あかね噺

I found it a bit funny when they said that everyone basically knows Jugemo, even if they are not into Rakugo. Because at that point I was thinking that I don't know it. But when they performed it, I remembered I had heard or read about this story with the stupidly long name. So they were more than right. From a story perspective, it is an interesting challenge though. You have to make people love with a joke that everyone knows already and you have to do it twice. Will be interesting to see how Akane can manage that. However, my feeling is that Sensei wants to relate this back to Akane's father. In order for this to work, she has to "modify" the story in certain aspects and focus on different tings in both performances. And in episode 1, this is what made the Rakugo purists so outraged because Akane's father removed the description of the sea. It was still working for the audience, but the not the jury. So it is a double challenge because the jury (especially that person) will not take it lightly if the contents are changed.

Who'd have thought the man on the stage oozing with confidence turned out to be the same as the gloomy senior? Koguma really pulled a Clark Kent! Even if you ignore the glasses, he looked nothing like his stage persona. From the hairstyle, to the posture, to the voice. The only clue was his hair colour. Shiguma had placed Akane under a severe handicap. Not only was Jugemu a basic story, she's restricted to only that one while other contestants were free to perform multiple. That meant that she would have to perform the same story twice. It's quite the steep challenge. However, Shiguma must have had his reasons for it. ___ Hilarious how Akane assumed Kyouji was Koguma's senior when it's the other way around. In her defence, most of us would've made the same assumption as her.

Koguma brought up something that seems obvious, but at the same time goes unnoticed. Rakugo stories always relate to the historical context of their time; studying history isn't just a way to understand how history works, but also how to behave during the presentation. I have high expectations for this arc, and I also hope the teacher appears more; she's a good character in the show (and beautiful).

This episode really did a good job at getting me invested in the tournament and Akane having to win only with Jugemu makes it even more interesting to see how she will do it. After seeing her perform Jugemu even though I don’t know anything about Rakugo I ended up agreeing with Koguma. While she was telling the story my main thought was “it’s impressive she can tell the story with so many complicated words without any issue” but it felt like she was just telling it without any substantial charm to make her stand out. Akane has her own way of doing Rakugo but it isn’t as refined as the others where they have their own style that makes them special and I feel that she needs to find her style of delivering her stories to win. But doing it in one way won’t just work she needs to come up with 2 ways to make Jugemu this very basic well known story stand out. Researching the history of Jogemu the way Koguma does will definetly help her but Koguma’s style wouldn’t work with her so she needs to come up with 2 different ways to do it. I don’t know how much Rakugo let’s you change a story for it to still be considered the same but based on the original story maybe making it into a tragic comedy where she can find a way of making the guy with the very long name dying because of that in Jogemu funny might be one way of telling the story but the other idk and it will be very interesting to see Akane’s solution and the other participants.

Yay! Chiaki Kobayashi character focus. This Koguma-ani is quite an interesting chap. I like the nerdy types and can totally relate to being into researching thoroughly like that as preparation. He's quite the looker too underneath those bangs and glasses. And he's loyal to Akane's father and seems to hold as much of a grudge against that Isso master as Akane herself over the infamous expulsion. It's nice to see how each of these Anis kindles a passion for a different aspect of rakugo in Akane and how much she loves every part of rakugo. Was funny to see her advisor sensei getting so into recommending books. Another relatable trait right there. This tournament arc should be a good one. Oh, and that Jugemu thing just appeared last season in Tamon-kun! I need to go back and listen to Hayamin's version of it. Oh, and I still wish people wouldn't talk over the performances though. I really want to see at least one uninterrupted performance in this show. It was especially annoying in this episode because the story being performed was not just a funny one but an informative one and I wanted to learn more about the setting he was describing.

- Yeah… - Oh *boy*. Akane’s definitely going to gun for that chance, isn’t she? - Akane “sore demo”! - Oh, this should be fun. I can’t help but think of a certain monkey from Gintama when I hear that name, though. - Another Akane “sore demo”! - Ah… - lol alright then. - Wait, seriously? - He really is super different on stage, wow. - Well, it’s good that you got to see this before the tournament. - That’s some *incredible* dedication to the job.

So not only does Akane have to perform a bit that everyone basically knows, she’s gotta do it twice? And in front of folks who have likely done the same bit before and maybe even better. That’s a tall order. But if she’s gonna get her revenge, she’s gonna need to pull it off. It’s a good thing she’s getting a little help from her seniors. I look forward to seeing how she elevates this “basic” story.

Fell in love with this show from the first episode! It's pulling me into a world I knew nothing about and it's really exciting to learn about Rakugo and see how Akane will apply the lessons she learns to her performances. I hope we'll get a scene with Akane and her father soon, it's like he disappeared, hah... There must be a lot of unresolved feelings there and I wonder how their relationship is now.

Issho Arakawa may be the evil Demon Lord of Akane's story...but he's actually a surprisingly pleasant and fun interview! He just wants to see what the youth of today have to say about rakugo! But his fierce determination to keep the spirit of rakugo blazing is clear, and this is Akane's best chance to confront him if she wins the Karaku Cup! Is it disrespectful for Akane to take her experience and present herself as an "amateur" in a competiton? Maybe, but Shiguma knows there's no stopping her when she's set her mind to something. She's in it to win it, but she'll have to play with the handicap of "Jugemu," the most basic of Rakugo stories. To spruce up her skills she'll need to get some insight from the "Private School" of the Arakawa school, Koguma ani-san! He's curt and antisocial and wants nothing to do with mentoring Akane...but he still owes her father, so he can't help but want to support her revenge plan. So mentor her he will. Did Anna Nagase get that Jugemu down in one take? Akane's performance (and ability to do rakugo on demand in public areas) is great...but could she do with some more insight into the history of the story and it's original dark ending? The more informed you are, the more informed your performance! Oh snap, Koguma is hot when he's performing! And even if starts off as more of a history lesson than a comedy act, it still has his audience utterly enthralled. THIS is the power of research and channeling it into a charismatic performance! He even manages to nail the punchline at the end! Iwa-sensei is a great teacher! Helping Akane apply for the competition AND helping her with her research! Even if it means more extensive reading and researching than she ever wanted to do. But now her rakugo love has spurred a study bug for the sake of rakugo. Akane-Kobanashi! Even a Rakugo lover like Akane doesn't know EVERYTHING about rakugo! But Koguma-sensei is there to teacher her everything she could possibly know!

This episode touched on it somewhat, but there are a number of universities that have serious rakugo circles and have produced some top talent. Part of Akane’s audience for this competition will be people from these circles, who have experience performing Jugemu. Tatekawa Shinnosuke, the inspiration for Akane’s master, went to Meiji. Sanyutei Koyuza, who does a lot of promo for Akane, also went to Meiji. Kyoji’s inspiration, Shunputei Ichinosuke (my personal fav Shoten member) graduated from Nihon University. Tatekawa Harenosuke also from Shoten went to Tokyo University of Agriculture. At least one person has graduated from Yale and there are Todai and many other top university grads. Most started their apprenticeship while they were in uni. Akane’s VA is really great, but because she’s so good, the other VAs have felt a little lacking in comparison even though their characters are supposed to be more experienced. It might be asking too much, but I hope the VAs in the competition will be just as good as her.