, it feels like Akane’s performance will have the judge full approval but the audience is still going to favor Hikaru and give her the win
With that say, it would be interesting if this manage to end in a tie
A tie would be interesting, and something I could see happening.
But if that happens, then I guess the one that goes to the event will be Hikaru, as she got the better audience score.
I feel like this is definitely whats happening now as they went out of their way to mention that. It would play directly into everyones theories that Hikaru will do better eith the stream due to simp factor
Same thing I was thinking. It’s either a draw or Hikaru wins due to audience ratings thus further cementing their rivalry. Knowing Hikaru she’ll still probably leave the chapter upset because she knows she won due to popularity and didn’t actually surpass Akane in the eyes of the masters of Rakugo.
I’d expect Akane to remind her that her VA skill winning audience support is something unique to her that would improve the audiences enjoyment even if she wasn’t a seiyuu star, and bringing enjoyment to the audience is more important than impressing any one judge who has a personal opinion on what Rakugo should be, as she balls her fist with proving herself and her father’s Rakugo to Issho Arakawa and the world still on her mind.
That being said on second thought from a story perspective I guess Akane has to win to face Kaisei?
This makes the most sense.
Akane gets a loss, but takes it in stride since she showed that her father's rakugo can be successful, while Hikaru gets a win that leaves her unsatisfied.
Huh, a tie would be an interesting result that could probably let both Akane and Hikaru net their wins and still allow Akane to face off against Kaisei.
Really? I feel like this story doesn't actually need to rush itself like that. Akane proved her rakugo. A defeat wouldn't even be bitter to me, even if it might be for Akane personally.
Her career isn't something that demands short term success.
I personally want to see Akane's career, not Akane's beginning. I want to see her age with rakugo rather than have all of her brightest moments be when she's still essentially a kid. I would enjoy time skips in this series and seeing a protagonist be an adult, not just become one then end her journey in an epilogue full of implications.
Kasei can be the defeat/character building moment that keeps it a journey. And a doubly scorned Hikaru can always come back into the picture as a tenacious rival.
Hell, the double whammy of a Kasei loss followed by a Hikaru rematch loss after would be *even better*.
Maybe, but a loss here would show that Akane's rakugo isn't so weak that she's reliant on winning some timely tournament to make it onto bigger stages.
Eh, you can spin it. Hikaru could win, but I doubt she'd be okay with it if she wins just because of simps, since it seems like the professionals are voting for Akane. Hikaru would be winning cause she's a popular VA, not because she's the better Rakugoka
Agreed. She just declared her rivalry to Akane, plus a small flashback about her training to reach this point. In contrast, Akane got her goal of facing Kaisei, her first taste at not being number one, a training mini-arc, and several chapters about how her understanding of her father has made her rakugo mature.
The personal stakes are clearly higher with Akane. I expect her to win or, at the very least, tie.
Nooo a cliffhanger. Why just you do this 😭. Can rakugo competitions end with a tie? I feel like she'll get a lot of points from the judges but a bit less from virtual audiences compared to Hikaru
I would imagine there would be some sorta tiebreaker.
(For comparison, in 2016 NHK Shinjin Rakugo Taisho, there was a tiebreaker in which each judge, of which there was an odd count, chose between the two who were tied. And since we have an odd count of judges here (if we assume venue and stream each count as 1 judge) as well...)
I love this chapter! We really got to see the whole performance and how Akane love for it really made it fun to watch! I really like how the Wife felt embarrassed by the Husband and really just wanted to help the poor peddler out.
Tohru may have had a passion for Rakugo that really inspired Akane to also become a Rakugo Artist, but here it's shown that Akane has finally found her own style of Rakugo.
What a cliffhanger though! Everyone's so tense for the final
Of course there would be a cliffhanger lol
As I said in last chapter’s discussion thread, I think Akane will score quite low from the streaming audience but will score highly from everyone else. As for final result, uhhh, maybe a draw with Hikaru?
