Category: Heike Monogatari

Episode 10 of Heike Monogatari felt slightly more measured than last week’s blitz of character deaths, family reunions, and political/military developments, but upon closer inspection, the two installments have much in common.

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 10” →

The year is 1184. Having fled Fukuhara to escape Genji troops, the Heike are forced to undergo several further relocations in order to avoid their pursuers. In the meantime, Go-Shirakawa returns to the capital and crowns a new Emperor in Antoku’s absence, thus undermining the Heike’s plan to return to their former influence. Go-Shirakawa is not without opposition in Kyoto, however; the Genji general Yoshinaka captures him in a bid to strengthen his control of the capital. Yoshinaka plans to launch an attack on his cousin Yoritomo and make himself head of the Genji, but Go-Shirakawa sends a messenger to alert his would-be victim of the plot. With this warning in mind, Yoritomo assigns his calculating half-brother Yoshitsune to attack the capital, resulting in Yoshinaka’s death. As this Genji infighting plays out, the Heike return to Fukuhara and make a stand at the Battle of Ichi-no-tani, but are outmaneuvered and forced to flee once more, their troops having been reduced to a mere 3000.

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 09” →

Biwa’s role in Heike Monogatari is a strange thing. Despite having been introduced as our main character, she’s operated mostly as an observer since the third episode, and with her recent banishment from the Taira clan, she’s less connected to the main story than ever. It seems clear that screenwriter Yoshida intends her to be the Tale of the Heike’s author, hence all the parallels to the white-haired lute priest, who has recited snippets of the poem as though it were already written. Divorced from the action as Biwa is, she’ll need to rely on her supernatural eyesight to compile the tale, which explains its inclusion as a character trait. Yoshida has all her bases covered, then, but it still feels odd for our one-time lead character to be such a tagalong. Biwa bookended this week’s episode in the first and last scenes, but apart from those appearances, she showed up just twice. I’d be quicker to criticize the show for this issue if its plot didn’t span 15 years of Japanese history (wherein most potential protagonists died partway through).

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 08” →

The year is 1181. Not long after achieving political dominance in western Japan, the Taira clan’s power has already begun to fade. Their move to Fukuhara is short-lived, and the capital returns to Kyoto a mere six months after its relocation. Interpreting this return as a sign of aggression, the warrior monks of Nara engage the Heike in combat, but suffer a great loss when their temples (as well as a massive Buddha statue) are burned in the course of the Heike’s retaliation. Kiyomori, who gleefully welcomes news of the burning, is struck with karmic payback in the form of an unquenchable fever, which ultimately leads to his death (and condemnation to the lowest level of hell). His son Munemori, by the anime’s account a rat-faced sycophant, intends to succeed his father and honor his dying wish: to have the head of enemy commander Yoritomo hung before his grave. But provinces to the north, east and west are all allying themselves with Genji forces, painting a bleak picture of the Heike’s military prospects, and indeed, their continued survival.

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 07” →

Heike Monogatari returned this week to the more character-oriented stories of its first two episodes. The renewed focus on Shigemori’s children saw Biwa come back in a major way, and the introduction of Atsumori’s naïve character was handled with detail, giving the show a strong symbol of innocence that it can corrupt at its leisure. Kiyomori’s hoarding of wealth and power was contextualized by his abhorrence of aristocratic decadence, and his grandson’s continued military struggles received further consideration. (I’m still not totally happy with Koremori’s arc – why does the show continue to limit his screen time outside of military settings? – but I won’t spend a second post lamenting Heike’s shortcomings here.) Even retired emperor Takakura (now on his sickbed) got to share a tender moment with Tokuko, framing their relationship in a much warmer light than previous interactions. Much darker was the revelation that their son, the newly crowned Emperor Antoku, “starts crying when he hears the waves.” How’s that for foreshadowing the fate of a future drowning victim?

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 06” →

For all its beautiful imagery and symbolism, this episode exposed a weakness that Heike Monogatari may struggle to overcome.

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 05” →

Heike Monogatari has dealt with intergenerational themes since its premiere, but this episode cemented them as its cornerstone.

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 04” →

This episode was a tale of two very different halves, but I loved them both. The first was a restrained catchup session that softened the blow of a six year time skip, updating us on the status of Shigemori’s family with impeccably lit shoreline scenes and dashes of humor. The second was a deathly recital of plot points from the Tale of the Heike’s first two chapters, full of violence and conspiracy. There was a lot of information to swallow in the last twelve minutes, but they were also packed with magnificent fires, shots of vindictive lords and urgent running animation, creating the impression of a visual accompaniment for a series of narrative poems (which I suppose they were). This show is seriously on another level where its direction is concerned – but we’ll get to that shortly. First let’s back up and situate ourselves in Heike Monogatari’s expansive story.

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 03” →

The Tale of the Heike is a classical Japanese epic detailing a war fought for control of the country near the end of the 12th century. It has received dozens of translations, is taught in schools across Japan, and is so foundational to the nation’s literary canon that it draws frequent comparisons to Homer’s Iliad. I am woefully unequipped to write about an adaptation of such a vital work, but Heike Monogatari deserves to be covered nonetheless, because it’s had one of the strongest starts I can imagine an anime having in 2021. My posts on the series will be brief and (assuming it continues to operate at this level) largely appreciative of its excellence, not essential companions for those seeking a fuller understanding of its adaptational choices. I’m just a guy with a cinematography boner and a few Wikipedia articles about the Heian period under his belt – if you’re okay with that, hit the jump and let’s talk about what makes this show so special.

Continue reading “Heike Monogatari – 1-2” →