#shinta arakawa

[meiruihan]

like father, like daughter

[shysheeperz]

[glamorousgamine]

I’ve suspected that Issho’s Problem with Shinta was that despite his skill, Shinta didn’t put rakugo on as high of a pedestal as Issho and chapter 139 strengthened my belief.

Issho: This is how I will atone for the rest of my life.

Kaichi: This is a product worth betting my life on.

Kaisei: I don’t have to be weak anymore because I have rakugo.

Shinta: It’s just rakugo.

Issho: …

[antigonewinchester]

Part 2 - Shiguma's Art, or the Art of Living

In Chapter 121, Akane reflects on how much she admires Shiguma as her teacher:

AKANE: “If I’d so much as put a single button on wrong, I might’ve gone down the path of rakugo out of obligation and revenge. But the reason that didn’t happen is thanks to master. He never does anything halfway, even dancing and having fun and cavorting. What master taught me is how to enjoy the world of rakugo!!”

Then in Chapter 122, we see Shiguma comment on Akane’s similarity to Kiroku:

GAKUMON: “It’s quite impressive. Performing at an event patronized by many of your long-term fans, and leaping freely about from moment to moment.” SHIGUMA: “Well, that’s because she’s inherited, more than anyone else, the essence of Shiguma.”

Unlike Issho, Akane didn't end up going down the path of rakugo out of revenge, obligation, or atonement—although her father’s expulsion drove her to learn rakugo (paralleling Issho’s horror at seeing his own teacher expelled and his reaction to it), Akane stays with rakugo because she loves and enjoys it. It would be easy to say Kiroku was joyful, Akane is joyful, and Issho is not, and that being the reason Akane can inherit Shiguma’s Art. And while that’s certainly a part of it, I want to return to the question of strength to look at how Akane dealt with the question of weakness, in contrast to Issho.

Akane’s enjoyment of rakugo is visualized on the page by a child version of Akane, and there’s another key moment when a child version of Akane appears: during her performance of Changing Time in Chapter 70 of Ikken’s selection event.

During this event, Akane sees many other rakugokas-in-training, each with their own reasons for pursuing rakugo. And when she looks back at her father’s art, she now can see… a weak rakugoka. Yet her child self asks:

CHILD AKANE: “But wait… Rakugo stories are your friends. Does that mean weak people can’t have friends? Does a rakugoka have to be strong?”

Akane ultimately acknowledges her father’s weakness:

AKANE: “Up until now, I thought dad’s art was incredible. It was a dream I chased after. But because of that, I lost sight of the true nature of his art. My dad isn’t strong like them. But that’s exactly why the people in my dad’s stories feel so kind and warm. That’s it. I realize now that it was dad’s weakness I loved.”

Akane doesn’t just accept her father’s weakness—his weakness is why she loves him and his art.

Shiguma and Maikeru, watching her perform, praise her for this acceptance:

SHIGUMA: “Rakugo stories are not tales of heroism. They’re full of proud men, drunks, lechers, and fools. They tales of ordinary people who are far from perfect, failing in various ways. And in stories like that, even weakness can be a weapon. It’s fine to be weak. It’s just another flavor of the human experience.” MAIKERU: “You’ve figured it out, Akaneru.”

It’s fine to be weak—now that sentiment is one that Issho completely rejects. Issho’s contempt for weakness and lionization of strength is particularly highlighted in his expulsion of Shinta. In Chapter 27 and 28, when Akane asks him why he expelled Shinta and the other apprentices, he explains it so:

ISSHO: “...is it the audience’s applause that makes it a ‘performance worthy of a Shin’uchi’? When the listener senses your nerves and lends you their support out of sympathy and compassion, is that the performance of a true master? You can say this of acting or music or any other performing art—not just rakugo. Applause comes in response to the art. When applause precedes your art, it is a sign of weakness. And what a Shin’uchi needs to rock solid strength. Anyone whose weakness is visible onstage does not deserve to be an Arakawa Shin’uchi.... Rakugoka are not just entertainers—we are the keepers of a traditional art. We preserve and protect the arts we inherited from our forebears, and pass them down to the next generation. That is the calling of every rakugoka today. Arakawa does not need anyone who would weaken rakugo."

