A Whisker Away (2020) Movie Review

 

A Whisker Away (Original title: Nakitai Watashi wa Neko o Kaburu) | 2020 | 1h 44m
Genre: Anime / Hand-Drawn Animation / Adventure / Animation / Drama / Family / Fantasy / Romance | Country: Japan
Director: Jun'ichi Satô, Tomotaka Shibayama | Writer: Mari Okada
Cast: Mirai Shida, Natsuki Hanae, Minako Kotobuki
IMDB: 6.7
My Rate: 9/10

Wanting to escape her life, Miyo accidentally buys a mask that can turn her into a cat, which becomes the beginning of her closeness with Hinode, who gives her cat form the name, Taro. Miyo gives up her life as a human after being rejected by Hinode, but she becomes restless and wants to return to her human form after realizing that many people care about her.

Warning:

Contains scenes of violence and harsh language.

 
Synopsis:

Miyo Sasaki, a junior high school student known for being energetic and full of spirit at her school, is actually hiding deep sadness. After a fight with her father, she accidentally meets a mask seller that allows her to transform into a cat. Miyo likes a boy in her class named Kento Hinode and tries to get his attention. However, Hinode seems uncomfortable with everything Miyo does.

Miyo doesn’t feel very comfortable with Kaoru, her father’s girlfriend, living in their house. However, Miyo doesn’t complain much about it. She chooses to secretly visit Hinode and spend time with him in her cat form. Miyo starts to feel closer to Hinode, and her love grows deeper, as she feels loved and cared for when she’s a cat. However, Hinode doesn’t know that Miyo is the cat that’s been with him.

This makes Miyo start to feel comfortable living as a cat, but she still doesn’t want to let go of her human self. On the other hand, the mask-selling cat keeps pushing her to abandon her human face and become a full-fledged cat. The boundary between the human and cat worlds becomes increasingly blurred. This leads Miyo to face unexpected danger and confront her own feelings in order to return to being human.

Will Miyo be trapped in a cat’s body forever?

 

Review:

A Whisker Away is a film I watched because it has a theme related to cats. I didn’t have high expectations for this film. However, it turned out to present an interesting story with beautiful visuals.

The theme of the story is quite relevant to problems in society. Many people feel that their life problems are so heavy and just want to escape from life. As cat lovers, perhaps we’ve all thought, “It must be nice to live as a cat.” This film successfully portrays that theme very well.

The story is built on a solid foundation. It starts by introducing the main character, Miyo, and her relationship with her family. Then comes her encounter with the mask seller. Followed by her relationships with her friends, her family, and finally her transformation into a cat that brings her closer to Hinode, the boy she likes.

The conflict that arises is mostly internal, focusing on the main character’s discomfort with her life. How she feels loved as a cat but doesn’t get the same love as a human. The emotional and psychological turmoil is portrayed very well.

We can understand that Miyo’s main issue isn’t just her obsession with Hinode. It’s the trauma that led to that obsession. The chaos in her family, her mother’s departure, and Kaoru’s presence caused wounds in Miyo that made her feel unloved. She finds deep love when she becomes a cat and meets Hinode. This is what she ends up misinterpreting, turning love into obsession.

The conflict peaks when Miyo starts doubting her life and is filled with illusions implanted by the mask-selling cat. However, on the other hand, Miyo is still unwilling to fully become a cat. Her struggle becomes the climax of the conflict.

We’re also presented with other supporting character conflicts. Such as Hinode’s issues with his family, Kaoru with her cat, and other conflicts that are presented in just the right amount and do not overshadow the main story.

The resolution is presented very well. We can see the character development of each person. And several doubts that are finally resolved. The resolution of character relationships is also visible, although presented during the after-credit scene. Overall, the ending is quite satisfying.

The animation visuals are very well done and look smooth. Scene transitions and motion are dynamic and neat. Backgrounds, visual details, and color composition form a beautiful unity. Especially for cat lovers, the variety and unique traits of each cat are very satisfying.

Aside from the visuals, another important component in animation is the voice acting. The voice acting is done very well. Every expression is conveyed beautifully and aligns with the visuals and atmosphere built on screen. Music selection and sound effects are also handled very well.

Overall, this film is very enjoyable to watch, especially for cat lovers. Hehe

 

Memorable Scene:

Miyo expresses the feelings she has kept inside after Kaoru speaks to her. This scene shows how Miyo faces all the problems she’s been dealing with—her parents’ separation and Kaoru’s presence in their family. However, Kaoru feels that Miyo’s attitude isn’t honest and wants Miyo to be honest about her feelings.

The dialogue spoken by Miyo is quite relevant and might sum up all her feelings, which is: “Selfish.” Everyone has their own way of coping with their situation. But often, other people feel our way isn’t satisfying to them and think they “know better” about how we should act. It becomes very selfish not to let us deal with problems in our own way.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

“You may not know it, but a lot of people care about you.”

 

Ending:

Happy Ending

 

Recommendation:

Must Watch

 

(Aluna)