Akane-banashi confirms second season for January 2027

The second season of Akane-banashi will premiere in January 2027. The announcement came this Sunday at an event, along with a first trailer and a promotional image showing Akane in her new stage.

The series will adapt the Zenza Arc. Akane Osaki finished high school and entered Shiguma's school. She now goes by the stage name Akane Arakawa, and her first professional stage will be the Yasaka-tei theater, where she will share the spotlight with rakugo masters. She is no longer the girl competing against people her own age.

The jump is also reflected in the cast. Taku Yashiro will play Asagao Konjakutei and Yoji Ueda will play Hassho Tsubakiya. At the end of the first season, they had already confirmed Hochu Otsuka as Miroku Kashiwaya, Ryotaro Okiayu as Shomei Tsubakiya, Hiroshi Naka as Enso Sanmeitei, Mutsumi Tamura as Urara Ransaika, Shinichiro Miki as Ryu'un Kenputei, and Tomokazu Seki as Chocho Konjakutei.

From the Karaku Cup to the professional stage

The first season aired from April to June and closed with the Karaku Cup Arc. It was directed by Ayumu Watanabe at studio ZEXCS, with Kii Tanaka handling character designs and animation direction. Kikuhiko Hayashiya advised on all things rakugo, the Japanese art of telling comic stories alone and seated, using only the voice.

The anime is based on the manga by Yuki Suenaga and Takamasa Moue, which has been running in Weekly Shonen Jump since February 2022. Volume 24 came out on October 2. In 2023 the series was nominated for the Kodansha Manga Awards and the Manga Taisho.

The story follows a girl who wants to reach Shin'uchi, the highest rank in rakugo, even though the profession has always been male-dominated. Her father was also a rakugoka and his career ended badly, and that is where her determination comes from.

The fact that rakugo is all voice explains why they brought together so many experienced actors for this season.