Ghost Cat Anzu’s captivating characters save a disjointed plot

Early on in the stand-alone anime movie Ghost Cat Anzu, the titular ghost cat gets arrested for driving his motorcycle without a license. He protests that since he’s a ghost cat, he didn’t know he needed a license. His large round face twists in a range of expressions, from feigned innocence to annoyance. Ultimately, he lets the police usher his big, blocky figure into the back of their small squad car, but he lets out a wailing “Meoooooow” familiar to anyone who’s dealt with an annoyed cat. The scene really cements what the movie does best: It mixes the magic and the mundane, with a whole lot of great character cartooning.

Ghost Cat Anzu doesn’t always hit the mark, especially in terms of emotional pacing. But veteran anime and live-action director Nobuhiro Yamashita (Linda Linda Linda) and first-time feature director Yōko Kuno still deliver on a solid movie that excels because the characters are just so darn fun to watch on screen.

[Ed. note: This post contains some setup spoilers for Ghost Cat Anzu.]

Based on Takashi Imashiro’s manga of the same name, Ghost Cat Anzu kicks off when 11-year-old Karin has to spend a school break with her monk grandfather at his temple, while her widower father avoids some angry loan sharks. Karin is understandably upset, and even more so when her grandfather entrusts her to his strange, lightly anthropomorphized ghost cat. Anzu is a 37-year-old cat who Karin’s grandfather adopted decades ago; apparently instead of dying when he hit the end of a cat’s lifespan, he turned into an anthropomorphic ghost-cat-person. Anzu is carefree, a bit irresponsible with money, and not too keen on watching a surly 11-year-old girl.

But the two eventually bond, even after a series of mishaps triggered by Anzu withholding Karin’s job earnings so he can spend her money on his own vices. After Karin’s father fails to show up for the anniversary of her mother’s death, Karin goes to Tokyo with Anzu — and knowing he has a connection to spirits and gods, urges him to take her to the land of the dead so she can see her mother.

Ghost Cat Anzu works best when the mix of the mundane and the mythical is balanced. For instance, Anzu inviting a host of forest spirits to his temple for a party is a hilarious setup that gives Karin a chance to relate her feelings to the ragtag group. But the eventual journey to the land of the dead ends up dragging and muddling the movie’s message.

Still, Ghost Cat Anzu is endearing due to the characters’ tactility and expressiveness. The mythical creatures, like Anzu and the forest spirits he befriends, are particularly evocative. Their design ranges from vaguely humanlike to straight-up animals, with a whole lot of wiggle room for mushroom creatures and demon-like oni in between. But even the more simply rendered human characters, like two boys who have a crush on Karin, are given very expressive moments. Their eyes are just simple black dots, but they have a full range of exaggerated facial animations.

Karin is the most traditional-looking anime character, with her big eyes and tiny nose. But the animators aren’t afraid to make her look funky. Her face distorts in an amplified way as she rolls her eyes, throws looks of disgust and disdain, smugly turns up her nose, smiles diabolically, and ugly-cries big, weepy tears. Just watching her — or any of the characters, really — react to any scenario is captivating.

The animation really anchors the movie, which otherwise feels a bit uneven, especially in terms of Anzu and Karin’s relationship. It’s hard to buy their eventual friendship when so much of the story’s focus is on their clashing personalities and the hijinks that ensue from their mismatch. Karin’s arc also feels disjointed, undermined by family drama that’s only hinted at and supernatural plotlines that get way too heavy without much buildup. Her final big character decision comes almost out of nowhere, and given everything we’re told about her family situation, it feels jarring.

Still, it’s hard to look away from the way these characters move, act, and express emotions. Their world is cozy and warmly tinged, but the animators don’t hold back in making the characters look weird. Those physical quirks make their more emotionally vulnerable moments hit harder, even if those tender scenes don’t quite feel earned. But watching a giant cat have beef with a precocious fifth grader, then still go out of his way to help her, is fun to see, especially when their character designs are so funky and cool.

Ghost Cat Anzu is out in theaters on Nov. 15.