My Master Has No Tail

Alternate Titles

うちの師匠はしっぽがない
Uchi no Shisho wa Shippo ga Nai

Synopsis

Mameda is a tanuki girl who dreams of one day becoming human and runs away to the big city of Osaka. However, the skills she has refined to disguise herself don’t go over well, and she is found out by a beautiful black-haired girl who turns out to be a popular rakugo performer named Bunko who is also disguising herself as a human. Impressed by Bunko’s rakugo skills, Mameda pledges to become her apprentice so that Bunko will teach her the ways of acting human. So begins a Taisho-era supernatural rakugo fantasy series!

Background

My Master Has No Tail started as a manga series written and illustrated by TNSK that began serialization in Kodansha's good! Afternoon seinen manga magazine in January 2019. As of June 2022, eight collected tankobon volumes have been released. The manga is also being released in English through Kodansha USA, who published the seventh volume in July 2022.

A TV anime adaptation was first announced in the September 2021 issue of good! Afternoon. It is being produced by LIDEN FILMS and features Hideyo Yamamoto as director, with Touko Machida handing series composition and scripts along with Aya Satsuki, Kei Shimobayashi, and Yuho Togashi, Ryo Yamauchi credited as both character designer and chief animation director, and Atsushi Harada, Tsukasa Yatoki, and Yuki Honda of Arte Refact composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is “Genai Yugi” by GARNiDELiA, and the ending theme song is “Virginia” by Hinano. The anime will premiere in Japan on Sep. 30, 2022 on Tokyo MX and will later air on MBS, BS Asahi, and AT-X.

Characters

Mameda (Voiced by: M.A.O)
Mameda is a small tanuki girl. She dreams of becoming human and has been refining her skills. She aims to become a rakugo performer after awakening to the charm of rakugo and Bunko’s ability to bewitch audiences with her performances. She becomes Bunko’s apprentice and begins calling her “Master.”

Bunko Daikokutei (Voiced by: Hibiku Yamamura)
Bunko is one of the four heavenly rakugo performers of Taisho-period Kansai. Though she has never taken on an apprentice, Mameda’s enthusiasm leads her to take her under her wing.

Shirara Tsubaki (Voiced by: Lynn)
Shirara is a newcomer rakugo performer. She is the heiress of the Kurokoma organized crime family in Tokyo, but she runs away from home to start down the path of rakugo. She works as an opening act.

Byakudanji Tsubaki (Voiced by: Takuya Eguchi)
Byakudanji is one of the four heavenly rakugo performers of Taisho-period Kansai. He is always being hounded by debt collectors due to having bills piling up all over the place. His defining feature is his tail.

Enshi Kirino (Voiced by: Ayana Taketatsu)
Enshi is one of the four heavenly rakugo performers of Taisho-period Kansai. She is a rakugo performer of unrivaled popularity who is called the “Perfect Storyteller.” She is normally very laid-back, even to the point of speaking for her apprentice. She can speak normally if there’s a metronome.

Utaroku Ebisuya (Voiced by: Akira Ishida)
Utaroku is one of the four heavenly rakugo performers of Taisho-period Kansai. He is popular for his rakugo performances featuring rich expressions that make his characters come to life. He is a heavy smoker and has poor health.

Buncho Daikokutei (Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe)
Bunko’s late master. Though he was a very popular performer, he publicly stated that he was ending his career and wouldn’t take on any apprentices. However, one day he suddenly brought in Bunko and made her his apprentice.

Sakujiro (Voiced by: Ayumu Murase)
Sakujiro runs the entertainment hall Sekitei. Though he’s terrible at fighting, he has more courage than anyone else when the time comes.

Omatsu (Voiced by: Natsuki Aikawa)
Omatsu works as an “ochako” and prepares the stage between performances. She loves alcohol and likes to drink whenever she has free time.

Koito (Voiced by: Ikumi Hasegawa)
Koito works as a “geza” who plays the shamisen and sings. In fact, she is highly trusted by Bunko. She loves fluffy things.

Rakuda (Voiced by: Yuichiro Umehara)
Rakuda is a yakuza member of the Kurokoma crime family. He is feared by those around him for his physical strength. He was saved by Shirara in the past.

Music

Opening Theme Song: “Genai Yugi” by GARNiDELiA
Ending Theme Song: “Virginia” by Hinano

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: TNSK
• Director: Hideyo Yamamoto
• Series Composition: Touko Machida
• Script: Aya Satsuki, Kei Shimobayashi, Touko Machida, Yuho Togashi
• Character Design/Chief Animation Director: Ryo Yamauchi
• Sound Director: Ryousuke Naya
• Sound Production: Studio Mausu
• Music: Atsushi Harada (Arte Refact), Tsukasa Yatoki (Arte Refact), Yuki Honda (Arte Refact)
• Music Production: Pony Canyon
• Animation Production: LIDEN FILMS