(L) Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo Sumaseba)

[Theowne]

Whisper of the Heart
Mimi wo Sumaseba (Literal translation: If You Listen Closely {Even more literal translation: If you clear your ears})



Description: Mimi wo Sumaseba is a film produced by Studio Ghibli, based on a manga by Aoi Hiiragi, with screenplay and production by Hayao Miyazaki. It is the first and only film directed by Yoshifumi Kondo (with the exceptions of a few scenes which were directed by Miyazaki). Kondo (who was thought may become a successor to Miyazaki) died in 1998 from an aneurysm, 3 years after his directorial debut.

The story and setting of this film differs from a lot of Ghibli productions. It stars a young girl, Tsukishima Shizuku, who lives in a cramped apartment in an urban town. One day she follows a cat off the train which leads her to a store where she meets a kindly old man, and later, Amasawa Seiji, a boy from her school whose name she recognizes from the cards in her library books. As their relationship blossoms, she is inspired by his dedication to violin making to try and follow her own dreams of being a writer.

__________________________________________

This is a great film which I have recently seen and was surprised to see it did not have a thread here, so I've created this one. It's a fairly old film (11 years as of this post), but it is something you will never notice upon watching it. The attention to detail and fluid design makes it outshine the more flashier animation we see in modern series. But more importantly, it's a very charming, touching story about young love and inspiration.

If you haven't seen this classic yet, I recommend you go out and get it right now. Plus, an official English DVD was released on March 7th of 2006.

[Forbin]

I was a bit disappointed in the English R1. I thought the Japanese one was better. I think the part with the Violins confirmed the Japanese VA was better. They also rated 'G' the script (They basically tweaked the ending) because American audiences wouldn't understand that High School is optional for a Japanese.

Trivia note! : Up to Last Year (Before R1 Release) this was one of the few Ghibli films that features a Japanese Cast with a Theme Song Sung by An Australian that was never translated in English?

Spoiler for For the singer:

Olivia Newton John of Grease Fame

[Sonhex]

I think there was a thread once before but it was lost when the database died a year or so ago.

You know, when I think about which anime movie is my all time favourite Mimi wo Sumaseba pretty much ties with Laputa ~ Castle in the Sky (although I often cheat and say *any* movie by Miyazaki just to avoid selecting one). I know Mimi is not strictly speaking a Miyazaki movie, but his presence is there in the script and the flights of fantasy into Iblard. If you check out the Nausicaa pages for Mimi, it reveals that Miyazaki was devastated by the death of Yoshifumi Kondo who certainly was his most likely successor. A terrible loss that I don't think Ghibli has really ever recovered from.

I think for me the movie is special because of the Shizuku/Seiji moments, in particular the singing scene which must be one of the most honest and heartwarming scenes in any anime. If you can check out the Image Album of Mimi, it has Youko Honna singing a few songs in her 'honest' style of singing. It's also an incredibly funny film, Shizuku's expressions of horror and bewilderment at the surprises and embarrassments always bring a smile to my face.

One thing I think a lot of people may not realise is that Mimi is one of the most honest portrayals of the creative process. It's quite heartbreaking to see Shizuku wanting so much to write and yet realising to write you have to have something to write about. That scene on the balcony when she realises this is quite startling and Youko Honna does a fantastic job in her role as Shizuku.

If you haven't already check out The Cat Returns (Neko no Ongaeshi) which also features the Baron and is a great little film in it's own right. The music also reuses the themes from Mimi to great affect.

[Pellissier]

Simply the best anime movie ever done, at least my undoubt favourite. At the same time, sadly one of the most underestimated.

Originally Posted by Sonhex

in particular the singing scene which must be one of the most honest and heartwarming scenes in any anime.

Perfectly agreed. I think once there was a thread where to describe the most heartwarming (or whatsoever) scene ever seen in an anime, and I described "those 3 minutes of awesomeness".



The most interesting thing, other than what Sonhex pointed out, it's how deep is the psychological development of the characters, it's not a mistery that the passage from childhood to pre-adolescence/adolescence is one of the preferred patterns of Miyazaki. The anime makes actually "whisper" more than once, between nostalgia and good feelings, melancholy and accomplishment.

