Joshiraku

If I had to sum up the show in a few words: "A comedy based on a group of 5 girls taking turns with the old boke-tsukkomi routine." The show is about 5 girls who are studying the art of Japanese stage storytelling dubbed: "rakugo" hence the title of the show "Joshi (meaning woman/girl) raku". When it comes to the story and art one character's line, Kukuru's: "Stop that! The animators are doing their best even though there's little to animate," pretty much sums it up. As well as a literal frame in the first episode: "This anime is full of 'ordinary' dialogue so views can fully enjoy how cute the girls are." I quoted because ordinary, as much of what they discuss is chock-full of anime , pop-culture, and nonsensical humor and gags, which is the show's selling point. I often found myself smile and laugh unconsciously. That being said, it can be difficult to understand the comedy sometimes as some rely on timing of the joke or make reference to an obscure topic. I can't say that I didn't have to pause a few times throughout the show and look up meaning of punchlines or nuances in wordplay, but it didn't distract me from enjoying the show's humorous banter. Many of the tracks in the OST use Japanese instruments which compliments the traditional atmosphere a rakugo has. Overall, I had a blast watching the show. I believe if you have some knowledge of Japanese pop-culture, a bit of knowledge in the Japanese language itself, a somewhat subtle sense of humor its not difficult to find this show an interesting watch

A small anime with a gigantic opening and ending. That's probably the most honest way I can describe Joshiraku after so many years. Because, to be honest, when I think about this work I almost never remember the episodes, characters, or jokes. What comes to mind first are the songs. The anime follows that classic formula of everyday life with random conversations, humor based on interactions between characters, and simple situations transformed into comedy. There's no grand plot or narrative objective; it's the kind of work that lives exclusively on the charisma of the cast and the humor working for the viewer. And perhaps that's where my problem begins. The comedy fluctuated too much for me. At times there were really good jokes or absurd dialogues that made me laugh, but then came several minutes that seemed dragged out or simply unfunny. It was a very uneven experience. It never got to the point of being bad enough to abandon it, but it also rarely really captivated me. It might just be incompatibility with the style of humor in the work. There are anime with everyday conversations that work really well for me, others seem endless. Joshiraku ended up in the second group. Technically, almost nothing stood out to me. The animation fulfills the basics, the backgrounds exist to support the dialogues, and the sound design during the episodes hardly draws attention. Everything seems to serve only as support for the humor. Now, the music… that changes completely. The opening and especially the ending are much more vivid in my memory than the entire anime. I remember when remixed versions circulated a lot, mixing rap, electronic music, and excerpts from the songs. It was the kind of thing I listened to repeatedly without even thinking much about the original anime. In fact, that was literally the reason that led me to watch the work. And looking back today, it's funny to realize this: I went for the meme, the music, and the internet nostalgia of that time… but the anime itself never had the same impact. In the end, Joshiraku ended up becoming one of those works that I recognize more for its opening and ending than for its content. When someone mentions it, my thought isn't "that funny anime," but rather: "that anime with the really good music." Perhaps that's unfair to the work. Perhaps it's exactly a reflection of my experience with it. For me, it ended up like this: watchable, forgettable, and carried by a soundtrack that stood out more than the episodes themselves. Rating: 5/10. =================================================================================================================Versão em Português===================================== Um anime pequeno com abertura e ending gigantes. Essa é provavelmente a forma mais honesta que encontro para definir Joshiraku depois de tantos anos. Porque, sendo sincero, quando penso nessa obra quase nunca lembro dos episódios, personagens ou piadas. O que vem primeiro na memória são as músicas. O anime segue aquela fórmula clássica de cotidiano com conversas aleatórias, humor baseado em interações entre personagens e situações simples transformadas em comédia. Não existe uma grande trama ou objetivo narrativo; é o tipo de obra que vive exclusivamente do carisma do elenco e do humor funcionar com quem está assistindo. E talvez seja aí que meu problema começa. A comédia oscilou demais pra mim. Em alguns momentos surgiam piadas realmente boas ou diálogos absurdos que arrancavam risadas, mas logo depois vinham vários minutos que pareciam arrastados ou simplesmente sem graça. Foi uma experiência muito irregular. Nunca chegou ao ponto de ser ruim o suficiente para abandonar, mas também raramente me prendeu de verdade. Pode ser apenas incompatibilidade com o estilo de humor da obra. Tem animes de conversa cotidiana que funcionam muito bem comigo, outros parecem intermináveis. Joshiraku acabou ficando no segundo grupo. Na parte técnica também quase nada me marcou. A animação cumpre o básico, os cenários existem para sustentar os diálogos e a sonorização durante os episódios dificilmente chama atenção. Tudo parece servir apenas como suporte para o humor. Agora, as músicas… aí muda completamente. A abertura e principalmente a ending ficaram muito mais vivas na minha memória do que o anime inteiro. Lembro da época em que versões remixadas circulavam bastante, misturando rap, eletrônica e trechos das músicas. Era o tipo de coisa que eu escutava repetidamente sem nem pensar muito no anime original. Inclusive, esse foi literalmente o motivo que me levou a assistir a obra. E olhando hoje é engraçado perceber isso: fui pelo meme, pela música e pela nostalgia da internet daquela época… mas o anime em si nunca teve o mesmo impacto. No fim, Joshiraku acabou virando aquela obra que reconheço mais pela abertura e ending do que pelo conteúdo. Quando alguém menciona, meu pensamento não é “aquele anime engraçado”, e sim: “aquele anime que tinha umas músicas muito boas”. Talvez isso seja injusto com a obra. Talvez seja exatamente o reflexo da minha experiência com ela. Pra mim ficou nisso: assistível, esquecível e carregado por uma trilha que marcou mais que os episódios. Nota: 5/10.

