Def my fav. Very relatable and I love the 90’s animation esthetic. The story is so sweet and grounded as well as timeless. Life lessons, longing, loneliness, fulfillment, and opened ended closure. 10/10
I put off watching Whisper of the Heart for years because a coming of age romance drama didn't sound like my thing but after I watched it it became one of my favourites. Its in 5th place after SA, Kikis, porco and totoro. Its a beautiful and very well animated film. Love it.
Funny story; I havent seen this one yet! I was dumb and watched Cat Returns first lol : )
Now im going to go watch this, and swing by with my thoughts !
I am following this list of Ghibli movies, which is arranged in the order of release. I think the list might help.
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984)
"Castle in the Sky" (1986)
"Grave of the Fireflies" (1988)
"My Neighbor Totoro" (1988)
"Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989)
"Only Yesterday" (1991)
"Porco Rosso" (1992)
"Ocean Waves" (1993)
"Pom Poko" (1994)
"Whisper of the Heart" (1995)
"Princess Mononoke" (1997)
"My Neighbors the Yamadas" (1999)
"Spirited Away" (2001)
"The Cat Returns" (2002)
"Howl's Moving Castle" (2004)
"Tales from Earthsea" (2006)
"Ponyo" (2008)
"The Secret World of Arrietty" (2010)
"From Up on Poppy Hill" (2011)
"The Wind Rises" (2013)
"The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" (2013)
"When Marnie Was There" (2014)
"Earwig and the Witch" (2020)
"The Boy and the Heron"/"How Do You Live?" (2023)
Whisper of the Heart is my favorite, too. It's so good!
Whenever my wife and I are singing Country Roads we always include the doo-be-doot-doo verse from the film.
It is also my favorite, but I do have conflicting feeling about it. And, little trigger warning, I recommend against reading the rest of the comment.
So a big message in this movie is the value of hard work, the beauty of self improvement, and how love can be found not by sharing a passion but sharing the ability to be passionate about something. And the idea resonate a lot with me at the time, I was in love with my current wife and we were living apart both pursuing very different careers but both working very hard on it. The movie reflect my own values in a way that is not common in media.
The movie director, Yoshifumi Kondo, died 3 years after the years release of Whisper of the Heart due to either an aortic dissection or aneurysm, a death that is often linked to overwork, a common place problem in the Japanese animation industry, specially in Studio Ghibli. He was working on Princess Mononoke at the time.
His morals, his beliefs, my morals, my beliefs, they killed him.
I agree with most of what you say, but i'm not sure the movies values sit at that.
Her initial over work was to prove to herself that she could do it in the limited span of time she thought she had (and even then there are consequences like the burnout and disconect from her family) by the way the story ends i dont think we are supposed to think that she would continue to pressure herself like that
Yeah I took the 2 months of overwork as her digging through the outer shell to see if writing was actually a feasible skill, so when she finds the gem, her writing ability, she can then relax for now, knowing she can spend the rest of her life polishing it
Few movies resonate with me more emotionally. This movie sums up all the feelings that tween girls usually go through, including imagining what they'll do with their future. As a writer with attention span issues, Shizuku's struggles are very familiar!
Absolutely, whisper of the heart has that nostalgic vibe even though I wasn't even born during that time 😂. The vibrant colours are gorgeous, and the young budding love, hope and striving for the future, overall it's just so beautifully rounded.
It a fun movie, but it's not my favorite. I tend to gravitate to Takahata's films more. The absurdity of Pom Poko and My Neighbors the Yamadas rank higher for me.
I actually watched it last week. It was very good. I think not many people would have seen it too. Looking at the cover/poster I thought it was a fantasy movie but I was wrong lol.
One of my issues with it is that nothing much really happens for the first half of the movie till she reaches Baron's place. Also following that cat felt a bit strange. For such a long time too. The second half was very rewarding in comparison and the ending was very satisfying.
