Brianna Fox-Priest
February 22, 2024 Streaming its first trailer on Neko no Hi or Cat Day in Japan, Ghost Cat Anzu (Bakeneko Anzu-chan) announced its release date in theaters for July. A collaboration production between the Japanese studio Shin-ei Animation and French Miyu Productions, the 90-minute 2D film will be distributed by TOHO in Japan and internationally to France by Diaphana, and in the USA via GKIDS.
Shin-Ei Animation, best known for producing Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan, is working with directors Yōko Kuno Nobuhiro Yamashita and Shinji Imaoka to write the script. The studio used a special animation method known as rotoscoping which dates back to 1915, to create a fluid and natural progression of motion with its characters.
Mirai Moriyama voices the giant ghost cat Anzu and Noa Goto voices young Karin, who both also serve as the actors for the rotoscoping referencing as seen in the first few seconds of the trailer. Moriyama can be seen entering the screen from the right on a motorbike wearing cat ears.
Miyu Productions gave this synopsis about the film:
Karin, 11 years old, is abandoned by her father at her grandfather’s house, the monk of a small town in the Japanese countryside. Her grandfather asks Anzu, his jovial and helpful although rather capricious ghost cat, to look after her. The meeting of their strong characters causes sparks, at least at the beginning…
Catsuka also graciously translated the Ghost Cat Anzu trailer into English for you to watch here:
Ghost Cat Anzu is based on the one-shot manga by Takashi Imashiro.
