Ghost Cat Anzu review

With its voyage to Japan’s pastoral countryside and a larger-than-life creature who functions as a surrogate parent, Ghost Cat Anzu’s early moments might draw comparison with My Neighbor Totoro. Later, a third-act chase through the netherworld shares a resemblance to Spirited Away.

But directors Yōko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita animated is a fundamentally different from Studio Ghibli’s seminal works. With Anzu, harsh realities and the fantastical intermingle in their own distinctive and entertaining manner.

Anzu’s Sound Design is Unexpectedly Stellar

The film’s early moments detail the arrival of Tetsuya, a down-on-his-luck widower, and his eleven-year old daughter Karin. Described as “The Town of Eternal Summer!”, the idyllic coastal community of Iketeru is far removed from the energetic pace of Tokyo that the pair are accustomed to. The setting is home to a cast of eccentric locals, from the chronically unemployed Yotchan to a pair of local boys who pledge to defy societal norms, who all provide delightfully peculiar interactions.

Staying with Kirin’s grandfather at the local Sousei-Ji temple, rustic tranquility is soon upended when Tetsuya asks the caretaker to borrow some money. Displaying a battered arm and explaining he narrowly escaped with his life from an overdue gambling debt, the elder erupts, tossing his drink at Tetsuya before stating that he needs to leave. Alone and poor after giving her last bit of money to her father, Karin wanders through Iketeru, observing the town’s inhabitants, and eagerly waiting for her father’s return.

What’s surprising about Ghost Cat Anzu is just how potent the grandfather’s outburst feels. There are moments in the film that channel the ambience of a documentary, a quality that’s bolstered by the use of rotoscoped animation and a sound mix that’s amazingly lifelike. Beyond ambient details like sliding door friction and muffled footsteps, there’s even a bit of reverb in different rooms.

A Ghost Cat with Side Gigs and a Pachinko Habit

Like Kirin, we don’t know what to expect when the titular character arrives on his scooter and speaks like a human. It’s explained that Anzu is an immortal cat found by the grandfather 37 years ago. Now, he spends his days interacting with the local townsfolks like any other neighbor. When asked by the local kids to join their (scarcely) delinquent gang, he declines. And while he might seem like the local spirit guardian, Anzu is no saint. From getting caught riding his scooter without a license to urinating on a fence, the Ghost Cat demonstrates some moral complexity, making for a beguiling character.

Ultimately, Anzu’s more lawful than chaotic, as evidenced by his request for the roaming god of poverty to leave Iketeru. Clan in a traditional fundoshi and drawn with a single snaggletooth, the deity is yet another fascinating personality that returns for the film’s frantic third act.

Part of me wanted to linger in Iketeru longer and appreciate the rustic routine and pastoral peculiarities. Had Takashi Imashiro’s manga been adapted into an animated series perhaps that might have happened. Instead, Kuno and Yamashita accelerate the pacing as Anzu, the god of poverty, and Karin all take an express-toilet to the underworld. And yes, you read that correctly. After spinning down the drain, Ghost Cat offers a chaotic sightseeing tour of the underworld, where oni sip on coffee and the deceased linger in what resembles an antiquated grand hotel. It’s a radical shift in tone from the first two-thirds of the film but quite fitting for an impulsive ghost cat. Ghost Cat Anzu doesn’t always deliver explanation, but it resists heavy-handed moralizing, making for an impressive but slightly uneven experience.

Ghost Cat Anzu is available on digital platforms and on physical media from Shout! Studios.