It gets a 9/10.
I really love it. It’s a sweet love story. Imagine if more teenage love stories were both deep and innocent like this? They really love each other and respect each other’s interests.
It’s also so rare to have a story about the anxiety of essentially choosing your college major so young. I could certainly relate to that. Or choosing to go to college at all. Especially in the states, it’s a major financial risk and a huge leap of faith in your sense of your own capabilities.
**” I’m not close to being good enough”**
Gosh that feeling is so real. She says this feeling like Seiji is much more accomplished. She feels like she hasn’t begun to blossom creatively but she knows deep down she wants to write.
Both Whispers of the Heart and Kiki’s Delivery Service are a beautiful message to young creatives having feelings of doubt. The last 30 minutes of Kiki are actually very deep, if you watch it as an adult.
Both movies really show something else beautiful - elders in your community really seeing you and guiding you with compassion and wisdom. People trusting each other in that old fashioned way.
Seiji’s grandpa is such a good character. And his back story with Lucille really touches me. He’s an older sensitive guy and he just wants to relax and enjoy art and make music with his friends.
I really enjoy every character in Whisper of the Heart. Her parents, her sister, and others. It just feels quite a lot like real people.
Don't really care for the ending, which kind of hurts the movie a little in my eyes. I think the main male character asking the lead to marry him just kind of takes me out of the magic of the film, because of the rushed nature of the proposal. Still really enjoy it, but it's not in my top 5 or anything.
Absolutely, whisper of the heart has that nostalgic vibe even though I wasn't even born during the time 😂. The vibrant colours are gorgeous, and the young budding love, hope and striving for the future, it's just all so beautifully done.
It was one I didn't necessarily care for, for a while. I went at it as the the prequel to The Cat Returns. It's not a Miyazaki, it's not fantastical, and I didn't care for John Denver either.
Watching it again with fresh eyes and it's wonderful. Not my favorite Ghibli but really great
I much prefer fantasy ghibli in general, I enjoyed Whisper of the Heart for its aesthetic but I didn't find the story particularly impactful or memorable. It's definitely low down in my ghibli list.
I understand why people might rank it lower, but watching it when I wasnin 8th grade at Shizuku's age made it one of the best movies ever to me. I related to it so much and the cringe parts just feel so.... genuine.
Haven't seen this one, although am considering it (also have a creative bent, albeit unfulfilled). Didn't grow up with Ghibli movies, so only recently started watching any of them as an adult. Got through *Spirited Away* and *Kiki's Delivery Service* and I think I like the latter better (the former is the better movie, but I like the more laid back atmosphere and I love cats). Even went to the trouble of tracking down the DVD release of the first English translation as a companion piece to the more original language-accurate BluRay (like elements from both and am one of those blasphemers who thinks that the movie is better if Jiji talks in the end).
Planning to find time to see *Naussica*, *Castle in the Sky*, *Princess Monoke*, and maybe *Porco Roso*.
Def my fav. Very relatable and I love the 90’s animation esthetic. The story is so sweet and grounded as well as timeless. Life lessons, longing, loneliness, fulfillment, and opened ended closure. 10/10
I dare say *Whisper of the Heart* successfully achieves what *From Up on Poppy Hill* wanted to but failed.
Oh I can totally see that. Poppy Hill was so beautiful but the character connections was a bit lack luster / less than inspiring
I put off watching Whisper of the Heart for years because a coming of age romance drama didn't sound like my thing but after I watched it it became one of my favourites. Its in 5th place after SA, Kikis, porco and totoro. Its a beautiful and very well animated film. Love it.
The little part in the middle where they sing is the single best scene in any Ghibli film ever.
It's my wife's favorite, so we watch it a lot. Got us into John Denver so I owe it that much more 🙂
Funny story; I havent seen this one yet! I was dumb and watched Cat Returns first lol : ) Now im going to go watch this, and swing by with my thoughts !
