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French-Japanese Film Ghost Cat Anzu's Trailer Unveils More Cast & Staff, Theme Song, July 19 Debut

TOHO animation debut a new trailer and a new poster visual for Ghost Cat Anzu, Shinei Animation and France's Miyu Productions' 2D-animated film, on Wednesday. The trailer announces more cast and staff members, the theme song, and the July 19 opening for the film.

The newly revealed cast members are:

• Munetaka Aoki as Tetsuya, Karin's father
• Miwako Ichikawa as Yuzuki, Karin's mother
• Moonriders' member Keiichi Suzuki as Oshō, Anzu's foster parent
• Shingo Mizusawa as the god of poverty
• Skirt (Sawabe Wataru) as Tanuki, another supernatural creature

Mutsuo Yoshioka and Shōhei Uno also contribute voices.

Chiaki Satō (A.S.A.B) performs the theme song "Matatabi," as heard in the trailer.

The newly announced staff members include:

• Character Design: Yōko Kuno
• Music Composer: Keiichi Suzuki
• Animation Directors: Namiko Ishidate, Yukie Nakauchi
• Editing: Toshihiko Kojima
• Art Director, Color Key Artist: Julien De Man
• Composite Development: Guillaume Cassuto
• Director of Photography: Masato Makino
• CG Director: Chika Iizuka
• Sound Director: Masumi Takino
• Live-Action Filming Assistance: Match Point
• Filming: Yoshihiro Ikeuchi
• Sound Recording: Yūki Iyasaka
• Stylist: Daisuke Iga
• Producers: Keiichi Kondō, Emmanuel-Alain Raynal, Pierre Baussaron, Hiroyuki Negishi

Mirai Moriyama voices the titular Anzu, while Noa Gotō voices Karin.

Cast members also acted as the characters in footage that served as a reference for animating the characters, with their spoken lines during the filming of their movements also being used in the film.

The film screened as a work-in-progress at the Annecy Animation Festival in June 2023. The Paris-based CHARADES company will handle international sales. GKIDS has acquired the North American rights to the film.

Yōko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita are directing the film, and Shinji Imaoka is writing its script. The film will be 90 minutes long and will utilize mixed animation techniques combining 2D digital animation with rotoscopy.

Miyu Productions describes the film's story:

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…

Kodansha published the one-volume Bakeneko Anzu-chan manga in 2007.

Shinei Animation is best known for producing Doraemon and Crayon Shin-chan, two long-running television anime that both consistently rank among the highest weekly ratings for animated programs in Japan. Daikichirō Kusube founded the studio in 1976.

Sources: TOHO animation's YouTube channel, Comic Natalie