Sukeroku and Miyokichi but had lost her memories of the incident. Supporting characters A popular writer who is interested in helping Yotaro in writing new rakugo. In his youth, he had admired Miyokichi and had a crush on her. This eventually extended to his obsession with Yakumo, whose apprentice he tried to become. Matsuda is Yakumo's retainer and driver. He has been employed by the Yakumos since the Seventh Generation. Yotaro's fellow storyteller from Kyoto. He had stopped performing rakugo for some time after his father's death. A famous storyteller and Kikuhiko's and Sukeroku's teacher. Rakugo critic and fan of Yakumo. His father Amano was a literary critic. Amaken is disliked by Yakumo. (child) / Yūki Ono Konatsu's son who greatly admires Yakumo's rakugo. Yotaro believes his father to be the boss of the gang that he once belonged to. However, it is heavily suggested that Shinnosuke is Konatsu's son with Yakumo. Konatsu and Yotaro's daughter. Media Manga The manga series written and illustrated by Haruko Kumota began its serialization in the ITAN magazine published by Kodansha from 25 March 2010 to 7 June 2016. The manga has been compiled in ten tankōbon volumes, with the first volume being published on 7 July 2011, and the tenth and final volume being published on 7 September 2016. Kodansha USA licensed the manga for release in North America in December 2016, with the first volume published on 23 May 2017 and the last on 31 December 2018. Volume list Anime The seventh and eighth volumes of the manga included a 2-episode original anime DVD entitled produced by Studio Deen. An anime television adaptation also produced by Studio Deen premiered on 9 January 2016. It was directed by Shinichi Omata (under the pseudonym Mamoru Hatakeyama) and written by Jun Kumagai, with music by Kana Shibue. Three promotional videos were released on KING RECORDS's YouTube page prior to the anime's premiere: the first on 6 October 2015, the second on 10 November 2015, and the final PV on 14 December 2015. The opening theme of the first season was composed by Sheena Ringo and performed by Megumi Hayashibara. The first broadcast episode is Yotarō-hen cut down to 48 minutes; full version is included in the video releases. Crunchyroll added the anime to its simulcast stream in 2016. The first season had been licensed for a UK home video release by Anime Limited in 2016,