Awesome Music: The ending theme song "Nippon Egao Hyakkei" by Momoiro Clover Z. The resurgence in popularity of the song on the app TikTok led to them doing a cover of it in mid-2021.
Americans Hate Tingle: Not surprisingly, the show's reliance on complicated Japanese wordplay and obscure references unknown outside the country gave it a chilly reception among American fans.
Audience-Alienating Premise: A series entirely about rakugo is a tough sell, even in Japan. Overseas? Just forget it.
Can't Un-Hear It: Be careful when reading or listening to the Jugemu rakugo after watching this series. You'll never resist hearing the girls' rhythmic pronunciation of his name.
Quirky Work: A textbook example, even by Japanese standards. "Cute girls doing cute things" is a common premise for anime and manga, but the fact that the girls in this series are rakugo performers —a classical form of comedy pretty much no one under 40 watches, even in Japan— takes it to a whole new height.
Vindicated by History: The anime first aired in 2012, but in terms of popularity it simply came and went, as the premise of "cute girls who are rakugo performers" wasn't a very good sell in or out of Japan (as rakugo isn't a very popular form of entertainment among younger Japanese audiences, and most non-Japanese audiences are completely unfamiliar with it). However, after the ending theme song became a trend on TikTok in 2021, a number of people looked into the anime out of interest. This resulted in newfound appreciation for the show's wordplay and visual humor from American fans.