And then Shizuku, the "anti-protagonist", she's undecisive, she feels "un-kawaii" (not cute), she's always depressed because she doesn't know where she's headed. The changement Seiji will bring to her is one of the most fascinating I've ever seen

By the way, I bought the R2 version. I quite liked it, the voice of the dubber of Shizuku (Brittany Snow) is good, very cute, with the right feeling of insecurity. And also the way they rendered "Country Road" was nice.
The original is always unreachable, but this dubbing deserves an A in my book. I watch both versions very gladly (while sometimes I abhor certain dubs).

A brief behind the scene of the dubbing for the english version of Whisper of the Heart can be found here, in the official Brittany Snow's site. Click on the third rectangle on the first row, and then "save object as" to download. It's short, but it's always nice to see behind the scenes of a dubbing. And heh, Brittany Snow is cute

[Grifis]

Whisper of the Heart is my favorite Ghibli film. I like its theme about adolescence, artisans and the drive for artistic passion. Watching it gives me a feeling of finding little jewels inside a treasure vault and reminds me my appreciation for artistic occupations, the passionate side of it (not the pretentious one). The main characters are not your average kids but those who are very driven and know what to do.

Aside from the beautiful music, the nostalgic sceneries and the characters with traits I admire, there are little intricate details that I can't ignore. I adore scenes like the cat chase when Shizuku ran through the roads of her town up and down the hills, through little valleys (with beautiful landscape) then ended up discovering an antique shop up the hill. (For me this was a jewel and an intrigue.) There the old man told her the story of the clock. If I recall correctly, only when the clock struck twelve, the elf king and the fairy princess could meet and that was due to a heartbreaking love story of the artisan who made it. (A story told within a story. This was another jewel, another intrigue.) Then when Shizuku came again to the shop the second time and met Seiji when he showed the entrance on the other side of the structure. What a great architectural design! The building hugs the hill so after walking down the steps on the right side, this leads to a balcony where one can see a wonderful view of the whole town. I can't recall if it was a roof on top or a pergola but even it's just animation I could feel the cool breezy wind through that tunnel while walking down the steps to be opened to a fantastic view. What a great feeling that must be if I was there! (Yes this was another jewel and another intrigue.) It was this time Seiji showed Shizuku the secret behind the Baron's eyes and showed her its essence through the sunlight. Again, this is another intricate detail I like.

Then there's this subtle little love story between these two kids. I thought it was sweet how Seiji noticed Shizuku and started reading many books just so his name could be before hers. Then on the day before he left he sat waiting for her and walked her home. They held hands briefly before they parted. Somehow these guestures had more impact to me than the average little teen love drama with lots of physical contacts/drama especially the scene when Seiji held Shizuku's hand tightly. At the moment I felt that their feelings ran so deep. It wouldn't be deep if they didn't work so hard for each other. Seiji's "I'll work hard and sing your song" is not exactly the greatest love confession on the surface but the nuances showed his feelings and I thought it was touching. I really enjoyed the ending as well maybe because I'm a romantic. It was a romantic scene (somewhat typical yet somewhat not typical). It was early but I feel appropriate especially for these two individuals whose minds were mature beyond their ages. I've mentioned it before and I'll say it again. This film has one of my favorite endings. 'nuff said.

[Kaoru Chujo]

Ahhhh! This is my favorite animated film. The art is in the service of a such a humane heart. It's one of those shows during which tears keep coming to my eyes: not tears of sadness, but tears of some more positive wistful emotion that is hard to define.

The portrait of Shizuka is so good. The delicate romance, made more intense by its restraint. The amazing architecture of the shop, as you remind me, Grifis, almost like an embodiment of the human unconscious. The "characters with traits I admire."

Thanks for starting the thread, Theowne. And thanks for your insights, everyone. I feel as if I am in such good company here. Now I have to watch this show again....

[Theowne]

Great posts! Of course I agree with all of you. In particular I have a soft spot as well for the musical scene, simply because I am a musical person and I just love, very much so, the whole action of playing music as a group. There's just a bond you create with the people you make music with, and I felt that strongly when I was watching that scene. When the old man and his friends joined in, the excitement of the music escalated, it was just beautiful. I also loved the small details in for that scene. Shizuku's initial reactions to first hearing the violin, her joyful expression as the song went on, how she began to clap, or even how suddenly a larger musical ensemble prompts Seiji to stand up and focus fully on his violin. Little touches that maybe very few people even notice, but these little touches are really things only Ghibli can do effectively. It's one of the things which give the film distinction.

