Akane-banashi Stage Event at AnimeJapan 2026: Cast Impressions and Highlights
On March 28th, a very special stage event titled Donto Come! Brothers' Association was held for the upcoming TV anime Akane-banashi. This series, based on the brilliant original work by Hiroki Suenaga and Takamasa Umajo, took the spotlight at AnimeJapan 2026. Fans were quite thrilled to see the main cast members taking the stage, including Anna Nagase (who plays Akane Sakurasaki), Nobunaga Shimazaki (Maikeru Aragawa), Chiaki Kobayashi (Koguma Aragawa), Yohei Aragami (Keiji Aragawa), and Seiichiro Yamashita (Guriko Aragawa).
A scene from the TV anime Akane-banashi Donto Come! Brotherhood Meeting event was captured, showing the great chemistry between the actors. Starting from April 4th, the Akane-banashi anime will be broadcast on the IMAnimation slot of TV Asahi's 24 network stations nationwide. The story follows Akane, who is triggered by a specific event to become a shinuchi—the highest rank of rakugo storyteller. She joins the Shiguma clan under Shiguma Aragawa to pursue this dream. The cast walked onto the stage to the opening theme song Hitotarashi, written by the legendary Keisuke Kuwata. Shimazaki, playing the eldest sibling, mentioned how performing to Kuwata’s music made him feel the high expectations people have for this work.
Sketchbook Talk: First Impressions and the Passion of Rakugo
During the event, Anna Nagase hosted a fun "sketchbook talk" session. When asked about their first impressions of the work, both Chiaki Kobayashi and Seiichiro Yamashita simply wrote down Weekly Shonen Jump. Yamashita explained that he found it really interesting how Akane manages to find the core issues in every story she performs, saying it has a passion similar to sports. Kobayashi agreed, adding that the story is actually full of friendship, hard work, and victory. He pointed out that even though people might wonder what "winning" has to do with an art like rakugo, the competitions in the work make it very passionate and interesting.
Yohei Azagami chose the word Humanity for his impression. He felt that rakugo is deeply rooted in human stories, carrying forward the values of the Edo era. On the other hand, Nobunaga Shimazaki gave a unique answer: glare (or gira). He explained that in the world of art, you need a certain kind of "gira" or guts to move forward. He felt that Akane's response to challenges has that exact intensity. Nagase also agreed, saying that each character has a different type of mela-mera (burning passion), which makes the series so cool.
Siblings and the Riddle Corner
The talk then moved to a lighter topic: "Which character would you like as your sibling?" Most of the cast members picked one of the brothers present on stage. However, Yamashita chose Miku-chan (Mamoru Mikuyama). He mentioned that he really liked the episode where Akane receives hints for her rakugo from Miku-chan, whom she meets at an izakaya. It is these small connections that make the Akane-banashi masterpiece so grounded and relatable.
In the latter part of the event, there was a segment called One seat in the riddle, it looks like it's good to see you later. The cast members had to answer various rakugo-related riddles, and their clever responses really got the audience excited. By the end of the event, all the participants shared their enthusiasm for the upcoming broadcast, and the stage ended on a very high note. Fans are surely looking forward to seeing how these characters come to life on screen.
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