11-year-old Karin (voiced by GOTO Noa) isn’t happy when her good-for-nothing father drops her off at her grandfather’s temple to stay while he runs away from the loan sharks on his tail, nor is she excited when she meets Anzu (voiced by MORIYAMA Mirai): her grandfather’s 37-year-old, six foot tall, bipedal, talking cat. Anzu is a bakeneko, or a ghost cat. He works part-time as a chiropractor, rides a moped and likes going down to the pachinko parlour.

At first, Anzu is reluctant to look after Karin. But seeing her desperate wish to be with her deceased mother once again on the anniversary of her death, he joins her. Together, this unusual pair set off on an extraordinary, magical journey, where they even find themselves on the path down to the underworld itself!

Directed by KUNO Yoko, this quirky French-Japanese co-production is a visually stunning joy to watch that brings the world of yokai (ghosts) to vibrant, charming life.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2025 Am I Right? Justice, Justification and Judgement in Japanese Cinema

The UK’s biggest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP), is back for its latest and greatest instalment! In a world where injustice runs rampant, cinematic expressions of justice seem inexhaustible: time and time again, heroic protagonists fend off malicious antagonists or enact their revenge, the constant injustices they face mirroring audiences’ own. Japan is no exception to this, and the JFTFP25 promises to showcase how Japanese filmmakers use the language of cinema to explore the concepts of criminal, social, and moral justice, along with the ways people respond to external judgement. Featuring everything from thought-provoking hidden gems to laugh-a-minute entertainment, UK audiences are invited to join us in questioning the very concepts of justice, justification, and judgement against today’s backdrop of ever-changing values and perspectives.