Ahhhh! This is my favorite animated film. The art is in the service of a such a humane heart. It's one of those shows during which tears keep coming to my eyes: not tears of sadness, but tears of some more positive wistful emotion that is hard to define.

That is exactly how I would describe it as well. How could you put it into words? It's truly a film which truly lifts your spirits, and that in itself is a remarkable achievement.

[Yukinokesshou]

Whee ^_^!! I'm so happy to see that I'm not the only one whose favourite film is Mimi wo Sumaseba

I love the plot, the setting, and above all, the characters... not least because I can relate to them, their goals, and their environment. What makes "Mimi wo Sumaseba" so special is its realism. Everyone who grew up in an East Asian city can relate to Shizuku's experiences, and be touched by her story ^^

Like Shizuku, I love to read and write. Like Shizuku, I get envious and depressed when I see other people chasing after their dreams, then look at myself passing day after day. I know exactly what she's feeling... exactly what she means when she says "I used to love books so much, but now even books don't make me happy", or "Now I realise that just wanting to do something is not enough; I have so much to learn!" I have been through the same process. I'm still going through it right now!

Even my father is similar to Shizuku's father. Remember the scene where he says: "I admire the way you've been working so hard, so I will ask no more questions and put my trust in you. But remember, when you go your own way, you must taken full responsibility..."? I've had the same conversation with my father so many times.

I love music too. I think making music with other people in an ensemble is the best feeling ever... so I adored the music scene with Shizuku singing!! (I've watched that part 10 times or so!) Yes, I've also tried translating songs into Chinese and French, but unlike Shizuku, I've had little success in that area

And the setting, the environment... it is simply a work of art.

But there's another reason why I love the "Western Tokyo, Tama New Town" setting so much...

It is pretty much a reflection of my own childhood. The images from this movie are all so eerily familiar to me. Like Shizuku, I grew up in a new town (one in Hong Kong). The housing developments... the concrete roads winding about the mountains... the stairs leading up to the library... the view from the school roof... this is where I grew up!

I remember standing on the school roof on a rainy day, enjoying the view with an umbrella in hand. My school was on a mountain; the vista was similar to that from the site where Seiji confessed his love. The city skyline was incredible... the sun breaking through the clouds right after it stopped raining. Sugoi

Yes, my favourite scene is the one on the school roof (see my avatar). I've watched this scene at least 20 times

What a beautiful film ^_^

[LittleLaptopChan]

really, all studio ghibli movies excel in their character development. this movie in particular makes its character development the central theme of the movie. heck, even the plot follows how shizuku grows and matures.

i like it for its simplicity: everything in the movie fits so nicely together, you feel like you're shizuku's friend, and just about everybody knows what she's going through, since we've all felt the same way growing into adolescence.

heh, i myself play the violin, so i like seiji a lot, and definitely respect him for making really tough decisions that will impact the rest of his life, and at such a young age!

this movie actually shows you how people can be creative, by taking everyday things, and tying them together into such a nice little story. it's refreshing every once in a while to have this kind of movie during times where fantasy and special effects dominate the extent of how good a movie can get.

[Theowne]

I just got the soundtrack here and I've been listening to it non-stop. You know, the two versions of country road (the one sung in Seiji's house and the one in the end credits) are great, but the background score by Yuji Nomi is excellent as well.

LittleLaptopChan, as a violin player I imagine you can appreciate the fact that Ghibli actually bothered to put effort into animating the bowing of the violin, which is something I really liked. I can't count how many times I've watched an anime character "play" the piano, violin, etc, when all they're really doing is moving their hands randomly on the instrument while the music plays in the background. Just shows how dedicated the team is to creating the best possible result.

Everyone who grew up in an East Asian city can relate to Shizuku's experiences, and be touched by her story

To be honest I think anyone who grew up - period - can relate to this movie in some way

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

Wow. It's my favorite anime as well. I saw a pretty high quality fan sub of it sometime during the 1990's. I was so thrilled with it, I hopped on a bus to Japantown and bought a copy on laser disk. I've used the same ancient 532x398 bitmap of Shizuku singing on my desktop -- on God knows how many systems -- since at least 1999. Maybe longer. Whenever I install or reinstall Windows, immediately after installing the video card drivers and setting the resolution, I install Shizuku. As I've upgraded monitors, and my screen resolutions have gotten larger, she gets smaller, but I've never considered replacing her.