Do ya ever hear a joke and you can tell that it was well delivered and would probably be funny but you simply don't have the knowledge to understand the joke? That's how it feels to watch Joshiraku ;/. Much like most other comedy anime, Joshiraku has a lot of humor that is especially hard to translate into other languages, especially English. Japanese wordplay, politics, the anime industry as a whole, and the many nuances about Japanese culture are some of the main focuses of this series' humor. All of this combined with the fast pace of the jokes can make Joshiraku a very alienating show, especially to people new to anime or Japanese culture. Even though I've been a fan of anime for years and have researched Japanese language and culture both for fun and for class, much of this humor flew over my head. I think its the kinda thing where you'd get it more if ya lived in the area. In spite of me having a skill issue, the jokes I did catch were super clever and overall the show has made me laugh out loud a lot! Many jokes aren't one time gags either, they often carry over jokes from previous episodes and play off of them in even funnier ways. I especially like the jokes where some character or random absurd thing is happening and they just don't acknowledge it at all and keep going on with their life. That shit is so funny and is the signature Japanese weirdness that I look for in anime like this. xD I think I got the most out of Joshiraku's comedy when it focused on poking fun at the anime industry and is self aware of established trends and tropes! For example the first segment of the first episode is about how terrible of an idea adapting a manga about girls sitting in a room and talking into anime is. And while they joke about this there's lotsa subtle jokes like a character talking about how there'd be nothing to animate while they're super over animated compared to everything else so far xD. Or in that same segment a character calling out how people will watch the anime for free and pirate it (;3c). This kind of layered humor portrays an intricate understanding of those who view anime as well as the anime industry, which is what makes Joshiraku so great. Another thing I really appreciate about this anime is the character design! All 5 of the girls are very distinct and memorable and they use their designs to play into some fun gags. I also really love their casual outfits! Whenever the girls are outside of their room, they are always wearing a different adorable outfit that really expresses their character without saying a word. Doing that kinda thing can be difficult as well as a lot of effort that can be seen as unnecessary. I really respect that and I think that good character design can do wonders -v- Overall this anime has really well structured humor that you'd get the most out of if you are either Japanese or very knowledgeable about Japan. It also taught me about Rakugo which was a concept I wasn't familiar with before! If your interested in this anime I think you should look it up, it puts things into context and its pretty cool! I desperately wish I knew enough to get most of these jokes because if I got them I think this would be a solid 8 or 9/10. Even though there is a language and cultural barrier here, I think this anime does so much right and I've had a great time with it! So basically: "This anime is full of ordinary dialogue so that viewers can fully enjoy how cute the girls are."

