The incredible new anime film Inu-Oh, which was directed by the renowned Masaaki Yuasa (Ride Your Wave, Mind Game, Night Is Short, Walk On Girl), will be released on all major digital platforms on December 20th, and on Blu-Ray + DVD on January 24th from GKIDS, with distribution by Shout! Factory.
Inu-Oh is a glam-rock opera set in fourteenth-century Japan that was directed by the imaginative Masaaki Yuasa. It is an ode to the power of music as well as a bold statement on artistic freedom, and it has been well received critically with Rotten Tomatoes giving it its "Fresh" certification.
Inu-Oh features original rock songs by the lead voice actors Avu-chan and Mirai Moriyama, which will have viewers dancing along with them in their seats. The character creation comes from manga artist Taiyo Matsumoto (Tekkonkinkreet), who previously worked with Yuasa on the anime adaptation of Matsumoto's series Ping Pong the Animation. Inu-Oh also features character designs from Taiyo Matsumoto.
Fans will be given a variety of treats, such as audio commentary and interviews with the original cast, as well as an interview with director Masaaki Yuasa and other supplementary content.
The film is now available for pre-order through Amazon.com (CLICK HERE to order and support the site!), GKIDS.com and ShoutFactory.com. The physical edition of the rock-opera has an exclusive presentation of the brand-new English language dub.
Inu-Oh received widespread praise almost immediately after its release. The film had its world premiere at the 78th Venice International Film Festival, and its North American premiere at the 46th Toronto International Film Festival. This was the acclaimed director's first time being invited to either of these festivals. After the picture was shown as a work in progress during the previous edition of the Annecy Film Festival in 2020, Yuasa returned to Annecy to accept an honorary position as the patron of the 2022 Mifa campus. The movie continued its tour of the world by appearing at a number of other international film festivals such as Fantasia International (where it won the Satoshi Kon Award), Warsaw, Seattle International, Bucheon International Animation (where it won the International Feature Award), Tokyo International, and many more. After a great run in theaters across the continent of North America, where it received praise from both film critics and moviegoers.
The original voice cast includes Avu-chan (Inu-oh), Mirai Moriyama (Tomona), Tasuko Emoto (Lord Yoshimitsu AShikaga), Kenjiro Tsuda (Inu-oh's father), and Yutaka Matsushige (Tomona's father).
The English language voice dub cast includes Joshua Waters (Inu-oh), Sena Bryer (Sena Bryer), Cory Yee (Lord Yoshimitsu Ashikaga), Holden Thomas (Teenage Inu-oh), Carter Young (young Tomona) and Jonathan Leon (teenage Tomona).
Inu-Oh Synopsis
Although Inu-Oh was born into a respected family, he has been marginalized by a long-standing curse that has pushed him to the periphery of society. When Inu-Oh meets Tomona, a young biwa priest who is troubled by his background, he realizes that he possesses a compelling ability to dance. Tomona is a blind musician. As more and more people begin to attend their electrifying and larger-than-life shows, the two rapidly become inseparable friends. However, when people in authority threaten to disband the band, Inu-Oh and Tomona are forced to engage in musical performance in order to learn the truth about their creative abilities.