is a Japanese

manga 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

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 term ''yak ...

lieutenant who seeks instruction in

karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...

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

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

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 One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'', a ...

(single chapter) sequel, was published in the November 2020 issue of the

manga magazine 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 history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics an ...

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. ''Comic Beam'' is considered an "alternative" manga magazine in the Japanese publishing industry, whe ...

''. A live-action film adaptation premiered in Japan in January 2024. An

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

television series adaptation produced by

Doga Kobo is a Japanese animation studio formed by former Toei Animation members Hideo Furusawa and Megumu Ishiguro, located in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan. The studio was established on July 11, 1973, and is a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation. Although the st ...

is set to premiere in July 2025.

Synopsis

Satomi Oka, the third-year head of a junior 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.

Characters

; : : ; : : ; :

Development and release

Series creator Yama Wayama originally approached the manga magazine ''

Morning Morning is either the period from sunrise to noon, or the period from midnight to noon. In the first definition it is preceded by the twilight period of dawn, and there are no exact times for when morning begins (also true of evening and nigh ...

'' 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

COMITIA The Roman assemblies were meetings of the Roman people duly convened by a magistrate. There were two general kinds of assemblies: a '' contio'' where a crowd was convened to hear speeches or statements from speakers without any further arrangem ...

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 an order by telephone call ...

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

Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on January 30, 1987, as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strate ...

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 was published by

Yen Press Yen Press is an American manga, graphic novel and light 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, ...

on May 24, 2022. A

sequel, , was published in the December 2020 issue of Enterbrain's manga magazine ''

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

Adaptations

Reading play

A reading play of ''Let's Go Karaoke!'' was performed at

Tokorozawa Sakura Town is a pop cultural attraction complex in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Saitama, Japan which opened in the fall of 2020. It is a joint project of the Kadokawa Corporation and the city of Tokorozawa. The development has five main components; the ...

Tokorozawa, Saitama is a Cities of Japan, city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 343,298 in 168,939 households and a population density of 4761 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is ...

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

Takuya Eguchi is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, 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'', The Ambition of Oda Nobuna#Yoshiharu Sagara, Yoshiharu Sa ...

as Kyouji, and

Kenta Miyake is a Japanese voice actor and narrator. He is affiliated with 81 Produce. Biography Miyake wanted to become a voice actor after admiring an actress. After attending the Amusement Media Research Institute and joining 81 Produce, he replaced se ...

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

Shinjuku, Tokyo , officially called Shinjuku City, is a special ward of Tokyo, Japan. It is a major commercial and administrative center, housing the northern half of the busiest railway station in the world ( Shinjuku Station) as well as the Tokyo Metropol ...

from December 4 to 26, 2021, to promote the reading play.

Live-action film

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 , premiered on January 12, 2024. It had been scheduled to be released in 2023, but was delayed. The film stars Jun Saitō as Satomi and

Go Ayano is a Japanese actor. Career Ayano was featured in several roles beginning in 2003. In 2009, he appeared in Takashi Miike's ''Crows Zero 2''. His role in the film was described by Mark Schilling of ''The Japan Times'' as "a tall, pale-faced, deli ...

as Kyouji.

Anime

television series adaptation was announced on October 17, 2024. The series is produced by

and directed by Asami Nakatani, with Yukiko Tsukahara serving as assistant director, Yoshimi Narita writing series scripts, Mai Matsūra designing the characters, and Takurō Iga composing the music. It is set to premiere on July 24, 2025, on AT-X and other networks. The theme song is "HOWL" performed by Ayumu Imazu.

Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...

will stream the series.

Medialink Medialink Group Limited is a content distributor and licensor based in Kowloon, Hong Kong specializing in the distribution of Japanese anime and brand licensing. Its offices are located at Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Registered from Hong Ko ...

licensed the series in Southeast Asia and Oceania (except Australia and New Zealand) for streaming on Ani-One Asia's YouTube channel.

Reception

By October 2022, ''Let's Go Karaoke!'' had over 500,000 copies in circulation. The series was nominated for the 14th

Manga Taishō The is a Japanese List of comics awards, comics award recognizing achievement in manga. It is awarded annually to a manga series published in the previous calendar year of eight or fewer Tankōbon, collected volumes in length. The Manga Taish� ...

in 2021, placing third; it was nominated for the 17th edition in 2024. It ranked fourth in the 2021 edition of '; and was also ranked 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 professionals in the manga and publishing industry. The first two years saw two s ...

'', placing fifth. The live-action film debuted at eighth at the Japanese box office on its opening weekend, and seventh on the following weekend.

References

External links

* * * Live-action film: {{Doga Kobo 2019 manga 2020 manga 2025 anime television series debuts Anime and manga about the Yakuza Anime series based on manga Comedy anime and manga Comics set in Tokyo Crunchyroll anime Doga Kobo Doujinshi Enterbrain manga Japanese comedy films Manga adapted into films Medialink Self-published books Seinen manga Upcoming anime television series Yen Press titles