A Whisker Away (2020)

Director: Jun'ichi Satô, Tomotaka Shibayama

Stars: Mirai Shida, Natsuki Hanae, Susumu Chiba
Runtime: 104 minutes

Synopsis: Miyo Sasaki in love with her classmate Kento Hinode and tries repeatedly to get Kento's attention by transform into a cat, but at some point, the boundary between herself and the cat becomes ambiguous.

Animation: 7/10

Screenplay: 6/10
Editing: 6/10
Score/Soundtrack: 7/10

Verdict: Netflix's newest original anime is not without its faults, but serves as an adorable look at a teenage girl's crush on one of her classmates. Miyo is madly in love with Hinode, maybe to an unhealthy extent, but he doesn't return that feeling despite her theatricalities to gain his attention. Miyo, however, has a secret that she uses each evening to get a little closer to Hinode. She owns a mask that, when worn, will turn her into a kitten that her crush has developed a special bond with.

"A Whisker Away" is cute, weird, and borderline creepy. At its very core, it serves as a teenage romance with a fantastical element attached to it that ultimately leads the protagonist into sort of an identity crisis. In a similar fashion to the classic "A Wonderful Life", she reaches a point where she's not sure if staying human will bring her as much joy as her life as a cat, and is forced to make a decision regarding how she wants to spend the rest of her life. That aspect of the film was easily my favorite of a movie that kept me invested for a good portion of its runtime. I loved Miyo's quirkiness and forwardness, and that struggle only brought more depth to what could've easily been a very annoying protagonist. Something about her story feels relatable, even if it's not in the most obvious of ways. She's the type of person who puts on a facade of not caring about what other people think of her behavior as she tries to live her life to the fullest, always with the brightest of smiles on her face. The fantastical element is introduced to show us the unfiltered side of her, the one who isn't as happy as she appears to be. That is until the very last act which to me lost all of its charms. The final 30 to 40 minutes became much less about the characters and much more about the fantasy, which is a shame because that never was the film's most interesting aspect.

"A Whisker Away" is definitely still worth checking out, especially for fans of light animes. It's obviously not on the level of Miyazaki or Son's work but, until the final act, it managed to keep me invested in what was happening thanks to a likable lead I cared about. Check it out if it seems interesting to you!

FINAL GRADE: 6/10