In Chapter 126, we learn Issho’s didn't just reject Shinta for his weakness, but also because he saw Kiroku within Shinta’s performance:

SHIGUMA: “What if [Shinta] was expelled because he chose ‘Shibahama’?” AKANE: “Huh? What…?” SHIGUMA: “Or maybe not because it was ‘Shibahama,’ but because it was the previous Shiguma’s ‘Shibahama.�� [Issho] says he’s mourning the state of a rakugo world… and I believe him. But that’s not all it was. He sensed the former Shiguma in it. [ISSHO FLASHBACK: Sounds like I did you a favor, then. Whatever that was, it was not ‘Shibahama.’]” AKANE: “Wha…? But… that doesn’t make any sense! You told me yourself!! You don’t know why he expelled him! Besides, why is this coming up now…?!” SHIGUMA: “I wasn’t lying about that. But there are things that need no words to understand… Ani-san and I swore an oath that we would protect Master’s art. Shinta was motivated by the same desire. You heard him way he would inherit Shiguma’s Art, didn’t you?”

Issho saw the echo of Kiroku in Shinta’s rakugo—but how could such a weak rakugoka be worthy of Shiguma’s Art? He never could be, and so Issho expelled Shinta to protect his Master’s art from being degraded through weakness. But the question remains: does a rakugoka have to be strong?

During Kiroku’s performance, Issho was turned upside down by his revelation that everything can emerge from nothing:

ISSHO: “I thought having nothing was a dead end. But there’s nothing here, and yet… there is everything…”

Issho believes an Arakawa Shin’uchi needs to always be strong and can never be weak. But as Shiguma says, being weak is OK, just “another flavor of the human experience.” As Kiroku said, “Laugh when you're happy!! Cry when you're sad!!,” and perhaps we could also include, “Falter when you’re nervous!!” And as Akane comes to appreciate, it was her father’s weakness that gave his art a special flavor, making his characters feel warm and kind and real. Everything encompasses everything; nobody can be strong all of the time.

A major reason for the break between Issho and Shiguma, I think, is because Shiguma was never able to master Shiguma’s Art. Issho despises Shiguma’s failure to do so, and then rejects Shinta as another possible inheritor because of his weakness. But what if Shiguma's hesitation and Shinta’s weakness were what allowed them to echo the humanity of Kiroku’s rakugo in the first place? What if a rakugoka could be both strong and weak, cruel and kind, foolish and wise? What if a rakugoka could be, and could reflect, the everything within the human heart?

To “win” against Issho, I think Akane will have to portray the everything of life: Issho’s arrogance and Shiguma’s humility, Maikeru’s individuality and Shinta’s weakness, Koguma’s thoroughness and Kyoji’s strictness, Guriko’s sincerity and Kaisei’s terror, Kiroku’s cheerfulness and goodwill. Life, just as it is.

I also don't think it's a coincidence that the two people besides Akane who were taught Shiguma's Art either lost, or likely will lose, their place as a rakugoka. Shinta was expelled by Issho, and instead of finding another teacher to continue his rakugo training, he chose to quit rakugo rather than learn from another teacher besides Shiguma. After Shiguma's heart attack, the doctors discovered throat cancer, with the possibility that treatment would cause Shiguma to lose his ability to speak and therefore to perform, and to fully teach, rakugo.

While we haven't yet seen how Shiguma will deal with his loss, we saw Shinta make his choice—his humanity over his art—and move on with his life. While many characters (Shiguma, Chocho, Taizen, Akane) still feel upset and guilty by his expulsion, Shinta has left that part of his life behind, and that's okay. As he says in Chapter 96:

SHINTA: "I hear you think that my expulsion was your fault? You're taking this too seriously. And so is my daughter. It's just rakugo. Do I have regrets? Sure... But I can't just dwell on the past. It didn't ruin my life... Uh-oh, look at the time! C'mon, let's go to the hall. TAIZEN: "I..." SHINTA: "What more can you ask for? When your troubles are heavy, putting on a smile is the best thing you can do improve your mood." TAIZEN: "You haven't changed..." SHINTA: "I guess not. Whether I'm a rakugoka or a company salesman... I'm still me."

