I've been thinking for a bit about whether Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu even really benefits from being an anime rather than live action. Of course it appeals more to me because I love this medium and am delighted the diversity of audiences manga and anime can be made for. But on the surface, this is overwhelmingly people sitting in rooms and talking, so there isn't much you couldn't capture just as well with a camera.
The thought is still forming but there was one moment where I was watching Shin's performance as he mimes the actions of a character drinking and 'The Treachery of Images' fell into my head. I'm not watching film of a person who is convincingly creating the illusion of a real action through gesture alone. I'm watching drawings that artists did of a person performing that illusion. An illusion of an illusion. My monkey brain filled in the missing cup as easily and completely as if I were watching someone drinking in front of the room i'm sitting in.
I don't know what to do with this thought yet but what an enjoyable sense of wonder it has provoked in me tonight.
ps- also the propaganda effectiveness of putting something niche or arguably difficult to get into into manga/anime format cannot be overstated. It is a great way to get people (like me) who would never seek out something a bit hard to understand and old fashioned without this kind of accessible packaging.