The art style of The Cat Returns is notably different from the traditional Ghibli style, and it's much closer to the more typical "anime" style of Whisper of the Heart's author, Aoi Hiiragi.
The art style of The Cat Returns is notably different from the traditional Ghibli style, and it's much closer to the more typical "anime" style of Whisper of the Heart's author, Aoi Hiiragi. In relation to its narrative, it feels closer to a standard Disney fairy tale than a work with the usual Ghibli complexity.