26 minSeason 2 • Episode 12
LatestFifteen years have passed since that fateful day. Yotaro and Konatsu's children are growing up: Shinnosuke is a futatsume, and Koyuki has entered high school. Those who made their lives from rakugo, those who gave their lives to rakugo… aspects of their checkered pasts carry on to the next generation. What feelings lie in the hearts of those who inherit the names Kikuhiko, Sukeroku, and Yakumo, as they face their rakugo? The curtain is finally about to come down on Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.
When a certain man is released from prison, he knows exactly where he's heading first. After falling in love with a traditional comic storyteller's rendition of the story called "Shinigami," he is determined to become his apprentice. The performer, Yakumo, has never taken an apprentice before, but to everyone's surprise, he accepts the eager ex-prisoner, nicknaming him "Yotaro." As Yotaro happily begins his new life, he meets others in Yakumo's life, including Yakumo's ward Konatsu. Konatsu was the daughter of a famous storyteller, and Yakumo took her in after her father's tragic death. Konatsu loved her father's storytelling, and would love to become a performer in her own right—but that path is not available for women.
Acting
Voice performances capture decades of restraint and volcanic regret.
Direction
Rakugo scenes animated as psychological theater—faces become entire stages.
Writing
Nonlinear structure that earns its emotional gut punches.
Tomokazu Seki
Yotarou (voice)
Koichi Yamadera
Sukeroku Yuurakutei (voice)
Akira Ishida
Yakumo Yuurakutei (voice)
Kappei Yamaguchi
Amaken (voice)
Megumi Hayashibara
Miyokichi (voice)
Yu Kobayashi
Konatsu (voice)
Toshihiko Seki
Eisuke Higuchi (voice)
Shigeru Ushiyama
Matsuda (voice)
Koji Yusa
Mangetsu Tsuburaya (voice)
Ayaka Asai
Koyuki (voice)
Mikako Komatsu
Shinnosuke (voice)
Yuki Ono
Shinnosuke (adult) (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
JP
