A Special Thanks Goes Out to Viz Media and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this title.
We’re jumping back into the wonderful world of Rakugo with the help of Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue’s Akane-banashi, Volume Two. If you recall in Volume One, Akane took a shift at Izakaya Umi to help her learn how to perform rakugo, with the help of her master’s senior pupil, Kyoji Arakawa. He believed it would help her learn how to make her audience happy and master Kibataraki, to be considerate of others.
In this newest volume, Kyoji takes Akane to a retirement home in Tokyo for his Zenza opening act while under the assignment she was given to offer rakugo that would please the audience in front of her. Akane wonders how she can show Kyoji how much she has grown and learned from his training. Akane later learned about the Karaku Cup, a Student Rakugo Competition with Issho Arakawa presiding as the head judge! She sought permission from her master to attend the competition, and Shiguma gave her permission to go, but with one catch, Akane must perform Jugemu.
Akane-banashi continues its well-written story with character-building and each character that has been introduced so far has served a purpose for Akane’s Rakugo Education and personal growth. But it doesn’t just focus on Akane’s rakugo journey, it also focuses on her Senior’s point of view while not straying off the main story’s path.
Another strength this book has is how educational it is, a similar strength that another Shonen manga shares and that is Boichi and Riichiro Inagaki’s Dr. Stone. While Dr. Stone has action, drama, and comedy, it also helped make science education interesting and accessible. Akane-banashi on the other hand, helps make rakugo accessible to a newer generation (including those who live in the Western part of the world), a similar point I made in my review for the first volume when it came to focusing on certain parts of Japanese culture, and the importance of Rakugo. While we are on the subject of Rakugo, the second volume introduces readers to Zenza-banashi, a brief and light story that is performed by the Zenza Rank, and Jugemu, a comical story about a parent who gives their child an extremely long name that gets repeated often. Jugemu also serves as a basic lesson for rakugo beginners.
The artwork continues to be another treat to admire about this story, blending in the elements of a manga art form with a sense of traditional Japanese history in each rakugo tale that was featured. Each expression and new character that was introduced was drawn beautifully and expressively. Near the end of the volume, we learned more about the Karaku Cup, its history, and the competitors that would be a tough test for Akane’s character, and her rakugo training.
Akane-banashi Volume Two is available now digitally and in bookstores. You can read the series on Viz Media’s Shonen Jump and Shueisha’s Manga Plus app. (It is part of the ‘First Read Free’ Campaign! The Campaign is only available on the mobile app.)
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Final Grade:
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