Chatter about studio Manglobe’s anime adaptation of Natsume Ono’s manga Sarai-ya Goyou (House of Five Leaves) has only lightly sugared the internet since 2010 commenced. But during the Tokyo Anime Fair this project decided to whet our appetites even further.
And let’s just say, “It was good!”
The story of Goyou surrounds an Edo-era gang called the House of Five Leaves. The ronin Akitsu Masanosuke, desperate for work, unwittingly becomes the bodyguard of the gang’s leader Yaichi. As the naïve samurai and playboy rogue grow closer, the two initiate an evolutionary journey.
Now while I haven’t perused any complete episodes, the extended trailers that debuted last week suggest a human drama that shouldn’t disappoint. Ono’s work, after all, is anything but a hollow samurai-slashing tale. And the artwork and character design continue to push our very notion of the anime aesthetic; visually, it’s reminiscent of The Girl Who Lept Through Time and Red Garden. So, I’m thinking Goyou has the potential to give us that perfect balance between plot and blade-cutting action. Obviously, I can’t predict the final outcome. But everything I’ve seen so far indicates a good series, maybe even a great one.
Set to be released on April 15 2010, we should all be on the look out for this title!
Recent trailers can be viewed on the series' homepage: goyou-anime.jp
Better yet, FUNimation has licensed this series and episodes are now streaming on the FUNimation website!