A Conversation With the Akane-banashi Team
### Synopsis
Interview Location: Anime NYC 2025 Interview Format: In-person, Round Robin At Anime NYC, we at Anime Herald had the chance to talk with the team behind the successful rakugo manga Akane-banashi. We were able to speak with editor Seisuke Araki and TV Asahi producer Kazuki Endo. Anime Herald: Rakugo is a niche subject, even in Japan. Can you share what made Akane-banashi so special that it was able to maintain an audience in Weekly Shonen Jump? Seisuke Araki: When working on Akane-banashi, we wanted to make it very easy to understand for the Shonen Jump readers. Akane-banashi is catered towards the target audience of Shonen Jump. There is a very specific way to write shonen stories. For example, in Akane-banashi, the main character has a very goal-oriented mindset. She has a clear goal, and the series is formatted around that. It’s easy for the readers to follow and understand. That’s the first part, the structure. The second part is the topic of rakugo. Rakugo is a very male-dominated field. There are not a lot of female performers. The fact that the main character is a high school girl is very rare within the rakugo scene. That idea of a sole high school girl entering the rakugo scene and having to become the best within that scene as a rare demographic; I feel that adds to the catharsis when reading the series. I think that is the second main reason for the appeal of the series. Anime Corner: Many elements of the story appear to be inspired by real-life events. To…
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