Inu-Oh Review

Anime can be weird. It can offer strange and unique films and shows, with one of them being the 14^th century set rock opera Inu-Oh.

In the 14^th century Japan is a divided country. Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the shogun of Japan seeks to unite the country by finding the lost Grasscutter Sword. However, the Grasscutter Sword is cursed and when it’s found it kills the man who found it and blinds his son, Tomona.

Years later Tomona has become a biwa priest and befriends another cursed individual, a deformed man with no name, so he calls himself Inu-Oh. When the deformed man becomes surrounded by the spirits of the Heike warriors Inu-Oh sets out to tell their stories so he can free the spirits.

Inu-Oh was a film based on Japanese legend and history. As a viewer from the UK I had no knowledge of the story, it was new to me and there was a lot to be learned very quickly. The film does accommodate audiences who don’t know much about Japanese culture.

Inu-Oh was not just a film about Japanese history, it was about the importance of history. It opened in the present day with a Biwa player singing about the events 600 years ago and the focus of the film was on the telling of events that happened 300 years prior. Inu-Oh told the stories of the spirits so they can move on to the next stage of the afterlife. Inu-Oh’s performances allowed the stories of the Heike warriors to be chronicled.

There was also a personal element to the history. Inu-Oh told of his origins and why he was deformed. There was a disturbing sequence that showed Inu-Oh as a foetus and showed him becoming deformed. Whilst Tomona entered into a profession of telling stories. Tomona’s personal history was important when he interacted with the spirit of his father. Tomona’s father stated that if Tomona changed his name then the spirit wouldn’t find his son. It reminded me of Spirited Away when Yubaba took Chihiro’s name away and showed how important names are in Japanese culture.

Whilst Inu-Oh was about history and its preservation, it was also a film about defying tradition. Inh-Oh was rejected from a Noh dance troop because of his monstrous appearance and Tomona challenged the biwa priests to perform new songs, leading to him walking out on them. Inu-Oh and Tomona’s popularity as independent musicians was seen as a threat to the elites in Kyoto. The elites planned to use Inu-Oh in their political schemes.

The challenge to traditionalism came in another way: the style of the music. Inu-Oh used a traditional sound with the use of Japanese lutes and evolved into a glam rock style with the performances becoming more elaborate. It was an unexpected twist for audiences going in blind. Inu-Oh was the third musically-themed anime film to be released in the UK in 2022. The other two were Belle and One Piece Film: Red. Inu-Oh stood out because of the use of rock music.

Animation wise Inu-Oh was fantastic. This was expected from an anime that had lots of musical performances and dancing. There was an ugliness to some of the characters, particularly the leader of the Noh dance troop, and there was a willingness to show violence when required. There were moments of beauty as well like when the film opened to show the reversal of time, the flashbacks to the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and visualising how Tomona saw the world. The Battle of Dan-no-ura and Tomona’s vision were notable because they were artistically different. The battle was made to look like a traditional Japanese painting, whilst Tomona’s visions had a painted look to them.

Inu-Oh was bold visually and musically, but there was one big issue: the muddled storytelling. Besides the central story of Inu-Oh and Tomaro’s friendship and their mission to tell the stories of the Heike warriors, there were story strains that involved the political manoeuvring in the Emperor’s court, the story of a murderous spirit on Tomona’s home island and showcasing a rivalry between Inu-Oh and the leader of the dance troop. It made the film more jumbled than it needed to be.

Inu-Oh was a wonderful film that looked at the importance of history and defying convention. While it had a messy story, the themes and the friendship between Inu-Oh and Tomaro held the film together.