Reviews for The Heike Story

The Heike Story, Heike Monogatari, or more objectively documented in Japanese history books as: The Tale of the Heike. No matter what you call this show, I see it as 3 words: a cult following. It's so pleasant, fresh and refreshing to watch a historical work like "The Tale of the Heike" which was already very well documented in the history books throughout centuries as an epic account throughout its many translated derivatives, and the well-known 3-person team of director Naoko Yamada, scriptwriter Reiko Yoshida, music composer Kensuke Ushio who were once stationed at KyoAni making "A Silent Voice" and "Liz and the Blue Bird" beforethe well-beloved studio's unfortunate-and-fateful arson tragedy, came together to produce this show being adapted from Hideo Furukawa's 2016 work of the same name, translated into modern Japanese. Which if you read it in context to the series of events, having to see this notable event in animated form, while it will not beat the essence of the original work, at least this show is a statement piece to add to that work.

This 13th-century historical epic depicting the rise and fall of the Taira clan that's set during the Genpei War between 1180-1185, this story comes to us from a 3rd person's POV perspective of Biwa, a young girl and traveling biwa (the instrument) minstrel. And the first thing that you should be aware about Biwa is of the uncommon trope of a character that has heterochromia, which if you have watched shows like Wonder Egg Priority before, you know that there's a legit story to tell behind those pair of differently coloured eyes. And in the case of Biwa, her "origin" story is that she is the daughter of a biwa hoshi (lute priest) who got killed by guards of the Taira clan after she unintentionally insulted them, and she dresses up as a boy in order to avoid detection from the Taira assassins. Biwa is brought into the Taira clan after her blind father got killed through the help of Taira no Shigemori, the next in-line heir to the clan, in the midst of the Genpei War and needing to claim supremacy to spread the Heike name far and wide. Being the eldest son of the monk Kiyomori, the irresponsible and hard-headed leader of the Taira clan, Shigemori is a true taskmaster of what he does to keep his clan alive, no matter the hard tasks and internal strifes between family members (most especially the leader Kiyomori) in concern towards the raging war against their natural enemies, the Genji. Like Biwa, Shigemori is also heterochromic, but as opposed to Biwa foreshadowing the future with her pair of eyes, Shigemori on the other hand, can only see the spirits of the dead. But the two come together because of the fact that they're both heterochromic of seeing the future and who dies in various periods of time, and knowing Biwa's resentment on the Taira Clan for killing her father, this fact is only known in the most secret of secrecy between the two as Biwa is taken into Shigemori's family disguised as the usual orphaned child to be a companion for his wife (Tokuko) and 4 children (Koremori, Sukemori, Kiyotsune and Arimori).

The fact that both Shigemori and Biwa have "merged hands" is just for one sole purpose: to avoid the downfall of the Taira clan (and simultaneously the Heike) and with the amount of foreshadowing done between the two, they make amends to save the people they know that will face death imminent at specific junctures of their lives. But don't forget that as much as Biwa can only do so much to help the loved ones around her, her main role is to serve to chronicle the events of the Taira clan's rise and fall. Playing the biwa as the events are documented through solemn song, Biwa's voice gave some atmospheric pressures thanks to her VA Aoi Yuuki, and the juxtapositions of how both the Taira clan and the Heike are slowly but surely squandered of their control provides a sense of realism for a time period that many of us would've preferred to be in just for a day, and nothing more. Truth be told, I always get goosebumps whenever Biwa plays her lute to depict the winners and losers growing towards the Genpei war, and not just for Aoi Yuuki's distinct vocal performance, but also that Kensuke Ushio's magic for BGM around those periods are the ones that you'll really feel that it hit the hardest as you see people die for glory, valor and especially not to be humiliated by a rival clan like the Genji. Remember, pride back in those days are akin to today's high-standing political positions, only that the olden days have more weight to carry people and moral with them. It's for this reason where the story really shines, and as complex as the Tale of the Heike gets with many characters, locations and motives that you will not understand if you're that type of person who likes to have a fix on the content, but it's meant to tell a much bigger story: a larger than life story that only some like Biwa have the privilege to witness while helping others out of their rut if it's possible. We are also seeing this in a 3rd person perspective, so we're also in Biwa's shoes to really see what'll happen in this epic journey of proportions unimaginable. Your mileage may vary depending on whether it makes or breaks your experience.

Historical work like this, there's bound to have characters which may seem like a lot of actors running around a traditional town going places, and unless you're the type to really analyze what these characters add to the mix (I sure as hell understood), then this will also prove as a miss point to you. I have watched many historical live-action dramas that has the setting be like this (most of it are Chinese-based but it's similar), and can largely understand the adage of "too much cooks spoil the broth". But for a show that's based solely on this time period, you have to understand that there's a lot going on under the hood from royal families to ordinary townsfolk, because every fateful decision will be carried down to the people, and these decisions have serious implications to affect not tens but hundreds and thousands of people, affiliated or not. For example, taking Biwa into context as she journeys and dictates the life of a Heike, there's not one single person that is the sole cause for many to act. It's through meticulous and calculated actions to think for your own people, starting from the top-down royalty, and when pride and ego comes into the mix for characters like Kiyomori, the downfall is just as striking as the rise to fame, even if albeit a short-lived one. Everyone's decision matters, and not one character is wasted because he/she feels redundant to the entire story, which says a lot about character dynamics, especially for one rooted in the historical complex.

Unsurprisingly, you should already know of the 3 names by now: Naoko Yamada, Reiko Yoshida, Kensuke Ushio. These 2 ladies and a man have very prolific portfolios of works to their name, and the departure from KyoAni to Masaaki Yuasa's studio Science SARU marks a brand new chapter where this feels like the old Madhouse standards of Masao Maruyama being flexible with his staff to do what they want to do with creative freedom. Nevertheless, The Heike Story also really glows with vibrancy and colour throughout the entire show, and since "Eizōuken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!" a.k.a "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!" was a significant mouthpiece for Masaaki Yuasa's studio in 2020, that excellence carries over in this show, and I can never get bored of watching visuals done the same that are made different which gives it a very unique feel of watercolour oozes. It's mouth-droppingly gorgeous, I'd say so myself. Making things better is the OST for the show, part of which I've already covered especially for Biwa's song recital tunes. Hitsuji Bungaku's OP is really good that's not worth even an episode's skip, and agraph feat. ANI's ED "unified perspective"...I don't know if you're feeling this with me, but there's a sense of duality, not just with the black-and-white visuals. It almost seems condescending to have monochrome colours to show Biwa's state of mind, and I guess the two-toned, mostly instrumental song is there to provide context of perspectives that somehow, work really well to give a ghastly vibe.

Does it really hurt for me to say that I want more of the trio's work portfolio, now that The Heike Story is offically added into the list that stands alongside KyoAni's films? Hell yeah, I suppose. The consensus is that you don't just watch shows that are done by well-enough reputable people, entities or even companies, because what concerns us is the real meat of the show and its contents, and for a work that's based on a centuries-old book, The Heike Story is a story worth telling for the many generations to come, and you and I both form the cult that will spread this underrated work that has gone under the radar for time past and present. Let this story not be gone and left in the dust in the future, and I applaud Naoko Yamada, Reiko Yoshida and Kensuke Ushio for the substantial effort for this underrated anime that's one hell of a learning journey through Japanese history.

I’m so glad Yamada Naoko is alive. Amidst the absolute worst circumstances, amidst brutish violence, amidst the burden that will continue to be carried every day, I can still be thankful that there were survivors of the KyoAni arson. I can be thankful that KyoAni are holding their heads up high, continuing to produce high-quality work, without cynicism, and as if completely unfazed. Despite occurring so close to the disaster, The Violet Evergarden movies were still released to the world in a wonderful state. The work's messages of living through trauma and bringing joy to the world through letters, through labours of love, couldn't have beenmore painfully thematic. The people of KyoAni were now facing a reality as cruel as that portrayed in Violet Evergarden, with soldiers dying on the front lines and their loved ones being left to mourn. DragonMaid Season 2 was meant to be directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto who died in the arson. Instead of cancelling the project, Tatsuya Ishihara took creative reign and delivered on something as optimistic and as thoughtful and as funny and as poignant as the first season. Takemoto’s legacy was eternalised, his name even appearing as the director in the show's opening credits. For these people, living day by day would be a difficult task, but they keep pushing themselves to bring us joy. They really don't have to, I want them to be safe and healthy foremost, but this is the path they've chosen. I'm so grateful and happy for that and I hope everyone's doing okay. And on that note, I’m so glad that Yamada is finding strength in expressing herself through new creative pursuits, even if that means cutting ties with KyoAni, whether that be temporarily or permanently.