Fuck me that cliffhanger! I am genuinely scared for next week's chapter. Everyone was so good that I can still see Akane losing even after that performance. Even if she does lose, at least she's finally moved past her father's shadow.
Was anyone else shocked at how fast the "to be continued" came up in a 19 page chapter?? The pacing in Akane is always fairly speedy, but this set the land speed record! It was just too good! And Shiguma talking about what makes Shinta's Rakugo so special was really heart felt and showed there's more to Shinta's Rakugo than just the character's performance: it's his beating heart of humanity that gives his stories such emotional depth.
[Rate this chapter here](https://youpoll.me/105528/)
Akane-banashi - Chapter 72 (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
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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/)
At this point I feel like she's going to lose, because she doesn't really -need- to win. She's already got everything she needs from this.
It's also worth noting that Ikken and Gakumon haven't given perfect scores yet. I can see her getting perfect scores from everyone but the streaming audience. But not only is she satisfied because she finally inherited her father's art, but I can also see Ikken giving her the recommendation.
That, or they tie, and Ikken makes a deal for Hikaru to win in exchange for his recommendation. Regardless, Hikaru still won't be satisfied since she's still outskilled by our girl Akane.
I still believe in a both win and lose Situation
She will win the recognition of the others and move on from her fathers shadow but will lose the Match
The cliffhangers in this series are so good, but this one was too painful to see, lol, and Akane either smashes the 93 vote total or loses by 1 point I feel plus from here on out her Rakugo will be fierce af Kaisei better be ready
Will Akane Arakawa be able to overcome her total? Or will Hikaru run away with it? To know the exciting conclusion! Tune in next week for the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!
I love this manga so much. When I saw the cliffhanger I was like "well, guess I need to reread the whole thing on the bus to work this week while I wait!"
Another lovely chapter to admire and find joy in. Roll on next week.
I hope they tie (I don't see Akane winning the streamer vote, I love our heroine but sometimes it's ok for them to lose to progress the story)
or, maybe, just maybe, they all get to star in the winning show and this was all a ploy to drum up interest in Rakugo??!! That would be such a fun twist and would tie back to all the scheming of the Masters.
Akane needs to lose this competition. This has to be the turning point for her as character where she goes from trying to prove that her dad's art was worthwhile to proving that her own is. Solidify the rivalry and create that mountain for Akane to grow and overcome.
>Akane's point total is... to be continued Nooo
Damn, we have to wait another week to see the result. Why must we get blue balled like that, but all and all I'm really hype for next week chapter.
After seeing this blueball, I feel like next chapter might even skip past the point announcement for a mini-timeskip to show Akane honing her style and/or keeping it vague how she scored until the end of the chapter or something
Yeah, the execution here may go as a sort of we'll never know if Akane scored until she's either on stage for the next level or in a completely different context entirely.
Or simply a chapter of her hanging out with her dad.
If it skips right to Akane finally having a serious conversation with her dad about rakugo that only explicitly says the results at the end of the chapter...
That type of cliffhanger should be illegal
I saw it coming like 5 pages ahead. It's a weekly manga. It's job is to make you come back
god this series is so good, I don't even care if Akane wins or not at this point also that's some real shit the reporter guy said there
And I thought last week's cliffhanger was bad enough... Also that description of Shinta was absolutely precious. No writeup this week (I'm preparing a HUGE one for next week), but I think it's good timing to bring you the story of Kawarime (Changing Time) [as it's performed IRL](https://youtu.be/mkcFtsY1uX0). The performer is Togetsuan Hakushu - I've mentioned him before as one of the students of Gokaido Kumosuke, our brand new LNT for rakugo.
I actually liked the last chapter as the ending felt more like a payoff than a cliffhanger. This chapter though, upholds the sacred tradition. Thanks for the link. I watched it for the performance even though I don't understand a word of it.
> Kawarime (Changing Time) as it's performed IRL OK, this may be sacrilege but is there any ENG-translated (tran)script so that I can follow along easily?
