ANIME/FILM REVIEW | "Ghost Cat Anzu" Lacks Spirit, Despite Lively Imagery
I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for rotoscope. The process of creating cartoons by drawing over real video has been a thing in animation ever since it’s beginning. From the likes of Betty Boop and Popeye to the works of Ralph Bakshi, the technique has brought the 2D world a different level of life that makes it feel more fluid and bouncy. With that being said, while Ghost Cat Anzu does a very good job with the rotoscoping technique, it does lack an essence of life when it comes to its narrative.
A co-production between Japan’s Shin-Ei Animation (The Dangers in My Heart) and France’s Miyu Productions (Death Doesn’t Exist), Ghost Cat Anzu tells the tale of fifth grader Karin (Noa Goto), who’s down on her luck. Her mother has passed on, her father Tetsuya (Munetaka Aoki) has ditched her to pay off shark loans, and she’s left with no money. Alone at Sousei-Ji Temple, Karin wanders her life without much purpose. That is, until she runs into the giant cat Anzu (Mirai Moriyama), who is immortal thanks to being a spirit.
For the most part, Ghost Cat Anzu takes a day-in-the-life route with its narratives. You watch as Anzu does odd jobs, gets in trouble for not having a motorcycle license, and plays pachinko. Meanwhile, Karin befriends a couple of local kids, taking advantage of their kindness due to them crushing hard on her. But all Karin wants to do is go back to Tokyo to pay her respects to her mom on the anniversary of her death.
At first, Anzu comes off as a ne’er-do-well, acting lazy and selfish around Karin. When he befriends a bunch of yokai, some new allies arrive not for him, but for Karin. She gets in trouble due to her act-before-thinking attitude, from running away to trashing Anzu’s bike when she’s frustrated. These yokai come to her aid whenever she’s in danger, and while her actions are mostly her fault, they realize that she’s just a kid, and kids will behave foolishly when life doesn’t go their way.
Frustrations aside, I find it hard to relate to any of these characters. Even when considering the very bad deal handed to Karin, I can’t help but feel unsympathetic whenever she crosses a line. As for Anzu, his presence sometimes is minimal. His way of life is one of indifference, kind of like if Gudetama was — in blunt terms — a jerk. Factoring all of this in, it’s difficult to enjoy watching this movie when you can’t latch on to anybody in this film.
With that being said, the third act of Ghost Cat Anzu is where the narrative finally comes to life. A trip to Hell, a car chase, and a yokai vs. oni beatdown during a summer festival showcase some of the best laughs and wildest moments. While I don’t wish to spoil the reason for the detour to the underworld, I will say that the actual heart of the film can be found here. The acting is wonderful, the rotoscoped animation is imaginative, and how it all wraps up is surprisingly endearing.
If only I could say the same for the first two-thirds of Ghost Cat Anzu. There are a lot of good ideas here, and there’s some nice imaginative moments when the other yokai are involved. But for the most part, this film takes too much time standing still when it should be pedaling along at a comfortable pace. By the time the much-better final third of Ghost Cat Anzu arrives, I wouldn’t be too surprised if most viewers will have spirited away their attention spans.
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Grace Liriano of GKIDS. In theaters November 15. Click here for tickets!