I made a video version of this review. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/1_1pAIcdL9g

This review contains spoilers. For a read with less spoilers, please check out FANTAMELONSODA's fantastic review, who riffs on many of the same points I do in my review: https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=421278

Heike Monogatari is an adaptation of a renowned Japanese story about two warring royal families, the Heike and the Minamoto. I usually would not give two shits about stories so forthright on politics and inane social structures but Yamada’s competency as a director makes this show immediately understandable and emotionally resonant, adopting a tone and subject she’s never even tackled before. Science Saru’s production staff are resourceful and passionate enough to sell Yamada’s vision, exercising clean, fluid movement and storyboarding. There couldn’t have been a better studio to collaborate with: one that’s all about progressing the medium to new heights. The show’s visuals sport her usual auteurist traits: pastels with flat, confident tonal work, digital compositing that mimics live-action camerawork, thematic use of landscapes, setting and place and a particular focus on human gesture. The designs of the characters are soft and expressive, creating a surprising amount of variance between a predominantly male cast. They’re also written and animated to be quite funny, showing Yamada and screenwriter Reiko Yoshida's penchant for great character and comedy writing developed at KyoAni. I love the clothing design, the huge, draping silhouettes and plush ornaments. I had a lot of fun being educated by this show. Exposition scenes are paired with engaging compositions and visuals. There’s great attention to detail put into portraying the dynamics of Japanese culture, combat and “spirituality” for a lack of a better bastardised term, such as the sacrilege of shooting a shrine during war, or the superstitions surrounding the deaths of certain characters. Kensuke Ushio is back for music. His score combines alt-rock, hip hop and electronic music with traditional Japanese instrumentation. It gives the show a hip, modernistic flair. It’s so exciting to see Yamada try new things and work with new people alongside her already established sensibilities, skillset and staff.

But while I can be grateful as a consumer, great art is not an antidote to human suffering. There is no time machine to save the lives that have been lost. I cannot speak on the behalf of the people directly living with the pain of the arson everyday. Family members of the deceased, staff members who must carry on. I recognise how my commentary may be intrusive or voyeuristic towards the people I am discussing, prying into their personal business. Part of my motivation to write about this is to alleviate my own selfish pain regarding the situation. What is the “burden” of grief or death really? I barely understand these things myself. It’s a buzzword used to describe something so incomprehensibly terrifying. I can’t write about, let alone imagine, what it’d be like to work in this situation, but I want to make an effort to try. I wish to impart my utmost respect towards all affected parties and apologise for any fumbles in my writing.

Heike Monogatari is a story about death. I was drawn to Yamada’s work for its tenderness, its cutesiness, its dedication towards rendering human emotion and physicality. Heike Monogatari opens with a child watching their father get sliced down by a samurai sword.

This show is not about who wins or who loses these wars. In fact, the show partially spoils the demise of the Heike through Biwa’s future visions. This is a widely-read story in Japan after all, so the audience is expected to be familiar with the material. The main point is that violence isn't honourable in the slightest: death is an all-persisting force. Main characters die one after another, often to illness, self-sacrifice or suicide, but the show barely gives its characters time to wallow. Time skips ahead constantly, with characters ageing half-decades between episodes. There are decisions to be made and wars to be won. Action scenes aren’t driven by their action. Instead, emphasis is placed on unsightly imagery: arrows flooding the sky, men and horses falling from bridges and cliffs, the pooling of blood and the horrified reactions of those still standing. I felt uncomfortable from the amount of cities we see burn to the ground and how Yamada would feel having to depict them. It’s relentless. It’s pointless.

It's as if Yamada is critiquing the era that birthed Heike Monogatari for its cruelty and expedient treatment of human life. The characters' obsession with glory, wealth and power is seen as hedonistic, greedy and ultimately self-destructive. There’s a sad absurdity in many of these scenes: a loveless arranged marriage, emperors drinking and dancing amidst the country’s ruin and a child being reigned as the new emperor before he even knows how to speak. Some children are even married off before they hit their teen years. These are truly pathetic people.

The might of Yamada’s adaptation is in the thoroughness of the characterisation, how it sheds light on the unique faces and lives of the people being used as pawns. We see the family in their mundanity, their hobbies, their squabbles, their joy. We see a son of the Heike go mad with guilt for leading countless men to their deaths, his war makeup a mask for his shame. We see a woman refusing to be married off by her family as an asset, instead becoming a monk and abstaining from life’s pleasures. I’d imagine that the perspective of women is absent or sidelined from other Heike adaptations, but Yamada’s feminism once again shines through. Compassion helps make the world a little less bleak.

The truly noble characters in this show are those who are able to let go: to forgive and accept the inevitable horror of life. Suicide is positioned as cowardly and a waste of one's life: there should be no shame in living after surrender. Tokuko’s character imparts the value of acceptance through all the marital bullshit she has to go through. The tiny fidgets of fingers and toes underneath her curtaining clothing expresses the pain underneath her unfaltering resolve. But she doesn’t melodramatically fight back against her shitty family to escape her arranged marriage. She’s wed off by the next episode and she peacefully resigns to her fate. The one video I did watch explaining the original Heike Monogatari’s themes outlined how it is a story about inevitable loss: what is gained one day can be taken away the next. Episode 1’s musical performance expresses this sentiment clearly: “The Buddha’s temple bells toll the message / that all existence is impermanent / the sal tree’s blossoms turn white to grieve him / a reminder that all who must flourish must fall.” The show is rampant with flower imagery and Biwa’s future self has white hair to represent the sal’s white blossoms.

Speaking of Biwa, he’s a wonderful protagonist. Biwa is an additional character not actually included in the original tale. He’s an audience stand-in character, experiencing the events of the story unfold as a bystander. In historic Japan, biwas were street performers, usually people of low class, that would play their titular instrument and tell stories. Stories like Heike Monogatari gained cultural prominence because of this generational oral transmission. In Yamada’s adaptation, our protagonist Biwa is shown in the future retelling Heike Monogatari through musical performance.

Biwa is an abandoned, powerless child. He can look into the future, see the Heike’s demise, the death of his loved ones, but can do nothing to stop it. He’s harrassed by the sons of Heike, for being an outcast, for being poor. The insipid gender expectations of the time again become a focus here. Biwa’s more androgonous than anything. I had a chat with user IshigamiCrisis who believes that Biwa should be addressed with masculine pronouns. I found a lot of legitimacy in their reading: Biwa is not a girl, but a boy. The characters insist on Biwa's physiology to define his identity, but Biwa's understanding of himself has been informed by the weight of his experiences. His father would intentionally dress him as a male as a means for survival. This act of changing one's identity out of necessity is now what Biwa prefers and feels most comfortable embodying. He wears men’s clothes. He’s obsessed with food, stuffing his face like a pig, holding onto the vitality of life. Aoi Yuuki breathes so much grit into the character with her husky, nasally voice.

Biwa doesn’t have a home. His father’s dead, his surrogate father Shigemori also dies, the Heike eventually kick him out. He packs lightly, only needing his bindle and his biwa. Biwa searches for his mother, his last source of refuge, only to find out that she was the one who abandoned Biwa and his father in the first place. The two choke on the impossibility of their reunion. But there is solace in knowing that, despite life’s complete shittiness, the two hoped and intended the best for one another. That they can still love each other, even when coexistence isn’t possible. What can you do when you’re utterly powerless to do anything?

Biwa’s mother: I couldn’t do anything. But I was always praying for you.

Biwa: May [father] rest in peace. May he rest quietly. Even if you can’t do anything. Pray.

