Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Japanese: 星を追う子ども, Hepburn: Hoshi wo Ou Kodomo, lit.

It follows an elementary school girl and her substitute teacher travelling to the depths of the world.

[4] The film was previously licensed by Sentai Filmworks in North America and released on DVD and Blu-ray in November 2012.

[5] On May 9, 2019 it was announced that Sentai had lost the North American license, causing the releases to go out of print.

[6] On March 10, 2022, GKIDS announced that they have licensed Children Who Chase Lost Voices, along with three other works by Shinkai, and was re-released the film on home video in 2023.

[7] 11-year-old Asuna Watase has been forced to grow up quickly ever since her father had died, while her mother, a nurse, works long shifts at a hospital.

Asuna spends her solitary days listening to the mysterious music emanating from the cat's-whisker receiver her father gave to her as a memento, accompanied by pet cat Mimi, who bears strange red markings on her fur.

One day, while walking to her clubhouse across a bridge, she is attacked by a fearsome creature and saved by a mysterious teenage boy who calls himself Shun.

The next day, Asuna hears from her mother that a boy was found dead in the river, but she does not believe it is Shun.

At school, Mr. Morisaki, a substitute teacher, is giving a lecture on a book which grabs Asuna's attention when he mentions Agartha, the land of the dead.

Afterwards, Asuna goes to the hideout to find another mysterious boy, resembling Shun and standing on the ledge.

He refuses to kill the gatekeeper, giving Asuna his clavis, a crystal, and fights back.

Upon arriving in his village, Shin is told he failed his mission to retrieve the clavis, because Asuna has unknowingly returned with a fragment of one.

When Shin sees the villagers riding away to kill them, he decides to follow, in order to protect Asuna.

Meanwhile, Shin is fighting the villagers and is about to be killed when they sense that the clavis crystal has reached the Gate of Life and Death.

A year later, an older Asuna looks out her window at the cliff side where she had met Shun and Shin.

[2] In November 2010, he revealed critical information about Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below such as the title, plot summary, release date, and a teaser trailer.

[8][9] The film's English adaptation was broadcast on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block in the United States on November 5, 2016.