Even with the theaters closed, it'd be a shame for me not to see a 2020 flick until the year was half over. This Netflix suggestion jumped out at me. Its reception varies from strong to middling depending on the site, but a brief plot summary told me to expect cuteness if nothing else.
Japanese high school girl Miyo, nicknamed "Muge" for reasons that don't translate well, has an unsubtle crush on classmate Hinode, but he tends to find her exuberance annoying. Unsatisfied with her situation, she is easily persuaded by a mysterious man she knows only as "the Mask Seller" (despite not charging money) to try out a magic mask that lets her turn into a cat and back at will. In feline form, Muge finds the unsuspecting Hinode much more affectionate toward her, but living a double life is never easy. The Mask Seller, who alternates forms, hopes that she will give up on her human life for good. You can bet he has an ulterior motive.
In the subtitles, "Muge" is sometimes expanded to "Miss Ultra Gaga and Enigmatic." She doesn't object to this characterization; even her closest female friend, Yoji, calls her Muge. Basically, she's about as histrionic as non-comedy characters get, shifting among extremes of ecstasy, anger, and sorrow. Her troubles began years ago when her mom walked out on the family, with peers thinking this reflected badly on Muge, and she hasn't been remotely receptive to her stepmom's attempts to fill the void. Sometimes she claims to hate the world, yet you'd hardly know it when she's over the moon at the slightest acknowledgment from Hinode. And for all her outgoing demeanor, she wishes she could find the courage to communicate more openly.
Perhaps the main reason that certain ratings for AWA aren't higher is the creepy concept. I'd hate to find out that a cat in my life was a disguised human stalker. It helps a little that Muge doesn't live with Hinode; she just drops by for feeding and petting. Unfortunately, when he checks her injured hind leg, her reaction looks a bit too pleased. This sort of thing flies farther in Japan, I'm sure.
As problematic as Muge's behavior frequently is, we can feel sorry for her more easily as the story progresses (and not just when she looks like a pretty kitty). She comes to realize how much she's been making a fool of herself. And then it's almost too late. The third act delves deeper into fantasy as Muge might have to live a typical feline lifespan in a realm of anthropomorphic cats, including former humans like her. Good thing she's not as forsaken as she believed, especially as Hinode reevaluates how he feels about human Muge.
At that point, I couldn't help tallying comparisons with the 2002 Studio Ghibli cult hit The Cat Returns, which also features a Japanese teen girl who needs help to avoid involuntarily (however temptingly) joining the secret world of cats. TCR is more unambiguously family friendly, tho still disturbing if you dwell on the implications too much. It also has a steadier pace; AWA is usually more patient but occasionally jumps past a point I expected to see in detail, requiring a moment to comprehend. I'd say AWA has a major advantage in moral clarity, except that it gets clumsy at times, with something either begging explanation or nearly contradicting past events. I hope the dubbing (delayed because of the pandemic) irons out some of the more questionable lines, but it can't fix everything.
The next Your Name. it isn't. The next TCR, maybe close enough. Regardless, it is sufficiently colorful for 104 minutes' interest. And ultimately rather heartwarming once you get past the premise.
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