Remember. Accept. Pray.

Biwa’s storytelling gives meaning to the banality of the Heike’s experiences. The parallels between Biwa and Yamada are clear, who’s had to find a new home after working at KyoAni for almost two decades, who has to shoulder the weight of grief and death and loneliness. Both Biwa and Yamada are telling stories to sustain the memory of what has been lost, and so so much has been lost. Biwa’s character represents the pain surrounding this show’s production and the need to keep the memory of our loved ones alive. Adaptation is not about replication, but giving the source material new life and meaning through the creators’ own artistic vision and experiences. The mythology and figureheads surrounding Heike Monogatari are merely vessels that allow Yamada to communicate the weight of the arson’s aftermath. For as quiet and diligent KyoAni’s members have been towards publicly expressing their feelings, I think Heike Monogatari gives us some insight on that. It is about undeniable hurt, but also acceptance to get through the next day and the persistence to find the humanity in others. Giving up can be a form of resistance, of responsibility. But sometimes, even giving up isn’t enough for the pain to disappear. All I can do is hope everybody from KyoAni is getting proper help and to encourage them to keep fighting, to keep praying, to keep on living, in whatever way they find the most fulfilling.

Tokuko was destined to drown with the others. In the final episode, Yamada speaks directly through her:

“I enjoyed the beauty of the passing seasons, knowing neither hunger nor cold. To be placed in such glory and prosperity, it felt as if I were in heaven. I fled the capital, my clan, spent days in battle, and while at sea I could not even drink water.

All living things must perish. I even saw my child’s life extinguish before my eyes. I have been put through every form of suffering in the human world. There is not a single one I do not understand.

I too have feelings I cannot forget. And so I simply press my hands together and pray. I think of the ones I love and I pray for their happiness in the next world. That small act is what I can do.”

I love Yamada Naoko, and the last thing I expected this to be was a disappointment. Think about whether or not you'd be excited to watch a light novel adaptation because its fans swore by it. Now replace “light novel” with "14th century epic chronicle,” and instead of getting an adaptation which enlivens the story, you get the screenwriters reading the SparkNotes summary of the original text out loud while periodically inserting their own headcanon at the most inopportune times and reinterpreting the setting in a similarly jarring fashion. A historical text of this nature had simply too much ground to cover, and an elevenepisode TV anime didn’t give them nearly enough time to do so. They had to juggle the half-baked emotional lives of the Taira Clan, the manufactured backstory and narrative relevance of their anime original protagonist, Biwa, and the extensive formal narration sequences stringing the story together. Needless to say, the resulting anime is a bit of a mess. What’s worse is I know this is all most likely Yamada’s own fault. A director has a team of episode directors and storyboarders on projects not because they don't want to do all the directing themselves, but because most of their time is spent being showrunners who oversee creative decision making, and it seems KyoAni's tightly knit team and the constant presence of Ishihara and Takemoto really supported her more than anyone originally thought. Deciding to add so much anime original content only to cram the rest in with it was stupid, and it quickly became clear Reiko Yoshida had no idea how to pace such an unruly source material, the likes of which she's never handled before.

Anyone who hasn’t read the original text will find this rushed adaptation to be completely impenetrable. However, considering this show’s lukewarm reception even in Japan, any source material unfamiliarity which international viewers may have isn’t really the problem. The show is just plain boring, and everyone other than Biwa has the presence of a completely forgettable potato. Speaking of Biwa, this show feels like feudal Japan sanitized for the social justice generation. Yes, underage arranged marriages are bad. War is bad. Classism is bad. But these are all fundamental aspects of feudal Japanese society, and to have our obnoxious little Greta Thunberg protagonist scream in the faces of warlords about their moral bankruptcy and have them respond with goofy anime smiles and laughter instead of doling out punishment is just plain stupid. AstralBread wrote a preliminary review where he described Biwa as a protagonist who “simultaneously has zero presence [and] is a giant eyesore,” and I couldn’t have said it better myself. The story tries to prioritize a vague sense of climax towards the end, but in the early episodes, it absolutely refuses to make any necessary cuts. They’ll sideline important characters to focus on those who quickly lose relevance without even including their whole story because limited screen time didn’t allow, so what you’re inevitably left with is a bloated cast of increasingly inaccessible names and frustratingly identical faces, an anime original and out-of-place protagonist who gets inserted into plotlines she obviously has no place in, and partially developed characters with butchered backstories to whom you say goodbye shortly after meeting.

The animation is usually fantastic, which is surprising considering Science Saru has always been an absolute clown show. Yuasa burned out as soon as he realized producers couldn’t be artists, and he put Eun-Young Choi in charge of the studio despite being deeply out of her depth. They hire way too many foreigners, many of whom are total amateurs and not used to Japanese work ethic, and worst of all, they take on more projects than they can realistically handle as a studio. They were doomed from the start, and up until now, they’ve been incapable of making even a ten episode anime worth a shit for Netflix, one of the richest entertainment companies on the planet. I figured there was no way they would be able to keep up with Yamada's unrealistic KyoAni standards, and the production would fall apart as soon as she failed to deal with the industry’s incompetence plaguing a project of hers for the first time in her sheltered career. However, I can’t even grant them this, because their chosen color palette is so dry and dull, the animation can look bland even when it moves well. This is yet another case where I’m forced to blame Yamada herself, because the Director of Photography, Kazuto Izumita, worked on absolutely gorgeous anime like Great Pretender, Ousama Ranking, and Rolling☆Girls, so it can’t possibly be one of those cases where the DOP wasn’t supervised closely enough by the director. She obviously had a vision, and it obviously didn’t work. It’s a respectable passion project, and it has lots of beautiful shots and impressive sequences of animation, but it’s the most style-over-substance rendition of classic literature you could possibly imagine.

Thank you for reading.

Heike Monogatari is a beautiful series rich of meaningful emotions that the viewers will come to experience. It feels like a dream that slowly turns into a nightmare. It's a series that feels it has the same spirit Odd Taxi and Sonny Boy had. That being that it's a passion project trying to sincerely write a good series that doesn't use the cheap types of tactics mainstream anime uses to pull in viewers. I love anime that take risks, though they become the highlights of the season, the dedicated viewers have to accept that hardly anyone will watch them or appreciate what they tried todo. This series has flaws, but what frustrates me more is the mob of people who have lost touch of what writes even a decent series. Thus, trash like Mushoku Tensei and 86 become the most popular ones; the ones that will be hailed as masterpieces in the years to come, while a series like this, that is significantly better, will fall into obscurity and though appreciated, that group will be small. That is the fate of anime like this and that's an even greater tragedy.

Biwa goes on with the ability to see people's futures. For her it's suffering to see what she has to see, and her frustration goes on as she feels powerless to be able to do anything about what the visions show.

The Heike are filled with loveable and well written characters. They struggle to carry their clan as they travel, look for support, and battle against those that want them to disappear.

As for the flaws, the story was obviously told very fast since the staff only had 11 episodes. Some of the characters I liked the most felt rushed. The music, though I enjoyed it, felt strange in the way it was executed. The opening and the ending are my favorite of the season, however. The fights are sometimes grandiose, and sometimes slideshows.

Despite it's flaws, it's a solid 9/10, and I hope more passion projects with the skill and ambition of this appear soon to relieve me of mainstream anime.

Naoko Yamada (K-ON, A Silent Voice) and Science Saru (Hands Off Eizouken!, Devilman Crybaby) team up to deliver an excellent adaptation of one of Japan's most famous pieces of literature. STORY For the record, the "Heike Monogatari" was written in the Middle Ages the is based on historical events preceding and during the Gempei War of late 12th century. The story is sometimes referred to as "Japan's Iliad", and just as how in the West everybody knows how the Trojan War ended, everybody in Japan knows the final fate of the Heike clan. All this to say, "spoilers" are a moot point given you can learn theplot with a quick internet search. The crux of the tension in this adaptation of "The Heike Monogatari" is that our main character knows how the story is going to end thanks to her oracular eye- which I find to be an interesting take on the original material. Rather that try to work around the fact that the ending can be found in any Japanese history textbook and surprising the audience is a lost cause, the plot fully embraces that fact by making its audience-surrogate character knowledgeable as well and building the story around that fact instead. That switch-up keeps things fresh without having to take major liberties with the source material.

