This multi-generational epic dives deep into rakugo, a rich form of Japanese storytelling theater. Small-time crook Yotaro has never forgotten the rakugo tale The God of Death, which the master Yurakutei Yakumo performed for Yotaro during his time in prison. After his release, he goes to Yakumo's theater and pleads to be made his apprentice. Yakumo reluctantly accepts, but Yotaro quickly finds the world of rakugo is complex and grapples with a growing bond with Yakumo's ward, Konatsu. Meanwhile, the two young people bring reminders of Yakumo’s own inescapable past. Descending Stories received an anime adaption by Studio DEEN that streamed on Crunchyroll in winter 2016. A surprise fan and critical favorite, it has been renewed for a second season airing in January 2017. The manga ran in Kodansha’s ITAN magazine from 2010-2016 and completed at 10 volumes in June. Localization of Descending Stories is supervised by the Rakugo Kyokai Association, the official guardian of the classic art form.
The last great rakugo storyteller of the Showa Era, Yakumo Yurakutei, continues to tell his apprentice, Yotaro, of the promise he made to his late best friend and rival, Sukeroku. As both men work towards their debut as shin’uchi, they are left to confront what drives them forward – for Sukeroku, it’s to create a path for the future of rakugo, and for Kikuhiko, it’s to discover a rakugo that’s uniquely his own. Can he and Sukeroku continue to walk the same path, or will their journey through the world of rakugo together be severed?