Review of A Whisker Away

I wasn't sure what to expect from a movie like this but I came out pleasantly surprised! Story: A Whisker Away starts us out at a junior high school where Miyo Sasaki is hard crushing on a boy in her class, Kento Hinode. She constantly gushes over him to her best friend, Yoriko Fukase. Openly, Kento finds Miyo to be quite annoying and does what he can to keep away from her on a daily basis. However, both Miyo and Kento face hardship in their daily lives and they both feel like they need some way to escape all of that, even temporarily.One day, Miyo meets a mask seller who offers her a mask that will allow her to freely change to and from the form of a white cat. She visits Kento on a daily basis in order to learn more about him, while Kento names this mysterious cat Taro after a pet dog that recently passed away. The story mostly takes us through each of our main character's lives and how Miyo constantly tries to chase after Kento when he doesn't openly show any real feelings back to her.

The story is actually really cute and I found myself enjoying how they integrated the supernatural portion in the beginning half. The funny moments are never lung bursting, but I found myself laughing and smiling at each of the smaller moments that the movie looks to poke fun at our characters. They take very little time getting the story going and the pace that the show takes never really slows down, with the exception of one portion, which I'll bring up later. Seeing what hardships teenage kids have to face can sometimes come off as being immature, but I really like the backstories that this movie gave to both of them. Both are real problems that you could easily picture in the real world and the movie doesn't get really fancy with it, nor does it try to solve any of them with the supernatural portions.

All that being said, the last portion of the movie is where the pacing seems to have some minor problems. Without giving too much away, someone else visits Kento when Miyo is unable to and as he learns about what's going on with these cats, the movie doesn't seem to treat it like there are any real problems. Then, once we realize what actions our characters must take, it feels like they slow the pacing down to a crawl because we essentially see the same type of scenes three times over. So while the movie moves along at a brisk pace, much of the final act feels like it was given too much airtime. The movie ends nicely, though somewhat predictably, so at least the awkward act that I alluded to before doesn't ruin it too much. The credits are worth watching through because they tack in some still-photos that are plot-relevant. I never like anime doing this with endings and I'm not sure I understand the appeal. (8/10)

Characters: Miyo is a fantastic main character. She's really energetic and always seeks to solve problems, despite the fact that her birth mother walked out on her when she was younger. Now, she has a complicated relationship with her stepmother and father. She puts on a very brave face, despite the troubles she may go through at home. She's borderline obsessed with Kento and doesn't really seem to hide it either. Kento is a much more bland character, though still has some redeeming traits. His friends seem to respect him, but his real passion seems to be the pottery shack that his family owns. The pets that he owns are clearly important to him, because he feels he can confide in them, despite the normal situation when they can't really reciprocate to him. He's a much more enjoyable watch near the end, but his character progression feels a bit stagnant, rather than smooth.

There's only a few noteworthy side characters. The Mask Seller is a bit of a weirdo, but he has a goal with the entire mask situation that we aren't introduced to until the end. His powers around the supernatural elements feel like they come out of nowhere, but thankfully, they seem to be implemented just fine. There are moments when I thought to myself "so, this is the main problem right?", but he does serve as the main distraction in the small plot points here. Yoriko and Masamichi are Miyo and Kento's best friends respectively, and the former definitely has more to her. She's your prototypical "best female friend", and her dedication even has some backstory to it in the movie, which was nice to see. I love the characters who have their friend's backs, when done well. (8/10)

Art: I'm a little less impressed with the art direction here. Studio Colorido is a small studio whose work I've only seen once in Burn the Witch. The portrayal of the cats and the respective views were done well, but during many of the scenes when we are viewing Miyo's human world, it feels like large portions were given too much or too little attention at awkward moments. There's specifically two scenes that were given too much attention that felt very random - once when Miyo's walking home and she looks up at the power cables / roles, and the other when they students are explaining something to each other near the shoe lockers. Many quick moving scenes, however, feel like they could have used some more attention. It didn't detract from scenes too much, but it was a minor distraction. (7/10)

Sound: The OST during the more fun moments really shone, while it was mostly kind of 'just there' at others. Both songs by Yorushika (A Ghost in a Flower and The Lying Moon) were fun light tunes that match the mood of most of the movie. Voice casting was really strong here. Cherami Leigh (Miyo) was definitely the best of the bunch, turning in a performance that feels like it mimics the way Cassandra Lee Morris goes about her roles. These are the roles I'd like to see her in, as I haven't seen many of her works in general - I'm not the biggest fan of her work with Asuna in Sword Art Online. Backing her are strong performances from Johnny Yong Bosch (Kento), Keith Silverstein (Mask Seller), Erika Harlacher (Yoriko) and Bryce Papenbrook (Shota). (9/10)

Overall Enjoyment: A Whisker Away was a fun, fun watch for a movie that I wasn't sure what to expect. It makes you laugh and giggle, while watching the more serious moments with curiosity on how it'll go. The movie's approach to some touchy subjects seem mostly serious and for the most part, you can look past the awkward pacing at the end. This is well worth your watch if the plot synopsis sparks your interest like it did mine! (8/10)