Review of A Whisker Away

STORY: "A Whisker Away" tackles about teens' depression in a subtle way. This refreshing, yet heavy story centers on an eccentric girl that is in love with her classmate and with an intriguing opportunity risen in a summer festival, she receives a mask that transforms her into a cat, which helps her get closer to her classmate. The literal translation of the title "Wanting to Cry, I Pretend to Be a Cat" sounds SO MUCH better. The plot flows very naturally and the characters are explored in a very orderly way as we learn more and more about each one with every minute of screentime. NOTE:I consider the girl as the main character and the rest as supporting tbh.
We are also able to quickly understand why the genre "Magic" happens to be here since it's unique concept is unfolded very early on.
It's clearly a romance story, but having cats and an unexplained phenomenon in a film makes everything more interesting (ask Studio Ghibli and Makoto Shinkai).

The animation is pretty good. Every single scenery could be your wallpaper and everything is drawn to ease the world building that it's needed so we can emerge to this realistic, but magical storyline.

I can relate to pretty much every single character in this. These struggles are universal. The mom that doesn't know how to act after a divorce, the child that locked her own feelings for safety, the friend that wants to support you but doesn't know how, love in a young age, trying to figure out who is your family and of course, the daily worries that we face with ourselves.
The vague sensation that the main character was depressed really hits home. She was persisting her love because she didn't want to think about her sadness. Honestly, my theory is that the problems that the main character faced with the fat cat are all just interpretations of her depression phases. Transforming into a cat so you can run away from reality and look for safety and approval, doubting your current life and having inner thoughts like "becoming a cat forever" – giving up on your mental recovery.

I hope people that watch this learn that most teenagers struggle in silence because of bad parenting and it's extremely hard to show your vulnerabilities to the world when you feel like no one will understand you. So please take care of your mental health and eventually you'll find someone to share your thoughts. Also, cats are very very precious.

Recommendation: I think you should give it a try if you're looking for a heartfelt, emotional, nostalgic and with a touch of fantasy anime.