Shinta Arakawa wants nothing more than to pass his shin’uchi exam—the test that would make him a top-rank headliner and master storyteller in the traditional Japanese art of rakugo. Akane Osaki, his daughter and biggest fan, spies on him while he practices and learns his routines for herself. When rakugo master Issho Arakawa expels everyone after the exam with no explanation, a fire is lit inside Akane. From that day forth, she has had one goal—to avenge her father and prove his art was worthy of the title of shin’uchi.
During the final round of the Karaku Cup, Akane delivers a performance that spellbinds the audience. As the crowd is gripped with emotion, Akane receives a shocking review from her most hated foe, Issho Arakawa. Who will emerge victorious at the competition and have a one-on-one talk with the man who ruined the life of Akane’s father? As the thrilling Karaku Cup comes to a conclusion, a new chapter unfolds… What awaits Akane on the next stage of her journey to become a professional rakugoka?
The jerk who ruined the rakugo aspirations of Akane’s dad is about to pronounce judgement on her. Will Akane learn the truth she’s been fighting hard to reveal? And, win or lose, does anybody really care what a teenager achieves?
Oh, you clever thing. Every time I think that things are going one way in this series, it swerves off to do something else. And that tends to be much more interesting as a consequence.
The tendency for most series, I think, would be to drag out the secret of why Akane’s dad got expelled for volume upon volume and leave it hanging in the air as this great mystery and motivation.
Well, you will have your answer and you will have it this very volume. And not only is it a good answer, one that makes sense for the arrogant position of Issho, the judge, and shows that he might not have much compassion, but he isn’t petty either.
This encounter is polite, but charged, and turns into a fascinating discussion about the distinction between what believe you deserve and what you earn. And it really shows Akane’s father’s conviction in what he was doing, if not himself.
Even better, it gives Akane what she wants and then also gives her another, more difficult goal to shoot for. The storytelling in this series is wonderful. And sympathetic villainy is hard to do, but what Issho is doing and why he feels he has to are absolutely believable.
In the aftermath of the competition, things take a bit of a breather for the middle portion, but Akane has suddenly found herself having gone viral due to her performance at the competition.
What this basically achieves is nothing, minus putting a target on her back. Fame or no, winning the competition or not, she is still very new at this and not everybody pays attention to student competitions nor do they especially care about the outcome.
It’s a very slick way to both show an achievement, but then to completely recontextualize it afterward in the greater scope of things. It slowly pulls back the layers of the rakugo hierarchy and keeps adding on the next steps she’ll have to climb.
The end of this volume emphasizes that journey ahead, as Akane starts zenza training, which basically makes her a gofer at the very bottom of the rung. It has some obvious moments - her new overlord is a total jerk, there’s more that she should be doing than just working.
But it also shows how smart Akane is, and she quickly gets the hang of what she’s doing and, rather than completely defang her superior, it just introduces somebody way worse than him that leads to potential defanging and also puts up the next real challenge for Akane to step up to.
I think this story is great. As I have said before, it’s absolutely my kind of take on a competition manga and it has lots of villains to glare at and a strong heroine and it’s written whip-smart. It has yet to let me down and long may that continue.
5 stars - that’s four for four with this one. We’ll be approaching Apothecary Diaries and Frieren levels of ‘all-time favourite’ if we keep going at this rate.
The first couple chapters do a really good job of wrapping up last volume's cliffhanger and even the story arc running through the first three volumes.
But then the book stumbles as a boatload of new characters are introduced and a small time jump rushes to set up a new status quo and the next arc of the series. I'm sure everything will be fine next time now that the new set-up is all in place, but the poor transition shakes my faith in the creative team a little.
I worry this just going to be a battle manga now, instead of a thoughtful character study.
FOR REFERENCE:
Contents: Story 26. Where You Belong -- Story 27. Conversation -- Story 28. I'm Glad -- Story 29. A Wonderful World -- Story 30. Before Being a Rakugoka -- Story 31. Zenza Training Begins -- Story 32. Yasaka-Tei -- Story 33. A Place of Learning -- Story 34. Background Listening
With the Karaku Cup behind her...time passes and Akane finds about her father's reaction to being expelled those years before. Then her Zenza training begins and that's a whole different ball game. Smart series that keeps improving especially showing how Akane adapts to her challenges... .learning and implementing new skills.
akane my beloved !! après avoir fini le tome 3 j’avais eu un peu peur que la suite tourne en rond et que ça devienne vite lassant et répétitif mais une vraie histoire s’annonce et we are all rooting for akane!!!
