Let's Go Karaoke!

Let's Go Karaoke! (カラオケ行こ!) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yama Wayama. The series follows a yakuza lieutenant who seeks instruction in karaoke from the head of a high school choir. It was originally published as a (self-published manga) in 2019 before being published as a book by Kadokawa Future Publishing in 2020. A one-shot (single chapter) sequel, Fami-res Iko (ファミレス行こ.) was published in the November 2020 issue of the manga magazine Comic Beam. A live-action film adaptation premiered in Japan in January 2024.

Synopsis
Satomi Oka, the third-year head of a junior high school choir, is in preparations for his final performance before graduating. After seeing him perform, yakuza lieutenant Kyouji Narita asks Satomi to coach him in singing in advance of an annual karaoke competition held by his boss.

Development and release
Series creator Yama Wayama originally approached the manga magazine Morning to write a manga series about the yakuza, though the editors of the magazine declined her pitch. Having previously authored (self-published manga), Wayama elected to instead publish the story in this format. She originally conceived of the story as one where a yakuza becomes a school teacher, but decided to instead make a story about a "bromance" between two characters with a significant age difference, ultimately settlling on the final concept of the story.

The was originally sold at the 129th edition of the  convention COMITIA on August 25, 2019. It sold out at the event and was re-released several times via mail order, but nevertheless sold out frequently and became difficult to obtain. Enterbrain acquired the series to publish as a collected edition, which was released on September 12, 2020. The collected edition contains a newly illustrated chapter depicting Kyouji's past, as well as general additions and corrections to the art and dialogue. An English-language translation was published by Yen Press on May 24, 2022.

A one-shot sequel, Fami-res Iko (ファミレス行こ.), was published in the December 2020 issue of Enterbrain's manga magazine Comic Beam on November 12, 2020. The one-shot depicts Satomi as a freshman in college. The bonus chapter from the Enterbrain edition was re-published in the May 2021 issue of Comic Beam, published on April 12, 2021.

Adaptations
A live reading of Let's Go Karaoke! was performed at Tokorozawa Sakura Town in Tokorozawa, Saitama on December 19, 2021. The performance starred Taichi Ichikawa as Satomi, Takuya Eguchi as Kyouji, and Kenta Miyake as Kyouji's boss. A Let's Go Karaoke-themed pop-up cafe was hosted at the EJ Anime Theater in Shinjuku, Tokyo from December 4 to 26, 2021, to promote the live reading.

A live-action film adaptation, directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita and written by Akiko Nogi, premiered on January 12, 2024. It had been scheduled to be released in 2023, but was delayed. The film stars Jun Saitō as Satomi and Go Ayano as Kyouji.

Reception
By October 2022, Let's Go Karaoke! had over 500,000 copies in circulation.

The series was nominated for the 14th Manga Taishō in 2021, placing third; it was nominated for the 17th edition in 2024. It ranked fourth in the 2021 edition of Kono Manga wo Yome!; and was also ranked in the women's edition of the 2021 Kono Manga ga Sugoi!, placing fifth.

The live-action film debuted at eighth at the Japanese box office on its opening weekend, and seventh on the following weekend.