Shōwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjū Ep 6 recap
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| Sukeroku, Konatsu and Kikuhiko enjoying dinner (I bet Kiku cooked) |
The fateful episode where we have the warm Kiku-Suke-Konatsu scenes, the hottest kisses and lick, hotter than I expected… and the sad ending which totally negate all those sweet stuff…
Inside Suke’s messy house, Kiku said how he needed Suke’s Rakugo; that Suke shouldn't give up. Thus, if Suke doesn’t want to do the Rakugo for Rakugo itself, or for the audiences, then please do it for Kiku. Then Kiku gave Suke some money and told him to get clean clothes and supplies (he told Suke that the money wasn't a gift; Suke had to pay him back when he got the Rakugo job back in Tokyo). Kiku then led the house cleaning project. He also performed Rakugo for some money and cleaned the baths with Suke, also for extra money.
After Kiku established himself as a Rakugo talent in that village, the owner of the inn across the soba restaurant offered the opportunity for him to perform in the inn. Kiku accepted it and asked Suke to participate.
Then the extra scene: Miyo met Suke in a temple and gave him money. Surprised! Here Miyo actually still supplied her family with money!
Then the bath scene, whereby Masaki and Suke had a nice bromance bath together.
(Bah, I missed the scene where Masaki, I mean Kiku, took off his shirt for bath! I have to catch it on Pandora.tv in the morning…)
Now the Konatsu scene!
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| ヨ！喫煙が危ないよ！ |
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| "Kids shouldn't say bad things like that..." |
Kiku helped Konatsu fixing the clothesline, then he cut her hair, then he performed Suke’s trademark Rakugo, but faltered when he had to sing (in the manga, Kiku didn’t often practice that part, hence he didn’t remember the lines). On cue, Suke came to help Kiku singing. The two brothers then performed the story together for Konatsu. Kiku automatically also assumed the female roles (he’s suitable for that!) and even pinched Suke like a woman would while saying:
Kocha kocha kocha!!! （笑）
Later on Miyo found out about the Kiku-Suke Rakugo, but not from her male guest when she was half-naked (like in the manga). Instead, she was fully dressed up in a kimono, and her female colleague told her. I’m not sure if Miyo was a geisha there. Her colleague Omeharu was a geisha, but Miyo wasn't dressed as a geisha at that time (she might have finished her shift). Miyo cried upon reading the Rakugo flyer. She left for her old home because she wanted to see Kiku, but she cancelled her plan when she heard Suke’s voice inside the house.
Then, fast forward to the Rakugo preparation. Matsuda-san came to Shikoku!!! He said Tokyo was lonely without his recently-deceased wife, so he decided to join “the army”. Matsuda-san immediately took over the nanny role for Konatsu.
In the Rakugo, Kiku performed the first story, where both Suke and Konatsu watched in awe. Then Suke performed Shibahama. The way Kiku watched his performance was adorable. The pride he had for Suke was very palpable. Suke’s first Rakugo after 7-8 years of hiatus was very well-received.
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| Did she cry here? I think she did. |
After the successful performance, Kiku, Suke and Konatsu had dinner at the inn. Suke and Konatsu fell asleep on the floor; Kiku woke Suke up, and they talked a bit (among others, about Konatsu’s name corresponding to seasons). Since the inn owner offered them to stay, Suke took Konatsu to bed. Then Kiku had a visitor....
(OMG Kiku’s hair here looked rather like Yamada Haruhiko’s! So HOT!)
Kiku might have known it would be Miyo when he entered the room, thus he didn’t look so surprised. Kiku told Miyo that he was taking Suke and Konatsu back to Tokyo and that she should join them. Miyo refused, for if she returned to Tokyo, she just wanted to be with Kiku alone. I think Kiku asked why, and Miyo said that it was because Suke wasn't Kiku. Kiku apologised for his actions had brought sufferings to Miyo and Suke. Miyo confirmed that, but she hugged Kiku nonetheless. Miyo asked why Kiku came. Finally, in a heart-stealing moment, Kiku embraced Miyo back with such a passion he never demonstrated before. He kissed her, she kissed him back. They French-kissed for a few delicious seconds before Kiku did the famouse face-licking to Miyo (where’s my oxygen mask…).
このキッスと舐める！！！びっくり！ 🔥🔥— Southern River 南川雪月 (@snowmoon74) November 18, 2018
Totally the Kiss (and the Lick) of the Year for me! (I wouldn't mind having Aya and Masaki in another drama with kisses and licks like this!)
🔥🔥#岡田将生 #okadamasaki#omasaaya#大政絢#昭和元禄落語心中 pic.twitter.com/CSQjQmgMzG
Then he kissed her again, HOTTER this time, complete with the full "you're mine" embrace, until they both flopped on the veranda and continued kissing for a while.
