Whisper of the Heart Live-Action Blu-ray & DVD Set

I grew up still loving you, and the way you followed your dream so honestly. The story of Whisper of the Heart begins again, ten years later.

The enduring classic comes to life in a live-action film. First serialised in the girls’ manga magazine Ribon in 1989 and adapted into animation in 1995, Whisper of the Heart remains a landmark coming-of-age story.

Alongside the bittersweet middle-school years familiar from the manga and animated film, this adaptation adds a completely original story set ten years later. Two periods intersect to weave a pure youthful romance, exploring Shizuku and Seiji’s promise and the paths their dreams take as adults.

Energetic middle-school student Shizuku Tsukishima loves reading. She cannot stop thinking about a name that keeps appearing on the library lending cards: Seiji Amasawa. “He has read everything before me. What kind of person is he?”

Their first encounter could hardly be worse, but Shizuku gradually finds herself drawn to Seiji when she discovers his ambitious dream. Encouraged by him, she begins to cherish a dream of her own. Then Seiji tells her that he will go to Italy to pursue his goal. They promise to follow their dreams even while apart, and to meet again.

Ten years pass. In 1998, Shizuku works as a children’s-book editor at a publishing house while continuing to pursue her dream, but nothing is going as she hoped. Whenever she begins to think she might never succeed, she remembers Seiji struggling far away in Italy and finds the strength to keep going.

Seiji’s life is far from smooth sailing either. His days are filled with uncertainty and frustration, and Shizuku is the one who supports him, too. One day, a major mistake at work forces Shizuku to choose between her job and her dream. Where will she go to find her answer?

Set in Japan and Italy, the film follows the two as they grow and struggle toward their dreams. Their former classmates Tatsuya Sugimura and Yuko Harada also have stories ten years later that deserve attention.

Respecting the original’s world, the film recreates it through the distinctive possibilities of live action. Familiar elements include the World Emporium, library lending cards, the bicycle and the iconic Baron. The nostalgic atmosphere of the middle-school years in 1988 and the newly imagined story in 1998 offers fond memories to those who knew the period and a fresh experience to younger viewers.

Blu-ray extras include making-of footage, stage greetings from the Japan premiere and opening day, a release special, two intermission videos, three original trailers and three television spots. The DVD includes the three original trailers.