My Master Has No Tail (2022)

[うちの師匠はしっぽがない]

Director: Hideyo Yamamoto
Studio: Liden Films
Starring: MAO, Hibiku Yamamura, Lynn
Episodes: 13

Synopsis:
A young tanuki finds herself unable to play pranks on 20th Century humans and so she finds a new way to trick humans by taking up the art of rakugo.

Impressions:
A series about rakugo would be a hard sell to most Japanese audiences, to say nothing of viewers outside Japan, but using the fantastical element of a tanuki trying to adjust to the (then-)modern world à la Pom Poko does make for an effective hook, bolstered by an energetic performance by MAO. The master-apprentice relationship between Bunko and Mameda is the highlight as they make for good foils for each other. Mameda's antics are amusing and if you actually have an interest in rakugo, then this is a fairly user-friendly introduction, especially with the after-credit sequences that explain things to the audience. It's nothing too fancy, but it's a fun little series that's worth a watch.

Rating:
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