In simple words, its a comedy show that goes on very wild conversations and tangents stringing along many gags and jokes with no true purpose besides seeing how convoluted things can get, in a good way. I started watching this from seeing random clips on YouTube and am happy I chose to watch it. Things you won't get: - Conflict based narrative, or any real goal that characters strive towards - Character development (characters don't change over episodes really) - Serious or dramatic story beats - Sakuga more than 1 or 2 times Things you will get: - Fast paced skits - Gags that talk about a wide range of topics that I can't even give a proper range to - Conversation that go in many different tangents and directions - general hilarity and absurdity It has the conversational length of something like Monogatari, without any of the philosophical depth and in the package of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things.

Easily one of the best, if not the best, anime I've ever seen. The whole thing is non-stop excellent writing that's very funny and clever, and also establishes characters for each of the girls. It's very lighthearted and at 13 25-minute episodes you could realistically finish it in a day, but I would suggest not to, because part of my enjoyment came from taking breaks and coming back craving the show's unique comedic style. Very cute, hilarious, and a high recommendation from me. Give it a watch, you won't regret it. I especially recommend it if you were a fan of the Way of the Househusband anime. Their comedy also comes from a place of constantly poking fun at their own premise and never taking themselves too seriously.

This is my first review sorry if it's a bit long I tried to be thorough The reason I watched this is because I saw the weird memes and thought it looked interesting it was, to me at least. Not to sound pretentious but I feel like to enjoy this anime fully you need to understand rakugo and a little about Japanese culture in general as there are lot of culturally specific references. The girls actually don't do much rakugo in the show but the structure of episodes loosely resembles a rakugo skit. I did a lot of research to try to understand all the references and learn about rakugo in general because I like that kind of thing and I think I got more out of watching because of it. Now that makes it sound like a very intellectual show it's not, but it is written very well. It is a very dialogue heavy comedy with a lot of meta jokes and fourth wall breaks. The characters are quite basic as they all fill the cliché roles ie: the innocent one & onee san but they're very aware and point it out and subvert you many times. I gave a low score on story because there really isn't one there are a quite a few callbacks and the episodes are consistent with each other but there aren't really any consequences and each episode can be watched individually. All in all very enjoyable if you're willing to go the extra mile and research the jokes and enjoy the clever writing but it can also be just as enjoyable on a surface level because as they say in almost every episode "This anime is full of ordinary dialogue so that viewers can fully enjoy how cute the girls are". Oh and I didn't watch the OVA

So if you're expecting this to be like a certain other anime where the girls play light music, it isn't. I came into this not knowing to what to expect and left with not knowing what I just watched lol... it's not your typical "cute girls" doing cute stuff type of anime that's for sure. It is almost a parody of itself and the amount of 4th wall break is insanely funny. There are a ton of references and I honestly feel sad that a lot of them went over my head. I realized how uncultured I was lol... hang my head in shame... It's really honestly hard to describe what this anime is about. It reference a ton of stuff and the more you know, the better your enjoyment of it. Even without understanding all of them, it is still enjoyable. Now would it take away from your enjoyment? I don't know, that's up to you to decide. It was a fun watch overall with what it presented. Having a ton of different type of jokes and running gags. It for sure isn't your cute girl type of anime. It even made fun of itself being a anime instead of just being a manga, which is hilarious. Let's just say Kigu is best girl... not the cute side of her, her inner personality lol... the real her is my favorite character. I can't wait to see season 2... the live action lol

I don't remember why I watched this anime, but I'm so happy I did. This anime is a masterpiece. You can't tell me otherwise. The characters are adorable, it's an amazing slice of life, it's entertaining and fun, and so many more. Art: 10 The art style is adorable. You may think otherwise, but I think it's amazing. But don't ask me what's good or not because I draw like a 1 year old with a broken hand who just discovered what a pencil was. Sound: 10 I think the way they dubbed it was amazing. It was really cute, and it;s sad how underrated it is. Like Witch Hat Atelier. It doesn't have an anime, but the manga is underrated because it's amazing and one of my favorites. Overall 10/10 I love this anime with all my heart. It's extremely cute and I like that there's a rakugo themed slice of life anime. deez nuts

Joshiraku (2012) Another reason to know that 2012 was a good year. Cute girls do cute things whilst also teaching you about Japan. The art is pretty old and dated in style now but is satisfying for the show. I have no real issue with it since the show is very relaxed. The sound has a banging OP and ED. Generally, sounds are good for the genre. Characters are diverse and fun. You get a girl to meet most expectations and they fit the show nicely. Noone is boring so it makes it much better to watch. The show is enjoyable, you will see some clips of the show in various videos online which came much earlier in the show than I expected. Overall it is a good 8/10.

