NEW Kodansha Digital:

🎤Ya Boy Kongming!, Vol 13🎤 By Ryo Ogawa and Yuto Yotsuba

🎶Kongming’s strategy is coming together when they pull EastSouth over from Keiji’s grasp, and the once-missing duo’s impressive music has people flooding to Eiko’s stage!

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So I watched the first episode of the Paripi Koumei/Ya Boy Kongming! drama and it was quite lushly put together and nice, imho. I'm still not that healthy so I've just put together my rando thoughts while watching below.

The obnoxious Joker dancing on the stairs was a nice touch for the post-Halloween party scene.

The show is visually well-composed, a lot of effort has been put into the composition of scenes, the lighting and the cinematography. While I'd say the manga has decent but not spectacular visuals, the drama is well-crafted as an immersive visual and auditory experience.

The scenes set in the past feel heavily influenced by historical dramas and the visuals differ from the present scenes nicely. The heightened sense of reality works well in these moments as they are Kongming's memories/dreams/etc. rather than the present reality.

Mukai Osamu as Kongming sells the entire show. He plays the dramatic scenes with heart but doesn't hesitate to throw all his effort into the humour as well. I don't think you could get much better live action casting for a role as quirky as this series' version of Kongming.

Kobayashi having the full setup of Three Kingdoms miniatures in his desk was honestly a genius touch. It really helped them transition nicely during the culmination of Kongming's strategy at the end of the episode (something I had been unsure they could pull off convincingly in live action).

I'd say the weakest link link the show thus far is EIKO herself. In this version of the story she lacks a lot of the energy the character has in previous incarnations. I'm also not sure if the additional moment before meeting Kobayashi (which shows her suicide attempt happened after someone busted her guitar) brought anything to her character either.

I'm also not a massive fan of her songs in this first episode? They also lack energy imho. I just kind of sat there thinking "Yeah I'd go listen to someone else too" when she was performing during the episode's climax. Which is a shame, I love EIKO in the manga and anime so I really hope they lift her up a bit more in the drama in subsequent episodes.

I get what they were going for having her be a bit "flat" given how she feels her career has stalled before her encounter with Kongming, but I found her keeping that low energy while performing an odd choice idk.

Watching "I'm Still Alive Today" being performed here you're like yeah, I get why EIKO is entranced by Maria (Avu-chan kills this scene). I didn't feel the same way when Kongming was entranced by EIKO during the Halloween performance though.

I wasn't sure about how much they changed up Kobayashi's appearance to scream yakuza in the drama, but then they showed his stupid hair from behind. Immediately sold, no notes. Kobayashi here seems more intimidating in his new leopard-print attire, as if he'd genuinely kick your ass for EIKO. That then heightens the humour when he brings out his miniatures and is shown to be a total otaku. Good stuff.

Mia's performance and overall vibe was pretty much perfect for who she is when we first meet her in the story. I like how the drama really does replicate these types of performances well with the lighting and the backup dancers, they do feel like real performances.

Speaking of performances. Shoutout to the fact that the episode ended with this bit. Sekiguchi Mandy has incredible thighs. I find it interesting that they're introducing Maezono Keiji in the first episode (given he's from the Summer Sonia arc).

Overall I think there's definitely enough here that's different to warrant a watch if you're a fan of either the manga or anime. From small things like EIKO just bringing Kongming to the back of the B.B. Lounge rather than her apartment, through to significant changes like Keiji being in it from the get-go. I'm keen to see how they pull it all off in 10 episodes.

Paripi Koumei/Ya Boy Kongming drama eps 2-3

After proving himself worthy of being Eiko's strategist, Kongming helps her not only out-perform event rivals Jet Jacket, but quickly works at finding a rapper to elevate her appeal.

Plot-wise the gist of these episodes is the same as the arcs in the manga (and anime) with Kongming using his tactics to outsmart Jet Jacket while still offering them an olive branch at the end of the day. KABEtaijin is then introduced as a rapper struggling to find his confidence after having succumb to stagnation following an on-stage incident.

What makes the drama stand out while covering the same ground as previous incarnations of the story is how it recognises in its 44-minute episode length it has time to play around with the setting and characters.

So instead of having a scene in the back office of BB Lounge involve Kobayashi, Kongming and Eiko just standing around talking we have Kobayashi riding the faux horse we spotted last episode for the majority of the scene. It is ridiculous and exactly what a TV show needs to break up moments that work well in a manga but could potentially drag in live action.

