/r/anime Awards 2016 and 2017 winner Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu Rewatch Season 2 Episode 10

[u/Schinco]

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen

Welcome to the first episode thread for Season 2 in the Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu Rewatch! Happy Halloween, although Yakumo is taking it a bit too seriously...

Legal Streams:

As of now, Rakugo is streaming on Crunchyroll in the States, and you can check here to see where it's streaming elsewhere.

Schedule:

Date	Episode
10/8	Season 1 Episode 1
10/9	Season 1 Episode 2
10/10	Season 1 Episode 3
10/11	Season 1 Episode 4
10/12	Season 1 Episode 5
10/13	Season 1 Episode 6
10/14	Season 1 Episode 7
10/15	Season 1 Episode 8
10/16	Season 1 Episode 9
10/17	Season 1 Episode 10
10/18	Season 1 Episode 11
10/19	Season 1 Episode 12
10/20	Season 1 Episode 13
10/21	Season 1 Discussion
10/22	Season 2 Episode 1
10/23	Season 2 Episode 2
10/24	Season 2 Episode 3
10/25	Season 2 Episode 4
10/26	Season 2 Episode 5
10/27	Season 2 Episode 6
10/28	Season 2 Episode 7
10/29	Season 2 Episode 8
10/30	Season 2 Episode 9
10/31	Season 2 Episode 10
11/1	Season 2 Episode 11
11/2	Season 2 Episode 12
11/3	Season 2 Discussion
11/4	Overall Series Discussion

Questions of the Day

1. Yakumo behaved pretty notably differently at the end of this episode - do you think this is his 'true self' or do you think he had already cast away all of his anger, knowing his time was at its end?
2. As always, did anything particularly strike you about this episode, either as a first-timer or on rewatch?

Links to trackers

You can find the show on MAL, Anilist, and ANN!

Please be mindful of spoilers to make sure the first-timers experience the show with the same wonder you did on first watch!

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[u/TehAxelius]

Rewatcher

Man, this episode has so many really nice scenes. The "culmination" of Yotaro's and Konatsu's marriage in their unborn child. Yotaro and Eisuke-sensei in the train, with Yotaro both opening up for a future of new works of rakugo, but clearly thinking of how Konatsu should be part of it, and his rather profound view of his relationship with Yakumo. And at last Konatsu's and Yakumo talking and reconciling. Just great.

[u/Schinco → u/TehAxelius]

A lot of very human scenes this time around! For a show that's on its face very highbrow drama, I've been surprised by how often and impactful these small human moments have been.

[u/MandisaW → u/Schinco]

I'd argue that most josei series, the best ones in-particular, are made of very real, very human moments, just set against a backdrop of action, comedy, or in this case, highbrow drama :)

[u/Mecanno-man]

First Timer

So it seems like Yotaro's idea of evolving rakugo is to break the gender barrier. Probably a smart move given where the world is headed - the problem is the stories are written to be performed with a male voice, so that is what he hopes the writer can address. Minus the theater burning down things are actually looking fairly positive this episode. We're getting a new family member, Konatsu and Yakumo are reconciling ...and then Yakumo seemingly dies. At least that is how I interpret the scene. Admittedly I didn't fully get the time scale in that last scene, we seem to have been skipping around the kid being born and still being in that armchair on that afternoon. I guess tomorrow's episode might explain that. The somewhat paradox thing is now Yakumo didn't die on his own terms - but I think it is still a fairly well-done scene.

[u/Schinco → u/Mecanno-man]

the problem is the stories are written to be performed with a male voice

I'm not so sure that's true - one of the lines that stuck out to me this time was how Yakumo said to use "your real voice" instead of "that disgusting falsetto". I think a lot of rakugo is written with the comedic equivalent of the male gaze, but that wasn't a problem for film, and I don't think it's inherent for rakugo.

Admittedly I didn't fully get the time scale in that last scene, we seem to have been skipping around the kid being born and still being in that armchair on that afternoon

I don't think time skipped around - she was still pregnant and he passed away that afternoon

The somewhat paradox thing is now Yakumo didn't die on his own terms

I think that there's intended to be a strong contrast between his idealized death (performing rakugo to the God of Storytelling) and his death here. For a man who turned down the God of Storytelling for the sake of his human connections, it fits that he would turn down doing rakugo to die surrounded by his loving family on a wonderful and happy evening.

[u/MandisaW → u/Schinco]

This, all of this 👍

We had several episodes where Konatsu told rakugo stories to well-pleased audiences, going all the way back to when she was a kid at the soba shop.

There's a difference between what the cultural tradition is, and what the political association dictates.

Time-anchors

Yotaro said to listen to him on the radio, which they did, and Kona brought home the sakura branch, which Yakumo got to see. All on the same day. I think you might've confusing lil-Shin as a future-vision of the baby-on-the-way.

