S01E01 Episode 1
"I've got nothing, so I'm going there." Former small-time crook Yotaro has never forgotten the rakugo tale "Shinigami" that the great artist Yurakutei Yakumo performed to him in prison. After his release, he goes right...
Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju
Flourishing Shōwa – Rakugo Double Suicide
S01E13: Episode 13
Their promise to each other was to carry rakugo into the future. To perform unchanging rakugo was Kikuhiko's job. To create a rakugo that would change with the times was Sukeroku's job. The story of the promise between two men who lived for rakugo is at last at an end, with Kikuhiko deciding to take on the Yakumo name at last. The era begins to wane, and both rakugo and people change. But what decision will Kikuhiko make about rakugo, and the destiny it bound him to?
Overview
When a certain man is released from prison, he knows exactly where he's heading first. After falling in love with a traditional comic storyteller's rendition of the story called "Shinigami," he is determined to become his apprentice. The performer, Yakumo, has never taken an apprentice before, but to everyone's surprise, he accepts the eager ex-prisoner, nicknaming him "Yotaro." As Yotaro happily begins his new life, he meets others in Yakumo's life, including Yakumo's ward Konatsu. Konatsu was the daughter of a famous storyteller, and Yakumo took her in after her father's tragic death. Konatsu loved her father's storytelling, and would love to become a performer in her own right—but that path is not available for women.
Episodes
S01E02 Episode 2
Yakumo begins the story of the promise he made with Sukeroku. When he was young, he was taken in by the 7th generation Yakumo and named Kikuhiko. He met the young boy Sukeroku, a strange...
S01E03 Episode 3
After their first performance, Kikuhiko sharply feels the difference in skill between himself and Hatsutaro. Hatsutaro recommends he try erotic stories, but Kikuhiko is struggling so hard just to memorize the beginner stories, he can't...
S01E04 Episode 4
Kikuhiko and Hatsutaro, promoted to futatsume, left their master's house to live an impoverished life on their own. Ever since changing his name to Sukeroku, Hatsutaro's popularity has skyrocketed. Even Kikuhiko is shocked by his...
S01E05 Episode 5
After a performance, Sukeroku comes home drunk with girls on both arm. Work or play, he navigates all areas of life smoothly. Kikuhiko is annoyed with him, but he's also jealous of how easy he...
S01E06 Episode 6
Kikuhiko is feeling better about himself after the success of the play, with the audience hanging on his every word and gesture. Sukeroku tells him that he had a similar experience during the war, and...
S01E07 Episode 7
After finding his own rakugo, Kikuhiko has become quite popular. Even when he's out with Miyokichi, rakugo is all he can think about. Meanwhile, Sukeroku is buoyed into arrogance by his own popularity. He takes...
S01E08 Episode 8
Kikuhiko's tour with the 7th Generation Yakumo was a huge success. His master is satisfied with Kikuhiko's growth, and plans to promote him to shin'uchi soon. The problem is Sukeroku, whose behavior is forcing Yakumo...
S01E09 Episode 9
The Seventh Generation Yakumo manages to get Kikuhiko and Sukeroku promoted to shin'uchi. But although their unveiling ceremony is a huge success, Sukeroku gets in a fight with the president of the Rakugo Assocation, and...
S01E10 Episode 10
For Kikuhiko, it's a time for goodbyes. To Sukeroku, with whom he shared the joys and frustrations of rakugo. To the woman who raised him as her own child. Men ask to be his apprentice,...
S01E11 Episode 11
The girl Kikuhiko met at the soba shop in the hot springs town turned out to be Konatsu, Sukeroku and Miyokichi's daughter. She leads him to her house, where Kikuhiko finally reunites with Sukeroku, who...
S01E12 Episode 12
A small rakugo performance takes place at an inn in a hot springs town. As he performs, Sukeroku feels the warmth of the audience's love for rakugo, and remembers what it means to be a...
S01E13 Episode 13
Their promise to each other was to carry rakugo into the future. To perform unchanging rakugo was Kikuhiko's job. To create a rakugo that would change with the times was Sukeroku's job. The story of...
Cast
Tomokazu Seki
Yotarou (voice)
Koichi Yamadera
Sukeroku Yuurakutei (voice)
Akira Ishida
Yakumo Yuurakutei (voice)
Kappei Yamaguchi
Amaken (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara
Miyokichi (voice)
Yu Kobayashi
Konatsu (voice)
Toshihiko Seki
Eisuke Higuchi (voice)
Shigeru Ushiyama
Matsuda (voice)
Koji Yusa
Mangetsu Tsuburaya (voice)
Ayaka Asai
Koyuki (voice)
Mikako Komatsu
Shinnosuke (voice)
Yuki Ono
Shinnosuke (adult) (voice)
