#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.

[dropintomanga]

Cool Life Reminders from Akane-banashi

I sometimes struggle with two things - dwelling on the past a bit too much and wondering if I'm cool enough for my friends.

After reading the Futatsume Debut arc in Akane-banashi, I started to feel a little different about my struggles. Especially after seeing the following scenes in Chapters 96 and 97 of the manga.

The initial premise of the series involved Akane Arakawa's father, Shinta Arakara, being expelled from the rakugo scene. He ends up being a regular salesman, but is moving forward. That's the most important thing. It's okay if you feel like you can't move on from bad stuff that happened. But definitely take steps to go forward. They don't have to be big ones as long as you do it.

Plus I feel like we tend to overvalue super-bad experiences involving other people especially if we're on the receiving end of them. We think that life as we know it is over. But you know what, those experiences tend to help us grow and learn. They also make you more resilient than you think.

Life situations changing dramatically doesn't mean it will turn out bad. They can go in either direction, but I like to think that we got this somehow. I've always felt that I couldn't move forward from certain experiences, but here I am enjoying life for what it's worth still.

The scene featuring Akane and her friends is relatable. I do believe that we get anxious over how we truly fit in with others in the world. We want people to like us, but we're afraid to show our vulnerabilities. Sometimes, we are a bit much. Akane is the definition of someone who can be a bit much. I know I act like her at times. It's okay though. Akane's friends are telling her that she's already enough. That's because Akane is so comfortable in her own skin that she should just be herself during rakugo.

Sometimes, being ourselves can drive other people away. But it definitely attracts other people who will genuinely appreciate you. As I said earlier, it goes both ways. I continue to learn this as I continue to meet new people in my life.

And if you're going to be moving forward while being more natural, definitely do it with a smile. That's what will make you look really cool and take on life's challenges.

[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

[idontthinkimokaymentally]

Hello there Tohru Osaki / Shinta Arakawa fans.

[choujinx]

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

[sebbyisland]

akanematic.mp4 (youtube link)

[s30620]

Story 24: Infinite Blessings

Akane's name's origin is so beautiful 🥹 I love that she delve into the history of the long name in "Jugemu" like Koguma ani-san would, and connected it to the unconditional love parents have for their children.

[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.