Published from 2006 – 2007, manga creator Imashiro Takashi’s series Bakeneko Anzu-chan followed a ghost cat, a bakeneko type of kaibyō (a cat with supernatural properties), and its relationship with the people who lived in the town surrounding the temple he lived at. It would be later gathered and published as a single volume, but it would be the French-Japanese dual production, Ghost Cat Anzu (2024), directed by Yōko Kuno (Airy Me) and Nobuhiro Yamashita (Let’s Go Karaoke!), that would help spread awareness of the titular cat and his antics. After traveling the festival circuit and various country premieres, Shout! Studios and GKIDS Films offer a home release edition in standard HD that’s, unfortunately, absent any form of bonus materials to allow curious viewers to dig deeper into the tale.
If you’re interested in learning about Ghost Cat Anzu in a spoiler-free capacity, head over to the initial Fantasia International Film Festival 2024 review. Moving forward, the home release review will not hesitate to explore some of the surprises of the narrative.
L-R: Karin voiced by Noa Gotō/Evie Hsu and Tetsuya voiced by Munetaka Aoki/Andrew Kishino in GHOST CAT ANZU. ©2024 Shin-ei Animation Co., Ltd. / Miyu Productions / TV asahi corporation / TOHO Co., Ltd. / AT-X, Inc. / MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. / NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC. ©Takashi Imashiro / Kodansha. All Rights Reserved.
Despite her discomfort, 11-year-old daughter Karin (voiced by Noa Gotō/Evie Hsu) travels to the Sousei-Ji Temple with her father, Tetsuya (voiced by Munetaka Aoki/Andrew Kishino), who is going to ask Karin’s estranged grandfather, Oshô (voiced by Keiichi Suzuki/John Kassir), for financial assistance. (Oshô lives in and serves as caretaker for the temple.) Unwilling to help his son after 20 years of disconnection, Oshô is charged with Karin’s care so that she can stay safe as Tetsuya leaves to try to clear his debt on his own. Resentful, Karin doesn’t exactly welcome the change or the antics of Anzu (voiced by Mirai Moriyama/Jason Simon), the ghost cat who’s lived with Oshô and his family for more than three decades. Despite their familial disagreements and outbursts, Anzu still tries to help protect Karin as the girl’s longing to return home and to offer respects on the anniversary of her mother’s death result in a most hellish altercation.
L-R: Karin voiced by Noa Gotō/Evie Hsu and Anzu voiced by Mirai Moriyama/Jason Simon in GHOST CAT ANZU. ©2024 Shin-ei Animation Co., Ltd. / Miyu Productions / TV asahi corporation / TOHO Co., Ltd. / AT-X, Inc. / MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. / NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC. ©Takashi Imashiro / Kodansha. All Rights Reserved.
Addressing the home release aspect first, the lack of bonus features frustrates because, like the narrative which explores being adrift in two worlds, the construction of Ghost Cat Anzu is comprised of animation and rotoscoping from real-life performances. In 2024, GKIDS Films shared a first look teaser in which we saw some of the on-set work and how it was merged with the animation. While general audiences might not be curious about this kind of technical achievement, those who seek out Anzu upon its release certainly do. How did they block scenes? What was the on-set experience like? How did the live-action process inform elements of the adaptative script, if at all? Who are the people who worked on the rotoscoping and what were some of the challenges involved? With the film’s narrative taking audiences in hell so that Karin could see her mother again, did they stage this sequence and the following chase similarly or did they just animate it without a live-action component? So much of Anzu’s construction is part of the appeal and there’s nothing exploring it included. Frustratingly, but unsurprisingly, the overseas edition (this time the French version) does include an interview with the directors and storyboard excerpts, so the lack of materials may be an issue of licensing. Whatever the cause, it’s most certainly a frustration.
Karin voiced by Noa Gotō in GHOST CAT ANZU. P©2024 Shin-ei Animation Co., Ltd. / Miyu Productions / TV asahi corporation / TOHO Co., Ltd. / AT-X, Inc. / MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. / NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC. ©Takashi Imashiro / Kodansha. All Rights Reserved.
