Today, it was announced on this year’s 23rd issue of Kodansha’s Itan magazine that Haruko Kumota’s (Nobara, Itoshi no Nekokke) historical manga, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, will have a TV anime adaptation. Also, there will be 2 original video animation (OVA) for the series.
The first OVA will be bundled in the seventh compiled volume of the manga which will be released on March 6, 2015 and will be titled as Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Yotarou-hen (Yotarou Arc Part 1). The second OVA will be released on August 7, 2015 along with the eighth compiled manga volume and will be titled as Yotarou-hen Kou-pen (Yotarou Arc Part 2). The TV anime will debut after the release of the second OVA.
The next issue of Itan magazine (which will be released on February 6, 2015) will announce TV anime’s cast and staff. The first OVA have been casted:
- Tomokazu Seki (Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV)‘s Gilgamesh) as Yotarou
- Akira Ishida (Gintama‘s Kotaro Katsura) as Yakumo
- Yu Kobayashi (Shingeki no Kyojin‘s Sasha Blouse) as Konatsu
The story of the OVA:
Bundled with the special editions of the manga’s 7th and 8th volumes.
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.
The manga began publishing in the Itan magazine on 2010. It currently has six compiled volumes published by Kodansha. The first compiled volume was published on July 7, 2011 and the sixth one was released on August 7, 2014.
The manga was nominated and had won several manga awards:
- Nominated for the 5th Manga Taishou and placed 4th among the fifteen nominees.
- Nominated for the 17th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize.
- Ranked 2nd on the 2012 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Female Readers survey
- Ranked 14th on the 2013 Kono Manga ga Sugoi! Top 20 Manga for Female Readers survey
- Ranked 7th in the 2013 Comic Natalie Grand Prize
- Won an Excellence Award for manga at the 17th Japan Media Arts Festival Awards.
- Won the 38th Kodansha Manga Award for Best General Manga.
Story of Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu from Haruhichan:
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.