CHARACTERS

Although Biwa is the "main character" she functions primarily as an audience stand-in. From a meta perspective, she's there so that characters from the original story will have a good reason to explain crucial plot and character details which otherwise they would not need to discuss. Her foreknowledge of the ending and the tension and dramatic irony it provides are also crucial elements of her character. Finally, she serves as a crucial "point of reference" due to the fact that other characters can be expected to pop in and out of overarching plot regularly. Given that there are small hints that she will be re-telling the events of the story long in the future, it is unlikely she will do much beyond the observer role in the anime- with all the characters and plot points in the original work going on there would be little space to fit her into the existing story anyway. It's best to think of her as the character from over whose shoulder you watch the main story.

Keeping up with the rest of the cast can require some foreknowledge of the "Heike Monogatari" or at least a bit of active attention. The various people Biwa interacts with are usually given sufficient characterization and background information for the audience to understand how they all fit into the larger picture, so this anime doesn't suffer from "Continuity lockout" for those those who don't know the source material. Go in expecting something like "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" where there is a large cast with no single main character around which everything revolves and who is supposed to be there for the entire time.

ART & SOUND

Science Saru delivers their unique aesthetic and fluid animation in spades here, perfectly complemented by Naoko Yamada's mastery of stillness and quiet. This anime can move beautifully, but also knows when the story is best served by stopping and taking a breath. I've never been one who can break down precise animation and sound choices in any detail, so if you need somebody who can provide and deep-dive on production values you'll need to look elsewhere. Just that I that think both animation and sound display top-tier talent.

ENJOYMENT

I'm getting older as an anime fan. High school ended for me over a decade ago and even college is now starting to be mentally classified as "A while back". Every now and then I stop and wonder if a point will come when I finally age out of the anime community. But then I find something like this, something that reminds me animation can cover all kinds of stories for all ages, something to invest in even after the high school romcoms and college student in another world stories no longer resonate.

OVERALL

This anime may not be built for explosive mass popularity, it may not slot easily into some easily marketable form, but for those of us who want something different in our anime it's a must watch.

While many people were kindly disheartened by Naoko Yamada’s departure from KyoAni, I see it as a logical step forward in her already auspicious career. Yes, KyoAni is unquestionably an industry leader, pushing the envelope on how visually marvelous anime can be, but at the end of the day, KyoAni still caters to a broad audience—they wouldn’t be as successful as they are if they didn’t. With her latest films being “A Silent Voice” and “Liz to Aoi Tori,” Yamada has been dipping her toes into more experimental media for some time now, and with that requires creative freedom not as easily available at thatbeloved studio. So her transition to Science SARU—one of the most experimental anime studio to come out in recent years—serves as an exciting foray into the world of arthouse; and adapting a poem as ancient and dense as “The Tale of the Heike” makes this project all the more ambitious.

But regrettably, that ambition might’ve been too great.

For those who don’t know, Heike Monogatari is basically the Japanese equivalent of the Iliad and Odyssey; it’s a tale as old as time passed down through many generations. To adapt such a story would be a task so gargantuan, even the most talented of screenwriters would cower at its premise. And yet, Reiko Yoshida—who’s pretty much written all of Yamada’s works—stepped up to the challenge. I respect it, but the narrative was...messy, to say the least. The show kind of expects you to fill in the gaps yourself, but as a Westerner who isn’t too familiar with Japanese literature, the plot lost me more often than I’d like to admit. But that isn’t my fault. The job of a show is to tell a story, not to tell a story I’m supposed to already know: it’s just poor adaptation. There are way too many characters sitting around and talking about the plot, things just happen and I have no idea why, and it has the same problem as The Godfather where there’s a bajillion characters I can’t keep track of (it doesn’t help when so many of their names end with “mori”. Yamada just wasn’t set up for success with such a convoluted script adding so much confusion to the whole experience. On top of that, it was bizarre to see a script play so far away from her strengths as a director.

As evident from interviews in the past, Yamada describes herself as a “method” director, taking pride in her ability to get close to her characters’ thoughts and frame of mind. And looking at her filmography, this is her first time directing a story that isn’t set in modern-day Japan, and she seems out of her depth here. Biwa, as an observer-type main character, has next to no presence in the story for most of the runtime, and for a historical-political drama, none of the other characters were all that relatable either; it felt like she was grasping at straws when trying to portray them. Why? There’s too much dialogue. Her characters aren’t allowed enough space to express themselves. Yamada’s style focuses on empathy and all the little emotions we hide in our body language and facial expressions. A common theme among all of Yamada’s works is the deep anxieties the future can hold, and that fear has always been communicated through subtext. I don’t even want to call it subtext, because that implies there are lines of text to read in-between, and her best moments are when there IS no dialogue, conveying emotions purely through audiovisual mastery.

Oftentimes, Yamada’s characters aren’t able to process the emotions they’re dealt with. The beauty of K-on is in the senior's naive ignorance of their transient lifestyle. Tamako Love Story captures the unease of facing others’ feelings, including your own. And if “A Silent Voice” didn’t make this clear, emotions are more than just words; it’s not something that can be described, only felt, and she’s consistently delivered on that delicate intimacy until now. Heike Monogatari falls into that anime trap where everything’s overexplained. Characters that somehow have the self-awareness to psychoanalyze everyone including themselves is a trope I despise in drama. So to have Biwa, a literal child, flat-out say that she’s “frightened of the future” in such a pronounced manner was jarring, to say the least.

To make matters worse, the show feels tonally all over the place because Yamada was trying to get TOO artsy with it. I never thought Yamada would be one to use vapid metaphorical imagery, but alas, I was wrong. The most egregious example is in episode 6 where Kiyomori sees smoke in the shape of skulls to symbolize his guilt and fear of the recently deceased. Wow, how deep. I swear it looked like a parody scene straight out of Adventure Time; it was horrendous. If it was any other director, I would’ve burst out laughing.

And the final nail in the coffin to this bizarre mess of a show is the music. Ushio Kensuke—a composer that previously worked with Yamada on “A Silent Voice” and “Liz to Aoi Tori”—has started to become monotonous. It feels like he’s recycling old ideas in an almost self-plagiarizing way. His music is wonderfully hypnotic and captivating, seducing his audience into a more contemplative headspace to explore the character’s emotions. It was gorgeous, really, but this time felt lackluster and out of place. There were moments with goofy percussion, then 2 seconds later comes the more metronomic pulse of a sentimental piano. Instead of easing the audience into a lull, he’s just telling us how we’re supposed to feel, and that’s annoying. Also, for a period piece, I’m not a fan of him using modern instruments in the soundtrack. Sure, he made sick music in “Devilman:Crybaby” and “Ping Pong the Animation,” but why the hell am I listening to a brisk techno beat in a show set in the Heian Era? And it’s not like it’s a fusion of culture like Samurai Champloo.

I honestly think the biggest crime here is the rushed pre-production. I didn’t think Yamada would resort to the occasional still image. Naoko Yamada is a director that excels with time. Back in KyoAni, she had the liberty to completely redo K-on’s character design (a decision that paid off dearly) and she had the luxury to spend 2 trips to London in preparation for K-on the Movie. From what I can tell, Science SARU seems to be facing overproduction issues to the point that Masaaki Yuasa—a director synonymous with the studio—says he himself is burnt out and needs a break. That’s why Yamada’s here. They’re trying to look for freelance directors to diversify their catalog so Yuasa doesn’t have to do everything himself. A classic tale of too much anime, not enough workers. It’s depressing, really.

I know I’ve been mostly negative on this review, but that’s only because of my exorbitant expectations for the show. I mean, it’s not all bad. I liked some of the flower imagery. Whenever older Biwa starts hacking away at the biwa (what a dumb idea for a character name) with an intense staccato, it gave me chills. I love the background and how it gives it off the feeling of an old scroll. And I especially love the shots where Biwa is framed with one eye and the other is hidden off-camera. Depending on what eye is shown, it conveys a lot of what she’s thinking.

