Child of Kamiari Month

Child of Kamiari Month (2021) is a Japanese animated feature you can watch online on iFILM. Twelve-year-old Kanna comes from a family bound by an ancient duty: gathering offerings across the country and carrying them to the yearly assembly of the gods in the sacred land of Izumo.

That task had always belonged to her mother, with Kanna learning at her side. Then illness takes her mother away, leaving the girl with both her grief and an unfinished family mission. Kanna chooses to walk the whole route alone, across mountains and old Shinto lore, joined by a pair of unusual companions. The voice cast includes Aju Makita and Maaya Sakamoto, with Takana Shirai directing.

It is a quiet fantasy road movie about accepting loss, steeped in the mythology of the Kamiari month. A good pick for a family evening and for anyone drawn to gentle hand-drawn anime in the studio road-trip vein. Stream Child of Kamiari Month (2021) online on iFILM.