Although Shinta wasn’t able to carry on Shiguma’s Art, there is a case to be made that he, more than any other character we've seen so far, does carry on Kiroku’s art of living. In defying his teacher, Kiroku chose his relationships with Shiguma and Issho over the Miroku myoseki. He had to start over with no name, no career, and no lineage, and moved on with his life to found another rakugo school and become a beloved performer once again. Similarly, Shinta does the same: losing his name as a rakugoka and then finding stability in another career and happiness in the love of his family and friends.

Issho is so focused on rakugo and the form of Shiguma's Art, he is blind to Kiroku's ethos of humanity within his rakugo. When he was young, Kiroku's performance of Soba Time inspired Issho to utterly change his life by devoting himself to rakugo; for the rest of the audience, it inspired them to enjoy some delicious soba. Shiguma's Art, and Kiroku's art, inspires others to go out into the world and live! Poignantly, Issho's dedication to his art restricts him from this idea, and so perhaps Akane can reach Issho in the same way that Kiroku did: by gently reflecting Issho’s weakness back towards him to provide catharsis and give him a way forward.

[littlestfallenangel]

Akane: I'm pursuing my art in memory of my father

Shinta: Quit making the readers think I'm dead!

Akane: Sometimes I still hear his voice...

[comradeyurika]

Awww, she's made her dad proud. Holding off on the showing him in the present day until this moment makes it have so much more impact than if we were seeing him regularly all along

[sebbyisland]

WHAT COULD THIS MEAN LETS UNPACK. Shiguma has invited Akane to be the Zenza/opener for his large public event, one known to help keep rakugo appreciation alive in the community. We now also have a better idea of what makes his performances so enrapturing—to the degree he is considered an "Ookaban," or a Shinu'uchi who has truly elevaed the craft. During his performance, Shiguma uses small, defined movements to encourage the audience to imagine the entire world of the story. This is a powerful technique that even has the power to “kill” as was explained in the prev chapter because people become so enraptured in his stories they will even ignore fire alarms (which is crazyyy btw). It's THAT intense.

This is what makes him "Shiguma the Tear-Jerker," master of Ninjo-banashi (this also explains why Maikeru is so good at Ninjobanashi lol) . It’s easy to believe the purpose of this arc is to once again establish a goal post that Akane needs to aspire for, especially since we know she doesn't have much experience in emotional/dramatic Rakugo. The last time we had Akane become "wowed" by someone else's degree of rakugo skill, it was ALSO a horror story, performed by Kaisei Arakawa (more on this later)! However, unlike that scene, we now have the additional plot element of the mysterious "Shiguma's Art" that was passed down from the Kashiwaya school. Which is actually the true focus of this arc, since it's heavily implied that Akane is about to learn Shiguma's Art herself!

Back in chapter 118, we find out Rokuro Kashiwaya is trying to reveal the secrets of the "Shiguma's art," a secret story originally passed down from the Kashiwaya school. Immediately after the reader is told this, we cut to a flashback of a younger Akane watching as Shiguma silently stares down at the ground in a formal seated position.

Akane can tell he's practicing rakugo not because of any genius intuition, but because she remembers her dad doing the exact same thing. And she was correct! When she asks him about it, Shiguma is first avoidant, "It has nothing to do with you," but then affectionately ruffles her head and says she'll tell her when she's a "full-fledged artist." Shiguma's secrecy + the timing of the scene basically all but screams at us that he was practicing "Shiguma's art" and he already passed this on to Akane's father before his Shin'uchi test.

Okay, so, Shiguma wants to pass down this cool secret story. Based on his solo-performance and how we've seen both Shiguma and Akane's dad practice, this is a story that requires using minimalism to maximum impact. About maintaining a still, intense atmosphere full of anticipation that completely enraptures the audience similar to the younger Akane watching them, all those years ago. We will soon get more details about how this works since Shiguma has acknowledged that Akane as a "full-fledged artist" and promised to teach Akane this very same story after his solo-event.

