Review of Ya Boy Kongming!

If this show’s telling me anything, it’s that P.A. works is really good at adapting shows. But terrible at making their own in-house ones. This is like the third adaption in a row they’ve knocked it out of the park, and if those aren’t results, I don’t know what is. Story: Tsukimi Eiko is a young hopeful artist hoping to make her name famous in the Japanese music scene. On Halloween night, she meets a man that calls himself Zhuge Liang, otherwise known as Kongming, who becomes enthralled by her songs. Eiko accepts after being offered his services as her tactician to make her well known (sincehe’s THAT Zhuge Liang that got isekai’d into the future), and the two embark on a journey into the world of music. In hopes of making Eiko’s dream of performing on the big stage a reality.

I don’t know what Yotsuba Yuuto was smoking when they came up with the idea of combining the modern Japanese music scene with ancient Chinese war tactics, but whatever it is, I fucking want it. Paripi Koumei (cause there’s no way in hell I’m putting ‘Ya Boi Koumei’ as the way I’m referring to this series here) is effectively a twelves episode run that focuses on the underground music scene in Japan. Every few episodes more or less has Eiko participating in an event devised by Kongming. These events can vary from small time events and music showings, to much grander showings with fresh faces showing up once in a while. Effectively, the show gives the audience a brief look into how multiple facets in the Japanese music scene works, ranging from small indie bands and rappers, to larger names that’ve had their own struggles to get to the point where they are today. All while the whims of an ancient Chinese war tactician applies his own techniques in the modern world in order to accomplish what’s asked of him.

While the show is admittedly by the numbers, I never felt like that really detracted very much from the experience. True, Eiko doesn’t really suffer that many pitfalls in her rising career past an undetermined amount of time prior to the show starting. but I don’t think that really matters in the grand scheme of things. As what really makes the show enjoyable are really the lives and careers of the characters shown. Friendly rivals in the same business or just learning about what events or tricks people use to gather an audience. It’s all a surprisingly well-informed look into what struggling or aspiring artists in that scene deal with. The quality and passion of the music, the marketing and networking, as well as the random spouts of inspiration all come together in a well-paced adaptation. Which is sold really well due in part to the show’s aesthetics.

If there’s something I wish would be better incorporated, it’d definitely be the past characters that serve as the ‘antagonist of the week’. After about three episodes, whatever foe that Eiko and co. have to face effectively drop off the face of the earth. Which is a damn shame because they should have some kind of stake in everything that goes on even if they’re not currently battling Eiko in a significant manner. Maybe a mention or two after a few episodes with an Instagram mention every once and a while could remind us that they still exist. The war tactics used by Kongming also feel a bit deus ex machina as well. Pretty much nothing bad happens in this show, as it’s practically just an upward trend towards jumping Eiko to the top. It makes Kongming way more infallible than I think he should be, but that’s surprisingly not as big of an issue as I thought that would be.

Cause ultimately, Paripi Koumei’s story is about the music and how its passionate artists tackle the music scene and produce the songs they want other people to hear, ranging from the big concert moments, to the more quiet harmonizing sections with just someone and a guitar. It’s really pleasant, actually. And it’s the kind of thing in storytelling that works so well when the heart and soul of the series is given the correct time of day.

Characters:

Zhuge Liang, or Kongming, is a bit of a mixed bag unfortunately. As the famed historical tactician, Kongming definitely falls under the extremely smart man stereotype, being the one person who always seems to be five steps ahead of you in any given chess game. As a result, this leads to him being a sort of ‘messiah’ character, where so many things go right that it becomes a bit expected since he’s so smart, and he’s so capable of manipulating the public to do whatever the hell he wants. By contrast, he’s also a man who laments his situation. (At least during the early parts of the series.) As he realizes that the world that he once knew is gone, everyone he knew is gone, and he no longer has a place in the area he first came from. Heavy stuff that certainly does make a small impact later on, but his character for the most part stays within the realm of funny ancient haha man interacting with our modern world. Something that becomes less prominent as the story switches to actually feature him less, preferring the lives and stories of the artists to make up its runtime instead of Koumei’s scheming. Which he still does plenty of, mind you but it just feels more like the plot in the background. As such, I actually think Koumei is one of the show’s weaker aspects. Since it’s clear that his character is vitally important for the show’s progression, but his relevance is more or less a plot device than a character with an extremely relevant or meaningful story.

Eiko, by comparison, is…well she’s also a bit of a mixed bag. But less so than her tactician. The crux of Eiko’s character is her drive to become a top performing artist and shoot for a big showing in front of a live audience. Which is, of course, the dream of many young hopefuls that get in this business in the first place. I wouldn’t say her character is completely by the numbers, as she has a lot of quiet and personal moments that give her time to stew over things and come to conclusion herself. But since she’s aided by a story that will not let her fail, there aren’t a lot of dramatic downs to contrast her many ups. So there’s not really a significant amount of leeway for character growth as there are for other characters. A trait that’s made worse by the fact that the series actually uses her less during its middle portion, which is understandable given how she’s not the focus, but is still a shame because one of your key characters is basically not in the story for a good chunk of it.

