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A Whisker Away

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A Whisker Away (Japanese: 泣きたい私は猫をかぶる, Hepburn: Nakitai Watashi wa Neko o Kaburu, lit. 'Wanting to Cry, I Pretend to Be a Cat') is a 2020 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film produced by Studio Colorido, Toho Animation, and Twin Engine. Directed by Junichi Sato and Tomotaka Shibayama, with the latter being his directorial debut, the film was released on June 18, 2020, on Netflix in Japanese. The film stars Mirai Shida, Natsuki Hanae, Minako Kotobuki, Susumu Chiba, Ayako Kawasumi, Sayaka Ohara, Daisuke Namikawa, Hiroaki Ogi, and Koichi Yamadera.

A Whisker Away
Official Japanese release poster
Japanese name
Kanji泣きたい私は猫をかぶる
Literal meaningWanting to Cry, I Pretend to Be a Cat
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnNakitai Watashi wa Neko o Kaburu
Directed by
Written byMari Okada
Starring
CinematographyShinya Matsui
Music byMina Kubota
Production
companies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • June 18, 2020 (2020-06-18)
Running time
104 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Originally slated to premiere alongside the Japanese release of the film, the English dub's release was delayed until June 28, 2020, when it was officially released on Netflix.[1][2][3]

Plot

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Miyo Sasaki is a 14-year-old[4] girl living in the town of Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture. She does not get along with her stepmother, Kaoru. She always flirts with her crush, the handsome Kento Hinode, even though he has no romantic feelings for her at all, and often stays away from her. One day, she receives a magical Noh mask from a mysterious mask seller, which lets her become a cat. As "Tarō,"  she spends time with Hinode, keeps him company while he studies Japanese pottery, and listens to his problems. She longs to confess that the cat he loves and the girl he dislikes are the same person.

One day, Miyo overhears two boys at school insulting Hinode and loudly intervenes by jumping off the school building to defend his honor. She hurts herself during the jump, and for the first time, Hinode shows warmth as he takes her to the nurse and shares his lunch with her. Later that evening, as Tarō, Miyo learns that Hinode's family is closing their pottery shop, as the family can no longer afford it. The need to cheer him up inspires Miyo to confess her love in a letter. In class, a boy snatches the note before she can deliver it and reads it aloud, embarrassing Miyo and Hinode. Hinode saves face by publicly telling Miyo that he hates her and for her to stay far away from him.

A devastated Miyo decides life with Hinode as a cat is better than life without him as a human, and her human face falls off in the form of a porcelain mask. The mask seller obtains her face and tells her he will give it to a cat who wants to become human. Miyo's friends and family begin searching for her, including Hinode, who confesses to Tarō that he does not actually hate her and wants to apologize for breaking her heart. Trapped in her cat body, Miyo begins losing her ability to understand humans and regrets her choice. Kinako, Kaoru's cat, obtains Miyo's human face and takes over her human life. She refuses to return Miyo's face, explaining that she is approaching the end of her natural lifespan but wishes to continue living and bring happiness to her owner.

Miyo follows the mask seller to the secret island of cats to convince him to turn her back into a human. Kinako comes to understand just how much Miyo's stepmom loved her cat and has a change of heart. She reveals the secret of the masks to Hinode and takes him to the island to save Miyo. Kinako gives Hinode a cat mask, which turns him into a half-cat; only his arms turn into those of a cat. Kinako and Hinode are trapped by the mask seller but are rescued by Miyo and another cat who used to be a human.

The mask seller takes Miyo and Hinode to the "promised place" and attempts to finalize their transformations by extracting their lifespan, but is foiled by all of the resentful humans that he had previously turned into cats. As they travel back to the human world, Hinode apologizes to Miyo for berating her and returns her feelings, finally agreeing to become her boyfriend, while Kinako returns Miyo's face, returning her to normal.

The credits show Miyo telling her friend about how Hinode loves her, Hinode telling his mother that he wants to do pottery, and Hinode doing Miyo's signature "Hinode sunrise attack" to her.

Voice cast

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Character Japanese voice English voice
Miyo Sasaki (笹木 美代, Sasaki Miyo) / Muge (ムゲ) / Tarō (太郎) Mirai Shida[5] Cherami Leigh
Kento Hinode (日之出 賢人, Hinode Kento) Natsuki Hanae[5] Johnny Yong Bosch
Kusunoki-sensei (楠木先生) Hiroaki Ogi Robert Buchholz
Hajime (ハジメ) Fukushi Ochiai[6]
Mask Seller (猫店主, Neko Tenshu) Kōichi Yamadera Keith Silverstein
Kaoru Mizutani (水谷 薫, Mizutani Kaoru) Ayako Kawasumi Laura Post
Masamichi Isami (伊佐美 正道, Isami Masamichi) Kensho Ono Griffin Burns
Yoriko Fukase (深瀬 頼子, Fukase Yoriko) Minako Kotobuki Erika Harlacher
Miki Saitō (斎藤 美紀, Saitō Miki) Sayaka Ohara Reba Buhr[7]
Tamaki (タマキ) Rei Sakuma[6]
Yōji Sasaki (笹木 洋治, Sasaki Yōji) Susumu Chiba Todd Haberkorn
Sugita (スギタ) Oolongta Yoshida[6]
Kenzō Hinode (日之出 賢三, Hinode Kenzō) Motomu Kiyokawa Kirk Thornton
Shōta Bannai (坂内 翔太, Bannai Shōta) Wataru Komada Bryce Papenbrook
Kakinuma (カキヌマ) Shin-ichiro Miki[6]
Ayumu Niibori (新堀 歩, Niibori Ayumu) Yūsuke Nagano Griffin Puatu
Tomoya Sakaguchi (坂口 智也, Sakaguchi Tomoya) Daisuke Namikawa
Kinako (きなこ) Eri Kitamura[6] Cristina Vee
Yūmi Hinode (日之出 優美, Hinode Yūmi) Rina Kitagawa
Shiori Mizoguchi (溝口 詩織, Mizoguchi Shiori) Rie Hikisaka Kira Buckland
Sachiko Hinode (日之出 幸子, Hinode Sachiko) Emi Shinohara

