{"id":2458,"date":"2009-01-29T22:29:12","date_gmt":"2009-01-30T03:29:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/?p=2458"},"modified":"2009-01-29T22:29:12","modified_gmt":"2009-01-30T03:29:12","slug":"whisper-of-the-heart-anime-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2009\/01\/29\/whisper-of-the-heart-anime-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Whisper of the Heart&#8211;Anime Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/image\/stars\/5o5.gif\" alt=\"5 Stars\" \/><br \/>\nStudio Ghibli is the most prestigious of all <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#anime\">anime<\/a> studios. A small studio founded by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki, it primarily does theatrical movies with clever, original screenplays and top-quality animation. Disney has an exclusive deal to import these movies and usually gives them a limited theatrical run.<\/p>\n<p>I can&#8217;t say for sure that every Studio Ghibli movie is worth watching, since I haven&#8217;t seen all of them, but I&#8217;ve been pleased with all the ones that I have watched (and someday I&#8217;ll get around to reviewing all of them.)<\/p>\n<p><em>Whisper of the Heart<\/em> is one of the less known Studio Ghibli films. It&#8217;s a small, simple story, but just about perfectly executed. It could hardly be simpler: a teenaged girl finds her ideal boyfriend, then learns that he is about to move out of the country, and she has to decide how she is going to deal with that. And that&#8217;s it; no battles, no explosions, no monsters, not even any magic.<\/p>\n<p>Or maybe there is some magic. (That cat sure looks like he knows more than he&#8217;s saying.) Let&#8217;s just say that everything has a possible rational explanation. Perhaps the real point is that the heroine has the ability to see the magic underlying ordinary life.<\/p>\n<p>I can&#8217;t help comparing this to <a href=\"\/fun\/2009\/01\/25\/revolutionary-road-movie-review\/\"><em>Revolutionary Road<\/em><\/a>, the last movie I reviewed, not because they are similar but because they are opposites. <em>Revolutionary Road<\/em> explores the dangers of not having a dream (while thinking that you do.) <em>Whisper of the Heart<\/em> is about what it really means to have a dream.<br \/>\n<!--more--><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ItemList\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Original Title<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\"><em>Mimi wo Sumaseba<\/em> (If you listen closely)<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Genres<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Romance, Coming of Age<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Languages<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">English, Japanese with subtitles<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Demographic<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Shoujo<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Contents<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">111 minutes plus bonus material in a 2-DVD set.<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Based on<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">A <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#manga\">manga<\/a> by Aoi Hiiragi<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Yoshifumi Kondou<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Screenplay<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Hayao Miyazaki<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Storyboard<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Hayao Miyazaki<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Character Design<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Kitarou Kousaka<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Art Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Satoshi Kuroda<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Animation Director<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Kitarou Kousaka<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Music<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Yuuji Nomi<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Animation Studio<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Studio Ghibli<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Released<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">1995<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div class=\"Item\">Region 1 Publisher<\/div>\n<div class=\"Description\">Walt Disney Home Entertainment<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Parental Advisory<\/h3>\n<p>Disney knows the American animation market as well as anyone, and they clearly think that they can sell the most DVDs by convincing parents to buy this for their small children. The DVD cover art shows a scene that is not in the movie at all and makes Shizuku look about 6 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Now there&#8217;s no reason <em>not<\/em> to let a six-year-old watch this. It&#8217;s gentle and non-threatening. Small children will probably enjoy watching it, even if they don&#8217;t fully understand it. They&#8217;ll like it but they probably won&#8217;t love it.<\/p>\n<p>Still, the main characters are in their mid-teens and have teenage concerns. This story will probably resonate most with viewers whose ages are in the double digits. It&#8217;s regrettable that the older children and teenagers who might enjoy the move most are likely to be repelled by the way it is marketed.<\/p>\n<h3>Premise and Characters<\/h3>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<strong>Shizuku Tsukishima<\/strong> is a middle-school student <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/shizukustudying.png\" alt=\"Shizuku Studying\" title=\"Shizuku Studying\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2508\" \/>studying for her high-school entrance exams. (Which means she must be 15 or nearly so at the beginning of the story, but she is small for her age, and drawn young-looking in the usual Studio Ghibli style.) She loves fairy tales and fantasy stories, but lately they don&#8217;t seem as real to her, which sometimes makes her feel grumpy and depressed.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/shizuku.png\" alt=\"Shizuku\" title=\"Shizuku\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2504\" \/>She seems to have a talent for poetry, and has been commissioned by the Music Club to translate the lyrics of <em>Country Roads<\/em> into something that can be sung in Japanese. (She ends up taking a few liberties.)