Everything that could’ve gone wrong went horribly wrong, but Yamada still managed to pull out a show that looks better than the vast majority of anime I’ve seen. It was too artsy, too ambitious, but I’d rather have it be too ambitious than not at all. This shows that Yamada is still a top-tier director, but also a painful reminder that no artist is infallible. Despite all of that, Yamada continues to be my most favorite director—not just in anime, but across all media. Having one disappointing project doesn’t change the fact that she created what I believe to be 4 consecutive masterpieces, nor does it diminish the deep catharsis they brought me at points in life I needed it the most. Sure, it could be that this new direction is actually pretty good and I’m too close-minded to see her vision, so I do look forward to revisiting Heike Monogatari after several months of reflection.

Thanks for reading!

This review contains spoilers for the original Heike Monogatari epic poem. The Heike Story anime simultaneously: A) Paces and structures the story in a way that makes it impossible to understand without having read the source material. B) Shifts the focus of the story to anime-original elements like the new female protagonist and eye-based superpowers. The result is a mess that doesn’t work as a stand-alone series and doesn’t work as an adaptation. More on point A: This is just one example of the many. The second episode of the show tells (via a 30-second narration) the story of a dancer Gio. She used to be the Taira patriarch Kiyomori’sfavorite, but then he kicked her out, replacing her with another dancer, Hotoke-gozen. Except Gio was still demanded to come and hang out with Hotoke-gozen, who was lonely. Later, the episode shows Gio, her sister, and her mother as nuns, talking about how Kiyomori was cruel to her. And finally, the episode ends with Hotoke-gozen also becoming a nun.

So, who are all these people, and what is the point of having them in the show? Well, turns out you have to read the original to know the answer to these questions.

You see, despite ordering her to visit, Kiyomori treated Gio like shit, to such a degree that she wanted to kill herself. And then her sister wanted to kill herself out of solidarity. And their mother threatened that if they killed themselves, she would also kill herself, and it would be their fault, so they couldn’t. At which point Gio and Sister opted for the next best thing and abandoned the world to be hermit nuns. And so did their mother. And so did Hotoke-gozen, because she felt guilty. The moral of the story: Kiyomori is a dick, and also impermanence of life or some other nihilistic shit, idk, I’m not a Buddhist.

None of that is showed in the anime. Even assuming that Heike Monogatari is as well known in Japan as the Iliad in the West (everyone knows Iphidamas, son of Antenor, right?), that’s just not how adaptations are supposed to work. Either explain your side plots properly or don’t bother including them.

More on point B:

Biwa is one of the worst protagonists I’ve ever seen. She manages to achieve the unachievable. She simultaneously:

1) Has zero presence.

2) Is a giant eyesore.

One - she is completely irrelevant to the story. The only thing she has to do with the plot events is kinda being around when things happen. I mean, sure, she is supposed to represent the wandering musicians who had passed on Heike Monogatari into the present (the name Biwa is so on the nose, if this was a series about the American Revolution, her name would’ve been Constitution), but that’s a very poor and misguided excuse for having a main character that doesn’t influence the story they are a part of in any way.

Two - she is not integrated into the base story at all. This is freaking Heian Era, the very first scene of the show actually demonstrates how merely raising your voice against the ruling class gets people executed on the spot - and then there’s Biwa constantly yelling at all these feudal lords and court officials like a rebellious teen that pulls a “you’re not my real dad” card on his step-father after getting caught with a cigarette - and no one bats an eye. This character would make much more sense if she would've been a student from the future who time-travels to this period for her history class report and is invisible/incorporeal to the locals.

Four - Biwa and other anime-original elements of the show are generic anime fluff devoid of actual originality. She is yet another “plucky anime tomboy with a clumsy surrogate father” cliche (just from recent memory, Dororo, Arte, Deca-Dence, and this very season’s Sakugan all share this cliche). In this show’s world, having heterochromia gives you superpowers, just like in Rozen Maiden, Darker than Black, and Wonder Egg Priority. The disproportionate amount of screen time allocated to minor female characters suffering because it was hard to be a woman in ye olde times is the laziest Oscar-bait imaginable. And so on, and so forth.

If you want to see a good adaptation of an ancient epic poem that tells the story through a lens of modern values yet respects the source material, watch the movie Troy with Brad Pitt.

If you want to see a good anime about the plight of a Japanese woman in the patriarchal Japanese society, watch Hisone to Maso-tan (or just about anything by Okada Mari).

If you want to see a good anime with lots of feet drawn by Yamada Naoko, watch Koe no Katachi.

If you want to see a good anime with a ye-olde-Japan art style, watch Mononoke.

But I don’t see any particular reason to watch The Heike Story anime.

4/10 for “nothing of value.”

It is definitely a challenging watch, but I am really enjoying this so far. There is a special something about this show, so I strongly recommend giving it a try with an open mind. I have not read the classical literature that this show is based on, and my knowledge of 12th century Japanese history is minimal. The synopsis provided on the MAL page here should be good enough to get started. Know that it is a centuries-old story of a powerful clan at its peak, the conflicts and political maneuvering it gets tangled up in, and the members of the clan in various moments oftheir lives, in their triumphs and misfortunes.

You absolutely do need to pay attention to follow the story even on a general level. Lots of names of places, people, and factions are dropped at a rapid pace, and often the characters on screen are not introduced, and you learn who they are over multiple scenes. Years pass in a flash without the show drawing attention to it, and character relationships and allegiances sometimes flip without warning. At times I did not fully understand the details of the situation, and I could tell that a lot has been withheld, either as an artistic choice or because prior knowledge is assumed of the Japanese audience. I have to admit that it can be exhausting at times, but I can also appreciate how the show does not get bogged down and expects the viewer to be watching and catching things.

However, I feel you do not even need to understand the whole picture. You as the audience are peeking into the chaotic lives that these characters lived almost a thousand years ago, as they are living them. From these moments, you can still understand on an emotional level what drives them and what they struggle with. I would say you can have a similar experience reading myths and folk tales, where the stories and characters are often bizarre, but you can still feel something from them.

Thankfully, the viewing experience is greatly elevated by the gorgeous art style, animated with a lot of care. The creators are not going for an insane level of detail or complex animation choreography. The colors, shading, and animation are more subdued than its contemporaries, but they still evoke an absorbing atmosphere, as if you're looking at a moving painting from the Middle Ages. The show is just so calming and pleasing to look at.

The music also adds so much to the show. Despite looking like a period drama, there is a lot of piano, electronic, and rock music in the soundtrack, which creates a surreal sensation and somehow enhances the atmosphere. Of course, there is traditional Japanese music as well. Especially memorable are the musical interludes where a character narrates the proceedings in a few lines of song.

If you have a love for shows that pursue unique storytelling and art style, if you have even a passing interest on medieval Japanese history and art, or if you can sometimes enjoy a story that has an evocative atmosphere but is not always easily understood, please give this a try, up to Episode 4. I will be cherishing it and go through the episodes as slowly as I can.

"Tomorrow. The next day. After this. In the future. Far in the future. Even farther. One day. Now I can look up for the future. Good things happen too." How do we overcome suffering and how stories that have been told over and over again through generations can help us accept the nature of life, it's ups and downs? The director Naoko Yamada was one of the survivors of the arson at Kyoani studios in 2019 and her first big work after this awful trauma is the retelling of what is arguably the most famous story of Japan, and the way I see it, this haseverything to do with the events of 2019.

The Tale of the Heike (Heike Monogatari) is a work of historical fiction describing the events of the Genpei War during the end of the 11th century, but these facts are know to anyone nowadays. Just like the main character, we can glance "into the future" and read the future of each one of the characters that is presented to us during the series, so what's the point?

