Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju Decending Stories (昭和元禄落語心中 ー助六再び篇ー) is the 12 episode continuation of the historical drama Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju. The series is based on the manga of the same name by Kumota Haruko and aired during the Winter of 2017.
Decending Stories takes place a number of years after the original series. Yotaro has come into his own as an apprentice under Yakumo. He is now beginning to strike out as a professional rakugo performer. Unfortunately his criminal past is coming back to haunt him, threatening his future in the arts. At the same time Konatsu, still struggling with her hatred for Yakumo, has to realize her place in a world were women are considered less important. Yotaro does his best to provide stability for Konatsu, who has recently become pregnant, by becoming her common law husband and adopting the stage name of her deceased father.
Yakumo, facing his advancing age and the continuing decline in rakugo patronage is steadfast in his desire to prevent the art from continuing successfully once he dies. Having been serious for his entire life he appears to have become even more cantankerous in his twilight years. To make matters worse the guilt he feels for his past deeds begins to affect his mental health and he starts to hallucinate that Sukeroku is working on dragging him into the afterlife before his time.
The original series was primarily set in the past as Yakumo detailed his childhood and rise in the world of rakugo to Yotaro and Konatsu, so I was only slightly hesitant when I learned that this was going to be focused more on the present time in the characters life. Not that I had any distaste for Yotaru, I was really enthralled by Yakumo and his earlier life. Though, given where the original series ended it only makes sense to continue in the way it did. That said it was every bit as fascinating and enthralling of a story. There is something mesmerizing in the way the characters lives are displayed for the viewer that makes this series special.
Aside from the excellent story telling, both dealing with the characters lives and the depiction of the rakugo they perform, the artwork stands out among the crows as well. The characters are stylized in a classic shojo manner, having qualities more homely than lustful. There is fine attention to detail in the characters mannerisms and facial expressions, which is important to both the rakugo and making the characters more believable. Its always refreshing to see properly done mouths! There are really only two things that bothered me with this, the first is how annoying Yotaro's voice really is. Loud, shrill and abrasive, sometimes on a ridiculous level. I can't tell if its just bad voice acting or intentional, but it can sometimes dampen the mood set by the story its self. The other troubling thing is that the series really has no room for expansion. It ends really well with a nice and tidy final episode. I really enjoyed both series and would like to see more in the world of these characters, because the story telling is so well done. Oh well, I can always re-watch them!
This series, like the original, are available on Crunchyroll in North America. There is no word on anyone picking up the license for hard copy or dub release, which is a bit of a shame, but sadly I don't see a large fan-base for this excellent and mature story.
Decending Stories takes place a number of years after the original series. Yotaro has come into his own as an apprentice under Yakumo. He is now beginning to strike out as a professional rakugo performer. Unfortunately his criminal past is coming back to haunt him, threatening his future in the arts. At the same time Konatsu, still struggling with her hatred for Yakumo, has to realize her place in a world were women are considered less important. Yotaro does his best to provide stability for Konatsu, who has recently become pregnant, by becoming her common law husband and adopting the stage name of her deceased father.
Yakumo, facing his advancing age and the continuing decline in rakugo patronage is steadfast in his desire to prevent the art from continuing successfully once he dies. Having been serious for his entire life he appears to have become even more cantankerous in his twilight years. To make matters worse the guilt he feels for his past deeds begins to affect his mental health and he starts to hallucinate that Sukeroku is working on dragging him into the afterlife before his time.
The original series was primarily set in the past as Yakumo detailed his childhood and rise in the world of rakugo to Yotaro and Konatsu, so I was only slightly hesitant when I learned that this was going to be focused more on the present time in the characters life. Not that I had any distaste for Yotaru, I was really enthralled by Yakumo and his earlier life. Though, given where the original series ended it only makes sense to continue in the way it did. That said it was every bit as fascinating and enthralling of a story. There is something mesmerizing in the way the characters lives are displayed for the viewer that makes this series special.
Aside from the excellent story telling, both dealing with the characters lives and the depiction of the rakugo they perform, the artwork stands out among the crows as well. The characters are stylized in a classic shojo manner, having qualities more homely than lustful. There is fine attention to detail in the characters mannerisms and facial expressions, which is important to both the rakugo and making the characters more believable. Its always refreshing to see properly done mouths! There are really only two things that bothered me with this, the first is how annoying Yotaro's voice really is. Loud, shrill and abrasive, sometimes on a ridiculous level. I can't tell if its just bad voice acting or intentional, but it can sometimes dampen the mood set by the story its self. The other troubling thing is that the series really has no room for expansion. It ends really well with a nice and tidy final episode. I really enjoyed both series and would like to see more in the world of these characters, because the story telling is so well done. Oh well, I can always re-watch them!
This series, like the original, are available on Crunchyroll in North America. There is no word on anyone picking up the license for hard copy or dub release, which is a bit of a shame, but sadly I don't see a large fan-base for this excellent and mature story.
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