Forum - View topicREVIEW: House of Five Leaves Episodes 1-12 Streaming
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vashthekaizoku
 Posts: 261 Location: The House of Rat |
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I thought this was a pretty dang good series. Viz is also streaming the manga through their Ikki site. As the reviewer said, if you're expecting action, look somewhere else. Those who enjoy anything samurai should give this a look see. It's another excellent Noitamina series.
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kyokun703
 Posts: 2505 Location: Orgrimmar |
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Absolutely loved this show. I would love to own both this and Ristorante Paradiso on DVD/Blu-Ray. It's so nice watching something geared to a more mature audience every so often.
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tuxedocat
 Posts: 2183 |
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Beautifully written, Carl. Thank you for calling attention to this show.
I absolutely loved this, and I hope that someday it gets a physical release. The ending of this show was very moving and thought provoking. Your review makes me want to give it a repeat marathon viewing. I sort of wish there was a Vertical press-like licensor for DVD releases. I think the audience for Vertical titles would crossover well for this. With Satoshi Kon's passing, there has been a lot of specualtion that we may have seen the last of "arthouse" anime. I hope more people will take the time to give this show a chance, and discover that arthouse anime is still alive and well. I must admit that I am a Natsume Ono fan, and have been buying every manga release upon domestic publication. So yeah, I'm a bit biased.... 
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hissatsu01
 Posts: 963 Location: NYC |
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I really liked House of Five Leaves as well, though of the the two spring Noitamina shows, I liked Tatami Galaxy more. I really liked the soundtrack and its tango-esque themes. It's a shame there's no sign of DVD or BD from Funimation. It's only getting a DVD release in Japan and the first volume sold quite poorly. I hope Funi gets around to releasing something.
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rabrek
 Posts: 188 |
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I'm also hoping for a physical release for this series. I found it mesmerizing.
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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I was disappointed that Carl's review failed to discuss the excellent voice acting in this show. Namikawa Daisuke and the ever-reliable Sakurai Takahiro offer highly-modulated portrayals of Masa and Yaichi. (At one point, Yaichi says the single word,"Oh?," but Sakurai turns that one word into an entire paragraph.)
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agila61
 Posts: 3213 Location: NE Ohio |
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Ho5L and Giant Killing were my must watch shows of Spring. And yuna49 is quite right: the voice acting is excellent.
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albanian
 Posts: 133 Location: UK |
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Count me in as another fan of this great show. I was initially drawn in by the general understated atmosphere of the animation, but stayed for the fascination of seeing the characters gradually unfold in a delightful and captivating way. It is certainly close to being my favourite series of the year.
Along with others, I would echo the wish that this be released in physical form (as with Ristorante Paradiso, which I also enjoyed), but I fear that, like so many other 'arthouse' anime, its commercial possibilities are severely limited and, current streamings apart, it may never see the light of day again - especially if the report of sales in Japan is anything to go by. In that same vein, I remember going to see a showing of The Seven Samurai during my student days in 1960s London, and finding myself, even at a major West End cinema, in a basement room with a rigged up screen and seats for about 60 with only 25 people there. It was the only screening in London that year, and just for three nights. Sadly, true quality doesn't always put bread on the table! |
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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I was never able to get into Ristorante Paradiso, but House of Five Leaves had me hooked. I think, in the end, I just liked the lead for this one better. Masa and his gradual growth, as he learns to become more understanding, more open, and braver, was something that I actually found myself sort of identifying with, even if personality-wise we could not be more different. It was more interesting than watching a teenager chase after middle-aged married men... and if you're all about to jump on me that Ristorante Paradiso was about more than that, like I said, I didn't get very far into it. :p
That said, the languid pace of this is either going to pull you in or bore you to tears. The animation was odd, but by the end I'd grown very fond of it. But the music I just was not a fan of. I'd give it maybe a C. |
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wanderingwilbur
Posts: 20 |
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I was originally a little hesitant on the character designs but it quickly grew on me. Excellent story, characters and voice actors. This was one of the best series of the season. Not everyones cup of tea, but worth watching a few episodes to see. I Will purchase if available. ***Terrible ending credits/song***
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The Mad Manga Massacre
Posts: 1172 |
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Just started watching this series and as of episode 3 I am officially hooked!
 As others have previously stated, I hope for this series to be made available on DVD/ Bluray, sadly, the probability of such a thing occurring is slim at best. I was introduced to this series through the original manga, on the Sigikki site, and decided to wait for the anime to finish its airing in Japan before watching it. Natsume Ono is a brilliant writer, at least in my opinion, and I am grateful that Funimation is streaming the Ho5L anime and that Viz Media is publishing some of her manga, including Ho5L, over here.
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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Oh man, I'd totally forgotten about that! Yes, it was AWFUL. I actually rather like the opening song, but the raspy Engrish ending with the banal lyrics? Mind you, the opening might have equally stupid lyrics, but I've only been able to make out about half of them (songs are like that). |
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pasteloverdose
Posts: 20 |
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Wow, I loved this show. I used to think that noitaminA shows were good, but not utterly amazing, but last season's House of Five Leaves and the Tatami Galaxy converted me into a complete noitaminA fan. What an awesome lineup. I am enjoying Shiki a lot this season, too.
I liked watching Ristorante Paradiso, but House of Five Leaves really steps it up. I think the the biggest appeal of Natsume Ono's anime adaptations so far is the atmosphere. Everything in the show (the music, art, mood, etc.) combines to create an unique atmosphere that you don't often feel in other anime. It helps that her characters are quite interesting and fleshed out, too. I love slice of life, and this is definitely a great example of the genre. I'm glad that this series was streamed. I'm not sure if this would sell well on DVD (though I would love to buy a DVD version of it - the art is beautiful!), so it seems like licensing it for streaming is the best route to go in order to expose more people to this series legally.
I thought that the ending was very forgettable. I skipped it for most of the episodes. The opening was pretty addictive, though. Very energetic, especially in contrast to the mood of the series  I did love the BGM, though.
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gwdone
 Posts: 272 |
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I loved the House of Five Leaves!!!! I wish I knew where to purchase this title. Thanks ANN for putting this up for viewing!!!!
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