Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
_Bubassotto_
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 se…
Read at the sourcewhiteflame55
While this isn't one of my favorite anime comedies, it's one that struck a chord with me nonetheless.
I think the cast worked together very well. Some of the characters were certainly a little tropey, but the show often subverted or called them out in fun and interesting ways. The cast didn't really grow over the course of the series so much as they just found new and interesting ways to explore the world and find humor in it, and that works just fine for me. That being said, I didn't think the show made the most out of the characters' occupation, since we barely got to experience their rakugo. I would have liked to have spent a little more time watching their actual sets and not just the jokes they had at the end. There's a risk in doing that, since it means focusing on single characters…
Read at the sourceQuaggy
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 fl…
Read at the sourceSCLFI
Superficially, Joshiraku presents itself as the lesser cousin of Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei, making sure to incorporate many of author Koji Kumeta’s previously established elements into its repertoire: traditional iconography, heavy emphasis on kanji puns and cultural references, and Ionescian dialogue. But while it does includes many aspects already present in Zetsubou-sensei, it also omits plenty of the points that made it especially effective, most critically by replacing its large cast of trait-based characters in favour of the more standard treatment of 5 main characters, all of whom meet the expected archetypes within the standard anime comedy format.
The most notable aspect of Joshiraku is perhaps its formatting, which is much closer to that of a 4koma manga, rather than an anime epi…
Read at the sourceRESOLVING_POWER
I watched Joshiraku (including the OVA). Here are my thoughts:
Having somewhat recently completed Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, I thought it would be interesting to watch Joshiraku with the memory of it fresh in my mind. However, I quickly realized that the two shows are completely different. Joshiraku is a comedy and consists of short skits. The main characters are rakugo performers, although rakugo itself is not a major aspect of the anime. The rakugo theater (usually backstage) is only a setting for the various comedic skits (which are usually unrelated to rakugo). So, don't be like me and expect this to be a rakugo-themed show. This anime is clever and amusing, but not really laugh-out-loud funny. There is a lot of clever wordplay. It often breaks the 4th wall; it is a very 'self-awa…
Read at the sourceRitinal
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 som…
Read at the sourceAtheaOfAltea
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.
Read at the sourceLimb0girraf
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 dialog…
Read at the sourcei-simp-for-ryuk
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 o…
Read at the sourcerobert788
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.
Read at the sourceBigBoiOnDuty
"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…
Read at the sourceundamoth
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, maki…
Read at the sourceAkirai_
This is my first review, so I know it can be better.
This anime, which shows us the daily life of 5 five comedian girls is simply awesome, really, I enjoyed it a lot and I laugh so much, it gets a 10/10. You can enjoy it in every single way (alone or with friends).
The story is just AMAZING, it suits so good in this kind of anime (it gets a 10/10).
The characters are LOVELY, I finished it a while ago and I miss all of them (it gets a 10/10).
The opening and ending are just beautiful. I mean, they are just beautiful, it gets a 10000000/10.
Don´t forget the references, they are all hilarious if you get them all, so it gets another 10.
Also, watch the OVA, is the best of Joshiraku and have some of the most hilarious jokes.
I wrote this fast because I don´t have so much time, but I prom…
Read at the sourceSWANNAH69
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.
Read at the sourceFlexySpagoot
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 w…
Read at the sourceBonniek
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 sp…
Read at the sourceveemon23
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 kno…
Read at the sourceNero_Tsubasa20
The first 3 minutes of the first chapter were very confusing, since I did not understand how it was going, until simply, the chapter began to shine on its own, just like the rest of the series. This is the story of 5 young actresses from Rakugo (it is a type of Japanese entertainment based on humorous monologues out there from the fart century) which are doing very well and are loved by their audience.
Every time the show ends, they get together in the locker room and talk about any topic which obviously makes the situation end in total lack of control where it will certainly be something fun.
Pd: THE ENDING IS THE BEST THING THAT HUMAN RACE INVENTED
Read at the sourcefelixlovesanime
Joshiraku is not a perfect anime. If that is the case, then, why the hell did I grade it a Masterpiece 10? Because just like rakugo itself, Joshiraku is surprisingly hilarious.
This anime does not try to challenge what it means to be a comedy-- it simply reintroduces the old ways of doing comedy and proves its mind-blowing relevancy within the landscape that is Twenty-First Century. Each episode comprises of three sub-parts: the first is all five so-called Rakugo Girls simply hanging out in a dressing room and discussing the weirdest topic, the second is the Rakugo Girls sightseeing and clamoring the weird trivia surrounding each location, and the third is really just the repeat of the first sub-part. With this formula, this anime shouldn't have worked-- yet it did in a very splendid fash…
Read at the sourceABPAEAE
For some reason, I have very good luck discovering gems like this through screencapped memes. I'm surprised I've never heard of this anime until very recently.
Joshiraku is the pinnacle of anime comedy. I wouldn't be surprised if non-anime fans could find this show very enjoyable as well. Throughout every episode, comedic momentum is maintained quite well. There are no dull moments, and the contents of the show don't pander to any particular viewerbase. Instead, Joshiraku is overflowing past the brim with destruction of the fourth wall, and pokes fun at many stereotypical anime cliches spanning every genre. Joshiraku somehow manages to be something incredibly unique to the anime scene, while not doing anything much more complex than making fun of every other genre.
The one and only negat…
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