Kabukibu! – 12 (End) and Series Review

I’ve got more to say of course, but to sum it up?  It’s all good – every bit of it.

I wrapped up my preview of Kabukibu! by saying the following:

Kabukibu! seems like a good bet to be this season’s “that really good show nobody watches”.

Kabukibu - 12 - 01Well, I hardly think I could have been more right – though to be fair, the latter was going to be pretty much a given.  It wasn’t a given that Kabukibu! was going to be really good of course, especially given that it’s based on a light novel.  But I just had a gut feeling – the stars were aligned.  Kabuki is an interesting topic, Deen has proved itself quite savvy at attaching itself to good source material, and they brought in an outstanding director and writer (both of whom were willing to take on the project when they surely had options).

Kabukibu - 12 - 02But you know, it’s shows like this that make me love you guys all the more – you ranked it fifth in the season preview poll, and it’s clear from your comments and page views that a good many of you did watch Kabukibu!.  I love covering shows like Hunter X Hunter and Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, because the main enjoyment factor for me comes in writing about shows I love, irrespective of whether they’re popular.  But it’s with the under-appreciated gems like Kabukibu! that my pride in having created LiA really bubbles up – I’m glad there’s a group of readers out there who appreciate anime that’s widely ignored.  I suspect it didn’t have to be me, and anyone writing about those series would have been enough to encourage you to gather up – but I’m certainly lucky it was me.

Kabukibu - 12 - 03I had a pretty strong feeling that we were going to be treated to an outstanding finale here, and I certainly wasn’t disappointed.  The staff here know how to do an ending, and this series has been trending unidirectionally upward for most of its run. This episode delivered pretty much everything you could have wanted – apart, perhaps, from (not to beat a dead horse) Kurosu actually appearing on-stage.  But it delivered up some satisfaction in that area in the way I hoped it might, and everything else about the performance of “The Five Bandits” was a masterpiece.  I can totally understand the look of rapt awe on the faces of those incoming first-years.

Kabukibu - 12 - 04The first order of business was to get Ebihara as part of the Kabukibu’s production, but he didn’t make it easy.  It was only on the way home after being rejected (I loved Shin growling at the dog) that Kuro was struck by inspiration – play dirty.  He threw the fact that Jin had likely gotten Riri sick in his face, and pretty much shamed him into appearing with the kabuki group.  But dirty or not, he’s  actually got a pretty decent point – and besides, Jin was pretty much being a jerk about the whole thing at that stage anyway.

Kabukibu - 12 - 05I’ll give Ebi-chan credit for this – once he decided to perform, he clearly took it seriously (for his own sake, if nothing else).  He insisted that he’d be playing the part as a high school student, not as the heir of the Shiroganeya Clan (that’s an interesting philosophical distinction if you think about it), and proceeded (after a read-through) to give everyone in the cast one point to try and fix in their performance (apart from Kaoru, who he knew could handle more).  Most interesting here, of course, was that Jin gave Akutsu-kun no pointers – he claimed it was because “I don’t like you”, but one suspects it was more likely that Shin was already pretty good.  Or perhaps, that his strength is in his raw energy and magnetism – and anything Jin tried to do to tame that in one day would do more harm than good.

Kabukibu - 12 - 06And that performance – wow.  It took up almost half the episode, and well it should – it really made me want to see “The Five Bandits” live myself.  Everything clicked (starting with Tonbo’s smile and assertion that he was having fun) – the subtitles, the gymnastics, the backgrounds…  It was a perfect marriage between brilliance and believability.  This performance didn’t look like a professional kabuki production – it looked like a kabuki production put on by exceptionally talented and creative enthusiasts who had everything go just right.  And boy, did it ever.

Kabukibu - 12 - 07There were a lot of tidbits I could single out from Kabukibu!’s take on “The Five Bandits” – each of the five character introductions was pretty riveting, for starters.  But most interesting to me was that moment when Jin stole a quick look at Shin as he was introducing himself as Nango Rikimaru.  I love the fact that Yoneda-sensei doesn’t dissect that, but rather lets us ponder on it.  Just what was the significance of that for Ebihara?  For me, I think it was an acknowledgement – a recognition that for all his dismissive derision, there was a genuine prodigy at work here, a potential star.  And so much of that comes down to Ohsaka Ryouta, who – it must be said again – is superb in this role.  He’s really good at kabuki for starters, and clearly that makes a huge difference.

Kabukibu - 12 - 08In the end, though, the moment that hit me the hardest was when at the end of the performance, as the cast was taking their bows with Kuro way off in the wings, Shin introduced him and the entire club saluted him (and the audience, too).  Kurosu teared up a little and frankly, so did I.  If we weren’t going to see Kuro actually take a bow as a performer, it was critical to a satisfying conclusion that we see his efforts acknowledged and applauded.  People like Kuro do exist in the world – they make things better for those around them with their tireless enthusiasm, work ethic and positivity (and talent, too).  He was the perfect protagonist for Kabukibu! – he matched its personality in the same way Onoda Sakamichiu and Oota Shou matched that of their respective series.

Kabukibu - 12 - 09In the final analysis, we’re back where we started – it’s all good.  Kabukibu! ended up being a wonderful, uplifting experience – straightforward and optimistic and full of the joy that comes from watching characters you like do something they love.  As terrible as most light novels are, this is a good reminder that exceptions do exist, and that they deserve to be recognized.  The problem of course is that it’s not LN adaptations like Kabukibu! that end up making money, so they’re almost non-existent.  But that doesn’t take anything away from the accomplishments of this series, which ended up being one of the best of the season.

 

ED Sequence:

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedinmail

11 comments

  1. Yes indeed! Let’s here it for hidden gems like this one!

    It is important to praise the things that deserve to be praised indeed (to quote Ku Fei of all characters) and yes – this was definitely a series that deserves it in my opinion!

    It may not be intellectually or artistically “brilliant”, but it is “heart-filled”. And it certainly would be no loss to have more series like that available these days. ^^

  2. M

    Wonderful review as always. Jin and Shin can’t help but remind me of a young Yakumo and Sukeroku. Somewhat similar character traits.

  3. Yeah, I can see that a bit. Kabukibu is, in a sense, a bit like SGRS painted using primary colors instead of all the shadings.

  4. Z

    Hooray for Kabukiku. And while I didn’t get my “Kuro as a performer” fix, at least I got to see him as a Kuroko, and they did a nice job with the details of that outfit.

    And just to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of Kabuki, but I *loved* the anime version of it. It was fun, and it drew the eye to what was important.

  5. D

    Yeah, that good show nobody watches is sad but true. I really enjoyed this, the characters were all engaging in their ways, and they managed to do something a little different with the ‘high school club’ formula in a way which really worked.

    A thoroughly satisfying and enjoyable watch.

  6. Kabukibu! definitely exceeded my expectations. It’s a straightforward-plotted story with decent characters that show off their love of kabuki. Happy to have watched it and would be just as happy if this got a second season (which it may not).

  7. s

    In the end we haven’t got to know who the kakuki istructor was. Without a sequel we’ll never know, what a pity!

  8. Yeah – sucks, don’t it?

  9. k

    It may not be intellectually or artistically “brilliant”, but it is “heart-filled”. And it certainly would be no loss to have more series like that available these days

  10. No disagreement from me there.

  11. k

    while I didn’t get my “Kuro as a performer” fix, at least I got to see him as a Kuroko, and they did a nice job with the details of that outfit.

Leave a Comment