A little about the hidden gem of last year!

Hello! This past year has made two anime memories for me, one of which I've told you about before and one of which I want to tell you about now.

Before I start sharing my impressions, I'd like to tell you about my feelings about Naoko Yamada. All of her later works are indescribably fascinating to me. They're incredibly beautiful works, where the combination of image and music often replace the words. They're light, airy, touching and understandable to everyone.

Tamako Love Story

Koe no Katachi

Liz to Aoi Tori

Heike Monogatari was her first series where she didn't hesitate to use all her favorite techniques: close-ups, floriography and metaphors, lots of metaphors.

All this, combined with the stylization of traditional Japanese painting, created a stunning picture. Sometimes I had the feeling I was not watching a TV series, but a feature film.

The story is based on the tale of the Taira clan, so most of the characters are historical figures. The problem with this is that if you're not an expert in Japanese history, you might have a hard time accepting so many similar names. However, if you watch the anime thoughtfully, you might not have that problem.

If you're interested in seiyu and like to notice their unusual roles, this anime can make you very happy! The voices here perfectly convey the theatricality and atmosphere of Japanese storytelling.

And finally, it's the turn of the soundtrack! I think I'm starting to consider Kensuke Ushio a genius. With all the genre diversity, each of the compositions fits perfectly into the anime and complements the visuals in a stunning way. At times, the music is almost an extension of what's happening on the screen.

Unfortunately, this anime never got noticed by anyone, so I hope I was able to interest you at least a little bit. Thank you for reading to the end!