A Whisker Away
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A Whisker Away
Official Japanese release poster
Japanese name
Kanji
泣きたい私は猫をかぶる
Literal meaning
Wanting to Cry, I Pretend to Be a Cat
showTranscriptions
Directed by
Written by

Junichi Sato

Tomotaka Shibayama
Mari Okada
Starring

Mirai Shida

Natsuki Hanae

Hiroaki Ogi
Cinematography
Shinya Matsui
Music by
Mina Kubota
Production

Studio Colorido
companies

Toho Animation

Twin Engine
Distributed by
Netflix
Release date

Running time
104 minutes
Country
Japan
Language
Japanese
June 18, 2020
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 film produced by Studio Colorido, Toho Animation and Twin Engine. Directed
by Junichi Sato and Tomotaka Shibayama, the film was released on June 18, 2020,
on Netflix in Japanese.
Originally slated to premiere with 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[edit]
Miyo Sasaki is an unhappy middle school girl living in the town of Tokoname, Aichi
Prefecture who does not get along with her stepmother Kaoru after her mother Miki
Sasaki left. Each day at school, she goes out of her way to flirt with her crush, Kento
Hinode, in spite of his repeated rejections. One day, Miyo receives a magical Noh mask
from a mysterious mask seller, which lets her become a cat. As "Tarō", she spends time
with Hinode at his home, keeps him company while he studies Japanese pottery, and
listens to his problems. She longs to confess that the cat that he loves and the girl that
he barely knows are the same person, but is afraid that he will reject her and refuse to
visit with Tarō anymore.
One day, Miyo overhears a pair of boys at school talking trash about 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 to her 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.
Hinode's kindness towards her, combined with a need to cheer him up at the loss of his
hobby inspires Miyo to confess her love in the form of a letter. The next day in class, a
boy snatches the note before she can deliver it and reads it aloud, embarrassing both
Miyo and Hinode. Hinode saves face by publicly telling Miyo that he hates her.
Miyo later visits Hinode as Tarō and spends the night with him. In the morning, she
decides that 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 appears to claim
Miyo's face and tells her that 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 doesn't really hate Miyo. 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 from the mask seller and takes over her human life. Miyo implores her to return her
face, but Kinako refuses, explaining that she is approaching the end of her natural
lifespan but wishes to continue living and bringing happiness to her owner.
Miyo follows the mask seller to the secret Island of Cats where she hopes to convince
him to turn her back into a human. Meanwhile, 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 before her
transformation becomes permanent. Kinako gives Hinode a cat mask, which turns him
into a half-cat but only the hands. Kinako and Hinode are trapped by the mask seller but
are rescued by Miyo and another cat who used to be a human. When Kinako is about to
give Miyo her face back, the mask seller takes Miyo.
While Hinode eventually finds Miyo, the mask seller takes them to the "promised place".
Miyo finally realizes her selfish mistake and starts to tackle the mask Seller demanding
her human face back. The mask seller attempts to finalize Miyo's and Hinode's
transformation 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, Miyo
and Hinode confess their love to each other and 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[edit]
Character
Japanese voice
English voice
Miyo "Muge" Sasaki / Tarō Mirai Shida[4]
Cherami Leigh
Kento Hinode
Johnny Yong Bosch
Natsuki Hanae[4]
Kusugi-sensei
Hiroaki Ogi
Robert Buchholz
Hajime
Fukushi Ochiai[5]
Mask seller
Kōichi Yamadera
Keith Silverstein
Kaoru Mizutani
Ayako Kawasumi
Laura Post
Masamichi Isami
Kensho Ono
Griffin Burns
Yoriko Fukase
Minako Kotobuki
Erika Harlacher
Miki Saitō
Sayaka Ohara
Reba Buhr[6]
Tamaki
Rei Sakuma[5]
Yōji Sasaki
Susumu Chiba
Todd Haberkorn
Sugita
Oolongta Yoshida[5]
Kenzo Hinode
Motomu Kiyokawa
Shōta Bannai
Wataru Komada
Kirk Thornton
Bryce Papenbrook
Kakinuma
Shin-ichiro Miki[5]
Ayumu Niibori
Yūsuke Nagano
Griffin Puatu
Tomoya Sakaguchi
Daisuke Namikawa
Kinako
Eri Kitamura[5]
Cristina Vee
Yumi Hinode
Rina Kitagawa
Shiori Mizoguchi
Rie Hikisaka
Kira Buckland
Sachiko Hinode
Emi Shinohara
Production[edit]
Alley in Tokoname with reinforced pottery walls as seen in the film
The film was animated by Studio Colorido.[7] The film takes place in Tokoname, Japan,
since director Shibayama Tomotaka grew up there. Many scenes in the film are directly
taken from actual places in the town.[8][9][10]
The theme song, "Hana ni Bōrei" (A Ghost in a Flower), and its ending theme,
"Usotsuki" (The Lying Moon), are both performed by Japanese rock duo Yorushika.[11]
Manga[edit]
In May 2020, a manga adaptation was announced. Its first volume was released on
June 10, 2020.[12]
No.
Release date
ISBN
01
June 18, 2020
978-4041096192

