While the story starts with Yotarou, an ex-convict, begging for the opportunity to become Yakumo's trainee in the hope to become in a rakugoka someday, the real plot develops when Yakumo starts to tell the story of his life. From this point we embark on a trip full of irony, rawness and above all karma. The topics covered in the show are realistic and adapted to the period in which it develops, and although never seems to be any unexpected twist, near the end there are some revelations that will make fit some pieces that did not seem important at first. The way in which Rakugo is introduced, is efficient, making it shine artistically, but while still being entertaining. Despite its historical and artistic theme, it never holds on unnecessary symbolism or abstract art to seem more interesting than it is. A great story is not the most complicated, is which has control over its plot, knows how to give it a good closure yet still manages to be entertaining, and Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu meets and exceeds that purpose.
And if the story is already great, the characters are no less. Kikuhiko (Yakumo) and Sukeroku, the main characters, are two guys who had to go through several difficulties in their childhood, and learn Rakugo under the lessons of the 7th generation Yakumo is presented as an opportunity to continue their life. Although with different initial perspectives on the Rakugo and despite their opposite personalities, both end up with the same ambition to become Shin'uchi. The main repertoire is strong, but the secondary still manage to shine with characters like Miyokichi, a woman who depends on men to be happy or the aforementioned 7th generation Yakumo, a master with many secrets under his rank. There is not a single stereotyped character, each one of them has a definite personality and the luxury of developing a backstory which allows us to understand the reasons for their actions. However, the icing on the cake is the very accomplished interactions between all of them.
But the strengths of the show do not end there. The art is well drawn, directed and embodied, with an ambitious atmosphere and a beautiful and cared color palette that highlights the details of each scene. The character design is simple but detailed enough to give personality to each character and their animation is smooth yet dynamic when they interpreting the various Rakugo stories. The sound proposal is a masterful blend between traditional Japanese music and jazz. The compositions of Ringo and Kane are outstanding and the Japanese musical instruments used as taiko, biwa, fue and other ones are several, but the overall sound does not feel overproduced, it's entirely organic and suits the show in an impressive way. The opening is a pleasant piece of jazz sung by Miyokichi's voice actress and the ending is an instrumental track that closes every episode on a melancholic note. The voice actors also do a quality job, although it is expected with big names such as Akira or Megumi in the repertoire.
Stellar in all its nuances, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu is not just a highlight of the season, but of anime itself and deserves every second, every minute of your time and attention.
