Akane-banashi

Episode 7

Episode 7 of Akane-banashi gives us a tour de force vocal performance and a pretty solid anime shell around it to boot.

The textual events of this week are good, if somewhat boilerplate. It's no secret that Akane-banashi is a work that uses the tempo of a sports series to tell a story about the performing arts. There's no shame in using a template that works, and by golly, this one works. Akane has proven herself in several smaller exhibitions and one-on-one scenarios, playing to smaller crowds or audience-of-one situations. She has excelled in these situations and largely punched way outside of her weight class.

Now, in keeping with the sports-series pacing, it's time to see her at her first true competition. This cup performance gives her a chance to flex her muscles under the spotlights and more intense scrutiny. Akane has to impress not only us as the viewing audience and the one or two notable people watching, but she also has to impress hundreds of onlookers and multiple judges. For anyone who has done a performance or a recital of any kind, the scale and pressure here are quite relatable. There's something about that giant auditorium and expansive void beyond the stage that is intimidating in a way that smaller performances simply are not.

Akane acquits herself well despite the simple story she has to tell. I am no rakugo expert, nor do I consider myself even a novice in the world of these stories and their tellings, yet even I am aware of Jugemu Jugemu. I learned of Jugemu Jugemu in the traditional manner of my people (i.e., seeing a Fullmetal Alchemist meme over a decade ago, spoofing the story). If it has that level of common notoriety, I have to assume it really is a basic tale, and so I can share Akane's peers' trepidation over the situation.

That said, she does incredibly well here. Most notably, it is the performance of Akane's voice actress Anna Nagase. The rapid-fire delivery required to pull this off is very impressive, and she knocks it out of the park here. The commentators in most sports-adjacent series serve as informants and also help modulate the audience's feelings when they aren't sure what to feel, but in this instance, the effect is not needed. Anna Nagase gives it her all, and both in-text and meta-textually it's a you de force. Another instance where the anime heightens an amazing manga moment in the way only an audiovisual medium can.

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