Akane-banashi, Vol. 17

Shinta Arakawa wants nothing more than to pass his shin’uchi exam—the test that would make him a top-rank headliner and master storyteller in the traditional Japanese art of rakugo. Akane Osaki, his daughter and biggest fan, spies on him while he practices and learns his routines for herself. When rakugo master Issho Arakawa expels everyone after the exam with no explanation, a fire is lit inside Akane. From that day forth, she has had one goal—to avenge her father and prove his art was worthy of the title of shin’uchi.

Three years have passed since the dissolution of the Shiguma School. Akane, who suddenly vanished from the world of Japanese rakugo, is discovered to be practicing rakugo in…Paris? What sort of performance will she put on in a city synonymous with art itself? As the purpose of her training abroad becomes clearer, “Shiguma’s art” grows ever closer. Then, back in Japan, Akane pushes forward as a futatsume, and her long-awaited first performance since she vanished is about to begin!