Movie Review : A Whisker Away
fresh and light adolescent drama with fantasy twist
As a cat person, I’d be honest, the first thing that caught my attention from this movie is how cute the cat is.
And second, when I know the scriptwriter is Mari Okada, the same person that behind Anohana : The Flower We Saw That Day, it gave me enough reason to try this movie. Well, considering how much tissue I spent watching that series, I had high hopes in future exploration from those behind it. So let’s see if this one could live up to the bar.
Concept & Character
A Whisker Away revolves around the story of Miyo Sasaki— nicknamed : “Muge” — a junior high school student who has a huge crush (almost obsessed, I’d say) with her friend at school, Kento Hinode. That crush alone is enough to make her willing to use a magical cat mask from some shady mask seller (in a shape of a talking cat), so that she could transform into a cat, just to be close with him as a friendly stray cat, who will stay by his side and support him. While as Muge, in school, they’re barely even talk.
Aside from their love life, they also have their own struggles, which eventually lead Muge to think she might better live forever as a cat. And as the clock ticking, she only has a few moments left to realize what is it that she really wants, and what she needs to do.
This movie tends to focus just around Muge and Hinode as the leads, so things are quite simple to follow. There’s not much exploration in the character background aside from Muge’s, a bit narrative here and there, but without plot twist or surprise or such. It all served in a plate and easy to digest. It’s not like it is bad though, because it’s the simplicity that able to convey the important things in the story. Even though I don’t think this would be quite fulfilling for those who expect a deep, impressive, and mind-blowing story that leaves an impact. I do hope we could get more portion for those supporting character and a more powerful narrative to let us bond with the characters even more.
Art, Act & Audio
The animation studio behind this movie is Studio Colorido, and while I find the artwork of the characters is quite simple, I appreciate the amount of details they put in the artwork of the background, from details in the pottery made by Hinode, the buildings, cityscapes and the sunset scenery, to the magical Neko no Shima (Cat Island).
Our leads is voiced by Natsuki Hanae we all know and love (okay, I might be a bit biased here because I’m a fan of his voic— I mean, his work, especially his role as Ken Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul series) as Kento Hinode, and Mirai Shida as Miyo Sasaki. I’d say they both performed well for bringing their characters to life, even though I don’t think I can point out anything extraordinarily impressive from their performance.
One of the thing that catch my attention in this movie is the soundtrack, since I find both of its theme songs titled “Hana ni Bōrei” and “Usotsuki”, which are both performed by Yorushika, is easy listening, a bit sad, yet lovely.
What Do I Get?
Even though it brings up teenage love story with a fantasy twist as it’s core, A Whisker Away managed to convey messages about family, friendship, impact of a trauma or healthy relationship, bravery to face your struggles, and many more.
- Sometimes family is not always bond by blood, as we can see from Muge’s stepmom who sincerely care for her and wish for her to open up, rather than just put up a wall in a form of a smile and pretend everything’s fine (which is usually an easier thing to do rather than having those uncomfortable discussion), and how her friend, Yoriko, stick with her through thick and thin.
- Some trauma might affect how a person see themselves, and the only way toward progress to fix it, is to face the giant. The circumstances in Muge’s family background make her pretend she’s strong and cheerful even though she feel unwanted and skeptical toward the world on the inside, until the fragile barrier blows up at some point. While the burden on Hinode’s shoulder as the oldest son in his family makes him afraid to speak up about what his heart truly desire, and didn’t think he is good enough.
- It takes courage to be honest with yourself, to open up and trusting others with your feelings, hoping they won’t run away from us, and to try to understand their perspective of things. It might takes time, and it is scary indeed, but Muge and Hinode’s journey is another example that it is worth it.
Final word, does this film live up to my expectation? Not really, but that doesn’t mean I’m not loving the beauty in it.