Akane is an incredible protagonist. You feel her struggle and passion in ever chapter. Her conversation with Arakawa was splendid, and I'm glad to see her learning more about Rakugo again. This is a series I have complete faith in every week.
Une suite dans la lignée des tomes précédents. Akane voit son rêve se concrétiser et pourtant ce n'est que le début de son aventure dans le monde du Rakugo. Elle continue de rencontrer de nouveaux personnages, pour la plupart déjà dans le métier. Le parcours de débutant est rude, mais Akane est une héroïne badass et surtout persévérante !
Extrait : Le suspense du tome précédent étant insoutenable, j’ai rapidement lu la suite que j’avais déjà. La surprise est tout aussi grande pour moi, pour ce qui est du résultat du concours, visiblement, je me suis fourvoyée sur le caractère d’Arakawa. Pour Akane, ça sera l’occasion de comprendre, mais aussi de pouvoir repartir en étant plus sereine. Elle apprendra également que son père aurait pu continuer, mais respectera également son choix. Elle fait vraiment preuve de beaucoup de maturité pour son âge, et elle commence déjà à donner envie aux autres de continuer sur le chemin du Rakugo !
La première chose surprenante dans ce tome, c’est le résultat du concours, je pensais que le jury hésiterait beaucoup concernant Akane. Surtout après la remarque d’Arakawa sénior, où il indique qu’elle n’a pas sa place ici. Malgré tout, il a visiblement su ranger son égo de côté pour choisir en connaissance de cause. Cette action laisse donc entrevoir qu’il n’a pas rejeté le père d’Akane sans raison valable et fait donc remonter le personnage dans mon estime. Comme Akane a remporté la compétition, elle va pouvoir, enfin, lui demander pourquoi. Une question que même les journalistes et ses disciples ignorent. Alors qu’il s’apprête à refuser, Akane lui répond qu’elle est sa fille, comprenant maintenant, il accepte de lui répondre, mais pas devant les journalistes. Une fois la raison expliquée, on comprend mieux pourquoi il en gardait le secret. Ce n’est également une raison futile, bien au contraire, c’est juste qu’il ne voit que par le Rakugo, un peu comme Akane. Pour lui c’est un art qu’il élève sur un pied destal, il ne peut donc pas faire monter en grade quelqu’un qui n’a pas ce qu’il faut à ses yeux. Cette réaction est digne d’un grand maître, je suppose, cela veut dire qu’il est très exigeant, tant envers les autres, qu’envers lui-même.
Ainsi, quand les autres se mettent à le critiquer, car certains de ses disciples montent trop vite en grade, on ressent grandement la jalousie. Un maître élevant autant son art ne jouera jamais avec son importance. S’il fait donc monter un de ses élèves plus rapidement, c’est que celui-ci a le talent pour. Cette décision a de quoi choquer, car cela montre que malgré sa sévérité et sa rigueur, il ne respecte pas toujours les règles non plus. Après, je parle de règle, mais il s’agirait plutôt de règles sociales, que de règles à respecter obligatoirement. Cette décision montre aussi qu’il est un maître qui récompense les personnes talentueuses, et que malgré son côté tatillon, il n’est pas méchant en soi. Enfin, cela veut également dire qu’il sait reconnaître le talent, ainsi que le potentiel des jeunes recrues. C’est sans doute pour cela qu’il est aussi connu et attise tant la jalousie. Il reconnait en Akane quelque chose, mais il n’indique pas pour autant si elle a du potentiel ou non. Je suppose qu’il pense que oui, mais que le résultat dépendra d’elle et de sa rigueur.
Il n’y a pas à dire entre l’énergie de l’héroïne et les coulisses de cet art de la scène qu’on découvre, je me régale !
