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Akane Banashi 

Author: Yuki Suenaga (writer), and Takamasa Moue (artist)

Volumes: 2 English & 9 Japanese (Ongoing at 91 Chapters)

Publisher: Shonen Jump [click HERE for digital chapters]

I think I speak for more than just myself when I say that I didn’t get into comics just to read action, and that it’s because of how good the action was in those comics that I read through so many in the genre, but after a while you need something different, something as equally interesting and captivating, in a way that either subverts what came before, or is very much it’s own thing.

Akane-Banashi is very much its own thing. Rakugo is the art of telling a story as an entertainer. The setting if you can picture it is not far detached from that of an open mic night, but as an industry it is steeped in tradition, the grading system is more in line with the way belts work in martial arts, a grading system that requires a master of the craft to approve a promotion for any given performer.

We start the story with the protagonist, Akane Osaki, watching her Dad’s chance at a promotion by way of his performance. Unfortunately for her father, the senior rakugo master judging the performance, Issho Arakawa, expels all the participants without explanation, and so marks the starting point for Akane’s vengeance as she aims to become a great rakugo performer and climb the ranks.

While you couldn’t call any of the series biggest conflicts physically combative, there’s a genuine back and forth that readers can follow along with. The series even at one point makes reference to Hunter X Hunter’s Nen system to explain how a performer finds their own style with “Nin”.

I’ve seen some say that this series would be difficult to adapt into animation, but I can’t see why, when every story could be expanded on further, with vocal performances that help the audience further understand the different skills at play. This and the next two series switch places a lot as to which I think is number one right now, so you may as well consider this a joint first place as it stands too.