Paripi Kongming tells the story of Zhuge Liang, a famous military strategist from the Three Kingdoms period, who is resurrected in a modern, conflict-free world and serves as the strategist for the other protagonist, aspiring singer-songwriter Tsukimi Eiko. The anime adaptation is scheduled to begin in April 2022 and has been a hot topic, winning the U-NEXT Award at the 2020 Next Manga Awards. Let's take a look at the characters who appear in Paripi Kongming!
Character #1: Zhuge Liang Kongming
His name is Zhuge Liang, and his pen name is Kongming. A genius military strategist representing the Three Kingdoms period, she provided all the necessary strategies for her former master, Liu Bei. She is portrayed alongside Liu Bei as a key character in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. She died of illness during the Battle of Wuzhang Plains during the fifth Northern Expedition. She expressed a desire to be reborn in a world without conflict, and suddenly found herself transported to Shibuya on Halloween. There, she fell in love with the party culture and Eiko Tsukimi's singing voice, becoming her military strategist to help her achieve her dream of becoming a world-class singer-songwriter.
Character #2: Eiko Tsukimi
A girl with aspirations of becoming a world-class singer-songwriter. She has a simple and kind personality. While working at the clubhouse, she continues to work as a singer, but her dreams are not coming to fruition and she is on the verge of giving up. However, after meeting Kongming at a Halloween event, he falls in love with her singing voice and becomes her strategist. She continues to grow through numerous trials and hardships. She had a difficult relationship with her family and contemplated suicide on the day of her school trip, but Kobayashi, the clubhouse owner, stopped her and took her to the clubhouse where she heard American singer Maria Diesel sing, which inspired her to become a singer herself.
Character #3: Kobayashi
Owner of the BB Lounge. He has a tough look and can be a bit stubborn, but he is a good supporter of Eiko and Kongming. A great lover of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Go, she hires Kongming because he can talk about it. While collaborating with him on events, she also plays a key role in explaining Kongming's strategies, settling into a role as an explainer. After stopping Eiko's suicide attempt and playing Maria Diesel's song for her, Eiko is inspired to pursue a career as a singer.
Character #4: Mia Iriomote
A talented singer with both vocal and dancing abilities. Kongming tries to use Eiko as a decoy for his own event, but Kongming's plan ends up stealing the audience instead. Although she holds a grudge against him, she has a generally easy-going personality and hopes to eventually settle the matter. She's addicted to weight training.
Character #5: JET JACKET's Vocalist
She ended up performing at the Yoyogi Art Festival on the same timeline as Eiko, almost adjacent to her. Due to her throat problems, she can't sing popular songs unless her throat is warm. Kongming overlooks this, and Kongming and his team pretend to have equipment problems, stealing the audience. However, Kongming later gives her a secret medicine and the recipe (which he uploads to Cookpad) that resolves her throat problem, leading to a reconciliation.
Character No. 6: Kondo Tsuyoshi
She is the organizer of the Yoyogi Art Festival, a huge producer who has worked on many large-scale festivals both in Japan and abroad, and is said to be one of the most important figures in the music festival world. She is taciturn and wears sunglasses, and rarely speaks herself; her secretary delivers the lines for her. She forces Eiko to choose between a live festival in Fukuoka with an audience of 10,000 people or Summer Sonia with an audience of 300,000 people. In fact, she can speak normally.
Character #7: Kondo's Secretary
A female secretary wearing glasses. She understands what Kondo wants to say and speaks on his behalf.
Character #8: KABE Futo
KABE is an invincible freestyler who has won the MC Battle Championship three years in a row. He possesses a genius technique for creating impromptu raps, earning him nicknames like "the magician of words," "the precision machine of rhyme," and "the inventor of the rap world." However, due to his mental frailty, he disappeared from the public eye after suffering an acute stomach ulcer during an MC battle. However, his talent was highly praised by his rivals, Red Hare Kung Fu and Kongming, and after an MC battle with Kongming at the BB Lounge, he makes a comeback alongside Eiko and Kongming. While he appears to have overcome his stomach ulcer, it's actually thanks to a medicine created by Kongming.
Character #9: Red Hare Kung Fu
A street-born tough who was undefeated in MC battles until Kabe Futo showed up. He's the talented rapper who inspired Kabe Futo to become a rapper. He's not happy with Kabe Futo's current stagnation and hopes to face him in an MC battle again. He's strong and sometimes violent, but he's also a man of character who gives advice to Eiko.
Character #10: Kongming's Spy
A spy who Kongming hired without his knowledge. He is Eiko's number one fan and a hidden contributor, secretly gathering information, conducting online operations, and editing videos. He is said to be paid in return with photos of Eiko. His superior intelligence makes him aware of Kongming's secret activities.
Character 11: Steve Kido
A DJ active worldwide and a former participant at Summer Sonia, Steve Kido is recording a new song in hopes of earning 100,000 likes. He has a unique food sense and is an eccentric man who loves menma pudding, a pudding topped with bamboo shoots. He may appear nonchalant, but his talent is genuine. Kongming makes a bet between becoming his military strategist or providing a song for free, but having recognized Eiko's talent from the start, he offers to provide the song.
Character #12: Kuon Nanami
She's the vocalist of the up-and-coming three-member girl band, AZALEA. Despite her talent, she struggled to gain popularity due to her lack of communication and directing skills. However, her popularity soared thanks to the production of Karasawa, a producer at the major agency KEYTIME. While she's Nanami's biggest rival for a spot at Summer Sonia, her own style of singing in risqué costumes is no longer what she wanted, and she's torn between singing songs that sell or the songs she wants to sing. He meets Eiko on the street, hits it off during an impromptu session, and after revealing their true identities, they become worthy rivals.
Character 13: Karasawa
A producer at the major agency KEYTIME. Rumors circulate that he's known for using dirty tricks to promote his talent, but his communication and production skills are genuine. He understands better than anyone that even talented talent can be overlooked depending on how it's expressed. Having been betrayed by a colleague and losing out himself, he didn't want the talented AZALEA to lose out either, so he produces AZALEA with the goal of creating something that sells. Although she initially tried to step down from producing AZALEA, which had achieved results despite going against her own direction, she returned to producing the band at the request of the band members.
Character #14: Michiru Wakatsuki
The second daughter of two internationally active composer siblings. She has a cheerful personality, but her genius side can sometimes leave others behind. She's a highly creative saxophone player, but her overly creative nature makes it difficult for others to keep up. She wants to get along with her older brother and sister.
Character #15: Takumi Wakatsuki
The eldest son of two internationally active composer siblings. He's a player who incorporates trends and cutting-edge techniques, and is a clever player who excels at both drums and percussion. He takes great pride as the eldest son and believes it's his responsibility to protect the family. He's actually quite lenient with his younger sister.
Character #16: Wakatsuki Toujou
The second daughter of a pair of internationally active composer siblings. She's a versatile player who can instantly understand what her opponents want and adapt accordingly, but she's also too skillful, which can limit her ability to express herself. She feels inferior to the unconventional Michiru, but in reality, she's quite kind to her younger sister.
[Paripi Koumei] Character Summary
Here's a summary of the characters from Paripi Koumei! This is a unique story about Zhuge Liang, who becomes interested in party culture. It's a fascinating story that combines the fun of watching Zhuge Liang's work as a military strategist with the fun of watching a manga about his success in the music industry, making it a very original and entertaining work! Paripi Koumei will be made into an anime starting in April 2022, so be sure to check it out!
