Ghost Cat Anzu

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details of classification and consumer advice lines for Ghost Cat Anzu
• a review of Ghost Cat Anzu completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 10 December 2024.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare or disturb children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie’s message

A synopsis of the 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, he 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 this 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.

Grief; Loss; Abandonment; Gambling; Arrogance; Separation from parents; Death; Demons and the Underworld.

There is some violence in this movie, including:

• Tetsuya learns that his mother died three 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 is an explosion and they all fly away.
• A character says that he believes he is 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 is 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 all red and chaffed.
• A bus filled with demons is chasing Anzu and Karin. The bus hits the bike they are 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.”

Material that may scare or disturb children

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

• Karin and Anzu travel to the underworld where they encounter numerous demons and painted monsters with horns who chase them with weapons, such as knives, axes and metal studded bats. The underworld is creepy and strange. In one scene there are numerous shadowy figures trying to cross multiple bridges to a distant place. Some are standing in water and no one seems to be moving. The scene is ominous and dark.
• The God of Poverty looks creepy and disturbing.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

• The ‘Great Screaming Hell’ elevator door opens and Karin finds herself looking at images of people being tortured. She is clearly terrified.
• A man is screaming and covered in blood. He seems to be stuck halfway through a floor and he drops just in front of Karin, begging for her help. He doesn’t seem to know who she is but Karin instantly recognises her father who has clearly been beaten half to death.

• Nothing further noted.

Product placement

• None noted.

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• 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.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

• Anzu stands in the garden like a human and pees 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 his butt crack 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.

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

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

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• Selfish fool
• Big idiot
• Hell
• Little punks
• Big furry loser
• This sucks so bad
• Dumb
• Stupid idiot
• Don’t be a baby
• Man up
• Damn it
• Dumb thing
• Shut up!
• Jerk
• Old fart.
• Crude humour includes Anzu farting stinky clouds on multiple occasions and characters diving headfirst into a toilet to reach the underworld.

In a nutshell

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

The main messages from this movie are that love has the power to transcend death; and that processing grief is very important, not only for personal growth and healing but in order to build better relationships and connections with others.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• Courage
• Responsibility
• Friendship
• Love
• Forgiveness.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Speaking unkindly to others and treating them badly, no matter how much you may be hurting inside.
• 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.