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I randomly discovered Saraiya Goyou / House of Five Leaves in a recommendation of slashy anime, and as it was only 12 episodes, I gave it a shot and enjoyed it.
Set in the Edo period in Japan (from 1603 to 1868), this anime is languid but nonetheless engrossing. As the title suggests, it focuses on a mysterious yakuza gang called the Five Leaves, whose members hang out in brothels and bars, drink lots of sake, and kidnap people for a living.
The gang’s leader is the cool and seemingly careless Yaichi, who hires an extremely mild-mannered and hesitant wandering samurai (ronin), Masanoskue, to be his bodyguard. Masa spends the anime learning about each of the four members (a former geisa, a bar owner, a former robber, and of course the enigmatic leader, Yaichi), and searching his own moral principles to determine whether or not he wants to become the “fifth leaf” of their gang.
The unusual art style is probably what makes this anime stand out most: the characters are all animated with very pointy noses and this horrible blankness in their eyes, as if to suggest a kind of existential emptiness, but it’s somewhat misleading, as most of the characters are quite emotional under their own particular moral structures.
The slow pace was almost too much for me at first, but I’m glad I stuck it out because I really loved Yaichi with his pale, constantly half-lidded eyes and mysterious backstory, and he has great chemistry with everyone (particularly Masa).
My full list of anime recs is here, if you’re interested.
Set in the Edo period in Japan (from 1603 to 1868), this anime is languid but nonetheless engrossing. As the title suggests, it focuses on a mysterious yakuza gang called the Five Leaves, whose members hang out in brothels and bars, drink lots of sake, and kidnap people for a living.
The gang’s leader is the cool and seemingly careless Yaichi, who hires an extremely mild-mannered and hesitant wandering samurai (ronin), Masanoskue, to be his bodyguard. Masa spends the anime learning about each of the four members (a former geisa, a bar owner, a former robber, and of course the enigmatic leader, Yaichi), and searching his own moral principles to determine whether or not he wants to become the “fifth leaf” of their gang.
The unusual art style is probably what makes this anime stand out most: the characters are all animated with very pointy noses and this horrible blankness in their eyes, as if to suggest a kind of existential emptiness, but it’s somewhat misleading, as most of the characters are quite emotional under their own particular moral structures.
The slow pace was almost too much for me at first, but I’m glad I stuck it out because I really loved Yaichi with his pale, constantly half-lidded eyes and mysterious backstory, and he has great chemistry with everyone (particularly Masa).
My full list of anime recs is here, if you’re interested.