Production

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Alley in Tokoname with reinforced pottery walls as seen in the film

The film was animated by Studio Colorido[8] and was based on an original story created by Mari Okada. The film takes place in Tokoname, Japan, since director Tomotaka Shibayama grew up there. Many scenes in the film are directly taken from actual places in the town.[9][10][11]

The theme song, "Ghost in a Flower" (花に亡霊, Hana ni Bōrei), the insert song "Night Journey" (夜行, Yakō), and the ending, "Liar" (嘘月, Uso Tsuki, lit. 'Lying Moon'), are all performed by Japanese rock duo Yorushika.[12]

Manga

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In May 2020, a manga adaptation was announced. Its first volume was released on June 10, 2020.[13] It ended with chapter 13 on March 12, 2021.[14]

No. Release date ISBN
1 June 10, 2020978-4-04-109619-2
  • Chapters 1–3
2 December 10, 2020978-4-04-110809-3
  • Chapters 4–
3 March 25, 2021[15]978-4-04-111181-9

Release

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The film was originally scheduled for release in Japanese theaters on June 5, 2020, but it was pulled from the schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] The film was then sold to Netflix, which released it digitally on June 18, 2020.[17] On September 18, 2020, it was announced the film would have a limited theatrical run in Japan throughout October 2020.[18] In Japan, the film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 23, 2021.[19]

Reception

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On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 93% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10.[20] Lawrence Bennie of UK Film Review awarded it four out of five stars, calling it "sweet, cute, and charming" and "a great piece of anime escapism."[21] Jamie Morris of LeftLion also awarded it a positive review, saying it will "give plenty of people a reason to smile."[22]

Awards

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  • Asian Academy Creative Awards "Best Animation Work Award"[23] (in Japanese)
  • The 24th Japanese Media Arts Festival Animation Division "Excellent Work Award"[24] (in Japanese)

References

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  1. ^ WTK [@WTK] (June 18, 2020). "A Whisker Away (subtitled) is now streaming on Netflix (English dub delayed)" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 18, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ WTK [@WTK] (June 29, 2020). "ICYMI, A Whisker Away (with English dub) is now streaming on Netflix" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 29, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ Llewellyn, Tom (June 29, 2020). "A Whisker Away: English dubbing finally released on Netflix". HITC. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
  4. ^ "A Whisker Away. Dir. Junichi Sato & Tomotaka Shibayama. Studio Colorido, Netflix. 2020. – ZooScope". January 21, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Sherman, Jennifer (January 27, 2020). "Studio Colorido's Original Anime Film Nakitai Watashi wa Neko o Kaburu Opens on June 5". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e Pineda, Rafael Antonio (May 28, 2020). "A Whisker Away Anime Film's Video Reveals New Cast Members". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  7. ^ Buhr, Reba [@rebabuhr] (July 7, 2020). "Yep dats me!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2020 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ Filart, Matt (June 12, 2020). "Here's Everything We Know About Netflix's Upcoming Anime 'A Whisker Away'". TheThings. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
  9. ^ Montoya, Alfonso (May 1, 2020). "A Whisker Away: Netflix release date and trailer". Summary.org. Archived from the original on July 24, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "You can now visit the setting of "A Whisker Away" in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture". Grape Japan. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  11. ^ "You Can Now Visit Real-Life Locations of 'A Whisker Away' in Japan". 9GAG. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  12. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 12, 2020). "A Whisker Away Anime Film's Video Reveals Yorushika Ending Song". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  13. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 17, 2020). "Studio Colorido's A Whisker Away Anime Film Gets Manga". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 17, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  14. ^ Hazra, Adriana (March 13, 2021). "Kyōsuke Kuromaru's A Whisker Away Manga Ends". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  15. ^ "KADOKAWA Corporation" 泣きたい私は猫をかぶる（3） [I want to cry so I wear a cat (3)]. Kadokawa (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2024.
  16. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 26, 2020). "Nakitai Watashi wa Neko o Kaburu Film Delayed Due to COVID-19". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  17. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 29, 2020). "Colorido's A Whisker Away Anime Film Streams Globally on Netflix on June 18". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  18. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 21, 2020). "A Whisker Away Film Gets Limited Theatrical Run After COVID-19 Delay". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 2, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  19. ^ "Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu DVD/Blu-ray". Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu Website. March 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "A Whisker Away". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  21. ^ Bennie, Lawrence (June 19, 2020). "A Whisker Away Netflix film review". UK Film Review. Archived from the original on November 25, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  22. ^ Morris, James (June 18, 2020). "Film Review: A Whisker Away". LeftLion. Archived from the original on September 29, 2020. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  23. ^ "Japan's first! Winner of the Best Animation Work Award "I want to cry I wear a cat"". Sanspo. December 4, 2020. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  24. ^ "The 24th Animation Category Excellence Award". Japan Media Arts Festival. Archived from the original on August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
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