English Dub Review: The Heike Story “Bridge Battle”

Overview:

Shigemori’s passing hits Kiyomori hard. However, with Shigemori gone, no one is left to stand up to Kiyomori, leaving his whims and ambitions unchecked.

Our Take:

When I watch The Heike Story I feel like I’m watching a period drama being painted on an artist’s canvas. The art style is really something else. When I looked up the studio that did this show I found it was Science SARU and then it all came together. Of course, the studio responsible for amazing animation in anime such as Devilman: Crybaby, Ping Pong the Animation, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, and Tokyo Sinks 2020 would animate something so well.

I am a huge history buff but will admit that my Japanese history needs a little work but this show definitely helps. I got in the mood after last week’s episode and did a little research. Beware of spoilers if you do so! That is one of the downsides to doing a historical show. All I can say is things are going to get very interesting.

Biwa’s character is very interesting and I love how she can see the future but not change anything. There was even a pretty awesome battle in this episode but what made it really shine was the artistic rendition and the symbolism. The person whose point of view we were following wasn’t exactly a warrior and I feel they tend to have the most interesting outlooks on battles and war.

The Heike Story is definitely what I would call art. If anime had the Oscars then this show would probably be nominated and we’re only on episode five. The characters are real and we get really connected to their plights and desires. I know I am looking forward to the next episode, justice for Biwa!