is a Japanese

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is use ...

series written and illustrated by Yama Wayama. The series follows a

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

lieutenant who seeks instruction in

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

from the head of a high school choir. It was originally published as a (

self-published Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

manga) in 2019 before being published as a book by

Kadokawa Future Publishing is the publishing arm of Kadokawa Corporation, publishing manga, novels, light novels, magazines, tabletop role-playing games and other type of content with eight different publishing brand companies that previously merged with it. The company u ...

in 2020. A one-shot (single chapter) sequel, was published in the November 2020 issue of the

manga magazine Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is used ...

Comic Beam is a Japanese seinen manga magazine published by Enterbrain on a monthly basis since November 1995. In 2006, it had a circulation of 25,000. Popular manga serialized in ''Comic Beam'' include Kaoru Mori's ''Emma'' about the love story between a ...

''. A live-action film adaptation is set to premiere in 2024.

Synopsis

Satomi Oka, the third-year head of a high school choir, is in preparations for his final performance before graduating. After seeing him perform,

lieutenant Kyouji Narita asks Satomi to coach him in singing in advance of an annual

competition held by his boss.

Development and release

Series creator Yama Wayama originally approached the manga magazine ''

Morning Morning is the period from sunrise to noon. There are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and night) because it can vary according to one's lifestyle and the hours of daylight at each time of year. However, morning stric ...

'' to write a manga series about the

, though the editors of the magazine declined her pitch. Having previously authored (

manga), Wayama elected to instead publish the story in this format. She originally conceived of the story as one where a yakuza becomes a school teacher, but decided to instead make a story about a "

bromance A bromance is a very close and non-sexual relationship between two or more men. It is an exceptionally tight, affectional, homosocial male bonding relationship exceeding that of usual friendship, and is distinguished from normal friendship by ...

" between two characters with a significant age difference, ultimately settlling on the final concept of the story. The was originally sold at the 129th edition of the convention on August 25, 2019. It sold out at the event and was re-released several times via

mail order Mail order is the buying of goods or services by mail delivery. The buyer places an order for the desired products with the merchant through some remote methods such as: * Sending an order form in the mail * Placing a telephone call * Placing ...

, but nevertheless sold out frequently and became difficult to obtain.

acquired the series to publish as a collected edition, which was released on September 12, 2020. The collected edition contains a newly illustrated chapter depicting Kyouji's past, as well as general additions and corrections to the art and dialogue. An English-language translation of the Kadokawa edition was published by

Yen Press Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published '' Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...

on May 24, 2022. A one-shot sequel, ''Let's Go to the Family Restaurant'', was published in the December 2020 issue of Kadokawa's manga magazine ''

'' on November 12, 2020. The one-shot depicts Satomi as a freshman in college. The bonus chapter from the Kadokawa edition was re-published in the May 2021 issue of ''Comic Beam'', published on April 12, 2021.

Adaptations

A live reading of ''Let's Go Karaoke!'' was performed at Tokorozawa Sakura Town in

Tokorozawa, Saitama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 344,194 in 163,675 households and a population density of 4800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is located in the c ...

on December 19, 2021. The performance starred Taichi Ichikawa as Satomi,

Takuya Eguchi is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He is affiliated with 81 Produce. He has voiced in a number of lead roles in anime shows, including Kazuya Kujo in ''Gosick'', Yoshiharu Sagara in ''The Ambition of Oda Nobuna'', Kon Hokaze in ''Ixion Saga ...

as Kyouji, and

Kenta Miyake is a Japanese voice actor and narrator who is affiliated with 81 Produce. Career Miyake was born in Okinawa Prefecture. As a teenager, he dreamed of becoming a voice actor in hopes of meeting an actress that he admired and wanted to co-star wi ...

as Kyouji's boss. A ''Let's Go Karaoke''-themed pop-up cafe was hosted at the EJ Anime Theater in

Shinjuku, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative centre, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world (Shinjuku Station) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the administratio ...

from December 4 to 26, 2021, to promote the live reading. A live-action film adaptation, directed by

Nobuhiro Yamashita is a Japanese film director. Career Born in Aichi Prefecture, Yamashita attended Osaka University of Arts where he worked on Kazuyoshi Kumakiri's ''Kichiku Dai Enkai''. His graduation film ''Hazy Life'', took the Off Theatre Competition Grand ...

and written by , is set to premiere in January 2024. It had been scheduled to be released in 2023 but was delayed. The film will star Jun Saitō as Satomi and Go Ayano as Kyouji.

Reception

500,000 copies of ''Let's Go Karaoke!'' are in print as of October 2022. The series was nominated for the 14th

Manga Taishō The is a Japanese comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer collected volumes in length. The Manga Taishō was founded with the aim of re ...

in 2021, placing third; the 2021 edition of ', placing fourth; and in the women's edition of the 2021 ''

Kono Manga ga Sugoi! is an annual reference mook series published by Takarajimasha since 2005 featuring yearly rankings and reviews of manga. The rankings are compiled by surveying people in the manga and publishing industry. The series is part of Takarajimasha' ...

'', placing fifth.

References

External links

* {{Comic Beam 2019 manga Comedy anime and manga Comics set in Tokyo Doujinshi Enterbrain manga Manga adapted into films Self-published books Seinen manga Yakuza in anime and manga Yen Press titles Japanese comedy films