AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

Akane redraw from chapter 3

In Akane-banashi they treat Tooru (MC's dad) like he's dead

While he just changed his job

Where's the Proper Place to Find Yourself?

For 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.

THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS UNIT LIVE TOUR ConnecTrip!

Further information regarding the CINDERELLA GIRLS UNIT TOUR live has been revealed! The tour will span a mini live once a month from JANUARY 2024 until JUNE 2024. Each stop will feature three units performing.

The voice actresses participating in this stop are as follows:

ISHIKAWA. 2024.06.16. HONDAMORI HOKUDEN HALL

Hagoromo Komachi [Rika Tachibana (Sae Kobayakawa), Ru Thing (Syuko Shiomi)], Atarayoduki [Masumi Tazawa (Ayame Hamaguchi), Misa Kayama (Tamami Wakiyama), Hiyori Nitta (Karin Domyoji)], Kakuriyogatari [Yuuki Takada (Yoshino Yorita), Chiyo Ousaki (Koume Shirasaka)]

YAMAGATA. 2024.02.03. YAMAGI KENMIN HALL

Dea Aurora [Yuko Iida (Kanade Hayami), Aya Suzaki (Minami Nitta)], Lazy Lazy [Kotomi Aihara (Shiki Ichinose), Asami Takano (Frederica Miyamoto)], Ruby Countess [Maki Kawase (Tsukasa Kiryu), Nanami Yamashita (Yui Ohtsuki), Yui Ninomiya (Makino Yagami)]

IWATE. 2024.03.10. TOSAI CLASSIC HALL

One Steps [Saya Aizawa (Hiromi Seki), Satomi Amano (Hotaru Shiragiku), Karin Takahashi (Nono Morikubo)], Fairy Tale＊My Tale [Minami Tsuda (Miho Kohinata), Minori Suzuki (Hajime Fujiwara)], Sola-iris [Rika Nagae (Hayate Hisakawa), Yuki Nakashima (Yuuki Otokura)]

OSAKA. 2024.04.06. ZEPP OSAKA BAYSIDE

Triad Primus [Ayaka Fukuhara (Rin Shibuya), Eriko Matsui (Nao Kamiya), Mai Fuchigami (Karen Hojo)], Dark Illuminate [Maaya Uchida (Ranko Kanzaki), Shiki Aoki (Asuka Ninomiya)], VelvetRose [Kaoru Sakura (Chitose Kurosaki), Risa Sekiguchi (Chiyo Shirayuki)]

FUKUOKA. 2024.05.19. ZEPP FUKUOKA

Sexy Guilty [Eri Suzuki (Yuko Hori), Azumi Waki (Sanae Katagiri), Yuri Noguchi (Shizuku Oikawa)], Hero Versus [Sayaka Kamitani (Hikaru Nanjo), Yuki Nagano (Reina Koseki)], Beat Shooter [Makoto Koichi (Haru Yuuki), Hana Tamegai (Risa Matoba)]

TOKYO. 2024.06.01. ZEPP DIVERCITY TOKYO

Positive Passion [Sayuri Hara (Mio Honda), Chinatsu Akasaki (Akane Hino), Yuuki Kaneko (Aiko Takamori)], Seiten Tennyo ✦NEW✦ [Ｍ・Ａ・Ｏ (Fumika Sagisawa), Rana Morishita (Kako Takafuji)], #UNICUS [Megu Umezawa (Akari Tsujino), Miyu Tomita (Akira Sunazuka), Seena Hoshiki (Riamu Yumemi)]

Onegai! Cinderella

Kaede Takagaki (CV: Saori Hayami), Mika Jougasaki (CV: Haruka Yoshimura), Miho Kohinata (CV: Minami Tsuda), Airi Totoki (CV: Hitomi Harada), Mizuki Kawashima (CV: Nao Touyama), Akane Hino (CV: Chinatsu Akasaki), Sachiko Koshimizu (CV: Ayana Taketatsu), Mayu Sakuma (CV: Yui Makino), Koume Shirasaka (CV: Chiyo Ousaki).

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

AKANE-BANASHI (2022-?) by suenaga yuuki & moue takamasa

The cover art for 「THE IDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS 7thLIVE TOUR Special 3chord♪ Funky Dancing!」venue album has been released and you will be able to purchase this album from the 7th Live venue on the day itself! This album features the solo versions for SM018 until SM021.

Tracklist:

Tr.01　Bodacious★World-Reforming Guilty!（M@STER VERSION） ～Yuko Hori Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Yuko Hori ( CV: Eri Suzuki ) Tr.02　Bodacious★World-Reforming Guilty!（M@STER VERSION）～Sanae Katagiri Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Sanae Katagiri ( CV: Azumi Waki ) Tr.03　Bodacious★World-Reforming Guilty!（M@STER VERSION）～Shizuku Oikawa Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Shizuku Oikawa ( CV: Yuri Noguchi ) Tr.04　With Love（M@STER VERSION） ～Kyoko Igarashi Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Kyoko Igarashi ( CV: Atsumi Tanezaki ) Tr.05　With Love（M@STER VERSION） ～Yuuki Otokura Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Yuuki Otokura ( CV: Yuki Nakashima ) Tr.06　With Love（M@STER VERSION）～Yukari Mizumoto Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Yukari Mizumoto ( CV: Akane Fujita ) Tr.07　With Love（M@STER VERSION）～Kirari Moroboshi Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Kirari Moroboshi ( CV: Rei Matsuzaki ) Tr.08　With Love（M@STER VERSION）～Yuki Himekawa Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Yuki Himekawa ( CV: Mako Morino ) Tr.09　Little Riddle（M@STER VERSION） ～Anzu Futaba Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Anzu Futaba ( CV: Hiromi Igarashi ) Tr.10　Little Riddle（M@STER VERSION）～Rika Jougasaki Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Rika Jougasaki ( CV: Nozomi Yamamoto ) Tr.11　Little Riddle（M@STER VERSION） ～Asuka Ninomiya Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Asuka Ninomiya ( CV: Shiki Aoki ) Tr.12　Little Riddle（M@STER VERSION） ～Koume Shirasaka Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Koume Shirasaka ( CV: Chiyo Ousaki ) Tr.13　Little Riddle（M@STER VERSION） ～Mirei Hayasaka Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Mirei Hayasaka ( CV: Ayaka Asai ) Tr.14　Kawaii make MY day!（M@STER VERSION）～Yuka Nakano Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Yuka Nakano ( CV: Shino Shimoji ) Tr.15　Kawaii make MY day!（M@STER VERSION）～Yukari Mizumoto Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)：Yukari Mizumoto  ( CV: Akane Fujita ) Tr.16　Kawaii make MY day!（M@STER VERSION）～Noriko Shiina Solo Remix～ 　Singer(s)： Noriko Shiina ( CV: Chiyo Tomaru )