“The color of the sāla flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline.” -The Tale of the Heike During her time at Kyoto Animation it was a truth universally acknowledged tha…
Sep 15, 2021 • Subscribe
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Heike Monogatari: Humanity in War
Possible spoilers for an 800 year old story Heike Monogatari (The Tale of the Heike) is a historical epic chronicling the struggle between the Taira/Heike and Minamoto clans…
Heike Monogatari – 10
「壇ノ浦」 (Dan-no-ura) "Dan-no-ura" The sunset of the Taira.
Heike Monogatari – 06
「都遷り」 (Miyako Utsuri) "City Transition" This adaptation is all about portraying the characters as living, breathing humans enjoying every-day moments rather than focusing on them purely as giants of history
Heike Monogatari – 08
If one was going to punt on preserving the moral ambiguity of the original, it's much easier to make the Minamoto non-people than the Taira. Read more
Heike Monogatari – 05
Through factors partly beyond its control and partly controllable, the anime is losing most of what makes Heike Monogatari so special. Read more
Heike Monogatari – 08
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…
Heike Monogatari – 06
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…
Heike Monogatari – 05
For all its beautiful imagery and symbolism, this episode exposed a weakness that Heike Monogatari may struggle to overcome. Where are we situated in The Tale of…
Heike Monogatari – 07
The burning of Kofukuji and Todaiji Temples in Nara was in many ways the single most important event of the entire Genpei War, so I hope you didn't…
Heike Monogatari – 07
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,…
Heike Monogatari – 06
If nothing else something of the pathos of this series can be salvaged if the narration slows down enough to give it a chance to express itself. Read…
Heike Monogatari – 09
Watching this has literally become a physically painful experience for me. Read more
Heike Monogatari – 09
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…
Heike Monogatari – 09
「平家流るる」 (Heike Nagaruru) "Heike Flowing" The real carnage here is the butchery the script-writers do to the characterization and epic action of the original story.
Heike Monogatari – 03
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…
Heike Monogatari – 07
「清盛、死す」 (Kiyomori, Shisu) "Kiyomori, Dies" “Because I could not stop for Death He kindly stopped for me”. Or in Kiyomori’s case, not so kindly.
Heike Monogatari – 10
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…
Heike Monogatari – 10
The tragedy of the Taira really comes through here, carried on the source material's wings of glory. Read more
Heike Monogatari – 04
I think there's an inherent paradox at work here Read more
Heike Monogatari – 08
「 都落ち」 (Miyako Ochi) "Leaving the Capital" The Taira scrape a final spoonful out of their now almost finished bowl of victories
Heike Monogatari – 04
Heike Monogatari has dealt with intergenerational themes since its premiere, but this episode cemented them as its cornerstone. Now that we’re safely past the ‘continue reading’ tag,…
Flower Language in Wonder Egg Priority
Naoko Yamada’s influence throughout the anime industry, particularly with various directors’ use of flower language, continues to impress me. In Shin Wakabayashi’s Wonder Egg Prio…
Second Impressions – Heike Monogatari
Turn it into an anime and not even Heike Monogatari is immune to the curse of filler. Read more
Heike Monogatari Review — A-
They shall be as mere dust before the wind.
Heike Monogatari – 1-2
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…
First Impressions – Heike Monogatari
This is certainly something special, something important, and something unique in anime. Read more
Heike Monogatari – 11 (END)
「諸行無常」 (Shogyō Mujō) "The Impermanence of Worldly Things" Like the shrike that impales its prey upon branches, I feel as if this adaptation has impaled my heart upon its sharp…
Heike Monogatari – 11 (END)
Heike Monogatari’s TV finale contained just its second substantial portrayal of armed conflict, following episode 5’s Battle of Uji Bridge. One might think it a bit strange that…
Third Impressions – Heike Monogatari
If you're not familiar with the source material, I'm having a hard time imagining anyone keeping up with this. Read more
Sakuga Espresso – Heike Monogatari
A visual analysis of the climax scene to the ninth episode of Heike Monogatari through the lens of cinematography.
