This is an edited version of my past review, I wasn't feeling happy about it so I added things that felt important to me.

Also this isn't spoiler free especially toward the end of the review so beware.

Fuck society, standards, establishment, traditions and everything that binds you, just be who you are, do what you want and love people.
That's what Inu-ou told me through these 1h37, supposedly a story about the heike it's actually closer to something like Shiori experience, even Macross 7 and it's going to break your expectations to pieces and build something even crazier with these pieces just like Yuasa knows how to do.

We follow the story of tomona and Inu-Ou who stray off the path their life shoulda been established on. Tomona was meant to be a biwa priest and player the day he became blind and went on a journey. He changes his name throughout the movie, going from Tomona, his original name, to Tomoichi, the name he was given when he joined the biwa priests troupe and finally Tomoari, the name he chose . The troupe of biwa priests he was in is a group of blind and bald men who are under the authority of the shogunate, they are the symbol of traditionalism and authority . When Tomoichi becomes Tomoari he breaks these shackles, empancipates from the mold of traditionalism, revoke the authority, ignore the few priests who hates and criticize him because of the way he is and that's how he definitely becomes himself. He becomes a rockstar and rock is the perfect choice of music to fit his character, it breaks with the traditions and what has been established before, he wears make up, lipsticks, perfumes, extravagant clothes, very high okobos (the type of geta he wears I think), he even holds his biwa like a guitar. His performances are live spectacular shows outside with fire eaters, he becomes a real rockstar on stage taking off his clothes and throwing them, playing his biwa behind his head like Jimi Hendrix, jumping around, climbing on the bridge fence. I love the contrast between Tomona and the setting of the story he literally is a rockstar in feodal japan and that's what makes him so unique. He is fucking free and he does what he wants.

Inu-Ou was not even supposed to exist, he isn't named, was living with the dogs, his hideous body hidden yet even destined to not exist, he forged ahead and did what he wants understanding that his uniqueness was what made him who he is. He actually was the most free person, he didn't have a name restraining him so he chose his own name and his destiny alongside it. Aware of his uniqueness and along Tomona he kept dancing, performing and singing under the name Inu-Ou in a unique way on the polar opposite of what "Noh" is, a very slow and elegant performance. He pulled up with crazy and impressive shows and used what makes him different to get the show to even higher skies, and people loved it because he is himself, he's the only one having a giant ass long arm and a scaly back He coulda hated everyone and everything considering is life but he didn't give a fuck, he loved and forgave everyone, even his father and did whatever he wanted without caring about what he was. That's why he could shine that brightly.

Their performances are about lost Heike stories who are told by spirits to Inu-ou, which is something not to the pleasure of the current shogunate because Heike are products of a tumultuous past and the authority wants the control over it to bring order and unity. They don't give a fuck though, whether its the Heike spirits, Inu-ou or Tomona they play to their hearts content, have the best fun and best laughs, embrace everything they do to the utmost without caring about anything, they are here to keep the story of the Heike alive, even if they are banned and hated you can't forget about them because they were their own person too, and even if the shogunate will cut their branches, hurt them, threaten them, censor them, they keep playing because that's what they are about, never submitting, being who they are, they go crazy, sing like no one ever did before, perform biwa like no one has ever seen before, may it be called a bastardized or disgusting art, they don't care, they reject every tradition that tries to restrict them and they live fucking free.

When Inu-Ou finishes a performance, if the spirits who keeps him cursed are rejoiced they leave happily and his curse gets lift off bit by bit. To me that's how Inu-Ou loses is uniqueness, he is slowly but surely conceding and fitting in the mold to the point where he accepts to lift his mask in the last performance, truly a grand finale but in my opinion that's when he finally gave up. After their immense finale performance, the shogunate bans and censor every new tale about the Heike and Inu-Ou that they didn't allow to be told. They banish, execute and strip the Tomoari's troupe of everything, they are erased, them and everything they did. Inu-Ou joins the shogunate but he isn't allowed to perform any of his Heike tales anymore. Though he was known as the most talented performer of his time, he was forgotten and Zeami had his name written down in history instead of him.

However "Everything is fiction" and "That face is just another mask" that's what Inu-Ou says when he's dining with politicians and he will stay true to this up to the end. In one of the last scene while the shogun is telling him that he won't be performing anymore, that the Tomoari troupe is disbanded and that he won't be able to see Tomoari ever again, while he is bowing it's clear that he his in madness. So he chooses to perform his actual final show, he puts on a new mask and will perform up until he can meet Tomoari again.

On the other side, Tomoari became Tomona again, he wasn't a biwa priest or a rockstar anymore and he gave up on the name he chose. He picked the name Tomona again, conceded to the hate and became what his father wanted him to be. He then kept singing his hate toward the shogunate instead of singing the life of Inu-Ou.

But they'll meet again, two spirits whose story has since been forgotten. They'll perform again together with the name he gave himself and him without any mask, free to be who they are and free to do what they want.

Fuck traditions and establishment, You are free to be who you want to be and do what you want to do.

What makes this movie even better aside from what I said before, the visuals, animation etc is how it echoes with Yuasa's career as a director. As his most likely last directed show I feel like he conveyed all his feelings he had on his career in this movie, this man never gave a fuck about pre established standards he did things his own way, was criticized for it, hated, misunderstood, people tried to make him like everyone wants him to be, they tried to make him do what everyone wants to see but he didn't, he kept doing his things his way despite everything and now he is recognized.

The direction is as great as Yuasa usually does, lots of frames are talking by themselves but my favourites are probably the scenes from the pov of Tomona's blind eyes, the way things slowly appears on the screen when he hears em because he originally know hows they look like since he isn't born blind or how he's not turning toward the fire on the scene where he's on the bridge with Inu-Ou. All the Inu-Ou performances were also crazy especially the last one that lasts for like 15min and is just splendid.

I think I definitely missed a lof things in this movie but I'm happy I was able to write down the feelings I got watching it for the first time since It's not something I usually do, I'll definitely watch it a 2nd time one of these days.

I fucking love you Yuasa Masaaki, I have yet to watch everything you made and I wish it to stay this way so I know I'll always have something to watch that will be made by you if I need to, at least Natsume Shingo works gives me the same feeling as yours so I should be fine for now.