Hyouge Mono

Despite not having a particularly show-off-y budget, Hyouge Mono is a very dynamic and flamboyant show on account of its brazen artistic choices, which inject some animated flair into a tragic comedy about the struggle for Japan's aesthetic identity during the Warring States period. Protagonist Sasuke is one of the most memorable in anime, a lecherous aesthete ill-suited for warfare, but sly and loved by fortune, not to mention endowed with a modern sensibility that endears him to the audience. He's sketched out in a remarkably literary way. His expressions are unforgettable, too. The show is peppered with fantastic characters, some are historical cartoons and ... others seem to be wholly fictitious (I'm not sure), but the other standout is the monk Sen no Rikkyu, the foremost proponent of the "simple" or "weathered" aesthetic that would come to define Japanese artisanship and aesthetic philosophy for generations to come. His presence is commanding, divine, almost Buddha-like, and the show does a great job of conveying that. Sasuke's detour-filled quest for power, notoriety, and then enlightenment is contrasted with the high-level political power-playing that Rikkyu conducts from his modest tea room. Although the first half of Hyouge Mono has better pacing and a comedic side that's better-suited to the animated medium, the second half is undeniable for its standout episodes and for its overall tone of tragedy as it races towards its inevitable end. I could go on about how refreshing it is to watch such a literary and distinguished show in the wasteland of seasonal softcore and battle shounen and whatever, but if you're reading Hyouge Mono reviews you probably don't need to be told all that. And despite being a very "functional" show, Hyouge Mono does not waste the formal advantages of animation.

Hyouge Mono is a rare and rather unique work of well informed historical fiction.
This huge undertaking - approached with great seriousness, in great detail and on elaborate scale - depicts (you could also say: documents) the emergence of what will later be called "Bohème".
It follows its main character for more than a decade in his struggle of emancipation. A man who cannot devote himself to his lord, his clan, his nation, his family and who is neither artisan, nor master.
What begins with a desire sparked by jealousy and fanned by naivete: to possess, even if just in secret, a masterpiece... quickly escalates ... into an obsession and, after defining all choices, joys and misgivings over years of his life, evolves into a lifestyle.
Hyouge Mono challenges the societal order of feudal japan by tracing the transitions in the value of the famed masterpieces.
As their value shifts from being objects representing power, the right to rule, the heavenly ordained status.. to objects of art whose value is determined by its comparative place amidst other objects of art.
The chase after them no longer establishes power over others, but where the objects hold power over those who seek or own them - and seeking them means seeking for beauty, for biographical fulfillment, for personal control over who is allowed to see them, hold them or who is not.
Most importantly: the value of those who chase, desire, possess, view them is no longer determined by birth and ancestry - but by acquired taste, sensibility and knowledge.
All this happens in-between countless wars, skirmishes and under the influence of a new cultural movement: "simplicity".

The main character is materialistic, opportunistic, hedonistic and as such is viewed generally harmless. His harmlessness and lack of ideology/allegiance keep him alive as his lords die, domains fall, his friends are exiled and his former enemies rise to power, as his teachers are killed.

It is an amazing work of art - brilliantly executed and as interesting as it is hilarious.
IF - well if - you happen to know and have an interest in its topic.
Hyouge Mono is not only not for everyone, but it expects a very specific mix of societal, (high) cultural and (art) historic knowledge from its viewers.
The more of these are present, the more enjoyable the show becomes.
vice versa: the more boring it can become.

Spanning a hefty 40 episodes (no fillers, no bullshit) makes it a series I only recommend to very few people and in very few situations.
But to those who can find enjoyment in this show.. it comes in a blend that they will likely never again and have never before found in an anime series.
There is nothing else like it.
Nothing that I know of. And I have watched a shitload of shows and movies.

The likeliness that any company ever in the history of television would fund 40 episodes of something like this should be close to nil. However: some company apparently has. I for one am extremely thankful for that.
It is a masterpiece - that has only gotten 9 starts from me solely because from an outside view.. it is too demanding and too specific. For me its a 10/10.

Story: 10, Art: 9, Sound: 9, Character: 10, Enjoyment: 9, Overall: 9.
(Subjectively: Enjoyment 10/ Overall 10)

Hey look! Some dumb asshole is trying to review Hyouge Mono! I have that on that on my Plan to Watch list! I think it's safe to say a LOT of us have the same experience with this anime. You've been on MAL for about a year. You get recommended the members of the sacred 3x3. You guys know what I'm talking about. Tatami, Mushishi, LotGH, etc. Now you've watched 9 anime that are highbrow and not on Netflix. You aren't the N00b anymore. What's next? Someone is going recommend Hyouge Mono. You think to yourself, "Oh WOW! A 40-episode anime about tea ceremony that ... also takes place during the reunification years of the Sengoku Era." That sounds tasteful. It will probably be pretty good. I'll just add that my watch list. There it sits for weeks, months, years, etc. This is the anime that everyone wants to watch, but nobody has actually fucking watched! It's December and nobody else has even written a review this year for Hyouge. As of the time I'm writing this, only 10 people have ever reviewed this series since it came out in 2011!

