あかね噺

It was nice to see a day in the life of Rie Takahashi...I mean, Hikaru. And to see what a top-tier female seiyuu with looks to match her vocal talent can bring to rakugo. A day in the life of Hikaru! Which is basically just a day in the life of Rie Takahashi, killing it both fashion-wise AND vocally in a magical girl anime! But she's just as committed to making it in the Karaku Cup, even if she needs to forego meals to be able to practice. That's just a sign of how committed she is. Some in the audience are Hikaru fans, some know her from her vocal work, some don't know what to make of her as a Rakugo performer, and there's also plenty of people who admire her beauty (to the frustration of their girlfriends). But she manages to bring ALL of them to attention with her performance. None other than Shibahama, the last Rakugo performance Akane's dad ever gave and the thing that set off the plot. And admittedly with her top-tier vocal talent as a seiyuu, she gets you utterly entranced in the story, especially the wifes' side of it, and they're so moved that there's not a dry eye in the audience. This is the power of Rie Takahashi...I mean, voice acting and the ability to embody a character, at it's finest. A lot of seiyuu get their big break role, and for Hikaru that was Saruel in Eden's Nova. It's no surprise that work would continue to pick up for her, only then she found out the REAL reason...because she's so attractive, it made it a boon to cast her. It wasn't because she was a good actress, it was for her appearance. That's why she entered this competition, to prove she's more than a pretty face and to prove to everyone that her acting talents are legit! And her manager is there for her, because he knows she's talented and he knows she'd stay up late in the office when everyone else left just to train. How can you not root for a girl who is putting in her all and won't give up? But was it a bad move to choose Shibahama when Issho Arakawa is a judge AND to bank on the same style of performance that got Akane's dad rejected? Yet, as it turns out, Issho actually praises her performance and ability, for someone so new to this, to convey the subleties of the character emotions as well as she did. You can tell she's a performer for how self-critical she is, but it's still so validating to get so much acknowledgement. Karashi's a dick who is convinced he's going to win...but he's probably right that at this point it's a contest between Karashi and Hikaru. Can Chef Akane (who looks great in that uniform, by the by) deliver a meal that's as delicious and appetizing as theirs. Sorry Koguma, anime has endeared to make people who look like you into high school students. Less sorry when you're doubting Akane's chances, even if he didn't expect she'd have such top-tier rivals. But can she really put her 100% out there in front of the man who ruined her father? Her nemesis? Well, she can, because she's faced Issho Arakawa before and she knows this is what she has to do to properly move on from her fathers' expulsion by getting answers. And she'll do it as a true Rakugoka! And there it is! Jugemu! Just...the basic Jugemu. Obviously it's not super impressive on the surface, and to the untrained eye it might seem like Akane's just given up...but after a hard-hitting performance like Hikaru's, it was time for something to make the audience feel comfortable, chuckle a little, and ease them into a sense of security...right as Akane is about to get to the name! Akane-Kobanashi! While Kaisei can educate Akane on using a tenugui and sensu, only Akane can make Kaisei laugh that much!

What it makes me think of is some of the higher profile storytelling podcasts I enjoy listening to. As well as audiobooks. One like Selected Shorts where excellent and recognizable actors will be brought in to dramatically read prominent short stories by similarly renowned authors. Usually I don’t look too closely at who’s on deck when listening, but then I’d I recognize a voice or its very striking I’ll check to see who it is and where they’re from. Sometimes it’s surprising to see who was brought in to narrate a given story or novel. The right choice can add amazingly and powerfully to the appeal of a given story and sometimes takes you by surprise. Often works especially well with an older actor or actress who may not be in their “prime” anymore in terms of looks or variety of acting roles, but have that lifetime of talent and control. I’ve gained extra respect for a number of actors who have turned to voice acting and story reading. I used to wonder what motivates them but I think it’s mostly pros who just really love a good story told well. And I think it’s a chance to “act” in a different and sometimes more subtle way. Anyhow was just thinking about that while watching this show. Especially as in recent years I’ve been consuming audiobooks much more than regular ones. The narrator becomes so important to the experience. For me it’s the closest I get to the rakugo style experience, especially as with a voice actor performing.

