ALT
ALTFor anyone who has read Akane-banashi recently, this is arguably one of the best developments of the story in a series full of great ones.
Our heroine, Akane Ousaki/Arakawa, decides to enter the Arakawa School selection event, a big major rakugo event that would place her among the very best prospects in the rakugo world if won. She encounters past rakugo rivals that she totally blew past by in the series’ first “tournament arc.” However, this time around, Akane loses by a slim margin to one of those rivals – only due to not appealing to the internet audience as the event was also streamed live to appeal to a newer generation of rakugo fans.
The premise of Akane-banashi is about Akane trying to avenge her father’s fall from grace in the world of rakugo by making it as a professional herself. She tried to use his trademark rakugo story in order to prove a point to the world that her father knew what he was doing. However, as quoted by Kaisei Arakawa, a peer/rival that Akane aspires to be like, the public stage was probably not the best place to deal with personal emotions that can hinder you.
While it’s great to partake in activities for personal development, they can’t always heal any past pain you have. Fun activities can become distractions from actual responsibilities. Another thing to note is when you start to realize how good you are in an activity and get praise for it, you can get caught up in trying to prove that your way might be the best in front of other people who won’t necessarily feel the same way.
Being right doesn’t mean you’re actually smart or that you achieved something remarkable. It just means you made a valid point that might apply to yourself and a few people and nothing more.
It’s very hard to do your best at something when you’re consumed with trying to prove a point. While Akane definitely got a lot of help and encouragement from the people around her to do her story, she didn’t seem to take moments to self-reflect over whether the pain she felt about her father was clouding her judgment a bit. Every one of her rivals were truly thinking about how to impress the audience except her.
There’s a line in this arc that sums it best.
“But when feelings get too strong, they can become shackles that hold you down.”
It’s not fun when personal grief/pain cross over into the other aspects of your life. I feel like Akane was always hanging around her peers and teachers a bit too much to not fully come to terms with her thoughts. I recently felt that way not too long ago and I needed to take a step back to fully process my thoughts.
The proper place to search for yourself is through solitude, moments of stillness, and connecting yourself with the inner child that feels hurt. A lot of us carry weight from experiences during childhood and they have a big effect on how we behave as we get older. This happens with Akane and I think it’s refreshing to see because I feel like not enough people discuss how childhood experiences affect/shapes mental health.
The grandest stage you should try to stand out on first and foremost will always be yourself.