The point, I believe, is the deeper meaning behind the original tale and is expressed in the quote from the anime above, among other scenes. We suffer with the tides of life. Nature teaches us about the impermanence, the mighty fall, those who live happily today might suffer tomorrow. And yet, life goes on. Accepting impermanence as the real truth of life and remembering those we lost not with grief but with gratitude can help us overcome whatever might happen. Just like in the period described at the tale, we too live in a period of rapidly change in society, big historical events happening at our doorstep, and we might see ourselves as victims of chance and the fast changing of tides. But the acceptance of impermanence and the memory of the past can help us endure and acquire wisdow. Just like no power, happiness and good fortune lasts forever (the lesson the Taira clan learned the hard way), so is suffering and pain. After all, good things happen too, and no matter how hard things might be, there should still be a reason to look up for the future.

On a technical level, this work is a masterpiece. The exposition being played by the biwa player singing the respective parts of the original tale reminds you that this is a story that has been told through oral tradition, at the same time, the mixture of modern music makes the quick description of battles and political events more dynamic. Overall, the story chooses to focus more on the characters of the Heike clan than on the battles, which for the most part is a great choice. Special mention to Saori Hayami as Tokuko, which was simply the perfect choice, specially in the last episode where you can really hear the director speaking through the character on the themes I talked above. One small issue is that the events and characters are hard to follow if you never heard of the story before, but nowadays with the internet, an overview of the events is at one click distance, and I don't think the goal of the anime was to give a historically complete description of the events anyway. Also props to Aoi Yuuki's biwa and her singing of the tale. I would totally buy a complete version of the tale singed by her if that ever becomes available.

In short, don't let yourself be discouraged by not knowing about the actual history behind it before watching. If you really get interested, you would be falling into the Heike Monogatari rabbit-hole sooner than you think. Go ahead and enjoy the most beautiful animation of 2021.

13th century tragic epic about the fall of the house of Heike in the Genpei civil war (1180-85), marking the begin of Japan's middle ages and samurai rule. The jaw dropping beautiful images and cinematography focus on the period's flair and character emotions. Think: Shakespeare rather than detailed history lesson. The camera work is fantastic, Naoko Yamada didn't fall into the trap to give us more of the same such as her trademark leg shots. Her new shticks are asymmetric image composition, super-closeup into faces, and objects (pots, pillars, ...) between the camera and the scene. And the occasional leg shot nevertheless. This comes on topof her new employer's (Science SARU) sophisticated CG. Screw you, Mappa and ufotable, this is better. More impressive details include the art direction which resembles the ancient watercolor style (like in Takahata's Kaguya-hime) and highly detailed background images. The latter of course styled after traditional Japanese art from the early middle ages. All combined, this easily results in the visually most impressive show of the year.

The story itself takes place before the Japanese middle ages (before 1185) and was first written down in ca. 1330. Until very recently there was no translation usable for somebody who is not a scholar, and the text fills about 800-1000 pages in print. The social realities we see are as ancient as the language used to describe them, a modern Japanese couldn't read or understand either. This epic can be compared to the raw material of the Canterbury Tales, the Nibelungen Lied or the King Arthur legend. The show dares to cover all 1000 pages, i.e. the story is told from beginning to the bitter end.

Yamada's approach to the heavy lifting of telling this beast of a story works. She is historically correct in all details mentioned, but it's not important for the viewer to pick up everything. It certainly improves the experience to know the historical facts, yet not knowing them doesn't kill the fun. That's because she makes the emotions, internal drivers and characters of the (many) players visible. Just like Shakespeare focuses on that in his many tragedies about the Kings of England. It's drama, it's persons, it's tragedy - not a history lesson. This includes the courage to have time leaps and gaps, an episode may skip details and events of the more boring years of this decades spanning narrative.

What truly helps here is Yamada's ability of "show don't tell", working with body language, and proficiency with camera techniques. For example putting a pillar in front of the scene creates an emotion in the viewer as if they peeked from a hideout. So there is no need to explain that we are witnessing a secret meeting to conspire against the emperor anymore. We intuitively feel it. With compact visual story telling like that, she maxes out the short runtime of only 11 episodes.

Sound and music mix ancient and modern styles. A memorable trip hop ED meets traditional Japanese song accompanied by the biwa. The sound editing is in line with the high production values and supports the powerful images without stealing the show from them.

I consider Heike Monogatari a future classic, and the next step in Naoko Yamada's growth into Japan's most important and gifted anime director alive (RIP, Satoshi Kon). It's been a long way from K-On!'s moe blobs to this epic, and I hope she isn't resting on her fame any time soon.

This show is one I'm not really sure how to recommend, as when I read through the already-written reviews to look for common criticisms and compliments from other people that I can either support or refute, I found that there were 2 main problems people had with Heike Monogatari. Which is that it a. was too confusing, and b. that the protagonist Biwa that was original to this adaptation didn't really add anything and just took away screen time and exacerbated the previous problem. I personally agree with the second issue, from what I have heard and found online the real Heike Monogatari was quite thelong tale, with one of the earlier translations spanning 800 pages. There was no damn way they were going to fit all of that stuff into their quaint 11 episodes, and I think this was the main cause of pretty much everybody's problems. The addition of Biwa certainly did not help with this problem in any way. I thought she was a fine character (other than her absurdly round cheeks in that one shot in the OP), but she really doesn't do much of substance in terms of the actual plot, and her individual story isn't really worth cutting out more of the main plot, which was way more interesting. I will say that her being a blind (at the end I guess that's a spoiler but don't get mad at me its in the synopsis) biwa player was a nice touch considering the most widely accepted version of the story was compiled by a blind monk from a bunch of stories passed down by other monks who chanted the tale with the accompaniment of a biwa. Other than that neat little factoid she wasn't really that necessary and was definitely a bit of a detriment to the story as a whole.

The other problem is a bit more of a subjective one. Many people said that Heike Monogatari confused them, even some who had read the original work. The thing is that I personally never got that confused, so I'm not really sure what to say about this one. I can definitely see how it could be a problem, it is a political drama after all, and does have quite a few characters that you need to keep track of, many of which happen to annoyingly have names that all end with -mori. I just personally didn't find it too confusing, but since quite a few people did, I think it is pretty important that anybody planning on watching Heike Monogatari keeps this in mind before and as they do.

Now enough about what I and other people didn't like about Heike Monogatari, what did I like about it?

Quite a bit, I think one of the strongest aspects was definitely the art. The soft color palette was really appealing and nice to look at, and gave everything a nice and natural look. The characters themselves also all had pretty distinct designs, which definitely helped me tell apart my -mori's from one another. There were also a few shots in some of the battle scenes that really reminded me of the style of traditional Japanese artwork, with sprawling scenes with multiple little things all happening at the same time. I think the visuals were fantastic, and really stood out to me.

Despite how it was confusing to many, I also really enjoyed the main plot of Heike Monogatari. I didn't know it but I guess I really like historical political dramas. It also just made me realize how much more awesome and cool history there is out there. Growing up in the US you really just learn about US history and European history, but Heike Monogatari has really strengthened my fascination with how much more history there is out there, and how much more infinitely interesting it can be than Teddy Roosevelt.

Some people knocked the characters of Heike Monogatari for not really being relatable, which yes I can agree with, but I feel that sort of misses the point. This is a historical work, and while some changes can be made in the fine details of these characters, they still are all people from almost 1000 years ago, and really can't be expected to be that relatable to us inhabitants of the 21st century. So instead I think its more fair to base them off of how memorable or interesting they are, and in that aspect I think they do just fine. While I may not remember some of their names (I still haven't got the hang of memorizing foreign names) I clearly remember and probably will remember plenty of them. Some of them were interesting people, and they all were a part of the story of the Heike.

In conclusion I think this has been one of my favorite shows of the Fall 2021 season. It's narrative really gripped me from the start and kept that grip strong the whole way through. It also gave me a deeper appreciation and fascination with traditional Japanese culture and even taught me a bit of history while it was at it. As long as you think you'll be able to keep up with the narrative without getting too confused I can definitely recommend this show, it was a great experience for me and I hope any other future viewers will feel the same.

I fell in love with this anime since the 1st episode. The story is announced from the start: we will follow the downfall of the Heike clan and the fact that we know from the start what will happen at the end does not make the anime less good and on the contrary, rejuvenates more interest in this one. The characters all have unique personalities and the overall atmosphere is very appreciable. The humor is not too much and mixes well with the atmosphere. I find the story told to be really great and never has a more boring moment and on the contrary have timesthat I find great. The sad moments and the happier moments really make this anime one of my favorites. I find it underrated and hope more people will recognize all of this anime's great qualities.