Dès le début de sa série, l’auteur désamorce efficacement ce qui poussait son héroïne jusque là, lui redonnant une motivation autre et similaire à la fois et ne faisant pas de celui qui était le grand méchant une caricature. C’est très finement joué et cela augure bien de la suite, car de la même façon, chaque épreuve d’Akane pourra sembler évidente mais ne le sera pas. J’apprécie beaucoup.
J’ai ainsi trouvé ce tome de transition très intéressant. Il nous prend à contre-pied avec la réponse à la question qu’elle attendait et en même temps celle-ci est très bien trouvée, car l’oeuvre d’un passionné. Akane va donc continuer de suivre sa voie et si les petits moments tranche de vie n’ont rien d’extraordinaire, ils contribuent savamment au rythme de ce tome, montrant une jeunesse pleine d’envie, ce qui fait du bien dans un art ancestral qu’on aurait pu craindre poussiéreux.
La suite est donc évidente, Akane va aller travailler dans un yose, salle de spectacle du rakugo mais pas que. L’auteur y recycle avantageusement un des rivaux croisés, bien joué. Akane, elle, est à nouveau en apprentissage et on nous ressort la formule habituelle : nulle au début, elle montrera écoute et persévérance, ce qui lui offrira une opportunité. Elle fera également d’autres rencontres qui seront, j’en suis sûre, de nouveaux points d’appuis à sa carrière. Je sens que la série est construite ainsi, de rencontre et de marche vers son ascension. J’aime.
Il y a également, et j’apprécie cela, un arrière-plan plus complexe cependant qui semble se dessiner mettant en lumière les perspectives de cet art ancien. Et si l’auteur s’amuse à nous faire des parodies de shonen, comme une certaine scène tout droit sortie de Bleach et ses Capitaines, il y a aussi un message sérieux si l’attention portée à un renouveau, une nécessité d’évoluer, que j’ai hâte de voir car je trouve cela passionnant mis en corrélation avec ma précédente lecture sur le sujet qui se passait des décennies plus tôt.
Il se passe vraiment quelque chose dans cette oeuvre où je suis ravie d’avoir pris le train en marche. Je peux ainsi enchaîner les tomes et découvrir la force de la passion d’Akane, la richesse des gens qui l’entourent et la diversité de cet art. L’auteur maîtrise parfaitement les arcanes des shonens sportifs dont il retranscrit les codes ici. C’est passionnant, drôle et touchant à la fois. On ne s’ennuie à aucun moment même dans les tomes de transition comme ici. Le Rakugo est un vrai art vivant et vibrant, Yuki Suenaga le démontre bien ici.
This story continues to give the reader an intriguing summarized look into what an up-and-coming rakugoka's life is like.
I would have expected the confrontation between Akane and Issho to come much later than it did, but the execution was deftly handled and fitting. The party afterwards was charming, as Akane's mentor joins the fun.
After eight months' time skip (minor by the standards of many shonen manga), Akane is now working as backstage gofer at a hybrid traditional theater that features manzai and shadow puppetry as well as rakugo. If she does well enough at both paying attention to the performers' needs for tea, having their performance cushions placed just so, et al., and learning from the performers onstage, she will gain the opportunity to be the opening act at the theater.
I wish the rakugoka's notes were at the end of every volume rather than just the first couple, and the art's slipped a tiny bit, but these are minor complaints. This manga has just the right balance between being educational and entertaining.
Akane yg pgn naik tingkat ke Futatsume harus belajar dgn mengikuti pelatihan rakugo, yaitu menjadi pendukung backstage para master rakugo. Walaupun ujungnya dia bekerja kayak babu, mulai dari bikinin teh, pasang cushion harus sesuai ukuran dan posisinya, makaikan haori saat mereka mau perform dll. Akane pun bertemu dgn Karashi yg juga ingin ikut ujian naik tingkat, walaupun rese tp dia juga ngasih advice yg bermanfaat. Byk master rakugo yg muncul tp tbh orgnya pada arogan semua.
