While Hayao Miyazaki may not have directed it (Yoshifumi Kondo does the honors here), he wrote the screenplay. The attention to seemingly mundane, quotidian details is astounding - insects flying around an overhead lamp, sounds of a summer's cicada, Shizuku pulling out a snack to munch on while writing determinedly... like I said, seemingly insignificant details that are automatically, blindly swallowed without absorbing for most of us when going about our daily business. All the more reason to marvel at Studio Ghibli's devotion to these minute details when it could have been so much easier to do away with them.
The portrayal of life in a suburban Tokyo town was also very well conceived. Yet again, such mundane activities as grocery shopping, meal times, commuting on the train, interaction with neighbours, school teachers, friend's parents - were discreetly carried out without being blatant in the least. As such the story flows with a natural charm that envelopes one into suburban Tokyo: past the flashier touristy bits, the fashions, the hyper-ness of TOKYO!!!!; this is what it must be like to live there.
I guess the main reason why I love Whisper of the Heart so much was the literary theme and its connotations. Shizuku, aged perhaps thirteen or fourteen, finds herself envying Seiji for having a clear goal in life to work towards. She is, in her own words, living from day to day. It is evident that she has a way with words but she's lacking in a sense of direction, like so many of us are. Eventually, Seiji's grandfather provides the right amount of nudging and Shizuku pens her first novel. A rough draft to be sure, but it is a story complete with lovingly thought out characters and a blossoming plot. I wish the same could happen for myself.
The idea of meeting your love through books is an eternal fantasy for most of us who regard books as lifelines. Of course, discovering his name through paper record cards is even sweeter. I'm glad I'm old enough to remember these paper record cards that library books used to come with. We used to have them when I was in primary school but now everything's just an efficient scan-and-go. It harks back to an earlier era of musty old libraries and frowning, disapproving librarians manually stamping your books - the sentimental romantics in us lap it up all the more.
I'm terrible at reviewing. I think this girl says it a lot better:
"I was Shizuku when I was fourteen. I’m still Shizuku in a lot of ways. I respect Ghibli’s other heroines for different reasons and they are all strong in their own ways, but Shizuku is the one I personally relate to best. Partially because her problems and difficulties are very much grounded in the real world. Even when her friends are telling her she’s gifted and smart she’s dissatisfied with herself. I can relate with that.
The entire film is a wonderful depiction of adolescence. She’s real. She is the embodiment of a fourteen year old girl trying to figure out how she can fit into the big picture. I have always struggled with trying to find the ‘gem’ within myself. Her discovery that writing is a process — not a miracle — was a revelation for me as well as her. I have lived in a cloud of self doubt from the time I was old enough to understand what grades were.
Not to mention the relationship between Seiji and Shizuku in that film was so beautifully developed. It was trusting and natural and naive. It was a beautiful film because it didn’t mix the world of adulthood in with the reality of being fourteen and yet it is still relatable to me as an ‘adult’. It was just a film that spoke to me, and helped my personal development."
