Inu-Oh

In fourteenth-century Japan, Tomona, a blind biwa player, meets Inu-oh, a dancer made to wear a mask because of the shape he was born with. Together they bring to the stage the stories nobody tells, the stories of the forgotten dead of the Heike clan, and the crowds come. With every story they perform, Inu-oh's body becomes ordinary. Masaaki Yuasa builds the historical material as a rock concert, turning the Noh stage into a stadium and the biwa into an electric guitar, and the anachronism is not an error but the point. By the end, power decides which story may be told and censorship becomes a physical thing. The design carries Yuasa's usual elastic line. Who it is for: viewers who like bold animation and music films. Who it is not for: anyone looking for historical accuracy.