Mameda is a tanuki who has fallen hard for the magic of rakugo, the traditional Japanese form of comedic storytelling.

Mameda heads to the big city in the form of a human girl. Finding herself on the run from humans after de-transforming from her human form to her tanuki form, Mameda is rescued by a woman who turns out to be a rakugoka, Daikokutei Bunko.

If you’ve ever wanted a story about a tanuki who wants to be a human, so she becomes the disciple of a competent and talented woman in order to learn rakugo, then welcome to Uchi no Shishou ha Shippo ga nai, Volume 1 (うちの師匠はしっぽがない)!

Like so many Kodansha manga, this series is in part “teaching” manga, with a charming story attached, so readers don’t feel they are doing homework. We learn about the importance of rhythm in rakugo, the way different schools handle the presentations, and the details of how rakugo is performed and enjoyed.

Mameda is a big goof, as one might expect of a tanuki, but she has a good heart. Bunko is a mystery, but no surprise her intelligence and competence is a draw for me. It is clear that, despite Bunko’s initial rejection of Mameda, she’s rather fond of the tanuki by the end of the volume.

The art is likewise goofy, with Mameda the goofiest of all, for obvious reasons, but it does have moments that transport you to another world, as befitting the topic.

Ratings:

Art – 7 Belly buttons and city life 
Story – 8
Characters – 8
Service – 4 light nudity, breasty hugs and tanuki butt
Yuri – hrmmmm…… 2ish

Overall – 7

This blog has covered any number of forms of affection between women over the years. It took a tanuki’s magic to make it happen, but with this series, we can add a master of the arts and her disciple to this list. ^_^