The Heike Story

Alternate Title

平家物語
Heike Monogatari

Synopsis

At the end of the Heian period, the Heike clan is about to reach the peak of its prosperity through its power, military strength, and financial resources. Taira no Shigemori, a man with an eye that can see the dead, meets Biwa, a young lute princess with an eye that can see the future, who sees visions of violence and war and gives him an ominous warning that he will soon die. The curtain rises on the turbulent 15-year span as Japan makes an historic transition from an aristocratic society to a samurai society.

Background

The Heike Story is an original net animation (ONA) based on Hideo Furukawa's 2016 translation of the 13th century historical epic The Tale of the Heike into modern Japanese. The anime is being produced by Science SARU (DEVILMAN crybaby, Japan Sinks: 2020, Night is Short, Walk on Girl) and features Naoko Yamada (K-ON!, A Silent Voice, Tamako Market) as director, with Reiko Yoshida (Bakuman, Girls und Panzer, Non Non Biyori) handling series composition and scripts, Takashi Kojima (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Dinosaur, Flip Flappers, Ride Your Wave) credited as both character designer and chief animation director, and Kensuke Ushio (Chainsaw Man, Space Dandy, Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop) composing the music. The anime’s opening theme song is "Hikaru Toki" by Hitsujibungaku, and the ending theme song is "unified perspective" by agraph feat.ANI. The anime will premiere in Japan on Jan. 12, 2022 during Fuji TV’s +Ultra programming block. It will be streamed as it airs in Japan through Funimation.

Characters

Biwa (Voiced by: Aoi Yuki)
A biwa hoshi (lute princess) who can see the future with her right eye. Her father was killed by a samurai of the Heike clan, but she is fortunate to live in the Shigemori household.

Taira no Shigemori (Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai)
The eldest son of Taira no Kiyomori. He is a widely respected man of virtue, but he is often caught between Kiyomori and others. He can see the dead with his left eye.

Taira no Tokuko (Voiced by: Saori Hayami)
Shigemori’s younger sister. She is well liked by her cousin, Emperor Takakura, for her vivaciousness and intelligence. She is a good companion to Biwa.

Taira no Kiyomori (Voiced by: Tessho Genda)
A powerful man who rose to the position of Grand Minister through his military prowess and wealth. Even after being ordained as a priest, his ambition hasn’t waned. His favorite phrase is “isn’t that interesting?”

Emperor Go-Shirakawa (Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba)
The former emperor who installs an insei government in cooperation with the Heike clan. Although he respects Shigemori, he is wary of Kiyomori.

Taira no Tokiko (Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue)
Kiyomori’s wife. She is sometimes pushed around by her uninhibited husband but still keeps a firm grip on the reins.

Taira no Koremori (Voiced by: Miyu Irino)
Shigemori’s eldest son. He is kind-hearted but has a timid side. He is good at dancing.

Taira no Sukemori (Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (adult), Yumiko Kobayashi (child))
Shigemori’s second son. He is cocky and determined and tends to clash with Biwa often, but he also has a caring side.

Taira no Kiyotsune (Voiced by: Natsuki Hanae)
Shigemori’s third son. He is friendly and outspoken and has no reservations about his older brothers. He is good at playing the transverse flute.

Emperor Takakura (Voiced by: Kotaro Nishiyama)
The son of Emperor Go-Shirakawa who ascended to the throne at the age of 8. He is Tokuko’s cousin.

Music

Opening Theme Song: "Hikaru Toki" by Hitsujibungaku
Ending Theme Song: "unified perspective" by agraph feat.ANI

• Anime Site (Japanese)
• Twitter (Japanese)

• Original Creator: Hideo Furukawa (modern translation of "Heike Monogatari")
• Original Character Design: Fumiko Takano
• Director: Naoko Yamada
• Series Composition/Script: Reiko Yoshida
• Character Design/Chief Animation Director: Takashi Kojima
• Prop Design: Kenji Terao
• Art Director: Tomotaka Kubo (Deho Gallery)
• Art Setting: Tomotaka Kubo, Kurumi Katayama
• Animation Director: Shotaro Imai
• Color Design: Ken Hashimoto
• Director of Photography: Kazuto Izumita
• Editing: Kiyoshi Hirose
• Sound Director: Eriko Kimura
• Sound Effects: Hiromune Kurahashi (Otonarium)
• Historical Supervisor: Yoshihiko Sata
• Biwa Supervisor: Yukihiro Goto
• Music: Kensuke Ushio
• Music Producer: Shinichi Nakamura
• Music Production: Pony Canyon
• Producer: Eunyoung Choi, Fumie Takeuchi, Mayo Arita, Noriko Ozaki (Fuji TV), Shinichi Nakamura
• Animation Producer: Kohei Sakita
• Animation Production: Science SARU