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Asian cinema: Japanese films
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Review | Netflix movie review: Child of Kamiari Month – Japanese anime with voice of True Mothers star Aju Makita offers a sombre examination of grief

  • Takana Shirai’s clean and uncluttered animated feature is a surprisingly dark examination of grief and its lingering impact, especially on the young
  • The story follows 12-year-old Kanna who discovers that her deceased mother’s duties as the god of running have now fallen to her

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A still from Child of Kamiari Month, directed by Takana Shirai and with the voice of Aju Makita.
James Marsh

3.5/5 stars

Kanna is a troubled 12-year-old who has lost her passion for running since the death of her mother. But upon learning that her mum was in fact an “Idaten”, or god of running, Kanna discovers that those duties have now fallen to her.

Blending the mundane with the mythological, modern life with ancient tradition, Takana Shirai’s animated feature Child of Kamiari Month is a surprisingly dark and sombre examination of grief and its lingering impact, especially on the young.

Throughout Japan, October is known as Kannazuki, and considered to be a month without gods, as all the Shinto deities head to Izumo Shrine in Shimane prefecture for their annual matchmaking gathering.

Young Kanna (voiced by Aju Makita, True Mothers) has always considered it something of a sick joke that she was named after this barren period, but when she absent-mindedly slips her dead mother’s amulet onto her wrist, time appears to stand still.

She is greeted by her spirit guide, who has possessed the body of her pet rabbit Shiro, as well as a puckish young demon boy, Yasha. They explain to Kanna that her mother, Yayoi, was in fact part of their world, and tasked with delivering all the regional delicacies to Izumo Shrine in time for the Kamiari month feast.

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