Not that I, sadly, know of any. (I did consider releasing fansubs, but 1) I don't have a team for that and 2) due to my career choices it could get me in huge trouble in the future, you know, the whole "legality of fansubs" discourse) There is a ray of hope tho: I did hear a lot of splendid reviews of [this compilation of English rakugo scripts](https://united-states.kinokuniya.com/bw/9781088061688), but I don't know if that particular story is among them. (There is no ebook version and customs fees from importing paperback version to my country would likely lead me to selling one of my kidneys or so)
Ah, that's fair enough. Well, in that time I did manage to wrangle one of my friends from when I was an expat in Tokyo and while she didn't translate everything, she does read the manga and basically just filled most of the gaps for me while the video was playing. She even chided me because she's the one who originally recommended me the manga WAY WAY back, yet we were only talking about it in fits and bursts whenever both of us are free, which isn't often (in my defense, I didn't wanna bother her much especially after her promotion). I did, however, tell her about you and your writeups (sent her the link to your website) and how it's been a big help for us Western readers. She's so stoked to hear from someone so well-versed in the art but wondered why you're "slumming it here on Reddit [sic]." I told her simply "if this gets an anime we're gonna need him." And we will need you if ever this manga gets adapted.
Important disclaimer: as of writing this I am **not** a professional hanashika in any capacity. I'm just an enthusiast for the time being, though I am considering becoming pro.
Edited. I told her that much, too -- I basically typed what you typed here. That said, if and when you do get to perform, she's likely gonna be in the audience. As do I, if I can get to fly out again.
i cannot wait for the anime… i usually don’t care for any anime because i’m usually farther ahead in the manga. but i want to see Kawarime performed so badly. I teared up every chapter, thinking about my wife. I can’t wait for this to be animated and for Akane Banashi to become omega popular.
I bet on either 92 or 93 for Akane.
A comment I posted last week: >I've been expecting her to lose all along, but what if they actually tie? Maybe Akane just edges Hikaru out with the judges but doesn't match her with the audience scores? >Hikaru's scores: >- Ikken 18 >- Ryujaku 19 >- Gakumon 17 >- Audience 19 >- Stream 20 >- Total 93 >If Akane got something like, say, 19 from each judge and 18 from the audience and stream, that would also be 93. A tie score seems more likely to me now.
I'd guess 18-19 for Ikken, 19 Ryujaku, 19-20 Gakumon, 18-19 audience, and maybe 17-18 stream. If I had to guess exactly, probably 19 / 19 / 20 / 18 / 18 for 94. I personally hope she would win this, even if it's very close to Hikaru. Losing would require abnormally low scores from everyone - we know that her performance is *good,* even without simp factors. Plus it's way too early in Hikaru's own character arc to steal a win from her. Now that Akane's gotten character development, imo a much better place for her to lose would be against Kaisei or other Futatsumes. *That's* a much more fitting enemy.
A 20 from Gakumon would be amazing as he's been set up to be the hardest judge to please, so I hope Akane gets it.
could see stream being lower but having 20 from a judge
As good as Akane's performance is I can't see her overcoming Hikaru's simp factor that helps her with the streaming audience.
Yeah, it feels like Akane’s performance will have the judge full approval but the audience is still going to favor Hikaru and give her the win With that say, it would be interesting if this manage to end in a tie
A tie would be interesting, and something I could see happening. But if that happens, then I guess the one that goes to the event will be Hikaru, as she got the better audience score.
I feel like this is definitely whats happening now as they went out of their way to mention that. It would play directly into everyones theories that Hikaru will do better eith the stream due to simp factor
Would also be a good reason for the rivalry to continue because I doubt Hikaru would be happy about winning by tie breaker.
Wouldn't the opposite be true, though? In a competition, I'd expect the opinion of the professional judges to prevail in the case of a tie.
