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Anime movies initially attract their audiences through the gorgeous animation of hand-drawn, vibrant landscapes, emotional soundtracks emphasizing joyous or dramatic moments, and the deeper thematic elements weaved into the magical premise of the story. Netflix’s new movie, A Whisker Away, remains true to the genre. Sailor Moon director Junichi Sato‘s most recent film allured us with an irresistibly adorable trailer featuring a lovable white cat and a sweet pre-teen romance.
The deceivingly simple premise revolves around how schoolgirl Miyo Sasaki buys a mask that transforms her from a human into a feline. Unsurprisingly, the anime movie utilizes this cute factor while dually manifesting itself as an emotionally engaging drama. Critically, A Whisker Away explores challenging themes like depression from trauma, masking repressed feelings, and an emotional — and literal — transformation of character.
A Feline Formula Made Of Magic & Masks
What would a whimsically relaxing anime movie be without a magical thematic component? A Whisker Away centrally focuses on the eccentrically erratic Miyo Sasaki, dubbed “Muge” — Miss Ultra Gaga and Enigmatic — by her classmates. Alluding to Miyo’s personality, the name “Muge” roughly translates to “infinitely mysterious.” The film slowly unveils Miyo’s ultra exuberance, especially around her crush, Hinode. It also delves into Miyo’s repressed hatred for her own life as part of her enigmatic character trait.
Magic comes into play in the film when Miyo meets a rotund, anthropomorphic cat named Mask Seller. Continually spurned at school by Hinode and struggling with familial relationships, Miyo searches for a secret formula to get closer to Hinode and further away from her broken family. Thus, a magical solution to Miyo’s constant rejection from Hinode and her trauma from her mother’s abandonment conveniently presents itself. Miyo is given the chance to morph into a cat to escape her problems!
“I hate this. I hate this stupid world. I hope the world ends soon.”
Miyo
Miyo’s proclamation of her hatred toward the world as only a pre-teen proves a very distressing moment in the first few minutes of the movie. The magical Mask Seller takes advantage of poor Miyo’s depression and gullible nature. The extra-large cat sells Miyo a mask in an isolated location after Miyo runs away in anger from her mother at a festival. As a result, he charms Miyo into purchasing a mask where she can leave behind her inadequate human life and magically live as a furry feline when wearing the white mask.
Emotional & Physical Masks
Early on in the film, A Whisker Away reveals that Miyo’s mother left the family when Miyo was younger. Miyo argues with her mother’s relentless questioning about her father’s relationship with his new live-in girlfriend. The film immediately makes the strained relationship between Miyo and her mother known to foreshadow Miyo’s odd behavior. As a result of tension within her family, Miyo experiences a sort of mental age regression. She remains emotionally stuck in time behind a mask of over-excitement to hide her true depression.
Miyo continually acts out of character at school for other pre-teens her age as she tries to aggressively gain Hinode’s attention. Her obsessive crush on Hinode borders on pure harassment and leads to the continual teasing of both Hinode and Miyo by other classmates at school. Consequently, her eccentric actions observed by her classmates creates a disconnect between Miyo’s true personality and her mental mask that hides her inner trauma.
“That’s when I realized. Muge always puts on a brave face. She pretends to be alright, even when she’s hurting inside.”
Yori
At the beginning of A Whisker Away, Miyo describes the night of the festival to her best friend, Yori. Despite Yori’s protests that Miyo needs to leave Hinode alone, Miyo claims that she and Hinode actually spent time together that night — the same night she met the Mask Seller. Here, Yori comments that Miyo has begun to confuse her fantasies with reality. Although Miyo speaks the truth, she omits the crucial information that she cuddled up with Hinode in the form of a white cat with her new mask on.
