Joshiraku

Joshiraku follows the conversations of five rakugo storyteller girls relating the odd things that happen to them each day. Their comedic and satirical chatting covers all kinds of topics, from pointless observations of everyday life, to politics, manga, and more. Each girl has something new to add to the discussion, and the discourse never ends in the same place it began.

Each of the rakugo girls has their own unique personality, with the energetic but immature Marii Buratei; the seemingly cute Kigurumi Haroukitei; the inherently lucky and carefree Tetora Bouhatei; the calm and violent Gankyou Kuurubiyuutei; and the pessimistic and unstable Kukuru Anrakutei. These girls—and their mysterious friend in a wrestling mask—give their observations to the audience, either backstage at the rakugo theater or in various famous locations around Tokyo.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Anrakutei, Kukuru Main

Gotou, Saori Japanese

Buratei, Marii Main

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Kuurubiyuutei, Gankyou Main

Nanjou, Yoshino Japanese

Haroukitei, Kigurumi Main

Koiwai, Kotori Japanese

Bouhatei, Tetora Main

Yamamoto, Nozomi Japanese

Mask Supporting

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Old woman 3 Supporting

Uzatei, Uzannu Supporting

Shintani, Ryouko Japanese

Matsukura, Yuuji Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo Producer

Miyamoto, Junnosuke Producer

Tateishi, Kensuke Producer

Reviews

Jul 9, 2024

whiteflame55

Recommended

While this isn't one of my favorite anime comedies, it's one that struck a chord with me nonetheless.

I think the cast worked together very well. Some of the characters were certainly a little tropey, but the show often subverted or called them out in fun and interesting ways. The cast didn't really grow over the course of the series so much as they just found new and interesting ways to explore the world and find humor in it, and that works just fine for me. That being said, I didn't think the show made the most out of the characters' occupation, since we barely got ... to experience their rakugo. I would have liked to have spent a little more time watching their actual sets and not just the jokes they had at the end. There's a risk in doing that, since it means focusing on single characters for a longer stretch of time, but having the rakugo serve as window dressing for the sketches felt a bit weak.

Speaking of the humor, there were always such a wide variety of jokes coming at us so fast that I couldn't help but laugh, even when some of them went over my head due to localization. The more attention I paid to a given episode, the more enjoyment I tended to get out of it despite said localization, particularly as the show regularly included a great deal of subtle details in its scenes (I'm sure I missed plenty). I do think the show sometimes runs its jokes into the ground (I love puns, but it often just kept going well past the point that they were funny), but each sketch was different enough that I can't say I ever found myself wanting for something new and distinct.

There are two things I found myself loving from the series that elevate it a bit. First, the series really does come full circle from episode 1 to 13 without too much in the way of referencing itself or retreading old ground. Most comedies can't pull that off, and despite the fact that it's a zany narrative, it does actually feel like we reach an endpoint... before the OVA, of course. Second, I think this series handles its meta moments and references very well. It doesn't belabor the latter and it carves out its own identity in the former, finding lots of ways to chastise its creators and itself along the way.

It's not ground-breaking, but it's an enjoyable watch start to finish.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 17, 2023

RESOLVING_POWER

Mixed Feelings

I watched Joshiraku (including the OVA). Here are my thoughts:

Having somewhat recently completed Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, I thought it would be interesting to watch Joshiraku with the memory of it fresh in my mind. However, I quickly realized that the two shows are completely different. Joshiraku is a comedy and consists of short skits. The main characters are rakugo performers, although rakugo itself is not a major aspect of the anime. The rakugo theater (usually backstage) is only a setting for the various comedic skits (which are usually unrelated to rakugo). So, don't be like me and expect this to be a rakugo-themed show. ...

This anime is clever and amusing, but not really laugh-out-loud funny. There is a lot of clever wordplay. It often breaks the 4th wall; it is a very 'self-aware' show. Occasionally it felt boring; some skits can feel a little drawn out, and the pacing of the skits is slightly sluggish at times.

I could tell that some of the jokes were too Japanese even for my weeb ass. There were seemingly obscure references to Japanese culture, history, politics, geography, etc…

In terms of audiovisuals, this anime is unremarkable at best. The visuals are adequate, and provide demonstrations of the jokes when necessary. The voice acting is similarly adequate. The OST is unremarkable and fairly inconsequential due to the dialogue-heavy nature of the show.


My personal overall rating: 6/10
Most episodes got some chuckles out of me, but it was never gut-bustingly hilarious or anything like that — just moderately amusing. I enjoyed how clever a lot of the jokes were.

If you like puns, clever wordplay and Japanese cultural references, then this is the comedy anime for you. It is a very Japanese show in that there are frequent references to Japanese culture in some form — anything from politicians to pop culture to kanji readings to traditional folklore. The cultural references have a lot of breadth. Receptiveness to this will likely vary a lot among viewers. A casual anime viewer probably won't be amused by puns about train station names (or something equally culturally esoteric), but a smaller subset of dedicated japanophiles would probably eat this stuff up.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 18, 2016

Midg3tLuv

Not Recommended

Man always strives for a challenge. Climbing Mt. Everest, landing on the Moon, and finishing Joshiraku are some of the arduous accomplishments ever achieved.

The show is mislabeled as a "comedy". If puns and cultural jokes are all you have to lean on; hire a writer. Don't be so proud that you can't dismiss your own faults. The only thing more revolting than the jokes are the dorks that pretend this is funny because they want to be weeb level 1 million. I understood a couple of the puns in Japanese and they weren't good. I pretty much have a PhD in Dad Humor. Timing and ... delivery is everything in these types of jokes. The words themselves don't make it funny.

I think this is a type of "going outside simulator". This is appealing to people who are incredibly bored and are not happy with life because they choose to do nothing with it. This is saying a lot because nothing happened; EVER! This may be used as a way to waste time. There was an ever looping joke(?) that was a screenshot to tell us that "This anime is full of ordinary dialogues so the spectator can really enjoy how the girls are cute". There is enough source material to make a second season; do you know why they didn't make one? Because it is poorly constructed and it wasn't well received in Japan because the Japanese didn't even find their own cultural jokes funny.

This show is a 2 because of 3 reasons. Kigu is a palatable character and she made me smile a couple times. I like how she is borderline clinically insane. The dark thoughts and rock jokes got old, but that is par for this show anyways. The music was decent. I like the opening and closing songs quite a bit. I downloaded them and I blast them at the gym. The last reason this isn't rated at a 1 , even though the first word I would use to describe it is "appalling", is because I hate Girls und Panzer and I wish for that to be my only 1 and dropped series. Hooray victory by default!

The floating bare ass in space is symbolic for what this show is.

I recommend this show to people who want to cut themselves, but are aware that cutting is socially unacceptable. Dear contemplating cutters, now you can hurt yourself equally while no one will be none the wiser.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

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	Poll: Joshiraku Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 ) MorningGlory - Jul 20, 2012	65 replies	by RGreatDanton »» May 9, 6:25 PM
	Poll: Joshiraku Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Mirorin - Jul 15, 2012	81 replies	by RGreatDanton »» May 9, 5:01 PM
	Poll: Joshiraku Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Shih - Jul 5, 2012	150 replies	by RGreatDanton »» May 9, 4:48 PM
	Poll: Joshiraku Episode 13 Discussion ( 1 2 ) WildWhiteLynx - Sep 27, 2012	77 replies	by HoneyBees91 »» Apr 23, 7:37 AM
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