The rotoscope animation doesn't feel like a gimmick, it's the only way to show what makes Anzu real to Karin, every tired slouch and reluctant smile captured with the weight of someone learning to care again. A kid abandoned by her father and a layabout spirit-cat sidestepping their obvious need for each other creates a tenderness that doesn't announce itself. The film knows that love sometimes looks like failing at odd jobs together, and sometimes that's enough.

Eleven-year-old Karin is left by her father at the countryside temple where her grandfather serves as the local monk. There she meets Anzu, a huge ghost cat with a lazy streak whom her grandfather asks to look after her. Karin does not trust her new guardian and undermines the odd jobs Anzu does for the townsfolk, while befriending the quirky forest spirits nearby. Hoping to win her over, Anzu accidentally strikes a bargain with the devil, and chaos follows in this supernatural slice of life fantasy film.