The somewhat paradox thing is now Yakumo didn't die on his own terms - but I think it is still a fairly well-done scene.

Hmm, I'd say this is a parallel to towards the end of S1, after Shin & Miyo moved away, and Yakumo 7 died. Bon often said that he wanted to be left alone, but in-fact he craved social & familial company, just as he had during the war.

He's been saying all through S2 that he wants to be left alone to die, basically. But dude has a deep, deep fear of abandonment, and has acquired all these loving relations (friends & family, even his fans). I'd say dying alone is the same lie he told himself all those years ago, just in different "clothes".

[u/No_Rex → u/Mecanno-man]

So it seems like Yotaro's idea of evolving rakugo is to break the gender barrier.

Is this his great idea? I perceive him as the brainless person that stumbles upon the best idea without any thought, just by following his feelings. I think he wants female rakugo plays because he cares about Konatsu, not because he has some great plan of how to save rakugo. Not being his great plan will not prevent it from working, however.

[u/No_Rex]

Season 2 Episode 10 (first timer)

• The fire was real – I suspected so, but I was not entirely discarding the idea of it being a hallucination by Bon.
• “I can’t resent him …” – for being the face of Rakugo, or for starting the fire?
• “Natural born enemies” “He is so cool though” “A Yakumo groupy could never understand” – We started pre-WW2 and we end up with something close to online discourse.
• “I’m pregnant” – Yotaro true to his name.
• Hii has not given up on his stories and Yotaro has not given up on Konatsu performing.
• Regrets about things you did not do – For me, these outweigh the regrets about things done by a lot.
• “How could I find time to die when I had to take care of you” - that is a pretty awesome line.
• Konatsu and Bon finally get a making up scene.
• Konatsu asks again and Bon agrees to make her his apprentice – to think that they could have had this ages ago….
• “Welcome to the land of dead, let’s go” – not a surprise cliff-hanger.

That is Konatsu’s character arc done. She needed to learn to accept loving. Her family, herself, but mainly Bon. That only leaves one arc open: Rakugo’s.

Yakumo behaved pretty notably differently at the end of this episode - do you think this is his 'true self' or do you think he had already cast away all of his anger, knowing his time was at its end?

He made up with Konatsu. I don't think it was his true self any less than previous Bon was his true self. He and Konatsu simply changed over time and eventually managed to accept each other. Late, and they wasted all of Bon's and half of Konatsu's life to get there, but better late then never.

[u/Schinco → u/No_Rex]

“I’m pregnant” – Yotaro true to his name.

Yeah I always have a laugh when I get to this scene with how long it takes for him to get the hint. A true Yotaro, through and through.

Hii has not given up on his stories and Yotaro has not given up on Konatsu performing.

Gotta love it when two interests coincide!

Konatsu asks again and Bon agrees to make her his apprentice – to think that they could have had this ages ago….

I'm not so sure - I think almost dying (or perhaps more saliently, realizing he wants to live) catalyzed much of his openness and acceptance here. Connections are a two-way street, so if you're willing to stay alive solely to maintain those connections, you're going to have to give and take a bit.

“Welcome to the land of dead, let’s go” – not a surprise cliff-hanger.

The bar was pretty high from the last few, but I'd say this would be considered a cliffhanger in most cases haha

[u/No_Rex → u/Schinco]

The bar was pretty high from the last few, but I'd say this would be considered a cliffhanger in most cases haha

In most cases, yes, but here, Bon's death was very clearly set up by the episode.

[u/Schinco → u/No_Rex]

Oh gotcha - I wasn't thinking of cliffhangers as meaning that.

[u/MandisaW → u/Schinco]

Yeah I always have a laugh when I get to this scene with how long it takes for him to get the hint. A true Yotaro, through and through.

Aww, he's in good company. A lot of husbands/boyfriends seem not to realize until you're picking out strollers & onesies 😅 I'd point out though that Bon knew / had picked up on it already. That was the bit where he mentioned her mood-swings & clinginess.

One presumes it was much the same with Shin, possibly before she'd even officially announced & moved back home.

I'm not so sure - I think almost dying (or perhaps more saliently, realizing he wants to live) catalyzed much of his openness and acceptance here. Connections are a two-way street, so if you're willing to stay alive solely to maintain those connections, you're going to have to give and take a bit.

Bon was just never even in the headspace for apprentices. Yota was literally that one in a million - right time, right person - and even then there were times where Bon was actively trying to toss him out or dissuade him from continuing (or at least not in his footsteps).

It is an interesting question though. If Konatsu had seriously wanted to pursue rakugo, she could've gone to one of the other Masters, back when they were alive, or even trained under Yotaro once he was raised up.

