[[2026 Books and Manga]]  I picked up **Akane-banashi** for extremely silly reasons. Namely, I kept seeing its protagonist, the titular Akane, get shipped in art with Chihiro from [[Kagurabachi]], because their manga are often side-by-side in the Shonen Jump charts. Well, real recognize real because this manga is even better than **Kagurabachi**. Don't get me wrong, I love John Wick with Swords, that shit is hype and **Kagurabachi** excels because it's a Shonen Battler with some substance to it[^1]. But **Akane-banashi** hits even better for me because it grapples with a thing that I wrestle with, ponder over and agonize about every other day: the creation of art. The story is about Akane's goal to become a Rakugoa - a performer of Japanese verbal comedy - after her father gets expelled from his Rakugoa school for seemingly ridiculous and unfair reasons. On this journey, she learns how to craft her own art, and learns the lengths she'll need to take to become a true master of Rakugoa. On its surface, **Akane-banashi** doesn't have a very different structure from a Shonen battler - it's effectively a revenge story. But the medium that revenge is played out on, via verbal storytelling, makes it deeply unique and interesting. I didn't know a lick about rakugo before reading it, but the manga goes into great detail explaining what it is, its history, the various ways people like to perform it, and so on. It's extremely interesting stuff. What I really love about this manga though, is how likable everyone is, even the competitive assholes. Everyone from the people who aren't cut to be the best, to the perfectionists, to the people who shifted careers to perform, all get a chance too shine. It's a wonderful display of how engrossing and fulfilling the act of artistic creation can be for anyone willing to put a little effort in. I hesitate to recommend a manga before it ends, because I've been burned so many times before. But hundreds of chapters in, **Akane-banashi** continues to amaze me with how well-paced and impactful it is. It shows no signs of stopping, and if it sticks the landing it'll be an all-timer series for me. Here's hoping. [^1]: [[Kagurabachi Summarized|A quick meme to sum it up for you]]