xSimplyElm

A Whisker Away is an anime film directed by Junichi Sato. It is about a schoolgirl who is obsessed with her crush. And the way she tries to grab his attention gives you shivers. She is willing to do ANYTHING, for her lover to actually love her. All in all, I think this film has done a good job. The scarecrows that Miyo saw added a very nice touch to the movie. It made you understand the main character more. So Miyo the schoolgirl buys a mask from a man who sells it to her, a white cat mask. After wearing it she turns into a beautiful white kitten which her lover then finds and takes care of. She realises that when she’s a cat, her crush pays attention to her and talks with love and affection. Whereas when she’s a human he ignores her and replies in a cold manner. Her crush dislikes the human version of her (although in the ending he takes it back). Miyo catches two boys insulting and making fun of her crush which makes her fume in anger. Without thinking twice she leaps on a tree (forgetting she’s not a cat at the moment) and shouts at boys and asks them not to bad mouth the boy she loves. Her crush saw her jumping and brought her to the nurse, feeling a bit bad for her. Her lunchbox has fallen so he says he can share half of his lunchbox with her which makes her burst with joy. After him telling her she is allowed to have some of his lunch she thinks that he likes her, which he doesn’t. She finally decides to make a letter to her crush only because of him letting her have half of her lunch because hers had fallen to the ground. Two boys steal her letter to her crush and read it in front of everyone which upsets her and embarrasses her crush, making him extremely furious at her for writing one in the first place. The mask seller comes back to her and asks her to become a cat, where her crush will love all of the time. Miyo knows that returning to a miserable human is boring and she’ll have no one to trust and no one likes her. She accidentally says she wants to stay as a cat which brightens the mask seller as he will steal her human lifespan and live longer. When she turns into a cat, her human mask comes off and the mask seller grabs it from her and disappears. Miyo realises with a jolt of regret what she had just done. Her father and stepmother look for her everywhere. Tensions rise between her mom and stepmom. Her crush deeply regrets being so mean to her and her best friend’s heart shatters. A whisker away ends on a happy note where Miyo finally gets with her lover and they live happily. The film could’ve improved in emotionally with their audience. I enjoyed this film a lot, thanks for reading this review! xx