Personally, it worked for me. I think if they had started next week with Akane slowly getting the audience to relax would have probably killed the hype that they built up. After all, we as the audience also want to see what she came up with. It's a bit with the Rakugo itself. That part was important for Akane's character (as it showed her remember the lesson) but it would probably have the opposite effect on the anime audience if they put it at the start of next week.

Normally Jugemu takes 15 minutes, but the slots they get in the finals is for a longer story, so Akane might as well use the time. We sure aren't getting the high speed, vocalization centric performance from last time. So for all we know, the series might actually use the vast majority of the next episode for it. But the real reason to split here though is that cutting Hikaru's performance more would have been unreasonable, so the only alternative was to give her an entire episode, which probably didn't line up well. It's not as if they are changing episode lengths because they said so.

Issho doesn't expect anything great out of The amateurs performing. So he's being Nice despite It not being his Nature. His harsh criticism will only go towards pro, the Rakugoka. What Issho is trying to do here is make the next generation love Rakugo enough to become Rakugoka. He doesn't want the art to die out. So he tries to save any way he can. And that includes making the new generation love the art. So he will be nice in his criticisms. It doesn't matter what he Thinks as Long as he keeps It to himself and he achieves his goals.

Hikaru brought up an interesting point, being a voice actor is an incredible job because conveying a character's feelings with a voice and tone that match and transmit their essence is difficult. But it wasn't something she saw as something that would transmit her passion to other people; her Rakugo was quite different from what we've seen so far, but with enormous meaning. Akane once again showed why she's top-tier even at a young age; she understood that after the other performances, it would be much better to bring something lighter. Entertaining isn't just about showing a reaction, because silent appreciation is also a reaction, and this means that her communication with the audience worked.

Hikaru brought up an interesting point, being a voice actor is an incredible job because conveying a character's feelings with a voice and tone that match and transmit their essence is difficult. But it wasn't something she saw as something that would transmit her passion to other people; her Rakugo was quite different from what we've seen so far, but with enormous meaning. It's also especially meaningful to the anime adaption considering it's chock full of seiyuu trying to convincingly portray professional rakugoka's.

Akane's literally the rival character who has basically been training since birth and wants to avenge her father who "died" unfairly. She's also basically been told she is obviously better than any amateur student and has to restrain herself and not use her full strength that would easily demolish everyone else. Hikaru fits the standard shonen protagonist role a little better by saying her hard work is her true talent.

Yeah, people tend to either overlook or simply not realize It. But by restraing Akane to Jugemu, her master made It easy on every competitor's hearts. Had Akane performed a story of her choice. She would probably traumatize a lot of the amateurs performing. And possibly break their hearts enough so they wouldn't want anything to do with Rakugo for life. Her master was clever here. He got to test Akane's Skills as a Rakugoka and give her a chance to grow more. But he also made It easier for her opponents to no suffer from shock by seeing a true Rakugo Genius.

Personally, I think a girl much younger beating everyone by performing the same story twice that basically everyone who's slightly familiar with rakugo knows would be even more traumatizing. I can't even come up with a analogy for how ridiculously more talented Akane would appear to everyone else if she wins. EDIT: It'd be like winning a collegiate piano recital by performing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star twice as a high schooler.

Akane once again showed why she's top-tier even at a young age; she understood that after the other performances, it would be much better to bring something lighter. Entertaining isn't just about showing a reaction, because silent appreciation is also a reaction, and this means that her communication with the audience worked. What’s great about this is that this is akane beating karashi at his own game in her own way: last episode, karashi arrogantly stated that you have to satisfy your audience. Except we see here that karashi has only thought of the performance aspect of rakugo, like akane used to think; he has no idea that akane is actually defusing the tension in the room.

Karashi at this point has a very shallow understanding of The Rakugo World. Of course he would Think like Akane used to. He can't see that Akane is actualy doing the very Thing needed to get the audience's attention. Also, despite having read the manga, i was still hoping Akane would give Karashi some answer back. Like a provocation. Since she's from The Rakugo world and has a better grasp on Issho's mindset. She knew what Karashi was doing would backfire on him, but said nothing. She's got a great Foundation, so she's not worried about anything, despite the quality of her rivals performances. I love a little back and forth between rivals, so that's what i was hoping for. But i understand why she didn't do anything to confront Karashi. Just imagine being a pro tauting amateurs, It would be childish at best.