But that's not even the most interesting aspect of this whole arc! One of the side characters astutely observes that this all seems to be a pattern for Shiguma . His student's "rite of passage" into Futatsume, as they become a "full-fledged artist."

Shiguma takes them out around town for a day, then has them open for his Solo exhibit. Just like Akane. Keep in mind, the solo exhibit is not just about Shiguma and his Futatsume-to-be, but about connecting rakugo to the greater public on a deep level. That is the greatest lesson they gain from all this--that small things like taking in the "color of the city," as Akane calls it, is essential to gaining a deeper understanding of how to connect to the audience. Of rakugo itself. Doesn't that sound familiar? Small things amounting to a big impact? That's right, it''s the very same draw of Shiguma's Art.

This all comes full-circle, because back in the beginning of the story, chapter 2 opens with a focus of Shiguma's mentorship of Akane consisting of showing Akane around town. This initially caused a comedic misunderstanding leading to rumors of them having an immoral affair. Of course, in reality, he was teaching Akane rakugo on a fundamental level.

Does Shiguma teach Shiguma's Art to ALL his students? Probably not. Not only is Shinta the only student we explicitly see practicing Shiguma's Art, he's also clearly burdened by it. When Akane learns that Shinta refused to join other rakguo schools after his expulsion, she recounts when her father mention his goal to "carry on Shiguma's art."

This single page places another level of weight on "Shiguma's Art" as a role, an identity, not just a methodology. Look at Shiguma's face when Akane reveals this information! He's unsettled! Shinta speaks with clear intention to carry on the name of Shiguma. He has so much loyalty to Shiguma's Art he refuses to continue rakugo under any other school (which brings the question: why did the original Shiguma leave Kashiwaya, then?). So, no, I don't think everyone who graduated past Futatsume gets to learn Shiguma's Art. After all, it's not like every student under Kashiwaya learned about it, either. It's a mystery how Rokuro found out in the first place...

To recap: we've established that "Shiguma's art" is both a methodology and a secret Ninjo-banashi story to SELECT students of the Shiguma school, likely taug ur with the intention for you to inherit the school. It's a great honor that basically represents the foundation of Shiguma that can be felt in many extensions of Shiguma’s mentorship style. The current previous Kashiwaya master passed it on to Kiroku, but instead of staying within the Kashiwaya school, Kiroku went on to make his own school with Issho and the current Shiguma. The original Shiguma taught it to the current Shiguma, but probably not Issho. Then, Shiguma taught this technique to Shinta with strong intention, but that didn't work out because Shinta failed the Shin’uchi test. From what we've seen so far, Shiguma's Art emphasizes that "less is more" when it comes with connecting to its audience. It's most effective in creating an intense, emotional atmosphere apt for Ninjo-banashi stories.

That's all well and good, but then what relevance does this current rakugo story have? If this is really all about Shiguma's Art, then does it REALLY matter what story Shiguma performs during this solo-event, as long as it's emotional and shows off his skill as a Shin'uchi? Why would this performance "hold a special meaning" for Akane, specifically, if it's nor even guaranteed for EVERY Futatusme to learn Shiguma's Art after the solo event?

That has to do with the nature of the story Shiguma is performing, "Shinigami" or "Gods of Death" (spoilers for people who are not familiar with the story). We left off in Akane-banashi with the protagonist of the rakugo story being taken into a candle-lit cave by one of the gods of death. Every candle's represents the life of a human soul. In this story, it's revealed that the quack doctor, our protagonist, has accidentally switched out his own candle with that of his dying patient. As such, he is about to die. The god offers to let him light his current candle with his "former" candle so that he can renew his life. However, he fails (the exact reason varies between versions), and dies. His death is a morbid lesson to the audience that you shouldn't bite off more than you can chew, for consequences will follow.