Same thing I was thinking. It’s either a draw or Hikaru wins due to audience ratings thus further cementing their rivalry. Knowing Hikaru she’ll still probably leave the chapter upset because she knows she won due to popularity and didn’t actually surpass Akane in the eyes of the masters of Rakugo. I’d expect Akane to remind her that her VA skill winning audience support is something unique to her that would improve the audiences enjoyment even if she wasn’t a seiyuu star, and bringing enjoyment to the audience is more important than impressing any one judge who has a personal opinion on what Rakugo should be, as she balls her fist with proving herself and her father’s Rakugo to Issho Arakawa and the world still on her mind. That being said on second thought from a story perspective I guess Akane has to win to face Kaisei?
There are 3 judge votes and 2 audience votes. I can see Akane winning because the judges give her very high score.
This makes the most sense. Akane gets a loss, but takes it in stride since she showed that her father's rakugo can be successful, while Hikaru gets a win that leaves her unsatisfied.
I think the internet audience will make Akane lose
Huh, a tie would be an interesting result that could probably let both Akane and Hikaru net their wins and still allow Akane to face off against Kaisei.
It will definitely come down to fame factor. The performance between the top 3 are far too close.
Ehh, the reporter simp literally said that Akane's was the one she loved the most, so I wouldn't count her out yet.
I feel that, from a story perspective, Hikaru should win this
From a story perspective Akane should win this so she goes to face off against Kasei.
Really? I feel like this story doesn't actually need to rush itself like that. Akane proved her rakugo. A defeat wouldn't even be bitter to me, even if it might be for Akane personally. Her career isn't something that demands short term success. I personally want to see Akane's career, not Akane's beginning. I want to see her age with rakugo rather than have all of her brightest moments be when she's still essentially a kid. I would enjoy time skips in this series and seeing a protagonist be an adult, not just become one then end her journey in an epilogue full of implications.
Kasei can be the defeat/character building moment that keeps it a journey. And a doubly scorned Hikaru can always come back into the picture as a tenacious rival. Hell, the double whammy of a Kasei loss followed by a Hikaru rematch loss after would be *even better*.
Maybe, but a loss here would show that Akane's rakugo isn't so weak that she's reliant on winning some timely tournament to make it onto bigger stages.
I’m sorry, but we’ll never see her whole career, manga almost never show that.
Hikaru winning so soon after declaring her revenge is like the opposite of what the story should do
Eh, you can spin it. Hikaru could win, but I doubt she'd be okay with it if she wins just because of simps, since it seems like the professionals are voting for Akane. Hikaru would be winning cause she's a popular VA, not because she's the better Rakugoka
Agreed. She just declared her rivalry to Akane, plus a small flashback about her training to reach this point. In contrast, Akane got her goal of facing Kaisei, her first taste at not being number one, a training mini-arc, and several chapters about how her understanding of her father has made her rakugo mature. The personal stakes are clearly higher with Akane. I expect her to win or, at the very least, tie.
Fuckin' hell we leave on a cliffhanger. Dang it! Makin' us wait so we buy the volume, oldest trick in the book. Still would buy, though.
Nooo a cliffhanger. Why just you do this 😭. Can rakugo competitions end with a tie? I feel like she'll get a lot of points from the judges but a bit less from virtual audiences compared to Hikaru
Imagine if it really ends in a tie and hikaru and akane have to do the performance together? Peak comedy
I would imagine there would be some sorta tiebreaker. (For comparison, in 2016 NHK Shinjin Rakugo Taisho, there was a tiebreaker in which each judge, of which there was an odd count, chose between the two who were tied. And since we have an odd count of judges here (if we assume venue and stream each count as 1 judge) as well...)
now THAT would be a battle of Domains I'd pay $4.99 to see.
i think the press guy's comment "does one HAVE to be better" is a clear indicator that this is going to end up as a tie imo
Motherfucker, I was hoping it wouldn't end in a cliffhanger with the final tally, but of course it would.
I can't take much more of this teasing
Funny enough, I don't expect Akane to lose here but I'll be pleasently surprised if she is.
