Inu-Oh

Jesus Christ Superstar conveys its titular figure's radical life through the radical means of a rock opera. The anime film Inu-Oh applies this philosophy to the legendary Noh dancer of the same name. Let's see if I can describe it.

Director Masaaki Yuasa (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken; Devilman Crybaby; The Night is Short, Walk on Girl) and writer Akiko Nogi adapt Hideo Furukawa's novel Tales of the Heike: The Inu-Oh Chapters, itself inspired by Japan's national epic, The Tale of the Heike. It starts with a rundown of the climactic Battle of Dan-No-Ura, where the Heike clan was defeated by their rivals, the Genji. Centuries later, a treasure hunter and his son, Tomona, find the Kusanagi, the sword of the God Susanoo, in a Heike shipwreck. That find ends with Tomona blind and his father dead. Tomona later finds his calling as a biwa player.

Enter our title character. Inu-Oh (Avu-Chan of the rock band, Queen Bee) was born hideously deformed when his Noh-dancer father (Kenjiro Tsuda) made a deal with a demonic mask. Inu-Oh spends his days swinging through Kyoto with his huge arm, freaking out people with his misshapen face (which is kept masked) and dancing. He soon meets Tomona (Mirai Moriyama) and together, they essentially become Japan's first rock stars. Inu-Oh's cursed body normalizes with each performance we see. But a few powerful people don't take kindly to their act.

But we can. The performances, scored by Otomo Yoshihide, are rousing rock numbers with spectacular lights and sounds. Inu-Oh's dances are marvelously animated by Yuasa's studio, Science Saru. It's also fun to see their fans react like modern day rock fans at a concert. How can you not love the climactic 14th-century equivalent of Bohemian Rhapsody? The soundtrack is completed by a lively traditional score (a highlight being a huge biwa performance). This film was clearly meant to be seen with a huge crowd on the big screen, but alas, I was the only one at my screening.

These performances begin halfway through its 98 minutes. We spend a long time learning about our leads and Ancient Japanese history in the first half. Inu-Oh and Tomona's first meeting on a bridge is worth the wait even if their act doesn't immediately begin. We also see the Kusanagi drip with blood and ready to unsheath itself - a Chekhov's Gun that never fires. Inu-Oh's relationship to his nameless father isn't exactly clear at the beginning. But his villainy will hit you with a ton of bricks upon the reveal. What also hits you is the sudden downer ending just after the third rousing concert. At least the epilogue was nice.

Inu-Oh won't replace Belle as my favorite anime musical. But I'll still admire it as a creative one. It's a gleefully anachronistic tale of ancient rock stars defying normalcy. Just keep that slow first half in mind. A few plot points could have been developed better with at least another half hour. But you'll have a rocking good time once its concept kicks in. No English dub is available; at least the subtitles can help you understand its massive exposition. If you want to see it, see it soon, for another anime is about to dominate cinemas real soon.