Learn Japanese with The Heike Story

Anime by Japanese level › N1

How hard is the Japanese in The Heike Story?

Ikkimi rates The Heike Story at N1 (the hardest level). What sets its level: period speech, classical verse recited. Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 183 are easier and none is harder.

Levels follow the Japanese Language Proficiency Test, from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). They are Ikkimi’s estimate of how hard a show’s Japanese is to follow, from how fast people talk, how many unusual words there are and how clear the voices are. They are not official JLPT ratings.

Format, episodes, year and genres are from AniList’s entry, which may cover only the first season.

The words in the title

The Japanese title, 平家物語, is a first lesson in itself. Its word, as a dictionary lists it:

How to learn Japanese with The Heike Story

Ikkimi lists The Heike Story on Crunchyroll. What each service carries varies by country. Ikkimi does not stream anything: you watch on your own account, in Chrome on a computer, and Ikkimi adds a Japanese line you can click on top of the player.

On Crunchyroll

Crunchyroll rarely has Japanese subtitles. On a Crunchyroll episode, Ikkimi looks for a matching Japanese subtitle file in Jimaku’s public catalogue, loads it and lines it up with the episode by itself. If Jimaku has no file for an episode, you can search by hand in the Ikkimi popup or load a subtitle file from your computer.

1. Add Ikkimi to Chrome

   Get the extension from the Chrome Web Store and sign in.

2. Play an episode

   Open The Heike Story on Crunchyroll. The Japanese line appears on top of the video.

3. Click the words you keep hearing

   The video pauses and the word opens: kana, romaji, meaning, JLPT level and a recording by a native speaker where one exists (never a computer voice; otherwise the line from the show plays again). At this level, turn on the English line under the Japanese at first, and keep only the words that come back.

4. Review them later

   Kept words come back as flashcards on the Ikkimi website, with the scene and the line they came from, just before you would forget them.

Easier and harder shows

The Heike Story is at the top of Ikkimi’s levels. Shows within a level of The Heike Story, with the most genres in common first.

Easier

• N2 to N1Fate/Zeroformal, archaic speeches about idealsCrunchyrollNetflix
• N2Demon Slayer鬼滅の刃old-fashioned speech, a lot of shoutingCrunchyrollNetflix
• N2Jujutsu Kaisen呪術廻戦fast, invented technique namesCrunchyrollNetflix

Also N1

• N1Bakemonogatari化物語wordplay, very fastCrunchyroll
• N1DEATH NOTElong reasoning, formal wordsNetflixCrunchyroll
• N1Mononokeモノノ怪theatrical period speechCrunchyrollNetflix

See every N1 anime or all 192 anime by Japanese level, and read how to learn Japanese by watching anime from zero.

Questions

Is The Heike Story good for learning Japanese?

No, keep it for later. Ikkimi rates it N1 (the hardest level). What sets its level: period speech, classical verse recited. It is among the hardest shows Ikkimi rates, hard even for advanced learners.

What Japanese level is The Heike Story?

N1, on Ikkimi’s scale from N5 (easiest) to N1 (hardest). Of the 192 anime Ikkimi rates by hand, 183 are easier and none is harder. The level is Ikkimi’s estimate, not an official JLPT rating.

Where can I watch The Heike Story with Japanese subtitles?

Ikkimi lists The Heike Story on Crunchyroll. What each service carries varies by country. Crunchyroll rarely has Japanese subtitles, so Ikkimi looks for a matching file in Jimaku’s catalogue and lines it up with the episode.

What does the title 平家物語 mean, word by word?

物語 (monogatari) means “story; tale; narrative”.

How many episodes does The Heike Story have?

AniList’s entry lists 11 episodes of about 23 minutes, first aired in 2021. Later seasons may be listed separately.

What should I watch before The Heike Story?

Shows a little easier than The Heike Story, with genres in common: Fate/Zero (N2 to N1), Demon Slayer (N2) and Jujutsu Kaisen (N2).

Sources: show details from AniList; meanings from JMdict (EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0); readings and word splits from kuromoji.js with IPADIC; JLPT word levels from Jonathan Waller’s unofficial lists. See Credits. Spotted a mistake? Tell us at hello@ikkimi.app.