Juga ada part dmn Issho merasa Kaisei pny niat terselubung karena dia selama ini seolah menyembunyikan Akane dr dia. I don't know apa yg spesial bgt dr Kaisei ini tp sptnya dia karakter yg cuma mikir aman + muka dua sih. Antara mau bantu Akane tp juga mihak antagonisnya. Vol 5 nya masih lama bisa dipinjam dr Libby😂
Very good volume! This is the one where Akane finally gets to confront Isshou Arakawa about why her father was dismissed from rakugo. And I'll be honest, I agreed with his logic. In reading volume one, I thought that her dad's performance was "just okay" and I wasn't really sure how this man, who wasn't great at what he did, could be the inspiration for Akane (although, I suppose she idolizes him because he's her dad). But, I appreciate that while Isshou is still an intense or even threatening character, he's not painted as some two-dimensional villain. In fact, his reasoning was sound (if cold) and I think it only strengthens him as an antagonist.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Akane finishes her finals performance of "Jugemu" and... the reaction. The reaction of the crowd, the reaction of Issho Arakawa, the reaction of Karashi and Hikaru... just perfect! I can't think of a better way this competition could've gone. Even if you know she's going to win (because otherwise she wouldn't be accepted as Shigumo Arakawa's student) it's still so satisfying when Issho's fake smile drops.
And then the interview... I can't even be mad. Frustrated, yes. Angry, no.
But now Akane is officially a Zanza, an apprentice rakugoka, and we get to meet some new characters. I like them already.
Damn, rakugoka are kinda assholes. I am still not clear on why Issho was able to expel students that weren’t his own. And for such a dumb reason. Among people, there is no avoiding having a ranking of better or worse, even if it is minute differences, but that is all completely subjective. What he read as weakness may have not translated to the audience as such, and they are the ultimate arbiters of whether a performance is successful. Without an audience your art will fail, so your subjective opinion as a single person should not make a determination that this performer will destroy rakugo if he is allowed to continue. Besides which, he could fail them without expulsion.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Though Akane finally gets her answer from Master Issho, on the whole I found this installment unsatisfactory. A great many new characters are introduced very rapidly and are hard to keep track of. Akane progresses to being a lackey for the great names in rakugo at a famous performance venue. This time around, the storytelling lesson, as far as I could tell, was to develop the skill of background listening to the masters in performance while still successfully completing the demeaning subservient tasks she is given.
Jedno z nejsilnějších volumek zatím. Příběh se posunul, postavy tu měli více prostoru a naskytlo se tu i několik vyloženě skvělých a emotivních scének. Moc se mi líbilo že hlavní "záporák" Issio tu má opravdu opodstatněné své chování a jeho důvody nejsou vycucané z prstu a dávají smysl. Právě část s ním byla jedna z těch nejsilnějších. I tak tu ale fungovalo vše a velice mě to navnadilo na další volumka. 10/10
The rock solid run continues. I rolled my eyes a little when they introduced the council of rakugo masters, but whatever. Shonen is gonna shonen. I'm so impressed with this. I did not expect to be that into a story about a teen girl who wants to become a master of traditional Japanese comedic storytelling, but I am eating this up. It reminds me a little bit of Bakuman, but with less inside baseball and sexism.
This is such a fun and unique series. Akane is such an interesting character and the an end result of her first competition was great to watch. I’m glad we get some more backstory on her father’s expulsion. The introduction of the new school storyline is also very interesting.
i like to see the characters grow so it was nice seeing akane settle in her new role as zenza and begin her training. a bunch of new characters are introduced in this volume, which was a little overwhelming because there were just too many new names. however, out of everyone, i like asagao the most even tho he's a jerk at first (his design is cool)
Disfruté muchísimo el final del arco. Estoy segurísimo de que aquí cortarían la primera temporada del anime si le dieran luz verde. En cuanto a la introducción del próximo arco pues... es bueno pero lentillo. No es fácil cambiar de pacing e introducir nuevos personajes. Pero me gustó mucho el nuevo lugar y abordar el rakugo de un modo más tradicional.
Non sono mai stata fan dei salti temporali e purtroppo in questo volume si entra in un nuovo arco narrativo proprio verso la sua metà con un gap di otto mesi.
Sicuramente il tutto si riprenderà col prossimo, però a gusto puramente personale non è stato il mio volume preferito…