Whisper of the Heart was one of the films I watched for the first time for these retro reviews. As a writer, struggling to get my stories on paper, I related to this film in a way I haven’t related to the others I’ve seen so far. What a beautiful piece of cinema. 

Directed by Yoshifumi Kondō, the 1995 film is based on the 1989 manga of the same name. Whisper of the Heart was Kondō’s only film as director before his passing in 1998. 

Shizuku Tsukishima is a 14-year-old student with an affinity for creative writing (songs and stories). An avid visitor to the library, she finds every single book she checks out has already been read by Seiji Amasawa. She becomes obsessed with finding out who he is. 

He ends up being the last person she wanted him to be, a boy who found one of her songs and has been teasing her about it ever since. He dreams of becoming a master luthier, specifically with violins. The more time Seiji and Shizuku spend together, the more they inspire one another. 

One day, Shizuku finds a cat riding a train and follows it to an antique shop run by Shirō Nishi. In the shop, she finds a glorious cat statuette Nishi has named, The Baron. 

This is the place where her stories begin. Also, Nishi is also Seiji’s grandfather – so everything is connected. 

What I loved about this movie is how much I related to Shizuku, and how much Seiji reminded me of my own high-school romance. It’s not a “magical” film, but there are elements of fantasy, especially in the story Shizuku is writing about the baron.  I was surprised by this because everything I ever saw showed the Baron. I loved it though. Again, beautiful piece of cinema.

The film has seen several releases to home media, including a collectible steel book release through Shout Factory / Gkids. With an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the film, clocking in at about 111 minutes is presented in glorious HD. The set includes audio presented in the original Japanese as well as English, and French each with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound. Extras include:

  • Feature-Length Storyboards
  • Original Theatrical Trailers
  • Background Art from The Baron’s Story
  • Four Masterpieces of Naohisa Inoue
  • Behind the Microphone
  • Exclusive Booklet

Sadly, the steelbook is sold-out and now considered out of print. However, you can still buy the regular blu-ray version through Amazon.

More STUDIO GHIBLI reviews soon so…

Stay Tuned!