_House of Five Leaves_ leaves me nonplussed. Not really jidaigeki, not really revenge epic, not really drama, not really slice of life, not a particularly good depiction of Edo, I still never adjusted to the faces... (_House of Five Leaves_ would be more interesting if not for the faces alternately looking taken from _Kaiji_ or patterned after frogs. This is a problem for interpretation - I thought the female member was supposed to be deformed or ugly until the protagonist said she was beautiful!) I want to like it for being unusual, but I have to admit it gives me nothing to praise it for.It's just sort of flat - like Ishi or the protagonist.