Ya Boy Kongming!

is a Japanese manga series written by Yuto Yotsuba and illustrated by . The series was serialized on Kodansha's ' website from December 2019 to November 2021, before being transferred to ''Weekly Young Magazine''; its chapters have been collected in 21 volumes as of April 2025. Set in Shibuya, Tokyo, the series centers on Zhuge Kongming, who is transported from ancient China to modern Japan and uses military tactics to transform his new friend, Eiko Tsukimi, into a music star.

An anime television series adaptation produced by P.A. Works was streamed from March to June 2022 and aired on television from April to June of the same year. Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series outside of Japan and streamed it on its Hidive platform.

A live-action television drama aired from September to November 2023 on Fuji TV's programming block.

Premise

The famous military strategist Zhuge Kongming met his demise in the Battle of Wuzhang Plains in 234. On his deathbed, he wishes that his next life would be in a peaceful place, free from bloodshed. He is reborn (in his youth) in modern Japan, appearing in the middle of a costume party for Halloween in the club district of Tokyo. The partygoers (in Japanese, "''Paripi'', a contraction of the English 'party people') of Shibuya lure him to a nightclub, where he meets Eiko Tsukimi, an aspiring singer, and his second life begins.

Characters

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:As a young woman who made her debut as a singer, Eiko, and hopes to become a singer-songwriter, her singing was praised by Kongming as "having the power to convey your heart to others." Born in Kyoto, her father left her mother and daughter in order to seize the opportunity to pursue his musical dream in the United States, which led her mother to strongly oppose Eiko's exposure to music. She also believed that her mother drove her father away from their home, which indirectly caused the mother-daughter relationship to become estranged and rifted. As Eiko was trying to jump off the railroad tracks in her attempt to kill herself, she was rescued by Kobayashi and was invited to listen to the singing of American singer Maria Diesel at the BB Lounge run by Kobayashi. She regained her hope in life, so she was determined to move people's hearts as a singer, and she regained her hope in life, so then she started working at the BB Lounge as a resident singer and store clerk. At the beginning of the story, when she met Kongming, she almost gave up her dream, but with the support of Kongming, she gradually began to struggle and grow. With the official establishment of the record company "Fourth Kingdom", she became the main singer of "Fourth Kingdom." Her characters are named after Huang Yueying (Kongming's wife), a character in the Three Kingdoms period, but her character settings are more like Liu Bei (Kongming's Lord), and there is no ambiguous plot between her and Kongming.
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:The brilliant and smart strategist and the Chancellor of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms Period, known as Mr. Wolong (Sleeping Dragon), who died at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains in 234, somehow got reincarnated in modern-day Shibuya in his youthful appearance. By chance, he encounters Eiko during her singing performance during the Halloween party and later gets picked up by her. Eiko's songs move his heart three times, so he decides to become her strategist in order to help her realize her dream of becoming a great songstress. With a high IQ and a strong thirst for knowledge, he quickly adapts to modern life after being reincarnated into the modern age. Kongming later successfully planned and promoted the three major record companies "SSS Music", "V-Ex", and "Key Time" to jointly participate in the large-scale music event "The Orion of 4 Years Ago" as an opportunity, and Eiko and others established the record company "Fourth Kingdom."
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:His real name is Taijin Kawabe, a young rapper who has dominated the MC rap contest "DRB" for three consecutive years and has the nickname unrivaled freestyle. However, because he could not stand the pressure, he left the rap world after losing the battle due to stomach ulcers from the MC duel. However, after hearing Eiko's singing in the BB Lounge and his heated confrontation with Kongming's MC Battle, he regained his enthusiasm and decided to make a comeback as a rapper and become a partner with Eiko and others. The name of the person is "Kabe", which is the Japanese word for "wall", which corresponds to Seki (Red) of Sekitoba (Red Hare) Kung Fu.
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: Azalea's vocalist and bassist; along with guitarist Ichika and drummer Futaba, they are high school friends. In high school, the three formed a band out of their passion for music, but due to commercial marketing considerations, they had to follow Toshihito Karasawa's policy, and they gradually lost their original intentions and will. Nanami sang Maria Diesel's song "I'm still alive today" on the street without makeup and met Eiko, who was also trying to perform on the street. As she listens to the singing of Kabetaijin and Eiko, she recalls their original intentions in the music industry and is moved to tears. They chose to interpret their songs in their own way and received a warm response from fans. They also obtained 100,000 likes through Kongming's assistance and became friends with Eiko and others. Afterwards, she re-accepts Karasawa as their producer and assists Eiko with advice to develop her music career.
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:The owner of the BB Lounge. Although he has a strong personality, he is a Three Kingdoms , and he also likes to play Go. In the past, he rescued Eiko, who tried committing suicide, and let her assist in the store and serve as a resident singer. Because he admired Kongming, who could answer his tough questions during the interview, he hired him as a receptionist and a bartender in the BB Lounge. Originally, after Eiko's gradual rise, he thought that the small size of the BB Lounge would limit Eiko's development, but due to Kongming's strategy, which led the group to set up a record company called "Fourth Kingdom", he chose to continue to assist Eiko and others. He is the key person who inspired Eiko to create a new song, "Hot Chill Hot."

