When they compile the list of the greatest anime almost nobody knows about, I imagine Hyouge Mono will be pretty highly placed.  Hell, few folks gravitate towards the obscure and unloved in anime more than me and I’m finishing it ten years after it aired.  Of course those were the days when streams were the exception and not the norm, and fans in the West relied on fansubs – which sometimes (as with this series) ran months or even years behind the broadcast.  Would it have found an audience now – would it even have been picked up for streaming?  I rather doubt the former, but even obscure titles usually get picked up for streaming by somebody these days.  Maybe it would have been a cult hit in a very, very minor way.

In any event, things are wrapping up now in every sense.  The vengeful and small-minded Ishida has moved in to fill the void left by Hidenaga’s death, leaving Hideyoshi even more isolated and despised by many of his vassals.  Sasuke puzzles over a cup given by Rikyu as a gift to Mori-dono, which more resembles his own school of ceramics than the master’s usual taste.  Tokugawa continues to serve Hideyoshi in uneasy fashion, now having coerced the recalcitrant Date to come to Kyoto and (again) bow his head.

But the real focus here – and indeed, of the entire series – is on Rikyu.  The man’s actual life was remarkable enough, but Hyouge Mono has turned him into a towering figure who dwarfs everyone whose lives he manipulates.  Over and over it’s Rikyu’s hand on the tiller of history – conspiring with Hideyoshi to kill Oda, and now conspiring with the monks of Daitoukuji to kill Hideyoshi.  All are pawns on his chessboard – including, crucially now, Akechi Mitsuhide, who was used as part of the theatrics of Oda’s death.  Now, Rikyu concludes that Tokugawa is the man to replace the chief advisor – a decision the monks greet with dismay, considering Tokugawa a rube and a boor.

What’s more, Ogin is literally the knife poised to strike at the Monkey’s heart.  This is no small point, since her own life will surely be forfeit if she kills Hideyoshi.  But she and her father both seem willing to pay that price.  No one ever thought bigger than Sen no Rikyu as depicted here, not necessarily a good man but certainly a great one.  He pledges to risk it all by revealing his plans to Tokugawa and trying to enlist his aid, which he intends to do during a private tea ceremony during the latter’s visit to Kyoto.

That tea ceremony represents one of the greatest scenes in a series overflowing with great scenes, a masterful depiction of a meeting between two titans of the age.  Tokugawa is in many ways as simple a man as Rikyu is complex – but that, perhaps, is the reason Rikyu sees him as the one to bring stability to the country at last.  Alas for Rikyu, Tokugawa was an admirer of Akechi and was with him at his death (not in real life though, apparently) and reacts with horror to Rikyu’s admission of his role in those events.

The next few moments are truly some of the finest drama in anime, as Rikyu delivers a stinging rebuke to Tokugawa about having the courage to act on one’s convictions.  He then thrusts his hand into the brazier to prove his resolve, as a horrified Tokugawa looks on.  Tokugawa’s description of the last moments of Akechi’s life convinces Rikyu that he may have backed the wrong horse nine years earlier, and as always, nothing seems to shock Rikyu as much as being reminded of his own fallibility.  But Tokugawa is sufficiently shaken to agree to consider Rikyu’s plan – the pretext for which he clearly feels sympathy for.

The final moments of the episode are not to be dismissed either, as the preposterous Date Masamune returns to Kyoto to try once more to bow his head low enough to avoid it being chopped off.  His feud with Hideyoshi loyalist Gamou Ujisato may just have been a bridge too far, and a desperate Date turns to Sasuke and Ukon for advice on how to preserve his neck.  Sasuke claims to have an idea – a sack of gold will get one thinking – but stresses that it won’t be easy.  Date’s portrayal here is surely one of the most fanciful of the entire series, but he commands the screen in a way few characters can.  I wouldn’t change him in the slightest.