Akane Banashi – Review of the first volume

This year, in October, a very interesting title arrived in Italy, which dares something more than the most popular genres: we are talking about Akane Banashiwork written by Yuki Suenaga and illustrated by Takamasa Moue, That invites us to explore the sensational world of Rakugo and its many aspects, with a comedy full of emotions and tradition.

Is this highly touted manga worth your money? As always, you will find the answer by reading our article!

• Original title: あかね噺 (Akane Banashi)
• Italian title: Akane Banashi
• Italian release: October 18, 2023
  
• Japanese release: February 14, 2022
  
• Number of volumes: 9 (in progress)
  
• Publishing house: J-POP Manga
  
• Type: Theatre, Slice of life, comedy
• Drawings: Takamasa Moue
• History: Yuki Suenaga
• Format: Paperback, 17.9 x 12.4
• Number of pages: 200 pages, B/W

We reviewed Akane Banashi via the print volume provided to us free of charge by J-POP Manga.

A new stage

Forgive the boldness, but as the narrator of this story, just like a rakugokaI reserve the right to give you a shorter summary than usual, omitting some details that will make reading more pleasant and compelling. Akane is a little girl who grew up watching her father Shinta practice the art of Rakugo, an ancient Japanese theatrical tradition which consists of monologues during which a story with comical implications is told, playing several actors alone. Being enchanted by the fantastic atmospheres that she is able to create with just her voice and body movements. By observing his father he assimilates his knowledge and gestures, and to follow in his footsteps begins training with the school teacher ArakawaShiguma, to become a professional.

After many years of practice, the master who had already trained her father offers her a chance: at just 17 years old Akane will be able to perform in front of the public for the first time and show off all her skills; This way you will also experience all the difficulties, fears and tensions related to your dream job. Will our protagonist be able to show her worth and gain the approval of the great masters, becoming one shin'uchi, the highest degree to which a person aspires rakugoka? We will only find out in the next acts!

Rakugo for everyone

That this volume wants spread the passion for Rakugo immediately catches the eye, with the protagonist indicating her name with the Sensu (the fan used by the authors to evoke dry and rhythmic sounds during the performance) directly on the cover. We are not here to retrace the birth or the rules of this art (for that you can consult our dedicated article here), especially because for many readers this is a topic that is now cleared through customs: there are more manga in this genre than we think, even if they have mostly remained unpublished or almost unpublished in Italy; see the various ones Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, Isekai Rakugoor the pleasant My master has no tailfortunately reached us in anime format, many years after another very respectable title, Joshiraku.

Despite this, precisely because a more in-depth knowledge of Japanese culture is normally required (similarly to historical titles), paper production still remains rather limited, struggling to enchant and retain the public compared to classics. battle shonen. Yuki Suenaga with this work tries, once again, to insinuate himself into as many souls as possibletreating the topic exhaustively, but framing it (just like in the aforementioned My master has no tail) in a slice of life plot, with its relationships accessible to everyone: if on the one hand it will be possible retrace famous Rakugo scenes that would have no other way of easily reaching our audience (Shibahama, Manju kowai, Keikoya and Kohome only in this volume), on the other hand this work will be able to delicately entertain us with the events related to Akane and her life.

The art of making people laugh

What we understand from this number one is how much the rakugoga profession is subject to very specific, difficult and stringent conventions, with its division into classes and related performances. A real “game rule” unknown to manywhich however as in Chihayafuru – Chihaya's game or for Hikaru no Go and similar works are delicately explained to us, between stratagems, jokes, a good construction of the story and above all performances; starting from the first chapter in fact, we find ourselves immersed in the professional worldand this makes everything more immediate and electrifying, with the affirmation on several occasions of the purpose of this art: amaze and make spectators laugh. Akane herself states “I see things that shouldn't be there, yet they are there, it's like magic” and this wonder will drive the girl's ambitions and the whole volume.

The author certainly wanted to arouse a clash of emotions in the reader, like a true rakugoka, and she largely succeeded: the scenes go through both excited and painful moments and funny and carefree ones; a simple narrative, but what he doesn't lose the thread of the conversation and the rhythm of the jokes, alternating them so that what remains is the fun. The purpose of Rakugo is above all to make people laugh, and this volume, while perhaps remaining more serious than one would expect, scatters many moments of humor among the cartoons that will remain imprinted on you. Between backstory and performances, in addition to the main plot, Akane Banashi knows how to stimulate curiosity, embellishing the environment with personal touches and a graceful portrayal of the characters surrounding this theatrical comedy.

The fear of failure

Another important content of this volume is certainly what concerns social pressure and its judgmentswhich in this specific case match those of the public. “What if I screw up?” the father asks himself during his exam; in my small way I also did theater, so I understand very well the emotions represented in Shinta's performances: the fear of making mistakes, the fear of disappointing family members and all those who believed in you; a topic as current as ever in a panorama where an out of place word risks compromising a career, or worse, where a personal judgment can even change a person's life (sometimes even for the good, and in this regard even Oda praised the work on Twitter).

How many of you have heard “it's better this way” when you abandoned your dreams for an economic goal or a rational choice? It seems right to you put aside desires to find a stable job or be judged suitable by society? If you are reading this review the answer is probably a “NO”. In this sense, Akane and Shinta are, on two opposite fronts, bearers of hope and harsh reality, and with their actions they will definitely leverage your conscience and imagination, and even your past. Then there are many topics barely touched upon in this first issue: revenge (intended here however as revenge), teaching, the transmission of passions to children, the iniquity of the world… many little notes that you will discover by reading it and which make the together of this first volume even more melodic.

There are no small parts

Regarding the story, it's clear that Yuki Suenaga is able to captivate the audience with his well-balanced dialogues: a skilful management of descriptive and action moments, right interludes between performances and private life, personages framed in a few lines, and above all immediately recognizable by their character and prerogatives: the masters illustrated almost as if they were divinities, Akane's father with his “problematic” behavior yet determined on his goals, the mother with her feet on the ground but understanding, and a daughter who is shown to us almost as a tomboy, gifted with charisma and expressive ability. However, if the message manages to be transmitted it is also thanks to Takamasa Moue's stylewho is his second work (after the unpublished Ole Golazo) shows all his abilities: excellent line, features that know how to focus attention where it is needed, expressiveness, attention to detail and layout.

You will find it then the style contrasts are fantastic in the representation of fantasy stories, with drawings equipped with clean and thick lines, made only of black or white, which dominate the surrounding tenuous and delicate setting of reality, with its hatchings and its details; in a similar way, the comparisons between the expression of the rakugoka and the narrated character also capture and exalt, facilitating the reading of the manga. In short, many strong points, graphically speaking, with two aspects in particular: the care of the environmentswith backgrounds rich in details, perhaps blurred or sketchy, but never empty (we are shown the sound of debayashi for the entrance, the kimono for the performance, thoughts for performance anxiety, etc.) and the complementary malleability of faces, with varied and all fantastic expressions, especially as regards the protagonist Akane. Seeing the initial color pages I sometimes regret that similar titles remain only in black and white!

Who do we recommend Akane Banashi to?

Surely to theater lovers and to those who are looking for a title that explores something different from the Japanese “traditions” that commonly come to our country. Even if you are already versed in Rakugo, Akane Banashi, at least for now, seems to have what it takes to entertain even the most demanding, with simplified explanations (the pages at the end of the volume are useful), but lots of enthusiasm. Furthermore, it is still volume no. 1 with a nice gadget (Akane's cardboard composition), one of those that you can put in your library to quickly understand which series it is. Unless you only follow titles with a lot of action or fighting, think about it, For the price and potential it's certainly worth it!