A Conversation with Inu-Oh’s Masaaki Yuasa

Often employing an idiosyncratic visual style and a distinctive directorial vision, Masaaki Yuasa has already earned a multitude of industry awards as well as an abundance of critical acclaim. His body of work is as wonderfully eclectic as its multi-faceted characters, with highlights that range from The Tatami Galaxy, The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl, Devilman Crybaby, and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with Yuasa in conjunction with the home release of his latest effort, Inu-Oh.

T-G: There have been quite a few films that attempt to document the euphoria felt by a performer who captivates a large audience. Inu-Oh’s depiction of that phenomenon is one of cinema’s best. Can you walk us through the mental process of depicting that kind of energy?

Yuasa: I was really interested in making a film of this period. The story itself is about a Noh artist who is born abnormal but then gradually his body transforms to be a normal person. It does develop into an unhappy ending but actually beyond that is something that I wanted to express that there is something even bigger than what happened in the ending.

T-G: Many contemporary films seem to fear ambiguity. But in both your visual direction and in your portrayal of characters you tend to embrace it. How do you decide how much uncertainty should be in your film?

Yuasa: I do embrace ambiguity. I feel like there are a lot of filmmakers that try to express everything clearly within one and a half hours but for me I don’t feel that the world is that clear. I think there are a lot of ambiguities in real life and I do not want to lie when I make something saying “This is it.” I’m trying to make a film that looks clear but is actually complicated. In terms of Inu-Oh, I feel like it is really considerate for the people that do not know anything clearly. It embraces the viewers or characters who don’t know anything clearly.

T-G: To expand on this, I love how in films like The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl and Inu-Oh, I was completely unsure of where the film would be in five or ten minutes. How much of this reflects your own worldview?

Yuasa: In terms of Inu-Oh, it’s a very complicated period. I didn’t feel like I had to clarify what was happening for the first five to ten minutes, I did a lot of time lapse so it may be difficult to understand it in one or two times of watching it but if you watch this movie over and over then you may actually know what’s going on little by little and enjoy it more. For me, myself, I feel like I did a great job in the opening sequence.

T-G: Traditionally, musicals offer a succession of short, two or three-minute songs. But Inu-Oh’s music is much closer to the structure of an epic and is similarly sustained. Can you explain the creative process behind Tomona and Inu-Oh’s songs?

Yuasa: It was actually challenging because at first, I wanted to make it like a musical. However, as you noticed, the structure is quite different from a regular musical so the composer also had a challenging time trying to even start. So, at first I decided to have a visual for him to be able to imagine it a little better and so we made several scenes and then he put the music onto it and that’s how we started the process. Actually, Inu-Oh is not a musical film, it’s a music film. The whole film is considered one long piece of music and that’s where the story happens.

T-G: The film recontextualizes Noh as the heavy metal of the 14^th century, with audiences enraptured by theatrics and vivacity. How did you come up with this comparison?

Yuasa: So actually,  there is a record that back then in the 14th century, they would say that the rhythm of the music of Noh used to be very fast so the audience used to get very excited. There is a story that someone from the audience actually fell from a wall. So, if that’s actually something that happened, I thought that rock and roll would be really adequate for this film.

T-G: Regretfully, many of the minutiae of 14th century life weren’t recorded. Despite that Inu-Oh is rich with detail, delving into things like theater lighting of the era. Outside of Hideo Furukawa’s novel, how much historical research was needed for the film?

Yuasa: Professor Sata, who is very knowledgeable about the era, pointed important things out and gave us direction. As for finding the details of life in that era that have been lost to time, I took the information we had and imagined turning completely into a person living during that era and considered what was likely to have existed or been needed at the time.

T-G: One fascinating premise in the film centers around the stories that demonstrate longevity and the ones that seemingly disappear. What are the ingredients that make art enduring?

Yuasa: I think stones are the ingredient needed. Things that are made with stone or iron last for a long time, while on the other hand, physically speaking, I think data is likely to become lost. However, what I wanted to communicate in this film is that things that last for a long time are not the only good things. Some things only exist for a moment and entertain people for a short period of time and are as good and important as the ones that last a long time. That’s the idea that I most wanted to present in this film.

T-G: Another central theme of the film is that art isn’t created in a vacuum. In the film, Tomona and Inu-Oh inspire one another. Who are some of the people that have helped stimulate your own creative spirit?

Yuasa: Yes, I always try to work together with people who have different ideas than I do as much as possible. People who point out things that I never would even imagine, and people who criticize my ideas; by working with those people, and overcoming or incorporating their criticism, I can shore up and further deepen my thoughts and creativity.

T-G: In the film, music documents and preserves history. How are animation and film doing at recording the zeitgeist of our current time?

Yuasa: From now on, I think things will be preserved more and more via archives and the like. But are those truly reflecting the zeitgeist? We cannot know until we study the evidence after the fact in a historical context. However, I think the customs that are favored by the common people will be the ones to be preserved.

T-G: In a previous interview, you mentioned visiting Western animation studios. What were some of the things that you discovered?

Yuasa: The studios were very beautiful, and I was especially impressed by the way various styles and approaches to animation coexisted among different teams inside the same studio. Sometimes it seemed that they were taking their time while working, but then other times it seemed that they were working very quickly. I even saw people who pulled all-nighters to meet a deadline just like Japanese people do, which surprised me a little.

T-G: Increasingly, there’s a conversation about the larger role of computers in animation and even the incorporation of artificial intelligence in the field.  Can you share some of your thoughts on these technologies?

Yuasa: In general, I think that is what is going to happen, the AI will inevitably enter the picture. And that’s not limited to just the animation industry but for the entirety of society. However, that is why I want to adopt AI in a way that carefully considers how it can best be implemented.

Tech-Gaming wishes to thank Masaaki Yuasa
and GKIDS for facilitating this interview