Heike Monogatari

The Taira clan, also known as the Heike, holds immense authority over Japan. When a young girl, gifted with an odd eye that allows her to see the future, foolishly disrespects the clan, her father pays the price of her crime with his life. Soon after, as fate would have it, Taira no Shigemori—the eldest son of the clan leader—stumbles upon the same unfortunate girl, who now calls herself "Biwa." Biwa informs him that the downfall of the Heike is imminent. After learning of the great injustice Biwa suffered at the Heike's hands, Shigemori vows to take her in and care for her rather than let her be killed.

In an era of rising military tension, the Heike are in the midst of a cunning struggle for power, and bloodstained war is on the horizon. Shigemori, whose eyes allow him to see spirits of the dead, is both anxious and hopeful to prevent his clan's demise. Biwa, however, is reluctant to reveal the future to him and must adapt to her new life filled with both happiness and sorrow in this pivotal chapter in Japanese history.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Biwa Main

Yuuki, Aoi Japanese

Taira no, Tokuko Supporting

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Taira no, Shigemori Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Taira no, Atsumori Supporting

Murase, Ayumu Japanese

Taira no, Keishi Supporting

Honna, Youko Japanese

Minamoto no, Yoshitsune Supporting

Kaji, Yuuki Japanese

Taira no, Sukemori Supporting

Okamoto, Nobuhiko Japanese

Taira no, Shigehira Supporting

Miyazaki, Yuu Japanese

Senoo, Kaneyasu Supporting

Ikawa, Shuuei Japanese

Gozu Supporting

Ihara, Masaaki Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Choi, Eun-Young Producer, Production Manager

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Ozaki, Noriko Producer

Reviews

Jul 30, 2025

StridertheRanger

Recommended

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, he ... believes 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.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 23, 2025

Haruhiko_MatsuO

Mixed Feelings

Personal Opinion

This was definitely Yamada-sensei stepping out of her comfort zone by taking on a new kind of genre and honestly, she pulled it off pretty well.

The core of the story is centered around a real historical event, focusing on the dynamic between the winners and the losers. What I found unique is that Yamada chose to tell the story from the perspective of the losers, which you rarely see in media like this.

Another thing I really liked was the passage-style storytelling. It felt straightforward, but at the same time… not really?
Like, (it’s direct if you want it to be, but you could read into ... it in other ways too.)
The storyboarding really backed this up very deliberate, very effective.

The downside for me was that the pacing and storytelling felt a bit too fast, and some characters were introduced so abruptly it was like “wait, who’s this ?”
I get that this is a piece of history that most Japanese people are probably familiar with but as a non-Japanese viewer,
I was kind of lost at times.

All in all, it’s solid Yamada-quality.
Not quite a masterpiece, but definitely something worth remembering and studying especially for someone like me who really admires Naoko Yamada’s work.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Dec 5, 2021

grr_mal

Not Recommended

A beautiful anime, wasted on a crap story. And no, I don't care for the excuse that it's a "documentary" for actual history or whatever. Keep it in the history textbooks instead of putting it on my screen if you don't want me to be critical of it. It simply does not work as an anime, or any form of entertainment for that matter. It is full of stupid people following stupid leaders and doing stupid and illogical things. For a while I thought it was a bearable amount of stupid, but the last episode pushed the limits beyond the acceptable.

There is no character whom ... you can empathize or root for, or at least understand their situation and reasoning. The minute you may start to think there is, they go off doing something stupid and leave the story. Even the "main character" is just a "storyteller" or rather "story seer" and never does anything, despite having paranormal superpowers. It's clear she was not part of the story but just made up addition. There are plenty of other obviously made up elements - probably not by the anime authors but by the people of Japan in the form of legends and such - but they can not help the otherwise bland story become interesting.

The only way in which this anime may be interesting is for studying that part of history, or studying that folklore and legends - though if that's your goal then the given content will be insufficient, and mixing the two certainly does not help either. Its definitely no good as a story.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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