A SPOILER FREE REVIEW OF HEIKE MONOGATARI BY A JAPANESE STUDIES ACADEMIC As someone who has studied and read much of the Heike Monogatari, and has a very deep interest in Japanese art, history and culture, I can confidently say that this anime is a celebration of the past thousand years of Japanese art. It is artistically very unique, preferring to be faithfal to traditional arts rather than modern styles of anime that the director, Naoko Yamada, normally does. Unlike the hard defined outlines of most anime, the character outlines are thin, imitating the styles present in Japaneses crolls. Instead of unique hair, facial, and body designpresent in most anime, the distinguishing trait between characters is their kimono or armor, as was typical in Japanese traditional art. The series continues this traditional artistic motif with the backgrounds having a rough filter looking as if painted onto wood using limited colors, identical to Japanese woodblock prints. Men are depicted with their eboshi hats and strokes of facial hair, while women are depicted with their drawn-on eyebrows, long black hair, and layered kimono. From start to finish, it presents an animated version of Japanese art techniques that is centuries old.

The story is slightly altered but the general themes and plot are all faithfully adapted. Much of the dialogue is identical to what is given in the original work, and any important scenes track with what is present in the text.

Biwa, a character not present in the original, is a wonderful addition. To those who know Heike Monogatari, like many Japanese, Biwa's existence outside of the character drama and clan politics as well as her future vision is an audience stand-in. She is viewing this entire tale from the outside, and she is aware of the ending. She understands that the ego and arrogance of the Taira will be their downfall. To her, these scenes of development and drama between all the characters feel all for naught as she know their fate. We, as the viewer feel the same. To us, like Biwa, there is an intense dramatic irony filled with dread. Their will not last, their anger will not last, their happiness will not last. As it said in the Heike Monogatari's iconic opening poem, “The sound of the Gion Shoja temple bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that to flourish is to fall. The proud do not endure, like a passing dream on a night in spring; the mighty fall at last, to be no more than dust before the wind.”

Set during the Genpei War (1180–1185), a devastating civil conflict that divided Japan, the story is told from the perspective of Biwa, a young girl and traveling biwa minstrel. Following the death of her blind father, Biwa meets Taira no Shigemori, heir to the powerful Taira clan that is fighting for supremacy in the war. Shigemori also has the power of supernatural sight; with one of his eyes, he sees ghosts of those killed in the war. Through his ability, he understands his clan's part in the killing of Biwa's father, and when Biwa relates a prophecy predicting the downfall of the Taira clan, hebelieves that she has the same ability. The kind, level-headed, and responsible Shigemori invites Biwa to come live with him and his family under the auspices of being a playmate and companion for his children, but hopes that her power can prevent the downfall of the Taira clan. Biwa agrees to be taken in, but refuses to use her power to help the clan that was responsible for the death of her father. She serves to chronicle the events leading to the rise and fall of the Taira clan.

It is based on The Tale of the Heike, a 13th-century historical epic. The story is about impermanence (all living things must die), hubris (arrogance and disrespect toward the sacred), and karma (divine retribution for sin). Common themes include the horrors of war, the cyclical nature of conflict, whether one decides their own fate by action or whether it is unavoidable; other themes include consequences for actions, and the inevitability of death.

It is certainly not for everyone, as it can be slow and the politics are very confusing, but those who find classically told stories in an historical period interesting should watch this show.

My only complaint is how out of place some of the comedy feels at times. It's a tragedy and one can palpably feel the inevitable ruin creeping up, but then comedy happens and it feels like nails on a chalkboard. Other than that, I have no big complaints. It's good and I suggest it to those interested in Japanese history and culture.

Heike Monogatari is a poignant tale that relates the tragedy of the Heike clan, and does so with lavish, effulgent beauty, wreathed in symbolism and saturated in a sense of humanity not usually granted to the Heike in the retelling of their story, that family that flew too close to the sun. This is a magnificent retelling of a classic story rooted in history, resulting in a profoundly moving work of art. The story is the strongest part of this anime, as it is a masterful example of tragic beauty- through the addition of a clairvoyant young girl, you learnthe fates of the Heike, and even so, the story endears them to you. Even through all their pride and their sin, you are treated to these characters as people, and the Heike as a family. It is flawlessly constructed, and manages to imbue its characters with a rare level of interest, down to the most insignificant storylines. It feels arresting in a classic, theatrical sense, grand and Shakespearean with all the life and color that entails, but somehow more earnest, more grounded and genuine throughout. From the frantic glimpses of coming death, to quiet moments beneath the moon, the heated pitch of battle, or the simple joys of a lighthearted song, it all feels real, it feels like life in all the ways it should. The way the story handles its motifs of impermanence, of grief, of duty and destiny and fulfillment, feels mature and complex in every moment, striking in every symbol it presents. In short, it is totally enthralling, and I cannot possibly heap enough praises upon its construction.

The art is a close second, as it, too, possesses a rare excellence. On the face of it, it looks totally unique, completely unlike anything else I've seen thus far, and that alone is impressive in its own right. It employs the use of a traditional Japanese color palate, as well as soft gradients and a kind of visual texture to everything onscreen so as to invoke the actual works of art which first depicted them. In this way, it feels otherworldly, but also elegant, precise, and in a way, more prescient than if it had gone with a more standard or a more realistic style. It fits this anime perfectly, and acts as a visual medium for many of the symbols and motifs that the story conveys, like delicate flower petals blowing away in the wind, or the focus on water as the source of the Heike's power as well as the implications it has for their ultimate fate. even beyond this ethereal quality, it is also just technically very impressive, especially in the fluidity of its animation, like the choreography of its fight scenes, its portrayal of everyday life, and of course the incredibly detailed emotion that plays on the face of every single character, even down to the most minute creasing of the eyebrows. It's almost more heavy with symbolism and raw emotion than the story itself. One caveat here is that sometimes the faces of certain characters look a little too stylized, resulting in a rather unpleasant face, but these instances are thankfully limited to only a couple of characters, and by no means does this have a notable impact on the art direction as a whole, which is still absolutely stunning.

The sound, too, is very, very strong. The OST is deeply moving, combining the sounds of traditional Japanese music, like the Biwa and the Japanese flute, with deeply emotional elements like a meandering, contemplative piano, and a variety of string instruments. This creates a mystical, almost sacred atmosphere, a space in which the story and its visuals can more deeply affect you than would otherwise be the case. The sounds of life are also rich and detailed, and furthermore the voice work is lively and impassioned, carrying the full weight of emotion that they intend, which hits heavy each and every time, be it a final goodbye or a first hello, or getting to know a character's innermost thoughts and worries- through it all, it often feels like they are speaking directly to you.

Speaking of which, the characters are, like most everything else in this anime, simply incredible. They feel like the movers of the story rather than being subjects moved by it, like everything hangs on their actions, their doubts, their struggles, even when you are treated to a glimpse of the future, and a foreknowledge of where these actions will one day lead, it still feels like these things happen because of them rather than to them. At times, I'll admit, it can be difficult to keep track of all the characters, as the who's who of the story gets pretty crowded, but this doesn't end up detracting from the anime in the end, as the most important characters are ones you are sure to be familiar with throughout the entire show. Of them, my favorites are Biwa and Shigemori. I like Biwa for her unique place in the tale as a tragic storyteller, who can tell the future but do nothing about it, who can merely witness and later relate the story of these people who took her in and raised her. Her reticence to tell the future at all also ties into this, as her abilities conflict with her innate desire for companionship and belonging. She is the perfect addition to this classic story, and I feel is a stroke of narrative genius. Then, Shigemori earns his spot as his namesake implies, 'the conscience of the Heike'. He is a kind, honorable man, who nonetheless does everything in his power to do right by his family, their legacy, and most of all, their wellbeing. He gives everything towards this end, and in a way, blown along by the winds of fate set aloft by his father Kiyomori and his ravenous ambition, he is very much like that girl he took in, Biwa. Even though he can't see the future like her, he in a way feels the same about his family. he knows where it's heading, and he can't stop it. He is the archetypal embodiment of beautiful tragedy, a man of honor at the crossroads of conflicting duties and weighed down beneath the yolk of history. Overall, Heike Monogatari is a true work of art, a dramatic, tragic masterpiece that relates one of Japan's most striking historical periods with a narrative skill and visual mastery rarely seen in the medium. Watch this anime- it is worth every second of your time.