The Sakuden Taisho, arguably THE contest for amateur student performers and the most likely IRL inspiration for Karaku Cup, has a - wait for it - 8 MINUTE limit for performances. In my eyes Hikaru going for Shibahama is more of a creative liberty done to juxtapose her in a way against Shinta's performance because there is no literal way you can compress any ninjobanashi to such a short interval even if completely eschewing the makura. So yeah, it's probably one of those moments when invoking the MST3K mantra will help…

And If i remember It right. Even Zenzas aren't allowed to perform ninjo banashi since it's a complex and hard story to grasp techinicaly. They also have much emotional depth. So zenza are recommended to stick to Basic stories since they are simpler to grasp. Ninjo banashi like Shibahama are for Futatsume and Shinu'chi to perform, since Ninjo banashi are harder and longer stories and Futatsume and Shinu'chi are high enough levels that they can perform It better. So, Hikaru performing Shibahama stuck really badly for Issho. But since Hikaru is an amateur, she doesn't get to be criticized heavily by Issho. It was also endearing of Hikaru to try and perform It. She chose a hard and Long story to perform in a tight time frame. But she chose wisely despite the difficulty. Since It matches well with her qualities as an actress and as a Voice actress. It Brought out her qualities better than any other stories would had she chosen any other stories. It's like were Hikaru to choose any other story, she wouldn't perform as good as she did Shibahama. Hikaru chose well and It paid off.

Extremely curious about Akane's intro. I have a dual monitor setup and sometimes I glance as my secondary monitor as I watch anime, but for some reason I actually did pay a bit more attention to her performance and was extremely surprised at the explanation of matching pace(?) to pull the audience back in because that's exactly how I felt. Whether or not the VA actually meant to perform this way or if its a coincidence, could you expand a bit more on this?

Issho Arakawa is really a master of backhanded compliments, damn. EDIT, crossposting my explanation here: While better than what Karashi got last time, I understand his praise as a respectful but ultimately backhanded compliment. He lays down an argument that invalidates Hikaru's whole performance: It's a story about a married couple and she, being young, is not capable of capturing its essence. In other words, her portrayal is insincere. The way he phrases it makes it seem like she was an exception to that rule, but he actually doubles down on it. He praises her "proficiency" and "emotional performance", which is a way of saying she's workmanlike. That is, according to Issho, Hikaru is trying to cover up her performance's lack of substance through her skills . I can't really tell - I don't speak Japanese - but his wording of "performer" also implies he's not praising her as a rakugoka. He recognizes she's skilled, but that only makes it more apparent that he doesn't think her rakugo was great. I think I understand Issho better now. His criticism of Hikaru is the same he has of Karashi: That they miss the true substance of rakugo and focus on superficial elements - playing a "serious" role, "fixing" the classics, etc. I can also see this is what he hated of Akane's dad performance.

It definitely adds to Akane’s motivation to win here. This tournament is not just a means to find out why her father was expelled but it’s now a fight to prove she is a rakugoka. To have the skill to get Issho to judge her art(and by extension her father’s art) on its merits rather than some hand waved “oh well they’re amateurs it’s to be expected”-esque praise is the ultimate goal. Whether Issho will be impressed by it is secondary. Or at least it is for now, Akane is still too early to truly challenge the final boss.

Yes, exactly. I think she'll lose but she'll prove herself as a rakugoka. We have already been told what the twist with her choice is - she's going to perform the original ending that results in the death of the child. The moral of the story then becomes that the silly, careless choice has real serious consequences - for Issho, for Akane and her father. It will be too gimmicky for him to be too impressed - the "relaxing" first part will still be just okay even if it enhances the twist - but it will differ from the other performances by how deeply it captures the point the story and rakugo as a whole.

To add to your comment. Stories like Shibahama are called ninjo banashi. They are emotional stories. They have depth and are longer stories. They are hard even for Zenza, which are the beginner aprentices in the rakugo World. The Rakugoka has three levels. Which are Zenza, Futatsume and Shinu'chi. Ninjo banashi aren't recommended even for Zenza to perform due to how long and complex they are. The masters tend to Tell the zenza to stick to basic stories since they're easier to learn and grasp. So imagine Issho's surprise when he learned an amateur would be performing the damned Ninjo banashi Shibahama. The very same story that got Shinta expelled. So It doubles down as a story that has bad history with Issho. And as a very hard story for even zenza apprentices to practice, much less an amateur. He probably was fuming just thinking about she would dare to perform It. But he had to be professional enough since Hikaru is just an amateur in a competition to bring more people Into the Rakugo world. So he would have to take It easy with his criticisms.