Flower language in Wonder Egg Priority Episode 11
Wonder Egg Priority has always paid specific attention to lighting when Rika Kawai is onscreen.
I hate you — Flower language in Wonder Egg Priority (continued)
Wonder Egg Priority is a show that knows its flower language. The series has used specific flowers to introduce it’s second and third episodes in previews as a…
Storytelling in the Midst of History: Reflections on Heike Monogatari
While the initial reception has been relatively subdued, many will no doubt look back on Heike Monogatari both for what it is and for what it represents; a…
Heike Monogatari – 11 (End) and Series Review
It is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing. Read more
[Nine] The Flower Language of Children of the Sea
It’s impossible to describe the plot of Children of the Sea beyond this: a girl named Ruka Azumi goes through puberty. That’s not to say that the movie…
Miorine’s Sunlit Garden: Flower Language and Shades of Utena in The Witch From Mercury
Take my revolution. There are a few specific things you can say to me that will make me check out an anime faster than “This draws from Kunihiko…
Heike Monogatari Episode 9 – A Visual Masterclass | GITM Podcast Ep. 107
I couldn’t stop thinking about the anime Heike Monogatari so I decided to make another episode on it – this time, I’m focusing on Episode 9, storyboarded and…
Heike Monogatari Episode 9 – A Visual Masterclass | GITM Podcast Ep. 107
I couldn’t stop thinking about the anime Heike Monogatari so I decided to make another episode on it – this time, I’m focusing on Episode 9, storyboarded and…
Heike Monogatari – Why Do Visual Metaphors Matter? | GITM Podcast Ep. 108
What ties rich historical narratives like Heike Monogatari together? On this episode of Get In The Mecha I complete my trilogy of discussions on Heike Monogatari by taking…
Flowers for Rika Kawai and notes on flower language in Wonder Egg Priority Episode 6-7
While the garden of Aca and Ura-Aca places the four leads of Wonder Egg Priority against various floral backdrops to hint at their moods and personalities, Rika Kawai’s…
In Another Language (2021) review
An enjoyable indie romance narrative that elegantly plays with the fact that lie and truth are fundamentality interwoven within a subject’s speech.
Flower in a Storm (series)
Author & Artist Shigeyoshi TakagiReleased May 2010 & August 2010 by VIZ Media imprint Shojo BeatTranslation HC Language Solutions, Inc.Editor Carrie ShepherdGenre: Romance, D…
![Featured image for Old and New: Ekura Animal’s Heike Monogatari – Interview with Hitomi Toyonaga [JETRO x Kickstarter]](https://cdn.aniblogtracker.com/live/20230129/1675010410.52358.84675.png)
Old and New: Ekura Animal’s Heike Monogatari – Interview with Hitomi Toyonaga [JETRO x Kickstarter]
Interview with animation studio Ekura Animal about their oncoming anime Heike Monogatari and its crowdfunding campaign.
Color Theory and Cinematic Language in Anime
This is a repost of one of my older posts. I’m trying to inspire myself to write more about color theory so I decided to start things off…
AKLIMDAN GEÇENLER — BLOGGING IN A LEARNED LANGUAGE
Greetings! Today I wanted to ramble on something that might not be prevalent to some of you. And it’ll be somewhat personal but I’ll try to make it…
The Language Barrier: Musical Resonance in Anime
“Don’t wake me when I land, where they barely understand what I speak but they nod to my beats.” – Lupe Fiasco, Paris;Tokyo I’ve always liked the way…
Color Theory and Cinematic Language in Anime
This is a repost of one of my older posts. I’m trying to inspire myself to write more about color theory so I decided to start things off…
AKLIMDAN GEÇENLER — BLOGGING IN A LEARNED LANGUAGE
Greetings! Today I wanted to ramble on something that might not be prevalent to some of you. And it’ll be somewhat personal but I’ll try to make it…
The Heike Story
The Heike Story is currently streaming on Funimation....