This anime made me question whether I have prosopagnosia (face blindness) Lol. As someone with no background knowledge whatsoever this anime was very very very confusing….11 eps also took me more than an year to finish mainly because I didn’t catch up after a few eps while it was airing and then I forgot the storyline and my second rewatch took me couple of months and now I’m just confusion. I love historical genre hence I didn’t drop it but if you aren’t into the genre then just skip it. If I speak about the art, then some characters look really alike and there arethese two baldies whom I couldn’t differentiate when either of them appeared. The characters name are your typical historical names like taira-no-shigemori, Fujiwara-no-narichika etc…and it was so difficult to follow who was who. I really have no clue what was going on. As a response one might say that there’s a novel or book about it which has details etc but honestly that isn’t a good argument for this. I’m here to watch anime directly and not read a whole load of backstory beforehand when I’m not even that invested.

I’m still rating it a 6 because overall it was fine, soundtracks are great (by composer of chainsaw man so you can expect similar soundtracks)….art is kinda unique but it isn’t bad…animation is fluid. Characters aren’t memorable except for biwa….I couldn’t even differentiate others for gods sake, all ladies looked the same all men looked the same and all grandfathers looked the same rip.

maybe the plot is really good too, it’s not that I disliked it…. I just couldn’t understand it…

It's hard to give any show a 10, but I find I can't give Heike Monogatari anything but. It's not perfect, but it's just so damn good. Many shows start well then fizzle; others build to an anticipated climax that goes thud. HM never builds in that way; too much history and too many characters are coming and going for that kind of suspense. But each episode's story is a gem that works to make the too-short series hold together well. And I imagine rewatching them without the week's delay will make it even better since characters can be better kept in mind. The ending was amazing.It was heart-breaking, and the music underscored the pain. No surprise it reminds me of the ending of Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na! Both came from Science SARU and the director was one of KyoAni's greats. We knew the outcome from episode 2, but that inevitability never seemed to be in place. And then suddenly it was, and all of a sudden, everything clicked and it was just too sad but done not with the usual melodramatic flourishes but subtlety and care.

Science SARU has become one of the best studios around. I cannot wait for what they do next. And in a few weeks, Im going to binge this and I bet it'll be even better. Without a doubt, the show of the year, just pipping Super Cub

Heike Monogatari is a 2021 adaptation of a 2016 translation of a 14th century epic account of the 12th century fall of the Heike clan, and it's as epic as that history suggests. The story can be a little hard to follow, often long blocks of exposition are given about characters we haven’t met. Massive story beats come and go as if inconsequential, and multi-year time skips pass without mention. Each episode feels far longer than its runtime. This results in a very distant perspective for the audience. This perspective is dry, and loses some emotional impact, but feels a grand, epic, tale. I cansay with confidence that there’s no other anime like it. The closest point of comparison I can find is War and Peace.

While the story is presented from a third person POV, our perspective shares major overlap with main character Biwa, a biwa player with the power to see the future who doesn’t appear in the original story. Biwa doesn’t change at all through time skips and major political upheaval. I found myself relating to Biwa, she views the story from as detached a perspective as the audience. Aoi Yuuki portrays her perfectly.

The rest of the cast is strong as well, particularly Shigemori, Tokuko, and Sukemori.

Heike Monogatari is elevated by its fantastic art and animation.The backgrounds are beautiful, resembling classic Japanese paintings, and the animation is consistently good. It is mind blowing when it dips into sakuga.

This is directed by Naoko Yamada, the KyoAni alumnus responsible for directing “K-On!” and “Koe no Katachi”, and the direction is exceptional.

The soundtrack is by “Koe no Katachi” composer Kensuke Ushio, and it’s as beautiful as that resume suggests. The show’s biwa and flute performances are great as well.

The OP features great visuals and a good song, but loses points for slight tonal dissonance from the show.

The ED is one of the best I've ever seen, it's slow and reflective, and beautifully animated and directed. The song transitions from subdued rapping, to a nearly silent passage, before abruptly transitioning into a loud instrumental closing section. I’m not familiar with music terminology, so I can’t explain precisely what's going on here, but I do know that it's amazing.

This anime is currently more overlooked than even Odd Taxi ever was, and is as much of an anime of the year contender.

Heike Monogatari is not for everyone, but I do strongly encourage giving it a shot, especially if you’re into Japanese History, historical epics, or the previous work of Naoko Yamada.

Second or third time watching Heike Monogatari. Always a delightful, insightful, refreshing anime telling a tragically beautiful story through astonishing animation. Through Heike Monogatari, we are brought to the last years of the Heian Period. And we, as spectators, are actually put into the story through its pseudo-protagonist, Biwa. Let me explain: the Tale of the Heike as we know it today is a compilation of an oral story sung by biwa players, poets, and singers. In that sense, we are Biwa as she's a narrator and spectator with zero influence on the course of history. With Biwa, we know each Taira, their feelings, their ambitions,their beliefs. Like Biwa, we suffer and rejoice by their side, we cry when they cry and sing when they sing - but we have nothing to do with their happiness or their tears. We can't change it, like Biwa. We can only watch.

Like Biwa, we know everything from the very beginning. We know that this is the story of the end of the Taira clan, but we are excited and anxious to see how it develops and what comes next.

And before our eyes, the woodblock-styled animation, alongside traditional instruments and Biwa's hoarse voice, reveals an epic of immemorial times that was brought to us through poetry. We see the passage of time, the seasons, the construction and ruin of temples and castles. Sometimes, the colors reveal a deeper spiritual meaning to those events - yet, no mystery touches the course of history. Everything is tangible.

It's hard to see a team competent enough to respectfully and accurately turn an epic tale into epic graphical media. Yet, Heike Monogatari does it perfectly: a succinct story that goes deep into the characters' souls, with a right-on-point animation style and perfect setting through colorful scenery and a prolific soundtrack. Through this anime, one of the most important pieces of Japanese literature can be easily comprehended by foreign audiences, while nothing is vulgarly simplified. The history is well told, but the motif of Buddhist impermanence that permeates the original text is never left behind - it wraps the narrative, and we are constantly reminded that the Taira are falling because nothing is permanent in this world.

Heike Monogatari may not be Naoko Yamada and Reiko Yoshida's most popular anime, which I find unfair. It reveals their maturity and complexity as artists, able to navigate the depths of the human soul, explore wonderful original sources, and turn them into a whole and complete new piece of art. Heike Monogatari was released just four years ago, yet, to me, it seems it was always there, as a benchmark of anime to which many other directors should look as a reference for what good anime is.

There are some powerful visuals and moments throughout, but there is a noticeable dropoff after the first few episodes, and it quickly becomes a narrative and tonal mess in the middle section in particular before recovering somewhat in the last couple of episodes. This is only partially explained by the show's assumed knowledge of the events depicted, which in any case could be covered by an hour or two of familiarization, as the narrative becomes bogged down by repeated exposition that goes nowhere and seemingly irrelevant side plots along with poor characterization work with little in the way of nuance or narrative tension developed. What is greatis the Biwa playing, this is the absolute highlight of the show, as is the visual presentation, although some of the montage sequences were a noticeable drop in standards even here.

It's a very ambitious effort, but the combination of writer/director/studio seemed out of their depth in handling a story of this nature - even if not an adaptation per se - and production issues no doubt played a part.

Very much YMMV in this one I'd say, suggestion would be to start and watch the first few scenes which are some of the strongest in the series - if they do not hook you, the rest of the series won't, and if they do and you can sink into the atmosphere and mood - and the meandering and outright silly at times plot - then it could be an interesting watch.