Review of A Whisker Away

Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu is a movie about a dejected girl, Sasaki Miyo, who is so distressed by the world that she chooses not to be a human anymore, so she turns into a cat. The premise was interesting and introduced really well, making the story unique and engaging. To grant Miyo's wish, there is a mysterious character who looks like a big cat, and his enigmatic personality makes you curious about his intentions and where the magic that can turn a girl into a cat comes from. After she gets the ability to transform into a cat, the story focuses on herrelationship with the boy she is in love with, Hinode Kento. Their romance is really naive, which is cute sometimes, but other times it makes you question the characters' actions that don't make sense. I would say the movie was really good until this point, considering the technical aspects as well as the story, but it dropped in quality in the climax. I feel like it got way childish in the final segment, although you could argue it was supposed to be like that.

Both Miyo and Hinode have realistic problems and can be relatable for a lot of people, so it's easy to sympathize with them, Even though they way they behave sometimes can get annoying, especially Miyo, but it's understandable considered she is a confused teen.

The art was good, it didn't really impress me much, but it was nice to look at and I didn't think it was bad at any point during the movie. The sound was great, the main reason I decided to watch this movie was because of Yorushika's music video "Hana ni Bourei" and I was delighted to hear three songs by Yorushika during the movie, including "Usotsuki" and "Yakou". All the songs are great and were used well. Other than that, the soundtrack was also really good, giving a fanciful atmosphere to the movie. Voice acting was good as well, I especially liked Yamadera Kouichi's voice as the mask seller.

I enjoyed this movie for the most part and wasn't disappointed, since I didn't have many expectations in the first place, considering it's not rated particularly high. I think it was soothing and would watch it again. There are some sensitive topics the characters have to deal with, but everything is presented in a light way, without getting too dramatic. I recommend it to anyone, it's easy to watch and pleasant, without anything groundbreaking. It can't be too bad, unless you hate anime.