Saraiya Goyou – House of Five Leaves: Final Thoughts
July 2, 2010
Otake, for almost the very last time.
I’m not going to comment directly on the final episode of House of Five Leaves. Instead my intention here is to provide my reaction to the series as a whole (hint: 🙂 ), and talk about the bigger themes (what does it all mean?). My intention is to remain as spoiler-free as possible.
Saraiya Goyou – House of Five Leaves 11: settled debts
June 25, 2010
A bloody event haunts some of our characters.
Episode 11 of House of Five Leaves revolves around Yaichi’s past, as was generally expected. Yaichi’s past as Seinoshin is echoed in the latest job, which has a profound effect on Yaichi. Jin, the man who kidnapped Yaichi as a boy, and bears a grudge against him to this day, discovers his new identity, and Masa and Yaichi have a falling out, when Masa declares his intention to probe the secrets of Yaichi’s past.
Yagi seems to have discovered the secret of Sarai-ya Goyou.
In episode 10 of the House of Five Leaves, Yaichi collapses in despair, while two men close in on his identity. Sachi also decides to leave, and, unfortunately, we get very little information about Otake’s background.
Saraiya Goyou – House of Five Leaves 9: an admirable man
June 17, 2010
The resolution of Matsu's situation leads to some new problems.
Episode 9 of House of Five Leaves begins with the resolution of Matsu’s captivity. Yagi’s assistance becomes troublesome. We also get surprising insight into Masa’s family, and a mysterious stranger starts asking about Yaichi.
Saraiya Goyou – House of Five Leaves 8: candle war
June 5, 2010
Masanosuke takes an unusually active role.
House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou) episode 8 digs into Matsukichi’s character, we are reminded once more of the darkness that permeates society, Masa’s relationship with Yagi troubles Yaichi, and food is eaten.
Otake doesn't get much screen time this episode.
Episode 7 of Saraya Goyou (House of Five Leaves) is subtly revealing. As expected from the close of last week’s episode, we do learn more about Yaichi, but what we do learn, only adds more mystery. Instead we get unexpected insight into Masanosuke and Yagi, the older samurai Masa has met a few times. Of course, this being the middle of the series, even these revelations mostly add fuel to the fire, complicating, in particular, the central question of whether Masa can make it in old Edo.
It's the quiet ones that you need to worry about.
In episode 6 of House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou), Masanousuke lets his hair down, and Umezou has some trouble with blackmailers.
Otake likes the bad boys, almost as much as she likes her sake.
In House of Five Leaves episode 5, personal histories return to haunt several people, including Ume. The difficulties of attaining money are shown to be nothing when compared to the intractable problem of running away from your past. Also, sake is extolled as the one thing with which we can become involved that will leave us free from care or remorse.
Masa finds life in a bordello unsettling.
In episode 4 of Saraiya Goyou: House of Five Leaves Masa attempts to unveil Yaichi’s character, and in so doing irks his patron. The show continues to be a sort of visual poetry, not sumptuous, as a feast, but carefully selected and arranged to display what is minimally necessary for the character study that is at the heart of this series.
Saraiya Goyou – House of Five Leaves 3: a dark world
April 30, 2010
Some people really enjoy their pipes.
House of Five Leaves episode 3 continues to develop at its own pace. This truly is a slice of life show, in the meaning I have tried to articulate elsewhere; it conveys the experience of life in old Edo, which is presented as a dark, dispirited place. Meanwhile the deeper plot starts coming into view, as this episode challenges Masa’s ethics like never before, and gives us an idea of the experiences that made Yaichi the man he has become.
