Now that the story’s inciting incident has been defined, Akane-banashi episode 2 turns its attention to its protagonist proper. “First Performance” does a near perfect job of adapting the next three chapters of the manga; establishing who Akane is for the audience – her demeanor, energy, and talent. She’s not the only character who gets an introduction, which also helps continue to build out the underlying conflicts and mysteries behind the banishing of Shinta. As much as the first episode was a spectacular starting point, episode 2 is nearly the best kind of second episode of an anime.
Akane-banashi episode 2 properly introduces its hero
As if to specifically compensate for not being able to focus on her before, Akane-banashi episode 2 is all about Akane. From her casual behavior in front of her father’s (and secretly her own) master to the flashback between the two where she commits to her current dreams, Akane is very energetic and forward. It’s apparent in her gyaru design but even more so in her words. This big personality suits her as a performer and Master Shiguma sees that immediately in the younger Akane when she begs to learn under him following Shinta’s departure from rakugo.
Shiguma is equally compelling in his reaction to what happened to Shinta. He sees himself as responsible for Shinta’s situation and it causes him great pain. That’s not something he says out loud, but his reaction to learning about Shinta’s “real job” gives it away. Akane’s speech about Shinta becoming an office worker is a bit on the nose – she is a child in this scene – but it communicates the soul of Akane-banashi as a series. Her grief at the idea that a 9-5 is a “good thing” for Shinta drives home how much she enjoys rakugo, her father’s in particular, as artistic expression. This puts into comparison Shinta’s own anxieties about success and recognition, and implies that father and daughter might not be in alignment.
A continuation of the strong visual direction from episode 1.
But Shiguma is on the same wavelength as Akane, however, and decides to give her a real shot. Akane’s first performance opportunity is the moment that Akane-banashi begins its forward motion. Zexys wisely redeploys the first-person visual, this time from Akane’s eyes, to mirror her first time anxieties with Shinta’s high-end test. Both instances are high pressure but take very different forms. Later, when rival Kaisei Arakawa (Akihisa Shiono, in his first voiceover role) performs, he doesn’t get that same visual angle – because to him, this is child’s play. There’s no anxiety or pressure. It’s a good visual distinction that shows the gap between him and Akane.
Both Akane and Kaisei do get to share incredible facial animations. This episode reaches One Piece levels of hilarious gag faces, and the animation is up to the task. It remains a relief to see the animation team fully understand what they’re adapting. These faces are critical to the performance of rakugo in general. Facial expressions, along with vocal shifts, help delineate separate speakers and can shift the tone of a story at the drop of a hat. If this anime wasn’t putting the extra elbow grease in to nail them, it’d be an abject failure.
Begging for proper subtitles.
Unfortunately, there is one visual failing that isn’t really Zexys’ fault but will really hurt the series in the long run internationally: the subtitles. As is often the case with non-Crunchyroll broadcasts (and even those, these days), subtitles use the normal lower third subtitle formatting for all audio and disregard any foreign text on the screen. This hurts Akane-banashi in particular due to how important the actual rakugo stories are to what’s actually going on. Often the story being learned or performed ties thematically to characters, their struggles, or their conflicts. So it’s very frustrating not to have the subtitle for “The Lesson Master” alongside its Japanese sign.
By indicating to the audience that the text on the screen is irrelevant, viewers are missing the clever use of “The Lesson Master.” The narrative uses this story to let Kaisei flex on Akane with his rakugo performance. As the anime goes on, more and more will the rakugo stories themselves be thematically in alignment with the narrative. Yes, plenty of characters will say the names of these stories – in fact someone does speak the title of Akane’s performance in that way. Even so, it’s a big missed opportunity that does this anime a disservice.
Subtitle complaints aside, Zexys delivers another outstanding episode. Even their changes are wonderful. Extending Akane’s Rakugo Café departure with a scene of her running at top speed in the sunset is the most shonen thing possible. It fits, though, to highlight Akane’s headstrong nature and one-track mind. Clearly, the team understands who Akane is too. Akane-banashi episode 2 proves that the first episode isn’t a fake-out, this adaptation is in good hands.
Akane-banashi is available now on YouTube and on Netflix beginning in May.
Featured images ©Hiroki Suenaga and Takamasa Umagami/Shueisha, “Akane Banashi” Production Committee
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‘Akane-banashi’ Episode 2 – “First Performance” - 9/10
9/10
Travis Hymas is a freelance writer and self appointed Pokémon historian out of Salt Lake City, Utah. Known to be regularly obessive over pop culture topics, gaming discourse, and trading card games, he is a published critic featured on sites such as Uppercut and The Young Folks.
