Random Movie Review - A Whisker Away

Another film affected by Covid and the first anime that I have reviewed in a while too. But unlike most Covid affected films which were delayed, this film was delayed by only a few weeks which is normally an indication that the studio want people to see it sooner than later and had found a way to do so. So that's means that unlike most film studios, the studio were OK with it being shown digitally (though a limited run at the cinema in Japan occured months later). So now we come to the latest anime film to be released on Netflix, and it may be no Studio Ghibli film, but it certainly has some of that studio's influence. So let's take a look:

The film is about a schoolgirl called Miyo (voiced in the English dub by Cherami Leigh) who is quite eccentric and over the top. She has been unhappy due to not getting along with her stepmother and making repeatedly failed attempts at flirting with her crush Kento (voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch in the English dub). One day she receives a mysterious Noh mask which lets her become a cat. As a cat, she learns that while Kento doesn't love her as a human, he does when she is a cat though unaware that Miyo is in fact the cat. As days go by with more things making her unhappy, she soon learns that maybe being a cat isn't such a bad thing. Though remaining unaware that the being that sold her the mask may have bigger plans in mind.

The film is alright for the most part. It feels like a Studio Ghibli film even if its not with the animation, the magic and the cats. Although it is a sweet and cute little film with charm, it can get quite cheesy if you find the plot to be something you've seen many times before. Interesting how it explores the possibility of being another animal if being a human doesn't work out which can relate to a few of us for sure. I guess the moral here is to embrace and accept who you are and not what others want you to be. So yeah a good anime film overall that's at least worth one watch if nothing else. 7/10