Furuta is a fantastic character that drives this anime forward. He is a major source of comedy in this light hearted show with rather serious themes. His desires, monologues and contradictions are exaggerated, contrasted and mocked for comedy as he encounters people of differing powers and personalities.
In these encounters is where I found Hyouge Mono truly excel. Themes and ideas are explored in the characters primarily through war and politics on one side and aesthetics and tea on the other and their inherent conflict. Artistic integrity vs fame, lust for wealth for status, the mechanics of political power, the nature of aesthetics in it's conflict between the minimalism of wabi and Senno to the extravegence of Nobunaga are some of the many things that come into the fore. If Bee Train's Girls with Guns trilogy was an exploration of the coming of age into young adulthood then Hyouge Mono is the coming of age into middle-ageness. Furuta is at the centre of all these themes as he ponders his path in this historical backdrop contrasted by the various approaches to life from different characters. Direction Mashimo does a great job in altering things to suit these purposes. However I note it's a very male-focus and dominated view of middle-ageness.
In terms of art, music and execution, the work was solid without ever being spectacular. The animation is limited but solid, the character drawings and backgrounds are well executed with decent 3D of the art treasures. Unfortunately the music never reached the highs of Bee Train's collaboration with Kajiura, Ali Project and Hijaru Nanase for me. The OP and ED went through a few iterations with the Cro-Magnon intro the most notable.
Overall I rate this anime a 9/10. I find Hyouge Mono, niche, quite enjoyable and very mature with it's arts and visuals solid. Hyouge Mono's themes quite mature and the offering is rather niche, so I recommend this anime to an older audience who like something different.