\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/apartment3.png\" alt=\"Apartment\" title=\"Apartment\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2486\" \/>Shizuku lives with her family in the outskirts of Tokyo in a small, messy apartment overflowing with books.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/seiya2.png\" alt=\"Father\" title=\"Father\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2498\" \/>Her father <strong>Seiya Tsukishima<\/strong> is a librarian. He is an easy-going, bookish fellow.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/asako.png\" alt=\"Mother\" title=\"Mother\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2489\" \/><strong>Asako Tsukishima<\/strong>, her mother, has gone back to graduate school and is absorbed in research for her thesis.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/shiho3.png\" alt=\"Shiho\" title=\"Shiho\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2501\" \/>Her older sister <strong>Shiho<\/strong> is a college student, and is bossy and intrusive.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/bookcard.png\" alt=\"Book Card\" title=\"Book Card\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2492\" \/>Shizuku notices that most of the books that she checks out of the library have been previously checked out by someone named <strong>Seiji Amasawa<\/strong>. She wonders about this mysterious person who seems to like all the same books that she does.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/shizukuyuuko.png\" alt=\"Shizuku and Yuuko\" title=\"Shizuku and Yuuko\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2509\" \/>Shizuku&#8217;s best friend <strong>Yuuko Harada<\/strong> has boy trouble.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/sugimura.png\" alt=\"Sugimura\" title=\"Sugimura\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2512\" \/>She has a crush on <strong>Sugimura<\/strong>, who is barely aware of her existence.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/seiji.png\" alt=\"Annoying Boy\" title=\"Annoying Boy\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2497\" \/>Shizuku keeps running into a good-looking but annoying boy, who acts interested in the books she is reading and who teases her about her poetry. He couldn&#8217;t possibly be the mysterious Seiji Amasawa could he? Naah!\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/shizukucat.png\" alt=\"Shizuku with Cat\" title=\"Shizuku with Cat\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2506\" \/>One day she takes the train to the library and notices a big, fat cat with a misanthropic expression, who is also riding alone on the train.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/catenteringshop.png\" alt=\"Cat Entering Shop\" title=\"Cat Entering Shop\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2493\" \/>The cat gets off the train at the same stop that she does. Intrigued, she follows it and is led to a strange little shop called The World Emporium, which is filled with wonderful objects.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/nishiclock.png\" alt=\"Nishi with Clock\" title=\"Nishi with Clock\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2495\" \/><strong>Shiro Nishi<\/strong>, the owner, is a cheerful old man who invites her to look around.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/porcorosso.png\" alt=\"Porco Rosso\" title=\"Porco Rosso\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2496\" \/>Mr Nishi shows her an old grandfather clock that he has been repairing.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/elfprincess.png\" alt=\"Elf Princess\" title=\"Elf Princess\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2494\" \/>It contains clockwork figures that enact a fairy tale about a dwarf king who loves a fairy princess but can never be with her.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/baron.png\" alt=\"Baron\" title=\"Baron\" width=\"240\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2491\" \/><strong>Baron Humbert von Jechingen<\/strong> is an elegant cat figure with sparkling eyes.\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Character\">\n<\/div>\n<h3>DVD Notes<\/h3>\n<p>The subtitle translation takes a few liberties but for the most part seems reasonable. My only real objection is that is sometimes makes Shizuku sound rather pompous. At one point it has her saying &#8220;I&#8217;m no man&#8217;s burden!&#8221; when the original Japanese is more like &#8220;I don&#8217;t want to just be your luggage!&#8221;, which in context seems more natural and expressive.<\/p>\n<p>The English dub naturally has some tonal differences from the original. It&#8217;s just about impossible for American actors get the cultural nuances right. Nevertheless it is significantly better than the usual slapdash dub on a typical anime DVD. Disney knows more about how to dub animation than most American anime publishers.<\/p>\n<p>I recommend listening to the Japanese soundtrack with subtitles, if only to hear Youko Honna sing <em>Country Roads<\/em> in Japanese. That&#8217;s definitely worth hearing at least once (but maybe not <a href=\"http:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/uknews\/1581130\/John-Denver-karaoke-sparks-Thai-killing-spree.html\"><em>too<\/em> often<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<h3>Links<\/h3>\n<p>ANN Encyclopedia <a href=\"http:\/\/www.animenewsnetwork.com\/encyclopedia\/anime.php?id=847\">entry<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Wikipedia <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Whisper_of_the_heart\">entry<\/a> (spoilers.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Studio Ghibli is the most prestigious of all <a href=\"\/fun\/terms-used-in-anime-reviews#anime\">anime<\/a> studios. A small studio founded by acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki, it primarily does theatrical movies with clever, original screenplays and top-quality&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/2009\/01\/29\/whisper-of-the-heart-anime-review\/\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[249,250,248],"class_list":["post-2458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anime","category-movies","tag-miyazaki","tag-studio-ghibli","tag-whisper-of-the-heart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2458"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2520,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2458\/revisions\/2520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2458"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2458"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bugfox.net\/fun\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2458"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}