"This anime is full of ordinary dialogue so that viewers can fully enjoy how cute the girls are" Joshiraku is a comedy anime about four rakugo performers and conversations between them, but everything's over the top, obscene, meta and unpredictable. So don't let the opening quote fool you, because Joshiraku is a comedy slice of life but it's also so much more. Joshiraku is life. Story Basically it's non existent, each episode begins with an character starting a conversation which then can develope into literally anything, everything can happen during those, girls can end up discussing etymology of japanese words, have a guerilla fight in a christmas tree or perform death metal music whilst making laugh of Ho-kago Tea Time. This anime is constantly presenting new ideas and it never gets boring, be prepared tho because there are a lot of references to japanese history, politics and culture which may be really hard to understand, but just as in sayonara zetsubo sensei, the show can be enjoyed without understanding them. The fact that everything is plausible lets the anime explore many interesting ideas while remaining in the genre of comedy and absurd, the show doesn't rely to heavily on one type of comedy but instead tries to make jokes in all of the comedy genres that there are. Characters They're the driving force of this anime and thanks to them this anime is as good as it is, all of them have disctinct personalities which work with each other really well and lead to many funny moments, each character brings something new to the table, their behaviours are based on popular anime tropes but here the've been turned up to maximun which means that they excel at all levels of absurdity, the characters are using their personality to it's extent without going out of the role and that makes the show even funnier. Everyone from the main five has something going for them and could be an MC on their own thus their conversation have even more flair and contain even more interesting perspectives than in your average slice of life anime and because the show covers a plethora of topics you're prone to see some interesting things happening. Execution OST is definitely this show's weakest element, it's not bad per se but it's barely noticeable, there are no memorable tracks and this soundtrack is kinda there but if you're not specifically trying to hear it then you'll miss it. On the other hand the visuals are amazing, the characters are constantly moving (they even point that out in the first episode) and doing something, their expressions are always rich. It's also worth pointing out that the character designs set up an example that could be followed by all of the series , they deserve a whole review tbh, on every episode main characters are wearing something different, sometimes it can be a pajama and sometimes yankee's suit, one thing doesn't change tho, each and every outfit looks gorgeous, is detailed and fits it's personality of its wearer. All of the things that appear on the screen look good, and that means something when we talk about a series as over the top as this one. It should be also pointed out that the show is very well directed, despite the fact that most of an episode will rely on an dialogue everything is presented in a way that'll be pleasant to watch, many things will be presented on the screen, characters will be constantly doing something in order to draw our attention and the fact that everything can happen will be enough to make us yearn for more. Overall Joshiraku is a really solid comedy idea, it's humour is really inventive and constantly funny, the characters are well fleshed out and really memorable and the entire thing is made with much care and is full of details.

Joshiraku is one of the anime i came across randomly while browsing Youtube. It was a happy accident to say the least. Its premise was that we, the audience, are just following these theatre girls behind the curtain and get swiped in their numerous surreal adventures and misadventures. In its heart, Joshiraku is a slice of life anime which was about 90% dialogue, with 90% of them homages and puns to the Japanese Culture. The result is that I have 100% no idea what the fuck they are talking about most of the time. The odd thing is... i was entertained regardless. The five girls we follow are very different personality-wise and are introduced with bare regards to even their names in the pilot episode. Except for Tetora, i find all of them amusing and their banter was just delightful, making fun of all sorts of things that there are also references that came so far from the left field it caught me off guard. Within the cast, Mariii and Kukuri are probably my favorites due to their hamminess. The show establishes such a surreal world that one episode, they visit the Tokyo Tower while on the next, they get their asses beat up by a bunny in the moon. It was delightfully confusing and it was just a wild ride when it comes to slapstick. Though i do have to mention that over time, i did find the physical slapstick akin to bullying and irked me somewhat. I was also caught offguard how much fanservice the series had. From Marii's ass being exposed once per episode and near nudities, there was never a sexy moment but best be wary of it. Now to it flaws. I did mention how the show is heavily dialogued and mostly Japanese-focused and it is thru references that the show glides in. Damn right, it is. I have no idea of the names being uttered left and right and just went along with it when it happens. Despite being kept in the dark, it would occassionally be mixed with slapstick which i enjoyed which kept me from utterly scratching my head. This is not an anime for beginners due to the sheer amount of references you need to even remotely be familiar with just to get the joke. Yes; that meant that i understood 10% of the jokes and that was generous. Pacing was good, quick and rapid gags. Loved the moon drum gag, the heating gag, and the dental medication gag as they are as accessible as they got. The OP and ED are great and memorable. I never skipped them even once because of how entertaining they were. Art was ok, nothing to write home about. I do give props to animating Kokuri in one of the gags. So sum it up, Joshiraku is a gatekeeping anime due to its sheer context. It feels like you need to review your Japanese history lessons and current events just to get it. Nonetheless, it has fun characters and gags, absurdist humor, fanservice, and musical bangers. It does not have a proper ending for sure and do hope for future seasons. Give this a watch, with probably a google search nearby. Binge the show and the OVA. Preferably with a Japanese friend nearby.