Rather than being a shot-for-shot remake of the manga, the drama leans into comedy with us actually following Kongming around properly as he surveils his targets in episodes 2 and 3. The absurdity of this man dressed as he is while trying to be subtle and also film on a smartphone is genuinely funny. However, the show never fails to underscore the lead's lighthearted ways by showing his past actions as fragments of a bold historical melodrama and it really, really works.

But Kongming isn't the only character to benefit from the way the drama embraces its unique perspective. We get to see a bit more of RYO from Jet Jacket and get a greater feel for his motivations. We get some genuinely hilarious doco segments with Maezono Keiji that establish his ego and single-mindedness long before (I assume) we get to meet him properly.

Even the moments that ARE straight out of the manga are translated to screen well, like KABEtaijin's encounter with Kongming at the laundromat. You can completely understand why KABEtaijin freaks out, but it's hard to ignore just how utterly silly it all is.

The third episode ends just before Kongming forces KABEtaijin's hand and begins their rap battle. And yes, before you ask, Kongming did ride in on something OTT (like he did in the manga):

Perhaps not as OTT as his ride in the manga, but I can't fault this show for how it has spent its budget. Not only does everything look top notch, the amount of care that has been spent on producing the performers in the show is amazing. For example, their releases are featured on all major streaming platforms and Jet Jacket got a proper MV for 'MID DAY'. They didn't have to go to this much effort but they did and that really adds another layer to the drama. It features the same characters and story we already know, but it still manages to hit different.

Things I didn't like

I still feel like Eiko is the weakest part of the drama. Kamishiraishi Moka isn't a bad actor and her singing as EIKO is solid, there's just a real low-energy feel to this version of Eiko that I had hoped would go away after the first episode. It's a shame, as I mentioned in my post about the first drama ep, I love Eiko in the anime and manga so I was fully expecting to love her in the drama too but she is still falling flat for me idk.

The throat-healing concoction that Kongming shares with Jet Jacket has a whole preparation scene that felt really unnecessary? Like oooh look at him brewing this ancient, weird, stinky broth. The drink has the same effect as the manga/anime versions but the whole prep scene didn't work for me.

I won't say it was bad, because I liked the idea of it being adapted for the drama but Kongming house hunting alone didn't work nearly as well as the manga version with Eiko did. Without her there to sort of balance him out or even to help add a bit of context (suggesting he stop living at BB Lounge with Kobayashi) means I'm not sure if the ultimate punchline (his staying put after driving the real estate agent batshit) will work as well. I'm willing to see where this goes though, if they decide to continue it as a minor plot thread or just decide to have him never leave BB. Either way, I think the manga got it right the first time with this.

Stuff I did like

I thought the official Twitter account was exaggerating when they said we'd see a more gentle side to Kobayashi in the drama, but they really have made an effort to humanise the guy a bit more and I'm absolutely here for it. While the manga acknowledges that Kobayashi is a decent guy, a lot of his character there remains tied up in explaining and reacting to the revelation of Kongming's tactics.

The drama doesn't opt for Kobayashi holding a stray rabbit during the Jet Jacket performance per the manga, but it does have a few little things he does which help add depth to his relationship with other characters. When Eiko is lamenting he gently punches her head, he looks up at Kongming for approval with his Three Kingdoms asides more than once, and I did really like this exchange between the two when Kongming admits his past mistakes as they drink together.

Overall these were two more great episodes in a drama series that is shaping up to be a more than adequate take on the source material. Bring on the rest of the eps!

I am going to need some time to process everything Paripi Koumei/Ya Boy Kongming! gave us in episode eight.

Hats off to Moriyama this week, he really delivered with young!Kobayashi.

A lot of things here have steered away from the manga, like Eiko's mother not being a boss battle (+ the detail to Koabayashi and Maria's shared history).

However, with EAST-SOUTH and KABEtaijin in the next episode it looks like everything is still on track to conclude with the ultimate Maezono Keiji vs. Eiko showdown from volume 13.

Questions are being taken until after episode 8 airs!

Thank goodness someone already asked about the necklace so I don't have to do it myself. I enjoyed all the questions about Kongming's headwear logistics and Maezono Keiji's shorts too.

A+ great show, great fandom, great thighs on Sekiguchi Mandy.