Inu-Oh

Most modern anime movies (that aren’t tied to a series that is) usually fall into one of these two trends: Makoto Shinkai rip-off or Ghibli rip-off.

But there was a time, years ago, when this wasn’t the case.

You won’t believe this, but there was a time when weird movies like “Memories”, Satoshi Kon films, and Mamoru Oshii movies got made and released.

If they were successful or not at the box office, it does not matter, because the thing is that they actually got made and became classics that will be revisited for years to come.

But because anime nowadays is as popular as it ever has been, “weird” films are just not going to get made because if you are gonna appeal to the widest audience possible you have to play it safe. So make a movie that’s a sequel to an already existing series, or just imitate Shinkai/Ghibli's visual and narrative styles if you are gonna make something original.

That’s not to say that all the films among this trend (or the films that have inspired this trend) are bad, but it means that there is less variety overall, many of them just seem extremely generic, and the landscape for modern anime movies as a whole is just really not interesting (proof of that is that I have no interest in most modern anime films).

But well, as Inu-Oh demonstrates, there is always hope that something weird and unique will eventually get made (even if it doesn’t end up being great).

And weird it is.

Inu-Oh is about a guy in search of something similar to revenge in feudal Japan who talks to his dad (who is a ghost) and is also blind, and is also a Monk that plays the Biwa (a guitar of sorts) that meets a deformed idiot with a giant hand that is cursed (the idiot, not the hand) and starts a rock band (I remind you that the film is set in feudal Japan btw) to get back at those who mistreated him, making this essentially a musical.

Yeah, it’s a trip for sure.

All of this weirdness works in its favor, as it fits really well with the insane fast pacing, comedic tone and anti-traditional/authoritarian attitude that the film presents, creating an intense, crazy and fun experience.

Its art also deviates from most modern anime movies, as desaturated and grey colors are present throughout most of the backgrounds, and its world is populated by ugly and simplistic character designs.

But all of that is meaningless if we don’t have a strong core, and luckily, the movie features a strong core in the form of the relationship between its two main characters.

Both are presented as cursed beings who are unfit for society, and their friendship is pretty charming and the strongest part of the film.

A word must also be said for the unique directing and storyboarding (unique as far as modern anime movies are concerned): There are lots of Pov shots (some really unique, like the ones from the perspective of the blind character), beautiful jump cuts are also constantly used to present the passage of time, there are some very interesting camera movements throughout the film, a scene in which a swordsman kills multiple guys over a stretch of time is presented as five different horizontal panels in one single shot...The list could go on.

All of this being said, the movie is still extremely flawed.

Its main problem is that musicals go on for far too long, and even worse, in all of them they repeat shots of looped animation several times in a row.

Also, while the relationship between its main two characters is charming, the insanely fast pacing doesn’t give this relationship the proper weight that it should. In fact, the first third of the film used to present both characters and their relationship is literally the highest point of the film (and the relationship isn’t explored much after that).

Its art might work well for presenting the bleak world of our two cursed main protagonists, but on the other hand, it doesn’t fit the most upbeat scenes of the second half of the movie.

And finally, the cgi and vfx at times are just fucking ugly and ruin some shots.

But at the end, I still think that the final result is a very fun and unique experience. Maybe it isn’t great because of the flaws mentioned but it’s worth your time if you are looking for a fun and different film.

While I haven’t watched most of Yuasa’s work, this and “Night is short walk on girl” (which is better and more consistent than this film btw) have been a pleasant surprise (a shame about Devilman midbaby).

I hope that I can explore more of Yuasa’s work in the future.

Bye bye

Thanks for reading.