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Inu-Oh

100 Movies of 2021

Inu-ô

2021

Masaaki Yuasa

Animation

6.8

551

Animation. Drama. Fantasy. Musical Inu-Oh was a real-life Sarugaku Noh performer who enjoyed great success in 14th century Japan. Nowadays he is unknown because there are very few documents about his life that have survived. Today, almost 600 years later, this "Inu-Oh"project, full of music and dance sequences, portrays a tale of friendship between the legendary Inu-Oh and a Biwa player he befriended.

	Author	Review
United Kingdom	Wendy Ide Screendaily	It’s a striking work, but one which might struggle to connect with audiences not well-versed in the very specific appeal of Noh performances."	POS
United States	David Ehrlich IndieWire	"Not since 1973’s “Belladonna of Sadness” has an anime feature reimagined ancient history in such hypnotically psychedelic fashion."	POS
United States	William Bibbiani The Wrap	"Masaaki Yuasa blends genres and ideas in a brilliantly intense and unhinged animated feature (...) “Inu-Oh” may get messy with its plotting, but that never dulls its impact."	POS
United States	Peter Debruge Variety	"Yuasa is the last one fans would expect to show an interest in the rigorously rule-based world of Noh —until it clicks that his interest lies in subverting the style's rigid codes and conventions"	POS
United States	Justin Chang Los Angeles Times	"[There's] an effective metaphor for the transformative nature of art in a movie that demands to be seen and heard, no less than the anguished, restless spirits it can barely contain"	POS
United States	Max Covill Paste Magazine	"It's Yuasa's best movie yet. Not unlike his protagonists who are striving to change the status quo, Yuasa's tale and work continue to innovate in the animation medium"	POS
United States	Caroline Cao SlashFilm	"'Inu-Oh' can be read as a memorial to the forgotten by coloring in the historical chasm with contemporary imagination (...) It also says something about the restorative power of music"	POS
United States	Simon Abrams rogerebert.com	"Yuasa's adaptation of Furukawa's book is half-thrilling and half-underwhelming (…) Rating: ★★½ (out of 4)"	NEU
Canada	Kim Morrissy Anime News Network (ANN)	"An absurdist anime that never forgets its heart, INU-OH stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Yuasa's best work."	POS
Canada	Reuben Baron CBR	"Freddie Mercury's influence on Inu-Oh is not just in its songwriting, but in its heavy queer sensibility (...) Inu-Oh's concert scenes are so fun that sheer entertainment value would have been enough"	POS
United States	Kambole Campbell Polygon	"Though Yuasa pits art against an oppressive government, the film isn't naive about the upper limits of such outspokenness (...) But there's a twinkle of optimism to 'Inu-Oh' regardless"	POS
United States	Rafael Motamayor IGN	"Yuasa turns an obscure chapter in Japanese history into a phenomenal concert experience with stunning set pieces, catchy tunes, and fluid and unrestricted animation that defies comparison"	POS
United States	Jared Mobarak The Film Stage	"A well-made, idiosyncratic anime breathing newfound life into ancient history"	POS
United States	Manohla Dargis The New York Times	"Even as Yuasa's approach changes —as he plays with texture, volume and hue and gently shifts the balance between the figurative and the abstract— his extraordinary touch remains evident in each line and... eye-popping swirl"	POS
United States	Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle	"There is an inferno burning in Yuasa. That can be the explanation for the breadth of his imagination (...) Every project sees a complete reinvention, 'Inu-Oh' is a rock & roll, stadium show, pyrotechnic extravaganza (…) Rating: ★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Chase Hutchinson Collider	"Bold and beautiful in equal measure, Masaaki Yuasa's film is a stunning work of animated showmanship"	POS
United Kingdom	Phil Hoad The Guardian	"An affirmation of lost histories and outcast perspectives that screams with a protean power (...) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
Canada	Ard Vijn Screen Anarchy	"It is Magnificent Masaaki at his best (...) Yuasa Masaaki has created one of his most beautiful films"	POS

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