REVIEW: ‘The Heike Story,’ Episode 7

The Heike Story is an adventure/drama anime inspired by a 12th-century epic story produced by Science SARU. With battles still being fought, The Heike Clan finds itself surrounded by those willing to defy them. When a force is sent out to challenge a group of monks that stands against the clan, things go wrong. And a divine punishment may be coming to the defiant Heike in The Heike Story Episode 7.

This week’s episode focuses most of its time around the Heike’s interactions with a rebellious temple of monks in Nara. After having an initial peace envoy violently rejected, Kyomori decides to send a force to deal with the monks. As with so many of the military actions that have come before in this series, this latest venture does not go quite as planned and the ramifications of the action will have a decisive impact on how the rest of the story beyond The Heike Story Episode 7 unfolds.

Alongside the military storyline in this episode, we also spend a significant amount of time with Tokuko. As her husband lies dying, she must contend with her father’s unending ambitions. I love how Tokuko is written in her confrontation with Kyomori. She has always been portrayed as a kind, soft-spoken personality and I love how forcefully the show depicts her stand against her father while managing to maintain this quiet, reserved air that she always carries. She manages to speak so loudly, without ever raising her voice. Despite her far more vocal father’s presence, she completely dominates the scene.

While much of The Heike Story Episode 7 is less than positive, there is one bitter-sweet moment that brings a bit of beauty into the story. I won’t spoil exactly what it is, but I will say that it was nice to see Biwa use her special sight for once and see something that could be described as good, as opposed to her usual visions of death and despair.

While Biwa does get to take in a lovely moment, it is unfortunately doomed to be fleeting. As the episode wraps up we see fate deal a cruel hand to our young protagonist. Where the story will lead Biwa next is easily the most intriguing part of this narrative. While she has been largely an observer, Biwa’s personality has been like a calm refuge amongst the tumultuous seas that has been The Heike Story. 

The visual presentation for this episode lacked some of the artistic flairs of previous entries. With no musical sequence and the visual accompaniment that goes with them, The Heike Story Episode 7 keeps to its straightforward approach to visuals pretty much from start to finish. Only a brief dream sequence adds any real visual spice to the story.

So, while The Heike Story Episode 7 delivers an entry into the story that will certainly impact the narrative as a whole, it still feels a bit slow and the lack of the show’s signature artistic moments makes the episode feel duller than it might have.

The Heike Story Episode 7 is streaming on Funimation.