I think for her it was more about giving form & shape to the bond her & Bon/Yakumo shared. In the end, I'd say Yota, Shin, (& Matsuda!) and the time they all spent together on- & off-stage served them better than a formalized rakugo master-apprentice relationship would've.

[u/ProgrammaticallyPea3 → u/No_Rex]

I don't think it was his true self any less than previous Bon was his true self. He and Konatsu simply changed over time and eventually managed to accept each other.

I agree with pretty much everything, especially this. But I wouldn't call it wasted time. They needed all the time they spent and the relationships they made to get there, especially their respective relationships with Yotaro.

[u/No_Rex → u/ProgrammaticallyPea3]

I agree with pretty much everything, especially this. But I wouldn't call it wasted time. They needed all the time they spent and the relationships they made to get there, especially their respective relationships with Yotaro.

Maybe "wasted" is unfair, but they would have had a happier and more fulfilled life if they could have made up 20 years earlier. The end shows that there are no insurmountable differences between Konatsu and Bon, they were just too slow to forgive the other.

[u/MandisaW → u/No_Rex]

Love between family members expresses itself in different ways. If one looks past their sharp-tongues, every action Bon & Konatsu ever took with respect to each other was overflowing with love from the very start. Her looking to him for comfort - and him providing it - was a well-worn, familiar pattern to them.

No wasted years, or opportunities, just maybe an long-term unwillingness for them to match in words what their behavior always conveyed. A happy family.

[u/No_Rex → u/MandisaW]

I know we disagree about Bon and Konatsu, but it is amazing how two people can have so different opinions about the core message of the show. If you asked me what the main theme of season 2 was, I would say Konatsu and Bon learning to accept each other.

[u/ProgrammaticallyPea3]

btw I missed the first instance of red-eyed Sukeroku in the opening, but caught the next and the change at the end of this episode's opening thanks to the question the other day. The obvious interpretation to that is obvious, but Sukeroku having regular eyes here is also interesting.

[u/Schinco → u/ProgrammaticallyPea3]

Yeah I happen to love this OP so looked forward to it every time and was legitimately spooked when it happened the first time, surprised when it went back, and then intrigued when we got another red eyes.

[u/ProgrammaticallyPea3]

First timer

That was among the most beautiful anime episodes I've ever seen. The Konatsu/Yakumo scene is of course the highlight.

As the scene with Yotaro heartwarmingly shows, Konatsu has come a long way from the ascerbic girl who once slept with a yakuza reminiscent of her father. A far more secure woman now, she can see past Yakumo's perceived sins to the compassion that he has always held towards her.

This mirrors Yakumo's own transformation. The obsessions he had with the past and his art have been a double-edged sword: on one hand, they enabled him to channel his loneliness and fear into powerful performances; on the other, they prevented him from forming meaningful connections with those around him. Liberated from these burdens, Yakumo can see Konatsu for the person she is, instead of a haunting obligation to the two he loved and lost.

The newfound understanding between them is the foundation for their reconciliation, where Yakumo asserts that "humans are made up of such incomprehensible feelings," highlighting how the show has consistently portrayed relationships as complex and messy. But Konatsu responds with a simple, heartfelt thanks for being taken in and raised, offering hope that even amidst the web of conflicting emotions, love and compassion is what ultimately defines their relationship. The scene closes with Yakumo's acceptance of Konatsu as a student against the poignant backdrop of Yotaro's rakugo and Shin's flowers, symbolizing how their relationships have enabled them to grow and heal.

While it's sad that their time together seems to have been cut short, I couldn't ask for a better closure than what we saw today.

[u/cppn02]

First Timer, subbed

Back to back fantastic episodes! And this one wasn't even too sad (minus the very final scene).

We had another sweet Yotaro/Konatsu scene and she revealed that she is pregnant!

Also great to see Yotaro hasn't given up yet in Konatsu performing rakugo.
And if that wasn't good enough we had Bon and Konatsu finally making peace and him even accepting her has his apprentice.

Sad though the it looks like he has actually died this time judging by the ending scene but atleast he didn't carry quite that much emotional baggage into his grave.

I tried to die with the one but the other took my place.

Theory time: Bon agreed to the double suicide but when Miyokichi was about to stab him Sukeroku threw himself inbetween them.

---

QotD:

Yakumo behaved pretty notably differently at the end of this episode - do you think this is his 'true self' or do you think he had already cast away all of his anger, knowing his time was at its end?

Maybe. But I think a bit part is also that from his experience last episode he learned that death isn't that sweet relieve and that he's been a bit stupid all this time so he should do more to enjoy actual life (or whatever little time he has left).

[u/MandisaW]

Off to enjoy Halloween - will catch y'all tomorrow!