Akane-banashi

After the first contestant of the four-person selection event receives a stern reception, the audience and other contestants begin to realize how high the stakes truly are. Kaichi is second to take the stage. His style may not appeal to the judges, but it has a familiar element to it that can be attributed to only one master in the Arakawa School. Soon to follow is Hikaru, who vows to use all her training and every new skill she’s acquired since their first encounter to get her revenge on Akane! Once all of her rivals have performed, it’s Akane’s turn to take the stage and perform the story that was passed down from her father to one of her fellow apprentices and now to her: “Changing Time.”

Akane is finally able to show off her father’s rakugo to the world, but in doing so, she discovers there was something lacking…which means there’s a chance for his style and for herself to grow. After the four-person selection event, Kaisei has some harsh words for Akane, but they don’t deter her from continuing on her path alongside Shiguma’s other apprentices toward greater heights. Then, Akane is presented with the chance of a lifetime when a certain master who can help get her promoted to the rank of futatsume comes into the picture.

After watching Chocho perform, Akane starts to see a path to becoming the kind of rakugoka she wants to be. She eagerly asks him to take her under his wing, but with Chocho everything is a gamble. Meanwhile, one of Chocho’s apprentices, Akane’s friend Asagao, is ready to be promoted to futatsume. Chocho tasks him with a final test—filling a performance venue with a series of trial performances. Asagao asks Akane and Karashi to help him, and the three of them struggle to find a way to meet Chocho’s demands. But then Akane comes up with an idea that may just be crazy enough to work…

After the success of the trial performances, Asagao picks Akane to be the zenza for his futatsume promotion performance. She plans to perform one of the stories that Chocho taught her in order to court a recommendation to become a futatsume herself. But something unexpected happens when Taizen Arakawa, the shin’uchi Akane is hoping will recommend her, is threatened by his master to not go through with what he promised. The truth behind the Arakawa school expulsion scandal begins to unravel, and at the crux of it all is none other than Akane’s own master, Shiguma Arakawa.

Even though it’s Asagao's futatsume promotion, Akane’s own promotion recommendation is on the line with this performance as the zenza opening act. The one judging her is not only a friend of Chocho’s and Taizen, one of the Arakawa Arch Four, but also a longtime friend of her own father. Taizen recognizes Akane’s talent but is threatened to not recommend or promote any of Shiguma’s students by Zensho, another one of the Arch Four. Will Taizen make the right decision, or will he succumb to his peer? Meanwhile, Maikeru Arakawa is gearing up to be the first person in the Arakawa school to take the shin’uchi test since the expulsion scandal.

Maikeru Arakawa is gearing up to be the first futatsume in the Arakawa school to take the shin’uchi exam since the big expulsion scandal that forced Akane’s father out of the rakugo world. That incident weighs heavily on all of Master Shiguma’s apprentices, but it hit Maikeru especially hard due to his close relationship with Shinta Arakawa. And worse, one of the Arakawa Arch Four, Zensho Arakawa, has it out for Maikeru due to their similar performance styles. Will Maikeru be able to gain the approval of the Arakawa Arch Four and overcome the hurdle that no one in the Arakawa school has even attempted since the scandal all those years ago, or will he face the same fate as Akane’s father?

Akane is busy preparing for her promotion to futatsume, and the process is taking a lot longer than she expected. For Akane’s final performance as a zenza, Shiguma entrusts her to be the opening act for his solo performance. Will Akane be able to prove she’s grown enough to ascend to the next level? Especially with the extra pressure of knowing that Shiguma is one of the Arakawa Arch Four?

Akane successfully performs the opening act for Master Shiguma’s solo show, but whispers of the story known as “Shiguma's Art” leave her yearning to learn more. But suddenly, things take a turn for the worse when Master Shiguma collapses and the Shiguma School is forcefully disbanded by the Arakawa School. And to Akane’s horror, her new master is none other than the man who crushed her father’s dreams—Issho Arakawa. Finally, the story of Issho and Shiguma’s past is brought to light—as is the identity of the original Shiguma!

As youngsters, Issho and Shiguma are trapped in poverty, doing odd jobs, getting in fights, and behaving utterly unlike the professional rakugoka they will one day become. When the previous Shiguma, Kiroku Kashiwaya, charms them with his art, they join his rakugo school, and he influences them to work hard and better themselves. But one day, everything changes… In recounting this story to Akane, Urara reveals the secret behind the birth of the Arakawa School. Will it change Akane’s perception on becoming Issho’s apprentice? This volume also includes the one-shot “Tatarashido,” a story about stand-up comedy from fun-loving high schoolers!

Three years have passed since the dissolution of the Shiguma School. Akane, who suddenly vanished from the world of Japanese rakugo, is discovered to be practicing rakugo in…Paris? What sort of performance will she put on in a city synonymous with art itself? As the purpose of her training abroad becomes clearer, “Shiguma’s Art” grows ever closer. Then, back in Japan, Akane pushes forward as a futatsume, and her long-awaited first performance since she vanished is about to begin!

Three years have passed since the dissolution of the Shiguma School. Shomei Tsubakiya rejects Akane’s pleas to train her in the story “God of Death,” as something about her performance techniques goes against what he calls his principles. Determined to earn his recognition and prove she is worthy, Akane enters a rakugo competition that he is judging. But her new master, Issho Arakawa, places a restriction on her performance—she must win the competition without making anyone laugh.