To be honest, I tend not to like anime movies as much as watching a good anime series. The reason is, most of the time the characters don't have enough time to develop properly. This leaves me feeling like an outsider looking in, instead of being able to put myself into the characters' shoes. I am happy to say that this time, all these negative norms are completely broken. Quite frankly, ALL of the Studio Ghibli films by Miyazaki, Takahata, et al seem to be able to succeed where almost all other anime movies fail. The best of the lot, however, is Whisper of the Heart.
DESCRIPTION
Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo Summa Seba) is one of those films that comes along once in a lifetime. It grabs you into its world, and refuses to let the viewer go....
The movie is a coming of age drama, in the young shoujo style. As the movie opens, we meet Shizuku, a young girl, about 14 years old. Shizuku is a very creative sort, but not exceptionally scholarly. She spends a lot of her time writing alternative lyrics to famous songs (Country Road by John Denver is featured throughout the movie). The remainder of Shizuku's time is spent reading multitudes of books. It seems fitting, somehow, that her father is a librarian.
It is through this hobby of reading, that she comes across a name that seems to be in the checkout tab of every book she borrows -- Amasawa Seiji. She becomes determined to find out who this mysterious person is, who reads so many books and has the same tastes as she does.
The main focus of the movie, however, is on Shizuku trying to decide on a direction for her future career. Her determination is enhanced by a mysterious boy that she meets at school. This boy seems to know everything about her, but she does not even know his name. This mystery leads Shizuku to a strange unconcious attraction to the young man. When Shizuku later finds out that this mystery boy has his whole future career all laid out, and has a plan to pursue it, Shizuku is more determined than ever, to find out what *she* is good at.
The movie has many sub-plots, including Shizuku's relationship with her family, friends, and this mysterious boy (amongst others). Also featured, is a magnificent figurine of sorts called "The Baron" that Shizuku is fascinated by (and plays a major role in the last half-hour of the film).
I really can't go into further detail about the movie, without giving away spoilers, so I will leave it here. I should point out that the previous description is intentionally vauge. In order to truly appreciate the brilliant story, and find out all of the film's mysteries, you will just have to go and buy it when it is released by Disney.
EVALUATION
ART/ANIMATION
The animation is high budget movie quality. Although you won't find any violent explosions or bloodshed here, the film, like all Ghibli films, has a magical quality to it that has to be seen to be believed (hint, hint).....
CHARACTER DESIGNS
Well, these were done by the master himself, Miyazaki. If you haven't seen any of Miyazaki's previous works, shame on you. Seriously, however, these character designs look GREAT (if you have seen Kiki's Delivery Service, then you should instantly recognize them)!
MUSIC
The music is of a very high quality (if you like John Denver). I am more of a classical music fan myself, so the country music in the film did not grab me as much as it may for others. No matter, country fan or not, the music blends well with the rest of the movie. I don't think anyone will be disappointed.
STORY
The storyline of Whisper of the Heart is BRILLIANT. I loved it so much, that I forked out over $120 to buy the import LD of this great movie! I really can't give a higher recommendation than that! The violin shop scene is a classic, and so is the touching ending to the film.
OVERALL
I really can't think of a single reason for you not to buy this wonderful film. I have not seen any better movies out there (the PSME Movie does not count, since it is just a compilation of the OVAs). As soon as Disney releases this one, BUY IT RIGHT AWAY.
ART/ANIMATION 9.7
Review By:"Dr." David Seid
CHARACTER DESIGN 9.9
MUSIC 8.9
STORY 9.9
OVERALL 9.65