This anime is almost like reading a book: It's very deliberate and you really have to pay attention to how the plot develops.
There's an oddness to the art. The backgrounds are very detailed and beautifully rendered, and there's great attention to the movement of the characters. For instance, a lot of anime relies on elaborate character creation, but use very little movement of articulated joints, and sometimes none at all. But at one point when Ichi was pouring cups of tea for Masa and himself, his whole arm moved, even to the point of the shoulder moving very slightly. Very nice.
I digress. While the environment is skillfully crafted, the facial features are very flat. I don't mind. I think it's successful at emphasizing the characters from the rich backdrop.