BAKENEKO ANZU-CHAN

DESCRIPTION

CAST

REVIEWS

• 

  TheHornswoggler

  80/100
  A unique animated film by many of anime's outsider talents.

  The ticket kiosk at my local theater ran out of paper, so an employee from the concessions counter printed off a previous customer’s receipt and drew me a ticket on the backside of it. Thank you, Sophia. I know if anyone’s got me, it’s you. I had no idea until the opening credits rolled that this was directed by Yōko Kuno. It was also directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita who, wait, why do I know that name— [_LINDA LINDA LINDA_](https://youtu.be/R5cgwB47f7I?si=CuuhgxuXJuuNG0H8)!!??!?

  Small world, huh? As fate would have it, Kuno and Yamashita collaborated together in 2019 to create the music video for the annual [_Higashi Asia Buka Toshi_](https://youtu.be/HLcQV_bMfAg?si=OhBBKkpZ5r7jlbVO) event. I suppose their sensibilities clicked, because here they are collaborating again, only this time on a feature length adaptation.

  The presence of Yamashita certainly explains the camerawork in _Anzu_. At various points it pans with the vivacity of a live-action film, a quality that makes discerning how exactly each background or layout came to be difficult. It’s certainly familiar ground for both directors, however, as Kuno has throughout her career worked with rotoscope, her most notable credit being the rotoscope animation director on Shunji Iwai’s 2015 romp, _The Case of Hana & Alice_, which is probably the best looking rotoscoped anime we’ve got. (_Flowers of Evil_ fans may respectfully disagree.)

  The “acting” in _Anzu_ is noticeably lifelike and complex. The manner in which characters walk, the way they are layered in some group shots, the bagginess of their clothes and limbs—these are all things that will make you squint your eyes and think, Yeah that is definitely rotoscoped, but the magic trick here is Kuno and team’s hybrid approach to rotoscope and traditional animation. Squint your eyes a bit harder and soon you’ll note how frames are modulated to fit a more “limited” rhythm of movement, if that word can be trusted. It is such a unique approach that it becomes hard to imagine anybody else creating this film. Every aesthetic choice seems to derive specifically from its head creatives (Kuno also provided the character designs). According to AniList’s current staff listings there were two animation directors and seven assistant animation directors. That’s, simply put, a LOT, and it shows in the end product. The film looks superb. The most surprising element of _Anzu_ is not its visuals, however unique they are, but its sound design. The voice actors are all comprised of live-action stars. This isn’t something new in and of itself (Hideaki Anno and other GAINAX staffers, for a short time, turned non-anime voice acting into a stylistic choice for [_Kare Kano_ ](https://youtu.be/jaun23dhOBU?si=9t-VZNs-2jILEs3C)and [_FLCL_](https://youtu.be/xO5hSrlhYf0?si=4ZfXjC0tVEFBjnDZ)), but what is unique is their method of recording. I have no idea if what I’m saying makes any sense, but the voices seem to jut out in the midrange. There’s a presence to them that, although fitting for a film attempting to evoke a concrete corporeality in its world, still required a lot of getting used to. Still, it is a deliberate creative choice. The film’s sound designer, Masumi Takano, is not an anime sound designer by trade. He’s partially a live-action sound designer, hence his fixation on the tangible depth of space within the film, but more truthfully his professional credits derive mainly from experimental animated short films outside of the anime industry. This is a common trend in _Anzu’s_ staff. Many of them aren’t really anime creators. Most of them have been involved to varying degrees with commercial anime production, to be sure (one must never forget Kuno’s standout animation on [_Beastars_](https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/254951) itself an outlier in its use of colored pencils, but this is a carefully assembled team of creatives usually found outside of anime’s corporate structure now given undue liberty on a feature film. The result is that there is nothing else from anime this decade that looks and sounds like _Ghost Cat Anzu_. It is wholly original compared to its contemporaries. I don’t care what the top review on LetterBoxd says about people comparing this to [_Spirited Away_](https://anilist.co/anime/199/Sen-to-Chihiro-no-Kamikakushi/). This is a one of a kind project. It is everything that Yōko Kuno has deserved since her college graduation project, [_Airy Me_](https://youtu.be/7DkPNgpdhZA?si=JKqPvIsSTiEXPhkE), broke waves back in 2013.