The most haunting part of this story is when, after watching the protagonist struggle to stay alive, his candle finally goes out. All the life is snuffed out of the protagonist. Now, this might be a reach, but I think the pose that both Shiguma and Shinta were seen practicing is going to directly translate to how he performs the protagonist's death in "Shingami." Think about it. The complete stillness of a tragic death that came too soon--isn't that the ultimate way to make minimal movement have the largest impact? Furthermore, a haunting line from "Shinigami" is a taunt that the protagonist receives from the god "That which has been traded cannot be returned." Isn't that such a good segue for the weight of Shiguma's Art? That Akane’s father refused to go to any other rakugo school after he had to leave Shiguma Arakawa? That Rokuro is now trying to return what has been traded to the Shiguma school???? This was such a good story to introduce Shiguma's art because it ties to both the past and the future of the story on multiple levels, similar to the impact of Maikeru’s Shin’uchi test. Furthermore, it usually a particularly popular rakugo story, so similiar to the use of "Jugemu," seeing how the characters interact with the story helps to emphasize their level of skill.

In addition, I've wanted to see Akane-banashi adapt "Shinigami" since I first started this series. I am so beyond happy about its role in the narrative. It feels like a personal gift ahhhhhhh.

You can watch variants of "Shinigami" on Youtube! Performances by Kyotaro Yanagiya w/eng subtitles here and an English rakugo performance by Kanariya Eiraku here :) I personally really enjoyed them both.

Furthermore, remember how I mentioned Kaisei early on in this paper? Like way back? That's because if Akane is the representative for the future of Shiguma, and Rokuro as Kashiwaya, then Kaisei is the face of Issho Arakawa in this story and will no doubt be brought in the fray of the Shiguma Art drama. With this in mind, isn't it interesting how the last major performance we saw of Kaisei was a Ninjobanashi that highlighted how he, too, captured the audience, but with a much more outwardly scary story about death? One that is terrifying because of the ego of the character's, not the environment/gradual build up of horror in Shinigami? And that his origin also started by meeting a Shinuchi as a child, like Akane, and that he took on rakugo in honor of his mom who was in a rough spot for reasons out of her countrol, similar to how akane was influenced to honor her dad through rakugo? But Kaisei cared about proving himself by having the means to live/leave poverty, whereas Akane was focused on how she enjoyed the art of rakugo? It's almost as if Kaisei has a different approach to rakugo than the Shiguma school...it's almost as if...he's taught by the master of Shiguma's rival, Issho....it's almost as if......Isho's rakugo is more so about the rakugoka's ego delivering a powerful story, whereas Shiguma's rakugo is about influencing the audience, and this is why that disagree so strongly about Shinta's Shin'uchi test, where he was able to connect with the audience but fell through on maintaining he composure and ego......it's almost as if this entire story hinges on the debate on the purpose of telling stories. This is what Akane has to decide on for herself. That's why we are reading Akane-banashi (story).

[idontthinkimokaymentally]

Hello there Tohru Osaki / Shinta Arakawa fans.

[choujinx]

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

[s30620]

Story 114: Yin and Yang

Once again, the story selection is so perfect. I really love how the character's arcs have a rakugo story to go along with them, remember how Karashi "translated" a rakugo story into a modern context when he was introduced? The writer is doing the same with Akane-Banashi. These old stories are translated into a modern context, but also a rakugo context, which I think is brilliant!

[pin-yao]

[shysheeperz]

[mr-franciscoso]

Akane-Banashi gets better with every week and chapter. Love a shounen that loves exploring the vast array of human experiences

[miminmimikyu]

I love love love this week’s chapter of Akane Banashi. The whole rakugo = time machine is such an interesting interpretation by Akane and it fits her so well. Even that “conversation” she has with her dad starts with that time she used rakugo to reenact an event that happened at school. Akane’s rakugo through and through!

But the also chapter has weirdly eerie feel to it? Or melancholic? I can���t put my finger on it exactly but all that talking about Akane’s dad but never to him makes it sound like they’re talking about a dead person. I guess in a sense that’s true— Shinta Arakawa is dead. It shouldn’t be shocking or anything but to see how distant Akane’s relationship with Shinta (Osaki?) has become now plus that that whole time machine conversation she has with Shinta Arakawa is just so sad somehow.

