"Exquisitely Off-Key 'Kurenai'"—A Yakuza Gets Harshly Critiqued by a Middle Schooler for His Awful Singing Skills, but the Anime "Let’s Go Karaoke!" Episode 1 Receives Positive Response

The anime "Let’s Go Karaoke!" began airing on July 24. Voice actor Daisuke Ono authentically portrayed a character whose singing ability is described as "creepy falsetto," earning high praise with comments such as "That’s an exquisitely off-key 'Kurenai' lololol" and "The level of detail is unbelievably high."

In Episode 1, "Encounter," Satomi Oka (voiced by Shun Horie), the head of the Morioka Middle School Choir Club, is suddenly approached by Kyōji Narita (voiced by Daisuke Ono), the Underboss Assistant of the Fourth Generation Matsubayashi-gumi, who says, "Let’s go karaoke!"

Narita, having taken Satomi to a karaoke parlor, explains that the Matsubayashi-gumi holds an annual karaoke contest and asks for Satomi's coaching so he won’t be chosen as the “Worst Singer.” When Satomi hesitates to take on the role of coach, Narita says, "Then, could you listen to just one song? I just need you to give me your honest opinion, even if it’s just a single word," and without waiting for a reply, he selects his go-to song on the machine.

The song that starts playing is "Kurenai," the famous hit by visual-kei rock band X JAPAN. Narita stands up with flair and passionately belts out the song in high spirits, but once finished, Satomi bluntly critiques, "Your falsetto is creepy all the way through." He goes on: "It's far too difficult for the average man to pull off, and especially in your case, Narita-san, your voice is lower than average to begin with, so it’s even more impossible. Honestly, it would be better for everyone if you never sing it again."