  If these creatives are not given carte blanche in the future then I will be devastated. There was only me and one other person in the theater for the 7:30PM _Anzu_ showing tonight. There should have been more. There _ought_ to be more this week. At the very least, it needs to be more than what [_Inu-Oh_](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3032777473/) got. What is arguably the best anime film of this decade saw only me, my sister, and one other person in the theater back in 2022. This is a call to action: Please go see GKids film showings that are not just Ghibli related. They are the only company handling ambitious anime film distribution in America. If you want more films like [_Look Back_](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt31711040/?ref_=bo_se_r_1), then please support these releases! Nobody else will gamble on them! It’s either we take a golden goose or we allow all of these original titles die on your choice of awfully managed anime streaming services like CrunchyRoll. We’ve seen recently how limited their attempts at distribution have been with [_Kizumonogatari_](https://www.crunchyroll.com/news/announcements/2024/8/14/kizumonogatari-koyomi-vamp-anime-film-united-states-canada-mexico-australia-tickets?srsltid=AfmBOorVY-cgSZ9In9JtoMgHbyW8JKiEpFSg0RDw5zl7mYmAWIIYr6Fi), so this is your chance! Give them a much needed wake up call! If Naoko Yamada’s [_Kimi no Iro_](https://youtu.be/EgBRETgl6hY?si=fYfmg9nRf_7QwZAr) does not sell out at my local theater this upcoming January I will riot. Mark my words.

  But first! Go watch _Ghost Cat Anzu_. I’ve deliberately avoided saying anything about the film’s plot and themes so that people may experience it blind. It’s a lovely little film about a family comprised of weirdos on the fringes of society, not unlike the people who created it. I promise you, it may not change your life, but it is worth interrupting your day for. There are not five movies released every week that are worth interrupting your day for. (On a side note: this film isn’t _Spirited Away_. It’s [_Jarinko Chie_](https://anilist.co/anime/3946/Jarinko-Chie/). Go watch that pre-Ghibli Isao Takahata film, please. It’s really good and also follows a young, snarky girl with a deadbeat father, an absent mother, and a strange bipedal cat. Maybe go see [_Pom Poko_](https://anilist.co/anime/1030/Heisei-Tanuki-Gassen-Ponpoko/) and [_Princess Kaguya_](https://anilist.co/anime/16664/Kaguyahime-no-Monogatari/) in theaters next week, too. Show the non-Miyazaki Ghibli films the love and respect they deserve.)
  Continue on AniList
• 

  FenrirBlack22

  60/100
  All Charm but no Impact

  This movie I've wanted to see for a few months and I have mixed feelings. I enjoyed it and it was cute but it dealt with some serious heavy themes with all the grace and nuance of a cinderblock thrown into a wood chipper. One paper it should be an emotionally resonating film but every character, every story beat just fumbled it. I mean by the end of the film everything worked out but it didn't feel very satisfying.

  On the surface you have a young character abandoned by her dead beat father and left at her grandfather's house, a man she has literally never met, in a town she is unfamiliar with while still coping with the lost of her mother. Yet the film doesn't handle these ideas with any substance instead having the characters wander around aimlessly without any clear motivation or reason for doing anything. While it's clear Karin is after something, it's only clear what it is halfway through the movie. There should have been more clear understanding for the audience what her goals were beyond simply not wanting to be around anyone and lashing out at everyone. I'm not expecting the emotionally damaged 11-year to be a well-spring of emotional depth but I would have liked it better if she was less of a brat. Communication is lacking in this film.

  The pacing of the movie was very rough with scenes and moments that either dragged out too long with awkward character interactions or simply failed to move the plot along. Karin and Anzu did several bad things not only were there zero repercussions but it didn't flesh out their characters in any way that we didn't already know. Anzu is not very bright and Karin is angry at the world.

  The real problem with the movie was the scene after Karin and her mom escape the underworld. Not only was that entire sequence terribly paced and awkward but poorly executed. Her mom was taken back as should have been and Karin got some sort of closure. Those things happened and everything was resolved but the entire thing felt unearned. It was too easy and lacked emotional impact. The entire movie lacks emotional impact despite dealing with Karin's emotional growth and coping with her mother's death and her father's reckless behavior.

  I did say I enjoyed the movie. Like the cast despite their flaws were entertaining to watch. Anzu was a fun character who was reliable when he wanted to be. The grandfather was a good person and I wish he was more relevant in the movie. The forest yokai characters were fun and i did enjoy them coming the rescue even if their presence was completely pointless against Enma's demons. To put it bluntly, Anzu carried this movie while the human cast hindered it more than anything. Most of the characters just felt like they were just going with the flow of the story instead of taking an active part in the narrative.

  The ending especially felt unearned. Karin finally broke down and openly sobbed in front of Anzu after struggling to keep her emotions bottled up throughout the entire film. Even when she told her father that she was staying at the temple with her grandfather, on paper should have been a powerful moment of agency and growth, but the execution of it lacked impact.

  Continue on AniList

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