When it comes to Studio Ghibli – or its early days, at least – it’s always tempting to think of it as mainly a two-man operation. By 1995, the sheer bulk of the studio’s output had mostly been supplied by either Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, but with Whisper Of The Heart that was set to change thanks to the feature debut of Yoshifumi Kondō. Sadly, it would remain the only film the filmmaker would create as he sadly passed away in 1998, leaving plans for him to succeed Miyazaki (who wrote the film) and Takahata, remaining unrealised – but if Whisper Of The Heart was any indication, he would have been a perfect fit.
Yep, all the animated coming of age anxieties of a creative and imaginative schoolgirl are all present and correct, and when her imagination threatens to overwhelm her emotions, Ghibli’s subtle blend of jaw-dropping fantasy takes over without overloading the plot. In other words, classic Ghibli.
Shizuku Tsukishima is a fourteen year-old girl who faces the usual trials and tribulations of attending high-school in Tokyo with a sizable passion for creative writing. It’s a passion she shares with her family in general, whose apartment is made incredibly cramped by the inclusion of countless books and volumes, and when she isn’t at home or at school, you can usually find Shizuku at the local library or discussing boys with her best friend, Yūko.
One day Shizuku is looking through the checkout cards in her various library books only to find to her surprise that they’ve all been checked out previously by someone by the name of Seiji Amasawa. Obsessed that there’s someone out there who seems to have exactly the same reading habits as her, her wonder is offset by a boy she encounters, who teases her attempts to write new lyrics to “Country Road” by John Denver that describe Tama New Town. Shrugging off her annoyance, Shizuku is riding the train one day when she spies a cat contently riding the train and decides – like whimsical heroines of Studio Ghibli often do – to follow it when it disembarks and trails it to wherever it chooses to go. It ultimately leads her to an antique shop run by the elderly Shirō Nishi. Overjoyed that she’s discovered “a place where stories begin”, the girl is hungry to absorb the histories of ornate clocks and a statuette of a suit-waering cat named “The Baron”.
Of course, it turns out that the enigmatic boy who’s been annoying her so is not only Nishi’s grandson, but is also the Seiji Amasawa who had read all the same books as her, and after becoming friends, he reveals that it’s his dream to carve violins and become a master luthier.
However, this lights a fire under Shizuku, who deems her talents unworthy of Seiji’s skills and vows to get better in the two months he’s going to be away studying in Italy. But as she puts everything on the back burner (including her school studies) to accelerate her writing skills, can can she push herself to get to the level she wants to be in such a sort time frame?
I have to admit, while I love and cherish all of the soul-healing, life-affirming stuff that Studio Ghibli release, I tend to lean more towards the openly fantastical entries rather than their sizable catalogue of titles that sees a young girl coming of age in 90s Japan. While those movies are exquisitely animated feature beautifully knowledgeable scripts and keenly created characters, I tend to prefer it when the animation house truly lets its imagination run riot and create jaw-dropping realities you simply can’t find anywhere else. But if we’re being super honest, I feel that Studio Ghibli’s advertising arm deserves a slap across the legs for delivering a poster that suggests that the film is an epic exploration of such a fantastical world much along the lines of Castle Of The Sky or Nausicaä Of The Valley Of The Wind, when such scenes barely make up five minutes of the whole film.
Thankfully, even though the reality is yet another schoolgirl coming of age movie that has its lead discover love and find her own identity as she matures, once again it’s another Ghibli entry that effortlessly puts you firmly in the shoes of its creative protagonist as we watch her move through a day to day life that’s all sumptuously been animated by hand. Despite all primarily being dudes, once again it’s astounding how such filmmakers like the late Kondō, or Miyazaki and Takahata manage to make the wants and needs of a fourteen year-old girl seem utterly genuine without it tipping into the creepiness that sometimes occurs with well-meaning anime. But while dapper-looking cats in top hats and fantasy worlds with fluctuating gravity (a Miyazaki special), aren’t truly the focus here, it’s still impressive to see how the animators can make an average neighbourhood in Tokyo look stunning by the sheer amount of detail they employ.
As characters go, Whisper Of The Heart ultimately plays it fairly safe when contemplating the pantheon of teenage girls who lead their movies. Shizuku is a typical type who adores her hobby, lives life with all her heart, gets easily embarrassed when boys get involved and seems to have no idea how to cross the street safely when her excitement levels are up (how she survives the movie without getting struck by a single car is, frankly, a miracle). But just because its main character may be a familiar trope of the animation giant, it doesn’t mean that the filmmakers can’t make her issues seem just as important as losing witch powers or befriending woodland spirits. However, when Whisper Of The Heart does unleash a snippet of the fantasy world that’s aching to leap from her excitable brain to the page, it unavoidably makes you wish that you could stay a little longer in a world where floating planetoids shimmer like diamonds. In fact, it’s probably why they made the 2002 spin-off, The Cat Returns, which gives the distinguished, feline gentleman known as the Baron the spotlight.
Those wanting Studio Ghibli to stretch their creative legs a bit more than just focusing on another school girl learning difficult life lessons (talent has to be honed) while blushing a hell of a lot, might wish Whisper Of The Heart used it’s own imagination a bit more. But you can’t deny that the team of Kondō and Miyazaki manage to deliver a genuinely affecting tale. Moments rise out of nowhere to spritz you periodically with moments of unadulterated joy, such as a bit that sees Shizuku heartily sing her own version of “Country Road” while Seiji accompanies her on the violin (watch how her expression changes as her confidence fluctuates when she realises they have an audience). Sadly, we’ll never know if Kondō was ever able to back up his debut.
Another Ghibli, another perfectly nuanced story of childhood dreams colliding with harsh realities of life. While the flawless imagination and beguiling story isn’t quite enough to stop you yearning for more out of this world adventures, this is still another stunningly textbook example of how Ghibli has cornered the market on weaponized whimsy.
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Where to watch Whisper Of The Heart: