The original anime series The Heike Story, created by studio Science Saru, is a loose adaptation of the historical text Heike Monogatari (The Tale of Heike). It recounts the battle for power in Japan between the Taira clan and the Minamoto clan during the Genpei War (1180-1185).
The anime's story -- which stays faithful to the literary text -- introduces several key characters who play a significant part in the war, and depicts key events that led to the downfall of the Taira clan. The Heike Story incorporates dramatic storytelling and supernatural elements to indicate that the end of the Taira clan is already inevitable -- which sparks curious viewers to continue watching.
To appeal to modern viewers who might not know Heike Monogatari, The Heike Story takes a supernatural approach by introducing a psychic girl named Biwa, who has one blue eye and one brown eye. In Episode 1, “If You Don’t Belong to the Heike, You Won’t Be a Person,” Biwa witnesses her father killed by the "kaburo boys" as punishment for Biwa herself talking ill about the Taira clan. This traumatic incident triggers her psychic ability, wherein she can see the future and foresees the fall of the Taira clan.
Yet The Heike Story brings an unexpected turn of events. Biwa is taken in by Taira no Shigemori after he learns about the tragic death of her father. Like Biwa, Shigemori is gifted with the power to see the dead. Biwa tells him about the end of the Taira clan but refuses to use her premonition power to aid them in preventing this catastrophe from happening. Instead, Biwa simply lives in Shigemori’s home, showcasing a happy and innocent family that unfortunately got entangled in a war.
Biwa isn't your typical standard psychic individual. In most stories, a character who has a gift for seeing the future would use that power to prevent any ill omens from happening. The logical reason as to why Biwa doesn’t use her gift for “good” is because the anime remains faithful to the Heike Monogatari text. Another speculative reason is that her refusal could be an act of revenge since the Taira clan is responsible for her father’s death. Yet, the most plausible reason would be that Biwa is allowing the Taira clan's doom to happen because it's inevitable, following Buddhist values of impermanence within the materialistic world.
Similarly, the eerie predictions of Taira's downfall are shown in some of the nightmares that the clan characters have while sleeping. In Episode 6, “City Transition,” Taira no Kiyomori has a nightmare where he is surrounded by several skull-like creatures, implying that death is lingering for him and his clansmen. Alongside Biwa's premonitions, these omens also dramatize the end of the Taira clan.
To further create an atmosphere of doom against the clan, these historical events are told by a minstrel who recounts what happened in the battles through tragic songs accompanied by a biwa. The narrator pays homage to the actual traveling monks, who chanted and played the biwa while going from place to place to tell these Heike stories to villagers. These chanted songs and the musical sounds of the biwa add dramatic and tragic effects to this war story.
Right from the beginning, viewers already know how The Heike Story ends, but knowing the ending doesn’t spoil the experience. Rather, each episode shows the process of how the Taira clan meets their demise, which eventually leads to the story's tragic but compelling conclusion.