Hikaru Stitch Here's a fun little seiyuu fact I just remembered after seeing that opening scene . This isn't the first time TakaRie has voiced a character who's a seiyuu. One of her first main character roles back in 2015 was Ichinose Futaba in Seiyu's Life. Anyway, no wonder Hikaru wanted to branch out. Despite her hard work as a seiyu, people think it's because of her looks that she got her roles. What's worse is that even Hikaru's manager agrees that she owes her job and popularity to her looks. At least the manager realized that Hikaru is more than just a pretty face, after seeing her practicing rakugo. It's actually hilarious to see the difference in Issho's judgment between Karashi and Hikaru's performances. It looked like Issho was restraining himself from saying anything inappropriate to Karashi last week, while this time he looks like he's genuinely elated after watching Hikaru's performance. Very excited to see Akane's performance next week. She's been taking it easy with the intro, but it looks like the actual performance will finally start once she recites Jugemu's name.

I have to wonder if Rieri was also getting Maho Precure flashbacks from her voice recording scene in the opening episode. Hikaru is fabulous and beautiful, that can't be denied, but her vocal talent is legit both in terms of being a seiyuu and in performing rakugo. Karashi tried to hijack rakugo and "modernize" it to suit his tastes and what he felt the audiences wanted, but Hikaru was able to take rakugo and truly elevate it with nothing more than her voice and charisma. At this point she's the real biggest threat to Akane right now.

If I got a nickel for every show this season that surprisingly had a performance that I am really hyped about, I would have two nickels. Which isn't much, but it's weird it happened twice. And considering how good Iruma's performance was, I am confident in saying that they will give us a perfect Akane performance next week as well. Honestly, Hikaru's choice was something I expected. I thought she would use her acting talent to make sure that the characters are really coming through and it was clear that she focused on the wife early on. So props to the show that it was this easy to pick up despite not even showing the performance in full. I am interested to see what the deal with Issho is at the end. I am still thinking that he is mostly playing nice and he would be way more critical if those were "real" Rakugoka, but considering that even the audience members expect him to be stricter is definitely becoming a pattern. But let's see what he will say to Akane's performance considering that you'd think he finds Jugemu to be too easy for a win. I have to disagree on one thing with Koguma and that is that I never had the feeling that Akane started Rakugo because she wanted to get revenge for her father. She always loved it even before her father got exiled. So I think she would have become a Rakugoka either way. And I think, her focusing on the general audience and not Issho is a good sign of that. Sure, she wants to win but she didn't forget her lesson about who she is doing this for. Not just for Issho, but the whole crowd. Then again, if that was all there was to it, her father wouldn't have been exiled since people really loved his performance, so let's hope this fear isn't somehow getting back at her during the performance. Because I really want to see where she goes with it. I doubt she will end it with the death due to the name being too long, but we'll see.

Koguma's whole thing is that he discovered, through Akane, that he was still bitter about what happened to Shinta. It's why he agreed to work with Akane. So he projected his own thoughts, fears, and insecurities onto Akane in the moment. For him, he saw Akane entered the Karaku Cup as a way to yell at Issho and have her moment where she gets to rage at him because I'd imagine it's what Koguma wants to do (probably most of the other Shiguma apprentices). But, like she said, Issho is a phenomenal performer and to deny him would be lame. So she just wants to know why he did what he did, she already grappled with the emotions before he had even met her. Must have been a real humbling moment for him.

It absolutely does, Koguma has wounds from the expulsion incident and has absolutely been using Akane as his own 'projectile,' so to speak, for some vengence. The problem that he ran into is that Koguma himself is insecure so when he saw how good Hikaru is and how well received Karashi was (importantly despite the fact what he did was against Issho's style of rakugo) he panicked. He was worried he set her up to fail. But, another fun thing if you haven't caught on to it, is that Akane is the shounen prodigy character. Akane has no fear because she's grown up surrounded by rakugo. She has lived this her whole life and hasn't ever had a reason to be nervous or worried. Her job now is to go out there and give the audience what they want. Again, must have been a real humbling moment for him.

