A former gangster apprentices himself to the greatest living rakugo storyteller.
Creative Staff
Story/Art: Haruko Kumota
Translation/Adaptation: Matt Alt
What They Say
THE STAGE IS SET A hapless young man is released from prison with nothing to his name, but he knows exactly what he wants: to train in the art of rakugo comedic storytelling. After seeing an unforgettable performance from one of Japan’s greatest masters, Yakumo Yurakutei VIII, during his time in jail, he will settle for nothing less than to become apprentice to the best. Yakumo, notorious for taking no students, is persuaded to take him on, and nicknames him Yotaro—the fool. Yotaro has no formal training or elegance, but something about his charisma reminds Yakumo of someone from his past.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Descending Stories is probably not the best title for newbie manga readers to start with. It’s a period piece, set around 1970s Japan and contains numerous historical references that go back to Edo period. The story centers around the performing art of rakugo so the text includes a lot of rakugo-specific vocabulary in addition to general Japanese cultural terms. Finally, the artwork is not the prettiest. Even though the illustrations get the job done, backgrounds are minimal, and there’s not much nuance to characters’ expressions.
Having said all that, I found Descending Stories to be a beautiful piece of storytelling.
The strength of Descending Stories lies in the personalities of its cast and their varied relationships with rakugo, a traditional form of storytelling in which a seated, solo performer acts out all the characters. Our guide into the rakugo world is a former gangster recently released from prison. The hapless young man has no prospects and no family, but he has a dream: to train under rakugo master Yakumo Yurakutei VIII. And to everyone’s astonishment Yakumo takes him on. After receiving the name Yotaro (Blockhead), our ex-con moves in with Yakumo and his surly ward Konatsu, and as Yotaro struggles to learn his craft, his presence stirs up old ghosts and Konatsu’s long-held grudge against Yakumo.
Despite Yotaro’s aspiration of becoming a rakugo master, he’s a relative newbie to the art. As such, the first chapters are kind of an introduction to its practices and traditions. So even if you’ve never heard of rakugo, you can learn with Yotaro as he starts his apprenticeship. However, most rakugo stories are set in the Edo period so it really helps to have some knowledge of that era to follow along. Yotaro, by the way, is an extremely likeable, straightforward character. He’s an ex-con, true, but he’s just dim, not vicious. Besides, everyone in the theater knows about his gangster past, and because he doesn’t hide it and he’s clearly not returning to the gang, it doesn’t matter.
Yakumo and Konatsu, on the other hand, have lived and breathed rakugo their whole lives. And they have secrets. Secrets that center around Sukeroku, a late rakugo artist who was Konatsu’s father and Yakumo’s closest colleague. And Yotaro’s style and personality are a dead ringer for Sukeroku’s. While the rakugo world provides the setting and the framework for dreams and success, the glimpses of the characters’ resentment and regret are what draw you in.
In a sense, that is the biggest difference between the anime and the manga. The anime does a wonderful job displaying the art by presenting rakugo pieces (often uninterrupted) from beginning to end. Because manga is a still and silent medium, it can’t convey performances in that same way so it delves more into the things that take place off stage and the relationships formed around rakugo. I barely remember the character Mangetsu from the anime, but in the manga, he gets introduced in Chapter 2 almost as a kind of rival for Yotaro. Volume 1 ends about the midway point of the anime’s hour-long Episode 1, and that’s because it meanders to various places the anime did not. If you enjoyed the anime, I’d highly recommend picking up the manga for these extra moments.
Extras include a 3-page bonus chapter that explains yose (rakugo theater) basics, a paragraph about the origins of the Rakugo Kyokai Association, and translation notes.
In Summary
Descending Stories isn’t the type of title that will appeal to a wide audience, but if you’re reasonably well versed in Japanese culture/history or have a special interest in storytelling traditions, Descending Stories is definitely worth a look. While the manga’s artwork quality is a couple steps below that of the anime, it still does an excellent job telling this story about storytellers. The rakugo performances are shown in bits and pieces, but the mangaka still paints an engaging portrait of the art form’s practices and those striving to carry on the tradition.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: B-
Text/Translation Grade: B
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Kodansha Comics
Release Date: January 17th, 2017
MSRP: $12.99