Then Miyo said it would be nice to commit the double suicide there together. Before Kiku said anything, the shoji opened and Suke appeared. Kiku immediately stood up and looked very wrong-footed (for the obvious reason). Suke said he heard everything and he begged Miyo to give him another chance. If she didn’t like Rakugo, then he’d stop doing Rakugo. He would do anything for her, for that was what his Rakugo was for; for those he loved. Miyo faltered, but she accused Suke for saying that just because Kiku was there. As she leaned on the railing, it cracked and she fell.
But not before Suke jumped to the rescue while screaming her real name, Yurie.
Suke and Yurie fell down, but Kiku managed to catch Suke’s kimono collar. Suke told Kiku to let go, because the three of them would fall. He apologised for just going to hell with Yurie alone, then he force-opened Kiku’s grasp.
Sukeroku and Miyokichi fell to their deaths. Right afterwards, Konatsu came with Matsuda-san…
… （涙。。。）
Kiku had no choice but taking Konatsu with him and Matsuda-san after inferring her parents in Shikoku...
In the Tokyo yose, Kiku told the Head of the Rakugo Association that he would take the mantle of Yūrakutei Yakumo. As Kiku took leave, he saw an empty pillow on the stage. Suke's voice reverberated in his heart such that Kiku walked to the stage and sat there for a while. In tears, Kiku pledged that would take Rakugo with him when he died.
At home, when he heard the crying Konatsu reciting Suke’s Rakugo song, Kikuhiko told the child not to practice Rakugo. Just be a normal kid and go to school, basically. Konatsu swore revenge, that she would kill him one day. When Kiku asked where she learned those words from, she said she learned it from her mother.
Kikuhiko became silent.
The next day in the Yose, Kiku had another performance. As he entered the stage, the narration (the old Yakumo) announced that from now on Kiku was Yūrakutei Yakumo VIII. As for his real name, he has long forgotten that name...
Comments:
Later… still reeling from the hottest French kisses and licking I’ve ever witnessed… and the tragic shinjū…
Comments Sunday 18 Nov 2018:
I finally watched the episode again (hence I'm able to fix some of the sequences above). It was a very good episode. Yamazaki Ikusaburo's Sukeroku was a delight to see and it's nice to see Okada Masaki's Kiku lightened up in the presence of his surrogate brother. This light Kiku was such a contrast to Kiku's psyche after the shinjū where he became very distance just to protect himself from being hurt again. Masaki said in an interview (forgot which one) that the shinjū scene was an emotionally charged scene to film and he felt tired afterwards. I can see why...
Okada Masaki himself was stellar IMO in handling the episode. Kiku's delight whenever he was around Yamazaki's Suke, Kiku's caring interaction with Konatsu pre-shinjū, Kiku's insecurity and regret when Miyo came back into his life... and Kiku's cold facade after the shinjū were amazingly portrayed in just one episode. I do agree with many reviewers, this is one of Masaki's best works to date, though I still hold Chiisana Kyojin up high on the pedestal.
(actually, the post-Rakugo scenes at the inn had Kiku with Yamada Haruhiko's hairstyle so much that I thought this what the Shōwa Yamada looked like...).
このかっこい菊さんは昭和の山田春彦ですか。。。— Southern River 南川雪月 (@snowmoon74) November 18, 2018
Kikuhiko looks very much like the Showa-era Yamada Haruhiko here... 😍😍😍#昭和元禄落語心中#岡田将生#小さな巨人#okadamasaki#masakiokada#chiisanakyojin pic.twitter.com/PTrEuTQ50j
It's very nice of NHK to give Miyokichi a better personality here. I'm glad that NHK gave the new scene of Miyo giving Suke the pocket money (assumingly more for Konatsu than for Suke); it gives Miyo a better credibility than the semi-deranged manga & anime Miyo who just left her daughter to tend for herself.
(on that note, Suke's action of letting Konatsu work to cover his household wasn't commendable either. Suke could've done better than that. Good thing that Kiku came to slap him with his travelling bag!)
After swapping notes with Kaori Wangi (who saw the anime), I think the manga (and anime) Kiku and Suke are actually better off without the manga and anime Miyokichi. That Miyo had loads of issues that made Suke's overconfidence and rebellious nature and Kiku's low-esteem feel like a weekend. The manga & anime Miyo needed counselling, not a boyfriend, let alone a family.
Thus, I conclude that Omasa Aya's Miyokichi was a woman who could potentially have a happy life with Masaki's Kiku, although they definitely needed to do their homework. Kiku needed to be more attentive to Miyo and just admit that he loved her too (him keeping the dried flowers and the walking stick was prove enough, and the kisses and licking sealed it). Miyo had to trust herself more and had to see life for what it could be; a beautiful life within reach. Suke too, he needed to realise that - sometimes - compromises are needed, but as long as it doesn't compromise your integrity (and asking permission to perform a story is not an integrity-compromising act), it's fine.
Alas, that wasn't the direction of the story. SGRS is meant to be a tragic story with Yotaro as the rescuer.
It's just as well that we see him again next week...
