New anime emerging from Shonen Jump always carry a different level of excitement, as they stem from a concrete foundation that almost guarantees success. However, despite their credibility, most shonen anime share the same core formula: a protagonist embarking on a journey to conquer something great in a heavily fictional world. The purpose behind these anime is to deliver an inspiring and compelling energy, but the repetitive nature of the formula can make them feel predictable. That is why, when a shonen anime does something new, like the currently airing Akane-banashi, it brings a refreshing change. In fact, Akane-banashi might be the most original shonen anime series in recent years.
It is largely thanks to how the series builds its uniqueness around the art of Rakugo while still maintaining the essence of the shonen formula. A Japanese storytelling art form was something fans never expected to work within a shonen framework, yet the anime proves it can function as an entirely new kind of sports-shonen formula. However, with Rakugo serving as the central element of the anime, its heavily Japanese cultural focus became difficult for Western audiences to fully grasp, as the English subtitles often failed to capture the nuance behind the performances and references. However, Netflix’s latest update to the anime seemingly fixes that problem.
Akane-banashi is now streaming on Netflix!
Episode 1 & 2 with English sub & dub are now streaming on Netflix worldwide! New episodes coming out every Saturday! pic.twitter.com/J1QJxZyfdO
With the release of the latest episode of the anime, Netflix announced that the series has arrived on the platform for Western audiences, including the English dub release of the first two episodes. The English dub update might be the perfect way for Western fans to truly understand just how impressive the anime really is. For instance, the second episode features Akane performing her first Rakugo gig in front of an audience, where she tells “The Secret of Manju,” a story about a man pretending to fear manju, a Japanese dessert, in order to eat them all himself. The English dub makes clever alterations compared to the subtitles, allowing the joke to land far better in English.
While the English dub may not feel as authentic as the original Japanese version, it works much better for non-Japanese speakers, as many of the jokes rooted in Japanese culture and wordplay are adjusted to resonate naturally in English. This episode proves that the English dub may actually be the more suitable version for Western audiences, because it does not simply translate the dialogue, but instead adapts the core essence of Rakugo into a new form. In doing so, the anime successfully expands a deeply rooted Japanese art form to a much wider audience, making this Netflix update for the shonen anime the perfect improvement Western fans could have hoped for.
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