Oh absolutely. The Akane/Hikaru dichotomy is absolutely insane when you notice it with this episode really putting it on full display. And thanks, I've been a huge fan of this series since the manga first dropped and absolutely love the fact the anime is being so well taken care of and received. It's the best thing releasing today in manga form and the anime is no slouch either. I literally can not express how good this series continues to be and it doesn't ever miss, by far the best 'sports' shounen in a long time.

I think it plays with the usual set-up a bit more than that. Talent-wise, it's a reversal, but in terms of motives and personality it's close to the usual set-up. Hikaru's not exactly from the sticks, she's a celebrity in a similar field. She's working hard, but that's because she wants to prove the success she already has was earned. Akane is just a high school student, and she wants to succeed to vindicate her love for her father's craft and because she loves the art form for its own sake.

When you're putting on impromptu Rakugo performances as a child during a parent-teacher meeting and could never take your eyes off of your fathers' Rakugo, you were always destined to enter into this industry. I think she was so razor focused on becoming good enough to get to Issho that she lost some fundamentals along the way, but she's slowly been learning those over the course of the season. Everything she's been through has probably been building up to this Jugemu.

I am not sure if she actually lost fundamentals considering she is only a real Rakugoka for a bit. It's more like she just didn't know some things. Which I think is understandable. Because while it makes sense that you should check your audience, in a situation where you are nervous, simple things like these can just slip your mind. And if you are not told, you might never realise what you are doing wrong. We shouldn't forget that for how good Akane is, she is still a "beginner".

She hasn't Lost any fundamentals. It's Just she's not in the Arakawa School yet. So she's not used to performing. So there will be Things she didn't learn yet, either from performing or from lessons. Meeting the needs of The audience for one. Is a Thing she learned from working in the Isakaya early on in the show. Not a Thing taught to her by her master. It stuck to her thru real experience, so it's harder to forget, even in a pressured situation. She's got a solid foundation as a Rakugoka. She's known the basics well for years after all.

I agree with your take on Akane's motivations, although I'll add that your dream becoming tainted by revenge is definitely a risk to keep an eye out for. Reminded me a bit of how[Attack on Titan] Eren always wanted to join the Survey Corps, but after the Shiganshina attack he started fighting to destroy the enemy, not to see the outside world, and even he knows it. I will say though, this won't be too dramatic if Akane doesn't loose her cool at least a little bit, in the interview if not the performance (if she wins). So I'm expecting a twist of direction in some manner.

Yes, I agree that the interview probably won't go without any drama. Probably triggered at least by an answer from Issho. I was just talking about how Koguma said, Akane became a Rakugoka for revenge. Revenge is probably a factor here, but from what we've seen, Akane would have probably become one even without that incident. And as some pointed out, it might just Koguma projecting himself onto Akane.

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I'm a little sad Hikaru's performance got less screen time, but it was still really good. I stand by what I said last week that I think she or Akane win, and Issho's compliments cemented that for me. He started harsh and then went for strong compliments, where as last episode it was more a back handed compliment before criticism. Also I find it fascinating that we're seeing Akane's performance split over two episodes. Clearly she's got a gear shift coming and they want the split to highlight that fact, but still a pretty bold choice. God I love this show.

That anime Hikaru voices in does look kinda cool. Hm… does that put her at a disadvantage? Oh, right… that’s the same story Akane’s dad performed at his last performance… Aw damn, she overheard that… Hikaru “sore demo”! Wow , that’s incredibly high praise. Assuming he actually means it. Oh boy, it’s Akane’s turn… Koguma thinks she’s going to lose? This got a dark chuckle out of me. She must have some sort of plan.

