---
title: 'Akane-Banashi | Ranking Anime 🌸Spring 2026🌸 [Ep 07]'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=vsLRj9EZLVo'
video_id: 'vsLRj9EZLVo'
date: 2026-08-28
duration_sec: 125
channel: 'Glass Reflection'
---

# Akane-Banashi | Ranking Anime 🌸Spring 2026🌸 [Ep 07]

> Source: [Akane-Banashi | Ranking Anime 🌸Spring 2026🌸 (Ep 07)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=vsLRj9EZLVo)

## Summary

This video is a review and ranking of the anime 'Akane Banashi' from the Spring 2026 season. The creator discusses the series' portrayal of Rakugo, a traditional Japanese storytelling art form, and compares it to other anime that have covered the subject. They praise the show for its depth and ability to make viewers care about Rakugo, and ultimately rank it as S tier.

### Key Points

- **Rakugo in Anime** [00:02] — Only a few anime cover Rakugo, including Rakugo Shinju and Joshiraku. Rakugo Shinju has deep characters but lacks the passion to show why Rakugo is loved, while Joshiraku uses Rakugo for comedy but loses meaning in translation.
- **Akane Banashi's Approach** [00:45] — The series is praised for showcasing Rakugo to newcomers and giving them a reason to care, unlike previous anime. It follows a girl's goal to become the best Rakugo performer and to prove her father's Rakugo has merit.
- **Plot and Motivation** [01:12] — The story involves the protagonist's father being banished from the profession, and her desire to rejuvenate the lagging popularity of Rakugo. The creator avoids spoilers, noting the anime explains Rakugo and motivations better than they could.
- **Personal Recommendation** [01:36] — The creator rarely reads manga, but they read this series years before the anime. They recommend watching the anime and then reading the manga, agreeing it's worth S tier.

### Conclusion

Akane Banashi is a standout anime that effectively introduces Rakugo to a wider audience, combining a compelling story with a unique art form. The creator's strong personal endorsement and S-tier ranking highlight its quality.

## Transcript

storytelling performance. In anime thus far, there have only been a handful of titles that cover this art form at all. Rakugo Shinju and Joshiraku. Shinju is a fantastic series with an untold depth to its characters hampered only somewhat by
the lack of a like a fanatic passion needed to showcase why an average person could love Rakugo. Joshiraku is like the complete opposite. It's a comedy that uses Rakugo as its main medium of joke delivery, which somewhat gets lost in
translations at the worst of times. Neither of them, I would say, is the absolute perfection or pinnacle of showcasing what Rakugo is to someone who has no idea nor give them a reason to care, but this series, I think, takes
care of that far better. Today is day seven of me giving my impressions of the new anime from spring 2026 and ranking the first episode accordingly. This is Akane Banashi, a story about one girl's goal to become the best damn Rakugo
the kind of Rakugo that she can do, the kind of Rakugo that she watched her father perform for hours, but also to show that her father's Rakugo has actual merit, that it, alongside her own take on things, can rejuvenate the somewhat
[music] lagging in popularity Japanese storytelling art form, even if her fellow contemporaries might to disagree and some of them even had her father banished from the profession altogether. I do not want to spoil much of this
it will do so much of a better job at explaining Rakugo and the motivations of [music] will. I really also want to say that there are very, very few anime
actually sat down and read their manga for. Oddly, there are two this season, but that just seems to be a level of coincidence I can't handle. I don't normally find a manga series engaging enough to do that with and [music]
just not have me wait for the anime to come along, but this, I read this years now it's an anime. So, if I can do that, you can watch it and then read it and then also agree with me that it's well worth being S tier.