Ghost Cat Anzu

Story

After the death of her mother, Karin (Japanese voice of Noa Goto, English voice of Evie Hsu) is taken to a rural village and dropped at the home of her grandfather while her father Tetsuya (Japanese voice of Munetaka Aoki, English voice of Andrew Kishino) returns to the city to settle his debt with a group of thugs.

Battling her grief, while feeling abandoned and isolated, Karin tries to get used to life in a quiet village. She soon meets her grandfather’s ghost cat called Anzu (Japanese voice of Mirai Moriyama, English voice of Jason Simon). Anzu takes care of the family temple and appears to be immortal with strong connections to the spiritual realm.

When the God of Poverty latches onto one of Anzu’s friends, Anzu chases him off and when Karin discovers that he can speak to the spirit realm, she coaxes Anzu to help her find her mother. Following the God of Poverty (Japanese voice of Shingo Mizusawa, English voice of David Goldstein) to the underworld, Anzu and Karin find themselves in over their heads. They locate Karin’s mum and bring her back to Earth, along with a gang of demons who are determined to return her to the underworld.

Through their journey, Karin unravels family secrets and begins to see that she has not been abandoned after all. She finds the strength to do what is right for her and ultimately decides to stay in a place she never would have thought to call home.

Themes

Grief; loss; abandonment; gambling; arrogance; separation from parents; death; demons and the underworld

Violence

Ghost Cat Anzu has some violence. For example:

Tetsuya learns that his mother died 3 years earlier and that she worried about him until the end of her life.
Tetsuya tells his father that loan sharks tried to kill him and gestures to his broken, bandaged arm.
Anzu shoots a bottle rocket at a group of birds. There’s an explosion and they all fly away.
A character says that he believes he’s better off dead. The same character later says, ‘I wish I were dead.’
In a fit of anger, Karin kicks a bike to the ground.
Anzu stabs holes in a wall and in a door.
Karin falls into a hole in the ground and appears to be unconscious.
There’s a note left on Tetsuya’s door that says, ‘We will find you and punch your face in.’
Karin says that her father could die for all she cares.
Anzu hits and kicks the God of Poverty.
Anzu grabs the God of Poverty by his loin cloth and pulls and tugs him, causing his crotch to become red and chaffed.
A bus filled with demons chases Anzu and Karin. The bus hits the bike they’re riding on and they crash into an embankment.
Demons attack Anzu with a ball and chain and hit him with a bat.
Two cars smash together, trying to crush the bike that Anzu is riding. Karin is nearly killed.
Anzu, Karin and her mum are chased and attacked by birds. They crash into stands at a fairground.
Demons repeatedly bash Anzu and other characters in the head, face and body. The attack leaves clear injuries.
Another character is knocked aside and beaten with a club until large bumps and bruises form on his head.
A demon repeatedly shoves Karin aside as she tries to fight him, and another character is knocked unconscious.
Karin tells Anzu to, ‘Drop dead and die.’

Sexual references

Ghost Cat Anzu has some sexual references. For example:

Two boys have a crush on Karin, fawn all over her and blush every time she talks to them.
Karin says that she thinks her father is off having fun with some girlfriend.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Ghost Cat Anzu has some substance use. For example:

Characters drink from wine bottles and consume beer of some sort.
A character appears to be drunk.

Nudity and sexual activity

Ghost Cat Anzu has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Anzu stands in the garden like a human and wees into the trees. This is shown from behind while the spray of urine is clearly visible.
A wet T-shirt shows a character’s nipples.
A depressed man is shown with the top of his bottom exposed.
The God of Poverty wears nothing but a grungy-looking loin cloth.
Karin’s back and shoulders are exposed as she sits in a hot spring.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Ghost Cat Anzu.

Coarse language

Ghost Cat Anzu has some coarse language. For example, ‘big idiot’, ‘hell’, ‘this sucks so bad’, ‘dumb’, ‘stupid idiot’, ‘shut up’, ‘damn it’ and ‘old fart’. Name calling includes ‘selfish fool’, ‘little punks’, ‘big furry loser’, ‘dumb thing’, and ‘jerk’. Insults include ‘don’t be a baby’, and ‘man up’. Crude humour includes Anzu farting stinky clouds on multiple occasions and characters diving headfirst into a toilet to reach the underworld.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Ghost Cat Anzu is a Japanese animated movie (dubbed in English) blending supernatural whimsy with heartfelt storytelling. It’s directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita and Yoko Kuno, and boasts a blend of traditional and experimental styles. The movie is best suited to viewers over 11 years.

These are the main messages from Ghost Cat Anzu:

Love is powerful enough to transcend death.
It’s important to process grief for personal growth and healing, but also to help build better relationships and connections with others.

Values in Ghost Cat Anzu that you could reinforce with your children are courage, responsibility, friendship, love and forgiveness.

Ghost Cat Anzu could also give you the chance to talk with your children about the real-life consequences of things like these:

Speaking unkindly to others and treating them badly.
Excessive gambling.
Holding on to the past instead of working towards the future.
Believing the worst about someone before you know what has really taken place.