This anime is great, I enjoyed it. I gave the story an 8 since it keeps switching every part of the episode. The art is good too, they look beautiful, but not of art style, but it looks classic. The sound is what took me to this anime since the ending song trends and I vibe on the songs. The characters are really well since I can tell them by who they are which is funny. Overall, I enjoyed the anime, I recommend watching it if plot is not your focus but just enjoy it. Definitely worth to watch, I'll give it a 9.

I really like Joshiraku, I found it really funny the whole way through. I think Joshiraku is a great show, its just that as a red-blooded American, I sort of felt out of place watching Joshiraku. It was kind of like getting invited to hang out with somebody else's friend group, you can still have a great time and get along well, but you'll get the feeling that you don't really "click." With the large amount of cultural references in Joshiraku, that sort of feeling comes out in full force. This was a show clearly made specifically for japanese people, yet I still had a great time. I think the biggest factor towards my enjoyment was the outstanding characters. Each member of the main cast is different and funny in their own way, and I really loved each and every one of them. Mari and Kibu where my personal favorites, but every member of the cast was wonderfully written and characterized. Excluding the jokes more based on cultural references or puns that only work in Japanese, I also really liked the humor in this show. A lot of its jokes poking fun at itself or breaking the fourth wall was funny, as were the cultural references that I did get. I found its style of humor to be right up my isle, and it was really a joy to laugh along through all 13 episodes. To wrap things up, Joshiraku is a great comedy anime with great jokes and characters, The only reason I gave it an 8 as opposed to a 9 or 10 is because of the sort of "outsider" feel I kind of got whenever a Japanese politician or kabuki actor gets brought up. Part of this problem was assuaged for me with the help of some explanations made by a fan-subber on some wordpress sight called red reviews. They sadly don't cover the last 3 episodes, but they were a great help for the ones they did cover. I really liked this show, and I plan to watch the 2013 OVA soon.

History: well it basically takes place inside those old Japanese theaters, the characters are work friends who are always together, the story makes a point of showing "silly" questions that the characters ask each other, the episodes have an aesthetic of the type: Japanese theater, they showing a bit of Japan and they are back in the theater, that enchanted me is another way of seeing Japan, because they are Japanese talking about their own country. Note: 9 Innovation: joshiraku in my opinion taught comedy classes for all anime of this genre, dialogues with double meaning, false words, the way they break the fourth wall, the use of Japanese references, anime as a whole does everything shows you places and doubts you about Japanese customs. Note: 9 Animation: the animation is nothing special, the details are that the characters are simple and beautiful, they manage to show the differentiation of the characters' ways in the way they are drawn and in the clothes they wear. Note: 8 Characters: the characters are simple basically we have the cute girl, the angry one, the one that is afraid but also the most mature, but she is also beautiful and very lucky and finally the girl with glasses, about the last one simply doesn't best way to talk about her the anime itself says that she is just a girl with glasses, and every beginning of the episode get ready for "this anime is full of common dialogues so viewers can fully appreciate the cuteness of the characters" so it's basically these are common characters with everyday conversations Note 9 Overall:I just didn't give anything to this anime, but I just loved it, my favorite character is the guardian, which one is yours? Note: 9