[Master]

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Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Drama, Historical, Josei

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What is it about?
Shouwa Rakugo is a story about life. It is a story about the art of Rakugo, of Japan's history during the Shouwa era, of friendship and family, and of sacrificing everything to reach one's potential, but particularly it is a story about life— the lives of two talented, troubled and yet ordinary men.

Shouwa Rakugo may only be thirteen episodes long, but it covers a period of years and decades, a turbulent series of ups and downs, much as life is itself. It depicts the rise, fall and redemption of Yakumo and Sukeroku, and many of those around them. The tearful reunion as Sukeroku returns from the war in Manchuria is powerful— powerful enough that I also felt myself choking up a bit— and yet it occurs just a few short episodes into the story.

Why do you recommend it?
Even if you have no knowledge of what rakugo is— and I suspect this is the case for most people, as it was for myself— Shouwa Rakugo makes it very easy to follow by animating a wide variety of rakugo performances, rather than bombard the viewer with explanations and unfamiliar terminology. While rakugo might not be especially entertaining to the world of 2016, through watching the many performances within Shouwa Rakugo it is easy to gain an appreciation for the talent and effort that is often poured into the art. The styles of Yakumi's and Sukeroku's rakugo are so different from one another that it almost feels as though they are performing completely different forms of art, despite rakugo very much being an art defined by tradition.

At times joyful, and ever more so devastating, Shouwa Rakugo is a truly sincere and human story. It speaks a simple, raw tale of flawed existence. It does not fluff itself with philosophy, symbolism and other obscure subject matter. It speaks to the individual: it wants you to listen, and it wants you to consider the moments in life where you truly felt beating, breathing and alive. It is in that short moment that it has meaning.

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What is my rating of this anime?
(4.1★/5★)
source

[Jiggly]

To be honest, your signature seems to follow the feels of your review with the cutesy, emotional face xD

In all seriousness, this review was really nice. Good enough to entice me to add it to my hummingbird list (I'm super lazy about that). I'm really interested in anime that are from that era, yet find few that really captivate me. I hope this will be the show that does interest me enough to keep watching!

[Oni]

Really well written review. I'll likely watch this before/after Drifters.

[Despised]

Nicely written review as usual.