The above matters more than just for the technical approach of making Anzu, but to get an inside look at the narrative, as well. One of the best things about Anzu is the presentation of the relationship between Karin and Anzu — one that starts with rivalry (more from Karin’s part; Anzu just behaves as a cat would) and turns familial with Anzu not just being a spirit protector but similar to an uncle to Karin (he was raised with Tetsuya, after all). Anzu searches for her when she goes missing, he watches over her when she travels to the city to visit her mother’s grave locker, and tries to defend her against Enma (voiced by Shōhei Uno/Frank Todaro), the king of the dead. He is, as we see, not victorious in his attempt, neither are the supernatural folk who come to their aid, but the fact that Anzu tries speaks to the way in which he values Karin as part of the family and not just because Oshô asks Anzu to early in her stay. There’s a lot that can be read into their relationship and, in my case, a great deal that inspires curiosity over the final moments of the film in which the Buddha statue at the temple makes eye contact with Anzu and then closes its eyes just before Karin decides to hop off the train taking her home and runs back to the temple. It’s a moment with meaning that, had this release been afforded space to include bonus features like BELLE (2021) or Inu-Oh (2021) that saw the filmmaking team invite audiences to explore the creation of a scene while also discussing its meaning/significance, perhaps the homeviewing audience would have the opportunity to better connect here, as well. This film is rich and localized, which is why it’s so great that GKIDS would distribute it to North American audiences in order to provide a look at how other communities tell their stories. It’s also why it’s a bummer when Shout! Studios’s edition doesn’t include materials that would enhance that richness.
L-R: Karin voiced by Noa Gotō and Anzu voiced by Mirai Moriyama in GHOST CAT ANZU. ©2024 Shin-ei Animation Co., Ltd. / Miyu Productions / TV asahi corporation / TOHO Co., Ltd. / AT-X, Inc. / MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. / NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC. ©Takashi Imashiro / Kodansha. All Rights Reserved.
At the very least, the on-disc presentation is solid. Watching the film on a 4K UHD television with sound from a 5.1 surround system, the colors are rich and lovely, there’s wonderful depth between the characters and the surfaces they engage with, and the sound is solidly balanced. The film isn’t exactly the adventurous type, so when the chase kicks in as Karin and Anzu escape hell with Karin’s mother and the soundtrack starts taking advantage of the surround speakers, one starts to feel more immersed in the action. Up to that sequence, however, the dialogue comes through clean and clear with the score and ambient noise lacking any distracting qualities. On the whole, it is, at the very least, a presentation that doesn’t hurt the watch.
L-R: Karin voiced by Noa Gotō/Evie Hsu and Anzu voiced by Mirai Moriyama/Jason Simon in GHOST CAT ANZU. ©2024 Shin-ei Animation Co., Ltd. / Miyu Productions / TV asahi corporation / TOHO Co., Ltd. / AT-X, Inc. / MARUI GROUP CO., LTD. / NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan LLC. ©Takashi Imashiro / Kodansha. All Rights Reserved.
Much like a regular cat that one must approach gingerly, unexpectantly without anticipation of immediate acceptance, is how one should come to Ghost Cat Anzu. You’re going to *want* to like it immediately, but it takes time to grow on you given the mixture of slice-of-life and supernatural storytelling, though they do dove-tail nicely without any unnecessary tweaking or surprising escalation. It’s a film which, like me, you may find yourself wanting to spend more time with in order to understand it more fully. One gets the little things, like Karin’s mirrored experience with the local boys versus the one she loves back home or Karin’s realization that her father cares for her more than his actions seem to convey, but it’s the meaning of other elements that one longs to understand that are specific to time and place. It’s a shame that there’s nothing included on the home release that can help address this, but at least, for some, there’s time to do self-guided research and find the clarity absent here.
Ghost Cat Anzu Special Features:
- Audio: Japanese, English, and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Teasers & Trailers
Available on VOD and digital January 28th, 2025.
Available on Blu-ray March 4th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official GKIDS Films Ghost Cat Anzu webpage.
To purchase, head to the official Shout! Studios Ghost Cat Anzu webpage.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Recommendation
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