The Heike Story anime series premiered in Japan on Fuji TV’s +Ultra programming block on January 12. With character designs by Fumiko Takano, fans instantly fell in love with the show’s cast of characters, and an art book will be released soon, with preorders opening this week.

The Kyoto International Manga Museum has opened an exhibition displaying character concept art from SCIENCE SARU’s The Heike Story and INU-OH anime from April 21 to June 27. The exhibit commemorates The Heike Story‘s TV broadcast and INU-OH‘s theater opening in Japan. Fumiko Takano (The Heike Story) and Taiyo Matsumoto (INU-OH)’s character concept drawings are on display in Gallery 4. 

Both titles are based on Hideo Furukawa’s modern language rendering of the classic Japanese epic The Tale of the Heike.

The Heike Story will additionally release an art book titled The Colors of The Heike Story in June. The book will feature an interview between art director Tomotaka Kubo and series director Naoko Yamada, and is scheduled for release in June. Those pre-ordering the book will receive a special gift.

©高野文子 /「平家物語」製作委員会 
©松本大洋 /2021 “INU-OH” Film Partners

In March 2022, Kawade Shodo Shinsha will release ‘The Heike Story’: The Anime we Created, an incredibly in-depth tome detailing the creation of the popular animated series The Heike Story. The series began airing in September 2021.

Creating our own image of  ‘Heike,’ one that no one has ever seen before…

Directed by Naoko Yamada, ‘The Heike Story’ is based on Hideo Furukawa’s translation of the classic Japanese tale. This book highlights the thoughts and feelings behind the creation of the anime series and includes interviews, exclusive essays, storyboards, and newly-drawn illustrations by character designer Fumiko Takano.

Sneak Peak

Will you be ordering this incredible book in March?

A subtitle-free, non-stop version of anime The Heike Story’s opening and ending theme has been released. The anime airs every Wednesday on FOD at 24:00. 

The animated opening and ending themes were directed by Yamada Naoko, who was also in charge of storyboards. The opening theme, Hitsujibungaku’s ‘Hikarutoki,’ was written by vocalist Shiozuka Moeka especially for the animation. The ending theme, ‘unified perspective,’ was performed by music director Kensuke Ushio’s solo unit ‘agraph,’ featuring rap by ANI (Scha Dara Parr).

TV Anime “The Heike Story” PV

Currently ‘unified perspective (90sec variation) ‘ is available on streaming services, while the release of the opening theme ‘Hikarutoki’ will be announced soon. 

This is the first time the Japanese classic The Heike Story (Heike Monogatari) has been released as an animated series. The anime is based on the translation by Furukawa Hideo which was published by Kawade Shobō Shinsha. The production team is formed of: 

Director: Naoko Yamada. Script: Yoshida Reiko. Character Drafts: Takano Fumiko. Music: agraph. Character Design: Kojima Takashi. Animation Production: SCIENCE SARU. The anime is scheduled to broadcast on FujiTV’s +Ultra and other channels from January 2022.

© ‘The Heike Story’ Production Committee