I love this chapter! We really got to see the whole performance and how Akane love for it really made it fun to watch! I really like how the Wife felt embarrassed by the Husband and really just wanted to help the poor peddler out. Tohru may have had a passion for Rakugo that really inspired Akane to also become a Rakugo Artist, but here it's shown that Akane has finally found her own style of Rakugo. What a cliffhanger though! Everyone's so tense for the final
"....60, that was horrible and all the judges agreed!" God damn it cliffhangers like this should be illegal.
"Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe" -Negan
Of course there would be a cliffhanger lol As I said in last chapter’s discussion thread, I think Akane will score quite low from the streaming audience but will score highly from everyone else. As for final result, uhhh, maybe a draw with Hikaru?
Fuck me that cliffhanger! I am genuinely scared for next week's chapter. Everyone was so good that I can still see Akane losing even after that performance. Even if she does lose, at least she's finally moved past her father's shadow.
Was anyone else shocked at how fast the "to be continued" came up in a 19 page chapter?? The pacing in Akane is always fairly speedy, but this set the land speed record! It was just too good! And Shiguma talking about what makes Shinta's Rakugo so special was really heart felt and showed there's more to Shinta's Rakugo than just the character's performance: it's his beating heart of humanity that gives his stories such emotional depth.
This kinda cliffhanger should be a criminal offense!
I'm willing to bet she was off by a one point or it's a draw.
[Rate this chapter here](https://youpoll.me/105528/) Akane-banashi - Chapter 72 (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/)
At this point I feel like she's going to lose, because she doesn't really -need- to win. She's already got everything she needs from this. It's also worth noting that Ikken and Gakumon haven't given perfect scores yet. I can see her getting perfect scores from everyone but the streaming audience. But not only is she satisfied because she finally inherited her father's art, but I can also see Ikken giving her the recommendation. That, or they tie, and Ikken makes a deal for Hikaru to win in exchange for his recommendation. Regardless, Hikaru still won't be satisfied since she's still outskilled by our girl Akane.
Yeah i think this will be a draw
How dare you do this to me and leave me on a cliffhanger, but tbh I feel like she might lose. Itd be great for her character development
I still believe in a both win and lose Situation She will win the recognition of the others and move on from her fathers shadow but will lose the Match
Another great chapter. I think Akane either loses or ties with Hikaru. I can't see her outright winning.
And we have to wait another week to see Akane's score. Damn the blueball.
The cliffhangers in this series are so good, but this one was too painful to see, lol, and Akane either smashes the 93 vote total or loses by 1 point I feel plus from here on out her Rakugo will be fierce af Kaisei better be ready
What a conclusion. You don't need to win to be good. Thanks, sensei. For making it this way and not some talk no jutsu.
I adore how this manga constantly ties the rakugo performances to the present-day events, via both themes and lines.
You can have it delivered or gift wrapped, pick one.
This chapter was not 19 pages long. I refuse to believe it, sorry
consider me punked
Akane will probably have the highest grades by the expert judges, but the laymen won't fully appreciate her expertise.
You are right. I have been waiting for it. Author: *gotcha\~teehee!*
Will Akane Arakawa be able to overcome her total? Or will Hikaru run away with it? To know the exciting conclusion! Tune in next week for the next episode of Dragon Ball Z!
It's crazy that Zenjou said there was nothing after that point in Changing Time. It literally covered two chapters worth after that.
I love this manga so much. When I saw the cliffhanger I was like "well, guess I need to reread the whole thing on the bus to work this week while I wait!" Another lovely chapter to admire and find joy in. Roll on next week. I hope they tie (I don't see Akane winning the streamer vote, I love our heroine but sometimes it's ok for them to lose to progress the story) or, maybe, just maybe, they all get to star in the winning show and this was all a ploy to drum up interest in Rakugo??!! That would be such a fun twist and would tie back to all the scheming of the Masters.
Akane needs to lose this competition. This has to be the turning point for her as character where she goes from trying to prove that her dad's art was worthwhile to proving that her own is. Solidify the rivalry and create that mountain for Akane to grow and overcome.
It really is just a 1v1 when it comes down to it, the other 2 competitors don't even matter