I’m trying to think if he’s actually been in any of the chapters (excluding flashbacks) since chapter 1, he hasn’t, right? I wouldn’t go so far as to say he’s a spectre haunting the story at this point but I’m really enjoying the decision to just not showing him. Anyway, can’t wait for Akane’s performance and what she has taken away from her time machine conversations with Shinta.

[therealsoulking]

Akane Banashi: Chapter 61

Alright, this chapter was super cute, with Akane going around with her colleagues, asking about her father and his style of Rakugo.

Shinta Arakawa’s a tragic figure in this series, as Akane is driven to figure out what went wrong when he pursued his dream. However, the expelled rakugoka is not the Shinta Akane wants to understand, it’s the passionate young man who had already grabbed hold of that dream. And that’s exactly who she gets to meet.

My favorite thing about this particular chapter is the structure, starting with a page of introduction, then a montage of single panels showing each response, then a drawn out sequence with Akane’s mother, culminating in the excellent page above.

This also brings us to Akane’s nin solidified:

We skip ahead a few weeks, and it’s time for the competition next chapter. Goddam was this one good.

[newspropaganda]

So let me get this straight. The reason Yoshida get's hated for DOMA was due to the fact it was an anime original arc meant to call out Takahashi's mistakes with Atem around Season zero than Battle City or Duelist Kindgom? That explaine why the fandom can't even think about the fact Yoshida was never apolgies for 5D's post-Dark Signer since he knew that the real people of the show whould aways be honest than dishonest. DOMA was likekly hated due to fanboys gatekeeping the manga and spreading missinformation towards the show and people like that Des Shinta guy actually blamed 4kids since she is american.

How old is this question even? 24 Days?

The reason for that is because Yoshida, despite his flaws, is often targeted by woke feminists who either hate or love him. Even some men dislike him because he was one of the few who exposed the hypocrisy of social justice warriors and gatekeepers, like Duel Monsters fanboys, for their insecurities. One of the key reasons Yoshida isn’t as bad as people make him out to be is that he often uses shock factor to wake up his fans to the harsh realities of life. It’s not his fault that society is bad—society has always been divided and poorly managed by people, not just based on color.

People who blame Yoshida for misogyny, xenophobia, or terrorism haven’t looked deeper. All they do is whine and scream about him because their only goal is to tear him down. Honestly, I have more issues with tokusatsu writers like Naruhisa Arakawa and Shoji Yonemura than I do with Yoshida.

But most of the blame towards Yoshida seems to revolve around his writing and accusations of sexism, which feel like the same copy-and-paste complaints over and over. For example, Dylan from YGO Everything never made a video explaining why Shin Yoshida always relies on shock factor instead of info-dumping all the time. I think the reason Dylan hasn’t made a video on this is because it’s hard for him to think critically—his brain has probably turned to mush after years of promoting nonsense.

What you mentioned about Des Shinta calling out 4Kids is like he's more unhinged on his channel than actually focusing on the topic. Go check his Doma series if it's still there—100% of the time, he's just trash-talking 4Kids in all his videos. It’s like he can't realize that 4Kids had nothing to do with the sub version of Yu-Gi-Oh! Most of his information is fake, too, since he can’t even explain why he brings up broadcasting channels when it's clear that Yu-Gi-Oh! in the West was never popular through reruns. The dude lied about not being able to reply to comments, even though most of them are still there for everyone to see. He claimed he couldn’t respond because of his old computer, but he seems perfectly fine blocking people when they criticize tokusatsu.

My experience with Des Shinta has been toxic. He can’t drop his 4Kids bias long enough to explain things simply and keeps sugarcoating the hate, like he’s being controlled by his government. No wonder America is falling apart—most people aren’t even listening to their own sense of justice. He also keeps insisting that Kamen Rider W is the peak of tokusatsu, but it’s really not it's just a stupid Decetive show about yoai bois vs terrorists.