Media

Manga

Written by Yuto Yotsuba and illustrated by , ''Ya Boy Kongming!'' was serialized on Kodansha's ' online platform from December 31, 2019, to November 16, 2021. The series was transferred to ''Weekly Young Magazine'' starting on November 22, 2021. Kodansha has collected its chapters into individual volumes. The first volume was released on April 8, 2020. As of April 18, 2025, 21 volumes have been released.

The manga has been licensed for English digital release in North America by Kodansha USA, with the first volume released on June 1, 2021.

Volumes

Anime

An anime television series adaptation by P.A. Works was announced in November 2021. The series was directed by Shū Honma, with Yōko Yonaiyama overseeing the series' scripts, Kanami Sekiguchi designing the characters, and Genki Hikota composing the music. It was streamed on Abema and other platforms from March 31 to June 16, 2022, and aired on Tokyo MX, MBS, and BS NTV from April 5 to June 21 of the same year. The opening theme song is by the music unit Queendom, while the ending theme song is by Eiko Starring 96Neko.

Sentai Filmworks has licensed the series outside of Asia. At their Otakon panel in July 2022, Sentai Filmworks announced that the series would receive an English dub, which premiered on the Hidive service on September 23 of that same year.

A compilation film, titled ''Ya Boy Kongming! Road to Summer Sonia'', premiered in Japanese theaters on March 1, 2024. Sentai Filmworks licensed the film, which premiered on Hidive on April 23, 2024.

Episodes

Drama

A live-action television drama produced by Fuji TV and C&I Entertainment was announced in May 2023. The series is directed by Shūhei Shibue, with scripts written by Nonji Nemoto. Osamu Mukai has been cast as Zhuge Kongming, while Moka Kamishiraishi will portray Eiko Tsukimi. It aired on Fuji TV's programming block from September 27 to November 29, 2023.

Stage play

A stage play adaptation was announced in December 2023. It is written and directed by Akira Ishida from the comedian duo Non Style, and stars Ray Fujita, Haruki Iwata, and Moeka Koizumi, among others. It ran in Tokyo from May 3 to 6 and in Osaka on May 10 and 11, 2024.

Reception

By October 2022, the manga had over 1.2 million copies in circulation.

The series won the Next Manga Award's U-Next award in the web category in 2020. The series ranked ninth on the "Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics of 2021" by the Honya Club website. The series was nominated for the 69th Shogakukan Manga Award.

Accolades

Notes

References

Further reading

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External links

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{{P.A. Works

2024 anime films
Animation based on real people
Anime and manga set in Tokyo
Anime series based on manga
Comedy anime and manga
Comics based on real people
Fuji Television dramas
Japanese webcomics
Kodansha manga
Music in anime and manga
Musicals based on anime and manga
P.A.Works
Reverse isekai anime and manga
Seinen manga
Sentai Filmworks
Tokyo MX original programming
Webcomics in print
Works based on Romance of the Three Kingdoms