02
Chapters 1–3
December 10, 2020
978-4041108093

Chapters 4–
Release[edit]
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.[13] The film was then
sold to Netflix who released it digitally on June 18, 2020.[14] On September 18, 2020, it
was announced the film would have a limited theatrical run in Japan throughout October
2020.[15] In Japan, the film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on June 23, 2021.[16]
Reception[edit]
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.[17] 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".[18] Jamie Morris of LeftLion also awarded it a positive
review, saying it will "give plenty of people a reason to smile."[19]
Awards[edit]


Asian Academy Creative Awards "Best Animation Work Award" [20] (in
Japanese)
The 24th Japanese Media Arts Festival Animation Division "Excellent Work
Award"[21] (in Japanese)
References[edit]
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. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
4. ^ Jump up to: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.
Retrieved January 27, 2020.
5. ^ Jump up to: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. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
6. ^ Buhr, Reba [@rebabuhr] (July 7, 2020). "Yep dats me!" (Tweet). Retrieved July 7, 2020 –
via Twitter.
7. ^ Filart, Matt (June 12, 2020). "Here's Everything We Know About Netflix's Upcoming Anime
'A Whisker Away'". TheThings. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
8. ^ Montoya, Alfonso (May 1, 2020). "A Whisker Away: Netflix release date and
trailer". Summary.org.
9. ^ "You can now visit the setting of "A Whisker Away" in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture". Grape
Japan. July 20, 2020.
10. ^ "You Can Now Visit Real-Life Locations of 'A Whisker Away' in Japan". 9GAG. July 20,
2020.
11. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (June 12, 2020). "A Whisker Away Anime Film's Video Reveals
Yorushika Ending Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
12. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (May 17, 2020). "Studio Colorido's A Whisker Away Anime Film Gets
Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
13. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (April 26, 2020). "Nakitai Watashi wa Neko o Kaburu Film Delayed Due
to COVID-19". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
14. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (April 29, 2020). "Colorido's A Whisker Away Anime Film Streams
Globally on Netflix on June 18". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
15. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (September 21, 2020). "A Whisker Away Film Gets Limited
Theatrical Run After COVID-19 Delay". Anime News Network. Retrieved September
22, 2020.
16. ^ "Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu DVD/Blu-ray". Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu
Website. March 19, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
17. ^ "A Whisker Away". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
18. ^ Bennie, Lawrence (June 19, 2020). "A Whisker Away Netflix film review". UK Film Review.
Retrieved December 31, 2020.
19. ^ Morris, James (June 18, 2020). "Film Review: A Whisker Away". LeftLion.
Retrieved December 31, 2020.
20. ^ "Japan's first! Winner of the Best Animation Work Award "I want to cry I wear a
cat"". Sanspo. December 4, 2020. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
21. ^ "The 24th Animation Category Excellence Award". Japan Media Arts Festival.
Retrieved August 17, 2021.
External links[edit]

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

Official website (in Japanese)
A Whisker Away on Netflix
A Whisker Away (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
A Whisker Away at IMDb
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Studio Colorido
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Netflix original animated series and films
Categories:
 2020 films
 2020 anime films
 2020 fantasy films
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2020s coming-of-age films
2020s Japanese-language films
Animated films about cats
Anime with original screenplays
Coming-of-age anime and manga
Films about shapeshifting
Films not released in theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films set in Aichi Prefecture
Films set on fictional islands
Japanese animated fantasy films
Japanese coming-of-age films
Japanese-language Netflix original films
Netflix original anime
Studio Colorido
Toho animated films