GKIDS has announced they will be releasing the anime film Ghost Cat Anzu in theaters next week. If you’re under the impression that all anime cats tend to be cute and squeaky, well…prepare to have your mind shattered.

Karin isn’t an orphan, but pretty much lives the life of one. Her mother is dead and her father abandoned her, so she lives with her grandfather in the Japanese countryside. Soon after the move, she is introduced to the titular cat of the movie. “He’ll be looking after you,” Gramps says, and Anzu sees this fat orange feline wearing human clothes who says in a deep slacker voice, “Awright already” before walking away on two legs.

Since Anzu is a GHOST cat, I suppose he doesn’t have to play by the rules of real-life cats, but it’s just weird to imply that when a cat dies he turns into a middle-aged Japanese janitor. Karin doesn’t trust Anzu at first, and sabotages the odd jobs the cat does around town for the villagers. She seems to get along better with the other ghosts around town…which like Anzu are just hanging around there, drinking beer and playing Nintendo Switch. We’re not making that part up, see for yourself:

But Anzu has some shocking news for Karin: her father didn’t abandon her, and the cat knows where he is. Also, since he’s a spirit, he might be able to track down her mother’s ghost. Neither the trailer nor the synopsis go into much detail beyond that, but it sure smells like a rescue mission to us.

This unconventional flip-side version of Spirited Away is based on Takashi Imashiro’s manga series of the same name, was co-directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita (Linda Linda Linda) and artist Yoko Kuno (her first directing job), in her feature directorial debut, Keiichi Suzuki provided the music score, which is very fitting, as he also composed the music for EarthBound, and this is a very EarthBound-y film.

Check out Ghost Cat Anzu when it opens in US theaters, sub only, on November 15.

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