Masanosuke Akitsu is a ronin during the Tokugawa shogunate. His lack of confidence and timid personality doesn't help him to retain any sort of employment suited for a samurai. He moved from his home town to Edo in hopes of finding employment better suited for his personality, instead he becomes involved with a small gang of kidnappers. Originally hired as a one time body guard by the mastermind of the gang, Yaichi, Akitsu is invited into the fold by Yaichi who is fascinated with the demure ronin. He is unwittingly made an accomplice in two kidnappings before he even comes to terms with joining the band of criminals. The small group is composed of Yaichi, the reclusive leader. One time brothel worker, Otake, who enjoys watching the honest Yaichi stumble through the underworld. Single father and bar owner, Umezou, who uses connections from his past as a gangster to help with their kidnappings. The final member is serial burglar Matsukichi who's espionage skills are essential to the group. The gang targets selective members of those loyal to the Shogun who are less then likely to report the crimes to the authorities in order to hide their own criminal activities. While at first reluctant, Akitsu joins the Five Leaves out of intrigue for the other members backgrounds and motivations, seeing them as the first comrades his has had in his entire life.
At first I was unsure about this series. The artwork is unusual, with uncomfortable character designs. The story didn't seem to go much of anywhere in the first few episodes, but once it actually kicked in the series was rather enjoyable. It does begin rather slowly with no discernible direction for quite a while. Once you understand the conclusion the series is leading to it becomes much more enjoyable, otherwise it just seems like a series of random events to pass the time. The story is well written though and relies heavily on developing the characters, all of whom have mysterious pasts and unknown motives. The point of the story is to explain those past's, motives and how everyone is intertwined with Yaichi. In the end I did enjoy this series and was glad to have worked my way through it. The story telling was top notch and interesting through it all. The character designs bugged the hell out of me though, but I will let that slide, they do add an odd quality to the series. While this deals with the world of crooks and gangsters in the shogun era don't expect a lot of sword play and blood, there is very little of either. The series is not an action adventure one, it is a clear cut drama depicting the lives of its main characters and unfolding their personalities for the viewer. It wasn't written to please adolescent boys, sell licensed merchandise or prompt elaborate cosplay. For all of those qualities this series is far better than many others that have come out recently. It's just honest story telling with a passion for its characters. This isn't something created by some otaku manga-ka. it was created by someone with a passion for the art of story telling. We need more anime and manga by those kinds of people.
The series is available on Crunchyroll, on DVD and the manga is being released by Viz in North America. Watch and enjoy, because its rather well done, if slow. Also, the opening theme is rather catchy.
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