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The Heike Story Anime Streams New Promo Video Before TV Debut on January 12
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The staff for The Heike Story, Naoko Yamada and Science Saru's television anime of Hideo Furukawa's Heike Monogatari novel, revealed a new promotional video and visual on Wednesday for the show's TV airing in Japan. The show will premiere on Fuji TV's +Ultra programming block on January 12.
The anime began streaming on Fuji TV's FOD service in Japan on September 15, and abroad through Funimation and bilibili. All 11 episodes are now available. Funimation is also streaming an English dub.
Furukawa's novel renders the classic Japanese epic The Tale of the Heike in modern language, and the anime is the first television anime adaptation of the novel. The original epic tells the story of the rise and fall of the Taira clan during the Genpei War. The anime centers on the perspective of Biwa, a blind traveling minstrel. Biwa meets Taira no Shigemori, heir to his clan, and bearing a supernatural sight that can perceive ghosts. She then proclaims to him a prophecy of his clan's downfall.
Aoi Yūki plays protagonist Biwa in the anime, while Takahiro Sakurai plays Taira no Shigemori. Saori Hayami plays empress consort Taira no Tokuko, while Tessho Genda plays Taira patriarch Taira no Kiyomori. Other cast members include Kikuko Inoue, Miyu Irino, Yumiko Kobayashi, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Natsuki Hanae, Ayumu Murase, Kōtarō Nishiyama, Nobuyuki Hiyama, Subaru Kimura, Yū Miyazaki, Inori Minase, Tomokazu Sugita, and Yuuki Kaji.
Naoko Yamada, a veteran director on several Kyoto Animation works, directed the anime as her first directorial work after leaving Kyoto Animation, with frequent collaborators Reiko Yoshida as scriptwriter and kensuke ushio as music composer. Fumiko Takano drafted the original character concepts, while Takashi Kojima (Flip Flappers, Ride Your Wave) adapted those character designs for animation.
The alternative rock band Hitsujibungaku performed the opening theme song "Hikaru Toki" (When the Light Shines), while agraph feat. ANI (Scha Dara Parr) performed the ending theme song "unified perspective."
Source: Comic Natalie