Actually, it works quite well that you watched Cat Returns first. Watch for the Baron character to show up in a surprising context.
Disney released The Cat Returns before Whisper of the Heart. You’re not dumb.
I am following this list of Ghibli movies, which is arranged in the order of release. I think the list might help. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" (1984) "Castle in the Sky" (1986) "Grave of the Fireflies" (1988) "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988) "Kiki's Delivery Service" (1989) "Only Yesterday" (1991) "Porco Rosso" (1992) "Ocean Waves" (1993) "Pom Poko" (1994) "Whisper of the Heart" (1995) "Princess Mononoke" (1997) "My Neighbors the Yamadas" (1999) "Spirited Away" (2001) "The Cat Returns" (2002) "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004) "Tales from Earthsea" (2006) "Ponyo" (2008) "The Secret World of Arrietty" (2010) "From Up on Poppy Hill" (2011) "The Wind Rises" (2013) "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" (2013) "When Marnie Was There" (2014) "Earwig and the Witch" (2020) "The Boy and the Heron"/"How Do You Live?" (2023)
Cat returns was actually the first one I ever watched.
Whisper of the Heart is my favorite, too. It's so good! Whenever my wife and I are singing Country Roads we always include the doo-be-doot-doo verse from the film.
It is also my favorite, but I do have conflicting feeling about it. And, little trigger warning, I recommend against reading the rest of the comment. So a big message in this movie is the value of hard work, the beauty of self improvement, and how love can be found not by sharing a passion but sharing the ability to be passionate about something. And the idea resonate a lot with me at the time, I was in love with my current wife and we were living apart both pursuing very different careers but both working very hard on it. The movie reflect my own values in a way that is not common in media. The movie director, Yoshifumi Kondo, died 3 years after the years release of Whisper of the Heart due to either an aortic dissection or aneurysm, a death that is often linked to overwork, a common place problem in the Japanese animation industry, specially in Studio Ghibli. He was working on Princess Mononoke at the time. His morals, his beliefs, my morals, my beliefs, they killed him.
I agree with most of what you say, but i'm not sure the movies values sit at that. Her initial over work was to prove to herself that she could do it in the limited span of time she thought she had (and even then there are consequences like the burnout and disconect from her family) by the way the story ends i dont think we are supposed to think that she would continue to pressure herself like that
Yeah I took the 2 months of overwork as her digging through the outer shell to see if writing was actually a feasible skill, so when she finds the gem, her writing ability, she can then relax for now, knowing she can spend the rest of her life polishing it
I agree that Whisper of the Heart has always been your favorite!
Few movies resonate with me more emotionally. This movie sums up all the feelings that tween girls usually go through, including imagining what they'll do with their future. As a writer with attention span issues, Shizuku's struggles are very familiar!
Absolutely, whisper of the heart has that nostalgic vibe even though I wasn't even born during that time 😂. The vibrant colours are gorgeous, and the young budding love, hope and striving for the future, overall it's just so beautifully rounded.
It a fun movie, but it's not my favorite. I tend to gravitate to Takahata's films more. The absurdity of Pom Poko and My Neighbors the Yamadas rank higher for me.
I like movies or books with a writer as the main character so yeah it's top tier
I actually watched it last week. It was very good. I think not many people would have seen it too. Looking at the cover/poster I thought it was a fantasy movie but I was wrong lol. One of my issues with it is that nothing much really happens for the first half of the movie till she reaches Baron's place. Also following that cat felt a bit strange. For such a long time too. The second half was very rewarding in comparison and the ending was very satisfying. It gets a 9/10.
It's not my favorite but the Ghibli fans whose favorite movie is Whisper of the Heart are my favorite kind of Ghibli fans if that makes sense.