The last slot for the character section features the various artists that the show features. Ranging from similar indie stars, to bands, rappers and their own scene, producers, as well as big time names signed on with a major label. These characters, as well as their interactions with Eiko and Kongming, are what I believe to be some of the series’s high points. Each and every one of these characters encapsulate a story or snippet within the Japanese music scene. Who talk primarily about the way things go and what sacrifices or choices they made to make in order to get where they are today. There’s some clear favoritism in the show’s presentation at which scenes get more focus than others, but I think their stories and what they represent for real world counterparts in terms of image, music, and marketing doesn’t make that discrepancy as bad as it could’ve been.

As for other side characters, I think they’re more ‘fun’ than anything else. The owner of the BB lounge that our main duo works at is certainly a fun character. And the rest of cast doesn’t really fall short of that either since everyone seems to like making a spectacle of themselves when they show up. It’s fun. And it definitely adds to the overall energy of the show in a positive way.

Aesthetics:

While it’s made by PA works, it doesn’t…look like PA works. You know? Which my be indicative of the fact that this is an adaptation of a work and not an original. But I think it’s important to put that out there. Because holy shit is this art amazing.

The bright lights and Shibuya, as well as the absolutely stunning color scheme of stuff like Eiko’s eyes really show off the kind of care and attention that went into the art. The aesthetic of this entire show really screams ‘party scene’. Which really shows as the series is filled to the brim with flashing lights and bright colors. There’re also a few historical scenes every episode that either flashback to Kongming’s past, or talk about one of his exploits. Animation also gets a nod from me as well, as the show’s attention to detail on the movement while singing during the show’s quieter moments really showcase the flow of the music being played. Characters sway side to side in time with the music, moments of feet tapping and fingers moving as the rhythm flows through the characters. It’s a nuanced detail about the whole show, but it’s one that I really appreciate since it shows that time and care was put into how the show was presented as well as the influence music has over these characters’ lives.

And of course, we can’t go an entire review without mentioning the best part of the show, the music.

The fucking OP needs no introductions, as “Ciki Ciki Bam Bam” by Queendom is a goddamn bop and addictive masterpiece. I refuse to elaborate any further, just listen to it for yourself because this thing is catchy as hell and not a damn thing is going to convince me otherwise. “Jibun Joujou” by a mix of the singing voices and VAs of the characters is an energetic party mix that does a good job at finishing off an episode with a positive spin. Something that’s greatly aided by Shouya Chiba spitting bars to give the song some great variance to mix up the flow of the song. Again, a highly recommended piece to listen to.

But really, I think what makes the music so good is its OST thanks in part to the efforts of 96Neko and Lezel, the singing voices for Eiko and Nanami respectively. The show is absolutely littered with ballads and rock pieces performed by these two, and it really helps sell the image and energy of the music scene that surrounds this series. It really makes it feel like these girls, and by extension, the characters in this series are genuine in their dreams. Elevating the story to another level simply because the sound aesthetics of the series help sell that image as best they could. Something that’s also aided by again, Chiba Shouya, who brings the rap side of the music scene into the spotlight by constantly spitting out rhymes and bars in his own sections of the story.

Final Thoughts:

Congrats, PA Works, you knocked it out of the park. The weird and wacky ideas that this company either comes up with themselves or adapts always seem to be the most well produced ones. And that extends here as Chinese war tactics are mixed with music from the modern day.

There’s not really much else that I think I can say about this series that I haven’t said before. This show does a fantastic job at showing a rose-tinted look into the music scene in Japan. Ranging from its different levels of music events and audience sizes, to the importance of image and marketing, and how those factors can influence the artists’ futures in both positive and negative ways. While Eiko’s success story certainly isn’t a whirlwind rollercoaster of emotions, it does paint an image of what happens when someone gets ‘lucky’, as well as serving as the basis for how things start changing when one starts to find success. Personally, I do wish that she did get some kind of hard hit or major fail somewhere along the lines. Since the supposed slump towards the last third of the series didn’t really cut it for me, and was mildly undercut by a few other factors in the story. Still, I do think the execution of the whole thing was very good from start to finish, and it’s a shame there doesn’t seem to be a second season since I would very much like to see what being on the ‘big stage’ is like.

So, yeah, watch it. Paripi Koumei is certainly a bit of an odd show, but I think what you can get out of watching it is well worth the weird introduction and mixture of Chinese and Japanese culture. Also the memes. Because good god this past season was full of memes about this one.