Going against the grain of shōnen standards, this new anime focuses on a universe little explored on screen: rakugo, a traditional Japanese art. Its adaptation questions the capacity of animation to give shape to a practice based on narration.
In a landscape dominated by action stories, Akane-banashi could well stand out for its unexpected theme. Adapted from the manga by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue, the anime arrives in streaming with a weekly broadcast from April 4 on ADN. From Weekly ShÅnen Jumpthe project departs from dominant stories to explore a traditional Japanese art: rakugo, a stage narration where a single storyteller interprets several characters by voice and gesture.
What is this about?
Pre-published since February 2022 by Shueisha, Akane-banashi is published in France by Ki-oon and today has around twenty volumes in Japan. The story follows Akane Osaki, a high school student determined to become a rakugoka. As a child, she witnessed her father’s failure, dismissed without explanation by an influential teacher during a decisive exam. This event establishes its trajectory: understanding this injustice and restoring a broken heritage.
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The manga articulates a classic progression: training, rivalries, competitions. Akane evolves in a codified environment, supervised by authority figures, while confronting other apprentices with divergent approaches.
Rakugo, a narrative challenge?
An art born in the Edo period, rakugo is based on a solitary stage narration: seated, the storyteller interprets several characters using variations of voice and gestures, with only a fan and a cloth as accessories.
Manga stands out as much for the originality of this subject as for its ability to give visual form to a discipline based on orality. Expressions, silences and rhythms take over from the action. The animated adaptation will have to extend this approach, relying on the staging and the acting of the voices.
Who is derrière l’anime?
The series is produced by the ZEXCS studio (Diabolik Lovers, Shadowverse Flame). The production is entrusted to Ayumu Watanabe, known for Children of the sea or Time Shadows. Character design is supervised by Kii Tanaka and music is by Michihiro Tsuchiya.
