In the 2022 spring anime season, the musical comedy anime Ya Boy Kongming! went viral for his absolute bop of an opening theme song. We loved the series when it originally aired and included it on our list of the best anime of 2022. However, since it previously ran exclusively on the anime streaming service HIDIVE, the show’s reach among audiences was limited.
However, that changed this month when Ya Boy Kongming! has joined Hulu’s library of anime titles. Aside from its theme song, Ya Boy Kongming! is worth watching for its unique premise alone: What if a legendary Chinese war strategist were reborn in modern-day Japan and became the manager of a pop idol?
Based on the 2019 manga by author Yuto Yotsuba and artist Ryō Ogawa. Ya Boy Kongming! revolves around Zhuge Kongming, a statesman who rose to prominence during the Three Kingdoms period in Chinese history. On his deathbed, he wishes to be reborn in a more peaceful era. His wish comes true, though probably not in the way he expected. Kongming wakes up in a dark alley in Shibuya and is seemingly reborn in a younger body on Halloween night. After meeting Eiko, a part-time bartender who confides in him that she dreams of becoming a pop singer, Kongming vows to serve as her advisor (i.e. manager) and help her achieve her goal.
Each episode capitalizes on the silliness of a third-century Chinese war strategist transported to modern-day Japan. Taking to his new surroundings like a duck to water, Kongming mobilizes all of his military skills and the wisdom he’s accumulated over a lifetime of fighting and negotiating to stand up to shady rivals and dodgy venue owners. Whether he’s devising a strategy to get Eiko 100,000 likes on her social media page to qualify for a festival appearance or winning a rap battle to recruit his opponent into Eiko’s backing band, Kongming always finds a way to come out on top in the end.
Kongming is such a charismatic character: he is unwavering in his faith and devotion to his new cause, and he treats a young woman’s dream of glory with the kind of seriousness and single-minded focus you’d expect from a general weighing the choice between life and death while trying to secure the future of his homeland. He genuinely believes in Eiko’s dream, and the lengths he’s willing to go to make that dream a reality have a lot of appeal.
If you are one of the many anime fans who could not see Ya Boy Kongming! but now is the perfect time to do so. And while you’re there, check out another great former HIDIVE exclusive now available on Hulu: Oshi no Koa fantasy pop idol crime drama whose second season will air weekly this summer.
Ya Boy Kongming! can be streamed on Hulu and HIDIVE.