So now you've decided to watch Hyouge Mono. I'll just watch it on Crunchyroll...but it's not there. I'll just watch it on one of my other streaming services...but it's on none of them. I'll just go on Rightstuf and buy the DVDs. Oops! It's never actually been released in English. So how do you watch it? You go on a pirate site, and you watch the fansubs produced by some group called Huzzah. Let me tell you, these are some of the worst fan subs I've ever seen. I'm 33 years old and have seen a lot of anime. I mentioned in my review of Link Click that I remember the bad days of bootleg anime on VHS. However, this isn't a Chinese studio Google translating out of laziness. This is a group of college kids trying WAAAAY too hard to punch up the script and make it seem more elegant and refined than what they're actually saying. Since it takes place in the 1500s, they honest to God tried to make every line sound like Shakespeare or the King James Bible. However, even an untrained ear can pick up that the anime isn't using some archaic Keigo speech that modern Japanese couldn't understand. It's using basic ass Shonen anime speech! However, every "Hai" is translated to "Aye Milord". I may have been drunk, but I swear I recall a "Naruhodo" being translated as "indubitably". I normally don't rant about fansubs, but this is literally the only way in which I can watch the series besides raw Japanese. This is what you will experience watching this anime! The people who made up Huzzah subs, truly believed that the job of a translator is to make the work look way more artsy than it actually is. I want to watch the Huzzah subs of other anime. You're watching Elfen Lied and Lucy is finally confessing to Kouta in that climactic final scene and says, "I can never express the remorse that consumes my soul, but should you ever have need of my life, come take it." Your eyes tear up and you think "God DAMN this dialogue is good! Why is this anime rated like garbage?!"

Anyways, it's time to finally talk about the actual show. The main character is Furuta Sasuke and he's a minor retainer of Oda Nobunaga who is absolutely obsessed with pottery and tea ceremony. As in Furuta is obsessed in a very cartoonish, over the top way that's played for comedy. Furuta is loosely based on a real historical figure named Furuta Oribe, who was the apprentice of Nobunaga's beloved tea master Sen no Rikyu. I may as well mention this here, but if you don't know Japanese history you're going to be confused. This anime assumes that you're Japanese and you know who these people are. So, it's not ever going to slow down and explain anything. Why should it? You know who Sen no Rikyu is right? He's the tea dude! Yamanaka sensei taught you that shit in 9th grade! Let's say you know a little Japanese history already and with the help of Wikipedia, you familiarize yourself with all these figures and events. Well prepare to get trolled, because this series is as accurate as Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter! This is a historical anime where Nobunaga wasn't betrayed by Akechi and forced to commit seppuku while his loyal general Toyotomi was away fighting a battle. Sen the tea dude didn't like Nobunaga because of his shitty aesthetics, so he tempted Toyotomi into assassinating Nobunaga by walking up to him and literally cutting him in half with his katana. Then Nobunaga's torso insults him like the Black Knight from Monty Python because Nobunaga is that badass. Then Nobunaga pours some shitty blood from his intestines into a teacup and forces a horrified Toyotomi into drinking it so he can laugh at him before finally dying. This happens early in the series btw. If you sit through all 40 episodes, this one scene is what you're going to fucking remember. I really hate to reference TV Tropes, but I believe scenes such as this are referred to as "A Big Lipped Alligator Moment!"

The most spoken word in the entire series is "aesthetics". If you read about this anime, you're going to see that word again and again. This word is used every time Furuta freaks out over a new teacup or new vase. "LOOK AT THE AESTHETICS! MAGNIFICENT!" Furuta screams. To be honest, a more appropriate word would be craftsmanship. Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that is never really touched on in this series. You can't watch this anime and learn the difference between Zen aesthetics, Confucian aesthetics, and Western aesthetics. It never actually explains shit about aesthetics. If you read a book like Tanizaki's "In Praise of Shadows", you'll learn that traditional Japanese aesthetics values old, wooden, and earthy over polished brass and bright lights that make the shiny new stuff go bling bling. That's because Japanese aesthetics is deeply tied to the concept that life is transitory. Nothing is going to last forever, so there's no reason to build flashy and dazzle people with your incredible wealth. Flashy is seen as unrefined and uncultured. Western aesthetics takes the opposite approach. The interior of most European palaces is just as flashy as any gangster rapper from the 1990s. If you've seen the interior of the Peter and Paul Fortress where the Tsars are buried, HOLY SHIT! The interior has so much gold I think it's worth more than the entire GDP of Ghana. The Tsars are buried down there with 50 kilograms of gold chains. On Judgment Day they will rise from their graves and shout "Where da East Coast At? Where da West coast at?!" Anyways, it would be interesting if this anime actually covered aesthetics. Instead, I would recommend reading "The Book of Tea" by Kakuzo.

Zen aesthetics is all about accepting flaws and imperfections because we're flawed creatures and live in a flawed world. Art is not great because it is complete and perfect, but rather because it leaves things unfinished and allows us to put a piece of ourselves into it. Imperfection certainly describes this anime and as a Zen aesthete I can't say I dislike it. However, it's asking the viewer a lot considering its runtime. Not to mention putting up with the awful fansubs and the mediocre art by Studio Beetrain. After finally watching this thing, I'm not honestly sure who I would recommend it to. I'm sure somebody will love it. It has positive qualities and some good episodes. I just hope this review sheds a little light on this acclaimed series that 200 people have actually watched. Maybe it convinced you to actually start it. Maybe it convinced you to finally take it off your watchlist. I just hope it helps do something.