"I've got nothing, so I'm going there." Former small-time crook Yotaro has never forgotten the rakugo tale "Shinigami" that the great artist Yurakutei Yakumo performed to him in prison. After his release, he goes right to Yakumo's theater, and pleads to be made his apprentice. He's accepted, but quckly finds himself dealing with many strange twists in the world of rakugo, including a growing bond with Yakumo's ward, Konatsu, and reminders from his own inescapable past.

After a performance, Sukeroku comes home drunk with girls on both arm. Work or play, he navigates all areas of life smoothly. Kikuhiko is annoyed with him, but he's also jealous of how easy he has things, while Kikuhiko himself struggles with practice for their play. Is he really cut out for rakugo? As he asks himself that question, Kikuhiko happens to run into Miyokichi, who leads him off with a mischievous grin...

After ten years' apprenticeship to the eight generation Yakumo, Yotarou has finally achieved the rank of shin'uchi and taken on the name "Sukeroku," after his master's fellow student and Konatsu's father. Things appear to be smooth sailing at first, but complications soon arise. Between rakugo's fading legacy and Yotarou's concerns about single mother Konatsu, can the third generation Sukeroku bear up under the burden he has taken on?