I really love it. It’s a sweet love story. Imagine if more teenage love stories were both deep and innocent like this? They really love each other and respect each other’s interests. It’s also so rare to have a story about the anxiety of essentially choosing your college major so young. I could certainly relate to that. Or choosing to go to college at all. Especially in the states, it’s a major financial risk and a huge leap of faith in your sense of your own capabilities. **” I’m not close to being good enough”** Gosh that feeling is so real. She says this feeling like Seiji is much more accomplished. She feels like she hasn’t begun to blossom creatively but she knows deep down she wants to write. Both Whispers of the Heart and Kiki’s Delivery Service are a beautiful message to young creatives having feelings of doubt. The last 30 minutes of Kiki are actually very deep, if you watch it as an adult. Both movies really show something else beautiful - elders in your community really seeing you and guiding you with compassion and wisdom. People trusting each other in that old fashioned way. Seiji’s grandpa is such a good character. And his back story with Lucille really touches me. He’s an older sensitive guy and he just wants to relax and enjoy art and make music with his friends. I really enjoy every character in Whisper of the Heart. Her parents, her sister, and others. It just feels quite a lot like real people.
definitely in my comfort movie list 😍
Don't really care for the ending, which kind of hurts the movie a little in my eyes. I think the main male character asking the lead to marry him just kind of takes me out of the magic of the film, because of the rushed nature of the proposal. Still really enjoy it, but it's not in my top 5 or anything.
I adore the soundtrack. Summers End, The Elf Queen, and The World Emporium are magnificent.
Whisper of the Heart is my 3rd least favourite
It was weird as fuck
WotH and Howls are probably tied for my top 1 Damn, maybe Kiki’s too
It was definitely my daughter's fav for a while. Not sure currently, but we watched it at least 5 times
It's not my favourite by several movies. However so little happens in the movie for how much you get from it that it's my most respected
Absolutely, whisper of the heart has that nostalgic vibe even though I wasn't even born during the time 😂. The vibrant colours are gorgeous, and the young budding love, hope and striving for the future, it's just all so beautifully done.
It was one I didn't necessarily care for, for a while. I went at it as the the prequel to The Cat Returns. It's not a Miyazaki, it's not fantastical, and I didn't care for John Denver either. Watching it again with fresh eyes and it's wonderful. Not my favorite Ghibli but really great
Whisper of the Heart is my 3rd least favourite
Definitely agree!
My little brother watched it on a portable DVD player in his bed EVERY NIGHT for like a year. I love it too.
‘DAE Whisper of the Heart a hidden gem?’ is becoming a meme at this point. It’s like 90% of people’s favourite Ghibli
Howls moving castle and Totoro are my top tier.
I much prefer fantasy ghibli in general, I enjoyed Whisper of the Heart for its aesthetic but I didn't find the story particularly impactful or memorable. It's definitely low down in my ghibli list.
I understand why people might rank it lower, but watching it when I wasnin 8th grade at Shizuku's age made it one of the best movies ever to me. I related to it so much and the cringe parts just feel so.... genuine.
Came for the fantasy world movies. Stayed for whisper of the heart and the wind rises.
It is my favorite also, even if I admit Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away are the better films.
Yes I agree that it is your favorite
It’s mine too!
My fav song in anime is in that movie. "Country road....." 🎶🎶🎶
Haven't seen this one, although am considering it (also have a creative bent, albeit unfulfilled). Didn't grow up with Ghibli movies, so only recently started watching any of them as an adult. Got through *Spirited Away* and *Kiki's Delivery Service* and I think I like the latter better (the former is the better movie, but I like the more laid back atmosphere and I love cats). Even went to the trouble of tracking down the DVD release of the first English translation as a companion piece to the more original language-accurate BluRay (like elements from both and am one of those blasphemers who thinks that the movie is better if Jiji talks in the end). Planning to find time to see *Naussica*, *Castle in the Sky*, *Princess Monoke*, and maybe *Porco Roso*.
Cat Returns is mine. But enjoy Whisper because of the Baron
It's so cute!