The physical cat mask in A Whisker Away represents Miyo’s inability to cope with her depression. Though offscreen when she first purchases the mask, we quickly learn that Miyo bought it to transform into a cat, leaving behind the anxiety in her home and to visit Hinode. The film explores the unique relationship between Miyo in her cat form and Hinode, who loves the cat so much he confides in her and even names the furry feline ‘Taro’. Miyo utilizes this cat form to avoid her trauma while trying to force a fantastical relationship with Hinode. Accordingly, Miyo employs both mental and physical disguises to put off the reality of facing her detrimental emotional state.
Transformation: From Fur To Fearlessness
The power of transformation thematically enforces itself throughout A Whisker Away. Physically, Miyo transforms into a cat in an attempt to cope with her buried trauma. The boundary between Miyo’s own self and her cat form becomes skewed when she admits that her life as the feline, Taro, is worth more to Miyo than her life as a human. Suddenly, the Mask Seller menacingly informs Miyo that she’s just given up her human ‘mask’ by choosing to live forever as a cat. As a result, the Mask Seller steals Miyo’s human lifespan.
Fantasy finally catches up to reality for Miyo as she instantly regrets her unintentional decision to forfeit her own life. With the help of Hinode, also struggling with a sense of belonging in the world, Miyo and Hinode journey to the magical Cat Island. Hinode doesn’t question Miyo’s judgement as Taro and comes to love Miyo, regardless of her physical state. Their companionship morphs into a real friendship as the two try to retrieve Miyo’s human mask before the Mask Seller absorbs her lifespan.
While on Cat Island, Miyo meets several cats who willingly left their own lives behind. Each of the human-turned-felines voices sincere regret for thinking their lives were too miserable as humans. All of the cats help convince Miyo that transforming one’s life for the better exceeds a futile escape from the trauma life brings. Literally losing her humanity forced Miyo to recognize how quickly the line between fantasy and reality can blur. Miyo is forced to confront her fearful feelings toward her own trauma and depression in order to transform her character.
Learning To Love In A Whisker Away
Miyo holds resentment in her heart when it comes to family. In particular, she politely avoids her dad’s girlfriend, Karou, at all costs. It’s interesting to note that the English dubbed version of A Whisker Away hears Miyo refer to the girlfriend as simply “Karou.” Thematically, it resonates more that Miyo calls her “Ms. Karou” in the subbed version of the film. This tiny detail holds great importance in dissecting the relationship between the two. Miyo calls her Ms. Karou, which implies a less friendly and more formal tone, since Miyo can’t accept the traumatic presence of Karou in the same home where Miyo’s real mother abandoned her.
Ultimately, Miyo’s physical transformation as a cat aids her transformation as a person. Miyo realizes what she’ll lose if she can never turn back into a human. Her family plays a huge role in Miyo’s life, whether she admits it or not. When Miyo is stuck in her feline form, she sees Karou’s cat, Kinako, wearing Miyo’s human mask (basically inhabiting Miyo’s body). Finally, Miyo gains an outside perspective on how her family and friends interact with her. Her worldview is flipped on its paws as Miyo realizes just how much Karou, her father, and her own mother truly care about her as an individual.
“I shut my heart to everyone. I told myself I didn’t need them. They were just scarecrows in the background. But now… I know I was wrong.”
Miyo (as Taro)
Transformation allows Miyo to finally learn how to accept love from her parents, Hinode, Karou, and how to love herself. Giving in to crippling depression from past trauma loses the battle in A Whisker Away. Fear of forming relationships with others who might leave, as her mother did, initially hinders Miyo. Despite this, she transforms into a confident young woman. Miyo removes all her masks to break away from a fantasy world into a new reality.
Miyo’s transformation allows her to reconnect with her distant family members and form lasting relationships with those she cares about. Her character arc influences other characters in the film, like Hinode and Karou, to take an introspective look at their own flaws and desires. Miyo’s transformation into an adorable white cat positively impacts her life as a human. Watching A Whisker Away is guaranteed to make you reflect on your own character, cherish the people in your life that love you, and satisfy the hearts of any cat lovers.