This week on Bento Radio, I take a deep dive into Inu-Oh — the electrifying historical rock opera from Science SARU.

Set in 14th-century Japan after the fall of the Heike clan, Inu-Oh follows two outcasts — a blind biwa player and a physically deformed Noh performer — who transform forgotten war stories into explosive, rebellious stage performances. But beneath the glam-rock spectacle and surreal animation lies something sharper: a story about disability, censorship, power, and who gets to control cultural memory.

In this episode, I explore:

• How the film reimagines traditional Noh theater as counterculture
• The role of disability and “otherness” in medieval Japanese society
• Why the shogunate fears art that inspires people
• The tension between state-approved narratives and buried history
• And why this movie feels even more relevant today

Inu-Oh isn’t just visually stunning — it’s a meditation on art as resistance. And while its final act hits hard emotionally, its themes linger long after the music fades.

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This week, I’m breaking down Cosmic Princess Kaguya!, a hyper-stylized sci-fi fairy tale that feels like a collision between Hosoda-era digital optimism and modern influencer anxiety. From VR contact lenses and disco moons to AI identity and parasocial pressure, the film is packed with ideas—and not all of them fit cleanly into its runtime.

We talk about the film’s take on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, its Gen-Z sensibilities, expressive animation, and surprisingly strong emotional beats, especially surrounding Iroha and her complicated family dynamics. I also dig into where the pacing falters, why the story feels both sincere and overly self-aware, and how its ambition ultimately both elevates and undermines the experience.

It’s messy, heartfelt, and visually inventive—and even when it struggles, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! gives us a lot to chew on.

Visit https://bento-box.ghost.io/ for more anime thoughts

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In this episode, I talk about Love Through a Prism, a historical anime romance that surprised me by being far more about art, ambition, and loss than love alone.

Set in early-1900s London, the series follows a group of art students navigating class, obligation, and creative pressure as they try to define who they are and what their work means. I walk through how the show portrays art school as lived experience—critiques, competition, impostor syndrome, and the quiet fear of falling behind—while relationships form and fracture alongside that struggle.

We also dig into the show’s striking visual language, especially its use of color and black-and-white imagery to express grief, creative paralysis, and emotional distance. As history begins to intrude and World War I reshapes the characters’ futures, Love Through a Prism becomes a story about growing up, letting go, and finding ways to keep creating—even when the life you imagined is no longer possible.

This episode isn’t just a review, but a conversation about what it means to pursue art seriously, how love complicates that pursuit, and why this series resonated with me long after it ended.

Visit https://bento-box.ghost.io/ for more anime thoughts

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