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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Buy | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:3162#1552] |
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(Buy-/ Rent+) Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu focuses on the bond between a former yakuza member named Sukeroku and a former dancer turned rakugo apprentice named Yakumo who each undergo their own different developments involving the Japanese storytelling performances known as rakugo. The series goes through a number of decades in exploring the different tribulations faced by both men as they progress through the world of rakugo from learning the flaws of their storytelling style to trying to adjust rakugo to the changing times of audience interests in different entertainment venues. Before I get into my thoughts on the series as a whole, I should explain more about rakugo. Rakugo is a performance where a storyteller sits on stage to tell a long and complicated funny or sentimental story. Each storyteller has their own different style of storytelling they would present in their performances that can be theatrical, sentimental, musical, or telling a ghost story. Around the time of the post-World War II era that part of this series is set in, rakugo was in a period of transition as the performance struggled to connect with audiences as they sought out other forms of entertainment with the coming of new technologies like television. Moving onto my thoughts on Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, the series does a great job with getting into the heads of Sukeroku and Yakumo within rakugo. Both men have had their different upbringings in life and both enter the world of rakugo for different reasons that shape their approaches to their performances. As a former felon, Sukeroku sought to become a rakugo performer to clean up his life and goes for a more casual approach for a rakugo style compared to the more traditional style employed by those within the rakugo association he's part of, this leading him to become more aware of how the traditional style is turning away audiences with the changing times. As a former dancer, Yakumo was injured in his former profession and finds that he has no choice but to take part in rakugo to still have a profession to follow. However, his disinterest in it is apparent from his performances being too focused on execution over emotion until Sukeroku's presence gives him inspiration to develop his own unique style. Both men also find themselves following different paths with rakugo that lead the series to take a more dramatic direction as episodes progress. The series also believably depicts rakugo with its performances and traditions. Each of the rakugo storytellers have their own unique styles for wordplay and performances they play out in the depiction of their stories and these nuances are believably depicted. It also believably portrays the struggles of the profession during and following World War II as performances become censored by the military and start to attract less audiences, struggling to stay relevant when more options of entertainment have become available to the Japanese populace. The younger generation of performers also start clashing with their older predecessors over changing with the times so rakugo does not totally die out as a form of entertainment. Issues with Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu are mostly minor. The animation for the series is a bit underwhelming with a decent number of shortcuts employed with minimal movement and still shots often employed. The series is left open-ended as it still continues on to its later second season focusing on Yakumo training a new student in old age. Also due to its very Japanese and historical themes, the series may not be for everyone due to its heavy Japanese themes. Still if you have a love for elements of Japan's history or wish to know more about the country's culture, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu does a great job focusing on how the tradition of rakugo is viewed by Sukeroku and Yakumo as they become more involved within its performances and traditions. Last updated Monday, March 19 2018. Created Monday, March 19 2018. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:3162#628] | ||||||
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(Two episodes watched): I didn't start watching this show until the season was more than halfway over, due to technical problems. But it wasn't what I was expecting, namely another lame show, instead SGRS had an interesting story to it. One thought that occurred to me while watching was how much the introduction of a character with something distinctive about him/her, like the 'tomboy' daughter of Yakumo's old friend/rival, seems to promise something good to come. Perhaps it cries out 'potential' in part because taking the trouble to design unusual characters is so rare in anime (and TV in general). Rakugo seems to be a form of acting, sometimes comedy and sometimes drama, in which one person plays all the parts and therefore must be able to speak in numerous different and distinctive manners. Apparently the first two episodes of SGRS were run together as one approximately 45-minute super episode. I found this show to be fairly interesting, what with the numerous subplots and plot threads that have already been created, and I wish I hadn't fallen so far behind the other winter 2016 season episodes. But it seems to have been a low priority series for fansubbers, and (IIRC) a new season was already looming before more than a few episodes of this show had been released, so I passed on it. Last updated Wednesday, August 29 2018. Created Wednesday, February 24 2016. | ||||||||
