Created by Devilman crybaby and Japan Sinks: 2020’s director Masaaki Yuasa, the musical anime film Inu-Oh has revealed a new trailer, main cast, and additional staff. It is scheduled to open in Japan in early summer 2022.
Based on Hideo Furukawa’s The Tale of the Heike: Chapter of Inu-Oh modern novel, the anime film follows Inu-Oh, a real-life 14th-century Nōgaku (a type of traditionalal Japanese music drama) performer, and his friendship with Tomona, a blind biwa player.
Avu-chan of the Queen Bee rock band plays INU-OH, and actor Mirai Moriyama will play Tomona.
Inu-Oh will make its world premiere and compete in the Horizons (Orizzonti) category at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, held between September 1 and 11. It is the first 2D Japanese film to compete in this category. The anime film is originally set for a 2021 release.
Yuasa is directing the film at his Science SARU studio. Ping Pong and Sunny manga creator Taiyo Matsumoto is credited as the original character designer. Akiko Nogi is writing her first anime film after scripting live-action films/dramas such as I am a Hero, We Married as a Job!, and Unnatural. Yoshihide Otomo is composing the music.
▍Synopsis
INU-OH is born with unique physical characteristics, and the horrified adults cover every inch of his body with garments, including a mask on his face. One day, he meets a boy named Tomona, a blind biwa player, and as Tomona plays a delicate song of tangled fate, INU-OH discovers an incredible ability to dance.
INU-OH and Tomona become business partners and inseparable friends, using their creative gifts to survive on the margins of society, as song after song gains them notoriety and propels them to stardom. Through the songs, INU-OH mesmerizes his audiences on stage and gradually begins to transform into someone of unequaled beauty. But why is Tomona blind? Why was INU-OH born with unique characteristics? It is a story about the friendship of INU-OH and Tomona, who dance and sing to get to the truth and break each other’s curse.
▍Staff and Production
Original Work: Hideo Furukawa’s The Tale of the Heike: Chapter of Inu-Oh [Kawade Shobō Shinsha]
Director: Masaaki Yuasa
Series Composition: Akiko Nogi
Original Character Design: Taiyo Matsumoto
Music: Yoshihide Otomo
Animation: Science SARU