Whisper of the Heart

I became aware of Whisper of the Heart after seeing The Cat Returns, a “sequel” to Whisper. Actually, it seems to me that The Cat Returns is more of a sequel to the novel that the main character, Shizuku, writes, also entitled “Whisper of the Heart” and following the adventures of the Baron, a mere figurine in the “Real World” of the movie.

Like many Ghibli titles, Whisper is a “slice of life” movie. If you’ve liked anything else Ghibli has ever made, you’ll like this. I liked it, but I’m starting to get just a bit tired of the format. Maybe it’s just because I’m an action fan, and I’d rather see young women in ridiculous uniforms backed by brooding, angst-filled nerds battling it out with giants swords in outer space while overly dramatic rock-opera inspired music mixed with Gregorian chant plays in the background. Truth be told, I wish the framed story of the Baron’s adventure and the story of Shizuku’s obsession with writing and her quest for the identity of Seiji Amasawa were reversed. If the Baron were telling the story of someone curious about a name stamped in a book, and how one thing led to another to prove a point, it would just be much more satisfying.

Shizuku’s father, a librarian, and her mother, who’s taking college classes, are somewhat dismayed by Shizuku’s attitude toward her education and career, which leads to a sort of soft conflict in the plot. There’s also a bit of an emphasis on music throughout this work; Shizuku writes alternate lyrics to “Country Road” that describe Tokyo, and a character that Shizuku runs into has a dream of becoming a masterful violin-maker.