Wow , that’s incredibly high praise. Assuming he actually means it. While better than what Karashi got last time, I understand his praise as a respectful but ultimately backhanded compliment. He lays down an argument that invalidates Hikaru's whole performance: It's a story about a married couple and she, being young, is not capable of capturing its essence. In other words, her portrayal is insincere. The way he phrases it makes it seem like she was an exception to that rule, but he actually doubles down on it. He praises her "proficiency" and "emotional performance", which is a way of saying she's workmanlike. That is, according to Issho, Hikaru is trying to cover up her performance's lack of substance through her skills . I can't really tell - I don't speak Japanese - but his wording of "performer" also implies he's not praising her as a rakugoka. He recognizes she's skilled, but that only makes it more apparent that he doesn't think her rakugo was great. I think I understand Issho better now. His criticism of Hikaru is the he has of Karashi: That they miss the true substance of rakugo and focus on superficial elements - playing a "serious" role, "fixing" the classics, etc. I can also see this is what he hated of Akane's dad performance.

I actually hope that this is the case and that he didn't really like the performance. Karashi is at least very knowledgeable about Rakugo and the classic stories, even more so than Akane if we count last episode's Akane Small Talk. I would hate for a tourist to sweep the floor with two people who have actually studied the art thoroughly just because the audience has preconceived biases and Issho wants to reach a younger demographic. Hikaru did put in a lot of effort, I'm not downplaying that, but for her to win? That would feel like it invalidates the dedication of our other two contenders. Edit: I am also not saying that Karashi deserves to win. He discarded a lot of crucial aspects of the original story in his rework. I just feel like he deserves it more than Hikaru. Seeing Issho smiling at Akane's performance gives me high hopes. However, there is also a high chance of Akane failing to completely knock his mask off. He might still choose Karashi or Hikaru because they cater more to a younger audience in his eyes.

But, they are the finalists, and I am comparing them to Akane who is being trained in Rakugo. I wouldn’t say that Karashi has a shallow understanding of the stories, he just doesn’t care about the orginals as long as he gets laughs out of the audience. He has known every story by name, he knows how they’re usually told, and in Akane Small Talk (not sure if that can be seen as canon, but at least it’s supposed to reflect the character) he showed that he was very knowledgeable.

You know what yeah, i have been noticing that all these new anime voice actress are ironically quite good looking too, so maybe those girls are onto something You may think that visual appearance wouldn't have nothing to do with their job, but maybe i was being naive It similar to how it is turning out that all those big breasted Vtubers, also are hot big breasted women in real life You guys think Issho genuinely meant what he told Hikaru, or was he just giving her lip service to secure a popular face to promote rakugo? Lol at Karashi thinking Hikaru will come after him after we were told she got the biggest crowd reaction of the day, and that's without Akane performing

You guys think Issho genuinely meant what he told Hikaru, or was he just giving her lip service to secure a popular face to promote rakugo? My impression is that Issho expelled Tooru and his class as a publicity stunt, and is now praising Hikaru and Karashi because he knows how important it is to encourage interest in rakugo among the youth by praising the popular young performers. He seems to be very aware that rakugo is in danger of becoming irrelevant given competing modern media, and willing to do almost anything to maintain interest in the art. Both with Karashi and Hikaru, he starts off with a criticism that sounds like his honest feelings and then converts it into a compliment that will appeal to the crowd. Issho seems to be all about controlling the crowd even when he is not on stage.

Most of the stories we've seen so far were comedies. However, now we've learnt that it's possible to perform a dramatic Rakugo. Hikaru did well to choose a story that utilised her VA skills. Unlike the twice-defending champion Karashi or Akane, who's trained by a professional, Hikaru's a complete newbie to the world of Rakugo as well as an autodidact. It's quite the accomplishment for her to be one of the Karaku Cup frontrunners. After two intense performances by Karashi & Hikaru, Akane's performance was rather subdued, even more than her in the prelims. Both her rivals thought she threw the match however her seniors knew better. Turned out the muted performance was deliberate. The audience would be overwhelmed were she to match their mood. A relaxed one was just what the doctor ordered. She did well to read the room and tailor her performance accordingly. The stint at the izakaya really did Akane wonders. Without it, she'd instead try to one-up the intensity, which would backfire hard on her.

It probably isn't the case but my first reaction to Koragi doing the same story as Akane's dad was her provoking Akane and trying to get her to lose focus because of that. It is probably not the case but that was my first thought. Enjoyed the running order discussion that stuff really matters in general especially in long performances and Akane got the worst running order possible but overall if Karashi, Koragi and Akane were the standout performers in the first round having them all perform in a row instead of being split up is terrible management by the organizer in charge of deciding the running order. Let's see next episode if Akane's Jugemu beats to chill with strategy works out.