Akane-banashi with me is kind of like George after Jerry tells him about his moving sidewalks idea. “Now I’m just gonna be wishing there were walkways!”. Every time Isshou appears on-screen, I can’t help but think “Now I’m just gonna be wishing Ohtsuka Akio would perform rakugo!”. At this point I would say the latter is only fractionally more likely than the former, so it would be smart to just let it go. But once a thought like that embeds itself in your head it’s hard to get rid of it.
This is all about Ishhou, to be honest. He’s both gravity and dark matter in Akane-banashi. His impact is that much more unmistakable whenever Ohtsuka is speaking, but he drives events even when unseen and unheard. I wasn’t sure at the time of reading whether Isshou knew who Akane was, but he was being honest when he scolded Kaisei afterwards for not telling him. The fact that Kaisei didn’t tell him tells you a lot about his character, but Isshou’s answer in and of itself is more or less what I think one would have expected (this series rarely surprises you in that way).
This is a tough one to call, because in essence Isshou is right about rakugo being an art on the decline. And while it’s tempting to dismiss his identifying as the gatekeeper of rakugo as arrogance, the fact is that Ishhou is only reflecting reality. He is the recognized authority on rakugo, the unquestioned top dog in the pack. If he doesn’t protect the integrity of the art form, who will? Watch Akane closely – when Isshou pushes her on what she remembers from that day (when she was just 11, to be fair) she’s forced to admit that there was a frailty to Shinta’s performance. It was endearing – but is that acceptable from someone who wants to be a shin’uchi?
I don’t know the right answer here. I think we can probably say that the way Ishhou went about “protecting” rakugo was misguided – that was arrogant. It can’t be easy for Akane to hear that her beloved father would have weakened rakugo, but at least now she has her answer. We also get a little sense of the uneasiness between Isshou and Shiguma, who the latter easily deduced was Akane’s master. He refers to the pursuit of Shiguma’s art as “chasing an illusion”, which resonates as a significant statement even if we don’t yet know the implications of it.
In the aftermath, Akane and her party – including Iwashimizu-sensei – return to Shiguma’s house to check-in. But it’s not Shiguma who’s awaiting them there. Rather, we finally meet Maikeru Ani-san – the highest-ranking apprentice in Shiguma’s stable. Maikeru immediately comes off as a bit of a clown, and reveals little of how he’s risen to the heights he has. But he does school Akane on the importance of all the traditional arts for a rakugo performer – he plays the shamisen himself. He also loves his drink, and things get especially lively when Kyouji shows up and Guri-chan unwisely gives him a drink.
The episode – and the arc – close with Akane and Shiguma reflecting on what’s happened. The contrast between Shiguma and Ishhou could hardly be more stark, and it’s easy to see why his apprentices feel a loyalty to him that’s very personal. So much so that Shinta declined the opportunity to continue his career at another school, reasoning that being Shiguma’s apprentice – and eventual successor – was more important to him than being a rakugoka itself. The mantle has been passed, the gauntlet thrown down – this is Akane’s war now. And it seems safe to say that Ishhou isn’t the sort to shy away from a fight.