I'm not sure if I've ever been that loyal to anyone else.

[wao]

This happens to be one of my quiet favourites as well. Actually when I first watched this anime I was extremely skeptical of a lot of movies with relationships and things like that. And I actually came across this movie completely by chance. You know why? I was borrowing what I thought was Mononoke Hime from the school library. But when I went home and played it I started noticing... hey, I thought from what I heard it's set in the past? What the heck are buildings doing here?

I was getting increasingly annoyed during the first few minutes because I was wondering WTF was going on. But I swear, even now I have to chuckle at myself at how this frustration transformed - almost magically - into enthrallment by the end of the movie. Reading the synopsis, back then I would have never rented it but now I'm so glad they mixed up the discs.

I think I was roughly Shizuku's age when I watched the film, so it was extremely impactful... and when she was feeling lost about what she really wanted to do in life and whether she should follow her passion or not, it really struck a chord in me. I could really feel for her so much - even with regards to Seiji! It's so hilarious now I think of it, in the beginning I was totally going "gee what an annoying kid" and by the end I was totally blown away. Needless to say, even up till now I keep wishing I'd meet someone like him in real life. Aw man...

I think most other people in this thread have pretty much said everything - but one scene I liked a lot which doesn't seem to have been mentioned here is how Shizuku realised there was the same guy borrowing the books on the cards. I look back at that scene really tenderly because it said so many things - one of them was that unique feeling of "hey, I've got a connection with some distant person I might never know" and another related one was the painful thought of knowing that with the upgrade in technology, the library-card system was going to end and so would that feeling of wonder at looking all the names before yourself.
I remember this because I was old enough to remember when the local libraries switched from cards to the digital system, so once again it was a scene that struck me quite deeply.

Another thing I loved was that feeling of discovery when she foudn the little shop. I can't tell you how much I absolutely cherish that feeling. I don't even really know why, but it's one of the things I like the most about life. Even now I still genuinely love finding funny things like that - recently I went walking around and ended up at this strange shack half in the middle of a forested area with a mysterious makeshift altar... I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.

But I have a feeling that perhaps twenty years down the road, as people grow up in a completely different sort of environment that has little connection to the one portrayed here, it might appear as too foreign to them and that element of... I don't know what you call it, romanticism? Familiarity? Nostalgia? Warmth? will be completly lost on them. Even the very analog, slower, manual pace at which things go might seem frustrating to someone who's used to information from all sorts of places at one time and constantly being on the go.

But then I'm sure Shizuku's worries and her growth as well as Seiji's will still be quite relevant, though. And there'll always be people who seek a more careful and slower pace of life and would appreciate this anime. (It's not that slow, anyway)

[Maids! Maids! Maids!]

I should not post in the wee hours of the morning, as it lends itself to foolishness like confusing titles and character names.

Having said that, I'm really struck by how personal the posts in this thread are. It speaks volumes about the work.

[Theowne]

As a bit of nostalgia for those who may have seen this and want to remember it, I present, my favourite scene....

[Mueti]

Only 13 posts for one of the greatest movies ever? More people should see this, really.

@Theowne: Ah, yeah, I love that scene as well. I can't say if it's my favorite one though, there are soo many beatiful ones to choose from.

[Forbin]

It's defintely my favorite scene.

I was listening to John Denver sing the original to that yesterday.

So let me Edit my old post.

Originally Posted by Forbin in January Edit

Before R1 Release in 2006, this was the only Ghibli movie that wasn't released in English but featured a Theme Song that was Sung by an Australian and was written by an American.

[FatPianoBoy]

Actually, that bit about it being the only Ghibli movie not released in English is not quite true...

[Forbin]

Originally Posted by FatPianoBoy

Actually, that bit about it being the only Ghibli movie not released in English is not quite true...

Well there actually a few ghliblis. But this is the only one with an English OP. That's what makes it so special, an English OP means that they intended it to come here, but it never did. At least until Disney released it years later.

This and Kiki's are my 2 favorite Ghliblis and Ocean waves comes a close third.

[xris]

Originally Posted by FatPianoBoy

Actually, that bit about it being the only Ghibli movie not released in English is not quite true...

Good Grief! I just checked Wiki and then Amazon UK, it is indeed available in the UK and for under £6!

Amazon, Only Yesterday

Thanks for that, I've been waiting for this to become available