Forum - View topic
NEWS: Akane-banashi Rakugo Manga Gets TV Anime in 2026 by Studio ZEXCS


Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
L'Imperatore



Joined: 24 Mar 2014
Posts: 1082
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 6:25 am Reply with quote
Without any understanding of rakugo, can one enjoy this show?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Flü



Joined: 04 Oct 2014
Posts: 182
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 6:35 am Reply with quote
L'Imperatore wrote:
Without any understanding of rakugo, can one enjoy this show?

Yes. The manga has a passionate fanbase in the West and barely anyone here is familiar with Rakugo. Arguably even in Japan many readers aren't active watchers of that.
If anything, a manga like that also wants to sell the theme to the reader, especially when running in a popular magazine like WSJ.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
WANNFH



Joined: 13 Mar 2011
Posts: 2079
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 6:46 am Reply with quote
L'Imperatore wrote:
Without any understanding of rakugo, can one enjoy this show?
Even if you're not familiar with rakugo theme, it's still can go very good as solid SoL competition "sport" type (think like Chihayafuru to karuta, which is also less known theme among the non-Japanese people, but more zany) shonen series, depending mostly on VA performance delivery and direction.


Last edited by WANNFH on Mon Aug 04, 2025 6:52 am; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Yune Amagiri



Joined: 28 Jul 2016
Posts: 1321
Location: France
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 6:50 am Reply with quote
L'Imperatore wrote:
Without any understanding of rakugo, can one enjoy this show?
The manga focuses more on the technical aspects / character quirks and later relationships than the stories themself, and when it does, it provides explanations, they are lengthy enough so that the reader can really well understand the implied messages of the stories.

It took longer than I was expecting.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
TouristGally



Joined: 29 Jun 2025
Posts: 8
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:14 am Reply with quote
The best manga series being published today is finally getting an adaptation. Caught up to the manga in early '24 and I've been waiting since then for this announcement.

I'm not familiar with anything the studio has done, so I'm now in the zone of joyful optimism clashing with fear over whether or not the adaptation will do the series justice. This isn't a series built around big, cinematic moments but instead conversations and solo performances. So much is conveyed through facial expressions, shot compositions, lighting, etc, and not often in a flashy manner.

For instance, one of the most memorable 'victories' is when Akane is able to get her entire audience to yawn while she's telling a story, an indication that she's pulled them in to her performance, the world she's creating through her narration, so completely that they feel like they are sitting outside on a lazy summer day.

Also the art style in the manga changes a lot, most notably whenever a rakugoka is performing and we see the story being depicted. But also Akane does a lot of chibi faces throughout.

My fear is that we'll get a lot of static 'camera one, camera two' shots during conversations, the direction and storyboarding going above passable but never reaching the same engrossing heights that the manga is able to.

But again, I'm not familiar with the studio so I'm trying to be as optimistic as I can. I want the best possible adaptation, I want to see ZEXCS hit this out of the park.

Best of luck to everyone involved. Aim high, take care of yourselves and I look forward to the anime debut.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Farhanawesome



Joined: 31 Dec 2020
Posts: 338
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:16 am Reply with quote
Since it was a Jump Series do you think it will get dubbed like other jump series ?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
pikabot



Joined: 19 Nov 2014
Posts: 190
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:35 am Reply with quote
I’ve been skeptical of an anime adaptation of Akane-Banashi. It’s a series about performance, which I think is going to be hard to capture in anime form. In the manga, because all we have are a series of static moments in time, the author just needs to evoke the performance and the readers mind fills in the performance for them. But in an anime form, where time is continuous…more challenging.

Still, I hope that it’s good! I love Akane-Banashi and would love to be able to share it with some people who can’t do manga.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Yune Amagiri



Joined: 28 Jul 2016
Posts: 1321
Location: France
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:43 am Reply with quote
Farhanawesome wrote:
Since it was a Jump Series do you think it will get dubbed like other jump series ?

Let alone Jump ones, nowadays so many dubs are made each season that the question is more about simuldubs or weeks later.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Conty



Joined: 16 Sep 2024
Posts: 9
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 7:59 am Reply with quote
pikabot wrote:
I’ve been skeptical of an anime adaptation of Akane-Banashi. It’s a series about performance, which I think is going to be hard to capture in anime form.


In general I find that stories about the performing arts work better when you can see and hear the performance instead of just reading/seeing static images about it. Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju for a great example of this, the animation by Studio Deen was no great shakes, but the voice cast elevated the source material.

Of course, getting the right voice cast is critical for a rakugo story, you need actors who can not just play their character in the story, but give unique voices to the various subjects of their performances! In the example above they had a stellar voice cast (Akira Ishida, Koichi Yamadera, Tomokazu Seki), let's hope Akane-banashi manages to get a good cast as well!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Soulwarfare



Joined: 10 Dec 2017
Posts: 607
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 8:30 am Reply with quote
It was about time that this PEAK manga got an anime adaptation

Female protagonist in shonen jump series is rarity these days
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Glordit



Joined: 11 Sep 2020
Posts: 1183
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 8:37 am Reply with quote
L'Imperatore wrote:
Without any understanding of rakugo, can one enjoy this show?


I watched Descending Stories: Shōwa Genroku Rakugo with almost zero context of Rakugo, other than knowing it's story telling, and it's become one of my best anime of all time.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
paulchaested



Joined: 04 Oct 2016
Posts: 294
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 8:45 am Reply with quote
As for WHA, I would not be surprised if it does get pushed back to 2026 due to "production issues". Just feels like the Zom 100 production meltdown all over again. The fact that Ayumu is revealed to also be the director for Akane Banashi makes this even more likely. I'd be absolutely shocked if WHA gets aired in Fall 2025 considering we don't have any updated PV or trailers for it. If it does air in Fall 2025, I'd be prepare for another Zom 100 fallout.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Sekaro



Joined: 12 Nov 2018
Posts: 478
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 9:13 am Reply with quote
Just like with Witch Watch, this is one of those JUMP titles I've been keeping a close eye on without actually reading it in the hopes that it'll get an anime that I will try someday & it seems that time has come.

As someone who's watched Haikyuu with no zero knowledge on the sport, it quickly became one of my favourite sports anime so the lack of knowledge on rakugo isn't gonna put me off from this series. I've also seen Hikaru No Go & Sangatsu No Lion with no knowledge on the respective games & also enjoyed those as well.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Zhou-BR



Joined: 28 Feb 2008
Posts: 1582
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 9:35 am Reply with quote
A few years ago, didn't Ayumu Watanabe direct Komi Can't Comunicate and Summer Time Rendering at the same time? If so, then it's possible he could be working on Akane-banashi and Witch Hat Atelier simultaneously.

Edit: he was also really prolific in 2018, when he frequently had two shows airing in the same season.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Peebs



Joined: 07 Dec 2005
Posts: 425
PostPosted: Mon Aug 04, 2025 11:47 am Reply with quote
Every chapter I read, I ask myself, "anime when?" And now here it is. I'm so excited. I hope more people get into the manga too.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3  Next
Page 1 of 3

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group