It’s always a pleasant surprise when a show pops up out of nowhere and lands itself among some of the most highly respected anime. Ya Boy Kongming is one of such titles. Airing in Spring of 2022, it had managed to make a name for itself, despite almost no hype behind its title.
Ya Boy Kongming opens with the famous tactician Kongming Zhuge, or Zhuge Liang, who had been reincarnated into modern-day Shinjuku. After encountering our protagonist Eiko Tsukimi, he is enchanted by her singing and ends up becoming her manager. The series then follows his quest to fulfill Eiko’s dream of performing at Voicell Land.
Spring 2022: Tough Competition
With shows like Spy x Family, Kagua-sama: Love Is War, and Komi Can’t Communicate, the Spring 2022 season is full of big-name titles. With all the celebration behind Spy x Family, in particular, many of the currently airing shows got overshadowed, despite being incredibly good.
One of these titles was Ya Boy Kongming, a show that was on nobody’s radar at the start of Spring 2022. Of course, standing among giants, it is incredibly hard to stand out and make a name for itself. Despite that, Ya Boy Kongming has managed to rank among the top 5 most upvoted anime on the /r/anime subreddit, as well as ranking #4 on myanimelist for shows airing in Spring 2022.
A huge reason for people giving Ya Boy Kongming a shot is its incredibly catchy title. The original Japanese title Paripi Koumei is slang for someone who is an avid clubber. Instead of going for a literal translation, the localization was quite liberal with its changes and decided to keep the same fun and exciting energy. This change was well done, as many people decided to check out the first episode based on the flashy title it bore.
What Makes Ya Boy Kongming So Appealing?
There are many reasons why Ya Boy Kongming is appealing to many anime fans. One of the first reasons involves a switch up from the standard Isekai formula. Instead of being transported from a modern-day setting into a fantasy world, Kongming is transported from the past into a modern-day era. Modern settings have been few and far between, which makes Ya Boy Kongming a breath of fresh air.
The plot of Kongming centers around Eiko, who found music to be her salvation and primary drive to keep on living. This dedication and passion for music may strike some viewers on a personal level. Even if you do not relate to Eiko personally, there is something very admirable and vexing about someone who devotes everything to pursue their dream. Watching Eiko grow and slowly reach her dream is a captivating and touching experience.
As for the characters, Ya Boy Kongming offers an incredibly wholesome relationship between Eiko and Kongming. The two meet by pure chance as Kongming experiences her singing at a random nightclub. Hitting a wall and failing her auditions, Eiko is on the brink of giving up her dream of becoming a singer. Right as she becomes ensnared by her despair, Kongming shows up and offers her salvation.
To top everything off, Ya Boy Kongming centers around Eiko’s pursuit of becoming a first-class musician, and it does its best to portray that journey. Featuring a ton of insert songs, the show is brimming to life with its incredibly immersive soundtrack. Instead of telling the viewer that Eiko is a talented artist, the show shows us just what Eiko is capable of through its plentiful use of songs sung by Eiko herself.
Will Ya Boy Kongming Live Up to the Hype?
As it currently stands, Ya Boy Kongming is off to an incredibly strong start despite the complete silence surrounding the show before its release. The combination of the music, characters and the endearing relationship between Kongming and Eiko has brought a ton of attention to this previously unknown anime. That being said, with all the new attention that Ya Boy Kongming has earned, will it live up to the hype that it has produced?
Because very few people have read the source material of Ya Boy Kongming, no one knows how the show will end up. The studio producing Ya Boy Kongming, P.A Works, is known for mainly producing anime-original works. To many, it may come as a complete surprise that Ya Boy Kongming is a manga adaptation.
Despite the unknown future of the show, it’s hard to see how it can fail to deliver on the expectations it has set for itself. Unlike other shows which are heavily dependent on landing their ending, Ya Boy Kongming doesn’t promise anything spectacular. Simply following Kongming and Eiko’s relationship as well as Eiko’s path to stardom is all that the show needs to offer. In other words, as long as it keeps doing what it already has been doing, it should land itself among the top shows airing this season.