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Whisper of the Heart by Kondou is the most endearing, personal, magical, and majestically warming Anime based Reality I've seen in a while. It's up there with Grave of the Fireflies, and Barefoot Gen--even though this film's contents is more in the line of soul mates, aspirations, personal treasures, unrequited love, and John Denver.

Disney bought the rights for it, so for those whore lacking--be patient, although you can always get a Jpn DVD version that contains English Sub, just be sure that your DVD plays that certain region.

A great anime for those who seeks solace and inspiration, nothing more nor less. Sure it lacks violence, guns, nudity, fast cars, robots--and amongst others that can render a film to the point of being excessive, brutal, and profane--but with love, destiny, personal adventures, and a sensuous story--you couldn't go wrong with this lovely thing.

I cannot emphasize it anymore than that--watch it with a love one.

I have never seen such a touching love story between two young people, driving each other to achieve their aim in life by doing self-discovery. What makes me realize is we don't have to know someone in real life to push ourselves to achieve something. They can be far away from us or a stranger to be our role model in life.

This story can occur in reality and who knows? The story line is simple but very interesting. It also makes you think whether you have such an inspiration in life, whether our partner give us an inspiration in doing what we want in life or just live another day.

All in all, this love story inspires me and it will be one of my favorite anime at all times.

A very moving animé film from Studio Ghibli, as good as anything either Miyazaki or Takahata have made. It's a very simple and down-to-earth movie about a young teenage girl who is experiencing her first love, as well as doubts about her future. Whisper understands its characters as few films do, and I became quite intimate with our heroine, Shizuku. It also has a sense of mood unmatched by any other film I can think of set in everyday life. The way it feels to live in a cramped apartment, the emotions of the first day of school, and the way the sky looks after it has rained – so many generic memories of my life brought right to the forefront, as if they were the only moments that mattered. The film enveloped me so completely, I could smell the odor of the antique shop. The music is so wonderful, the score by Yuji Nomi. And I never could have imagined that John Denver's song `Country Roads' would make me weep. Well, it was in Japanese, but still. It's frightening. Each Ghibli film I see makes me think that the next one cannot possibly match it, yet each film inevitably does. 10/10.

When I first heard of Whisper of the Heart, I didn't feel a significant need to find it and watch it. How good could a teen romance be, a genre that's been beaten to death? Little did I know how much I'd love this film.

I beg of you, don't turn this film away because of the premise, which might strike some as sounding sappy. When Studio Ghibli is involved, you can't go wrong. It's NOTHING like you'd expect from any teen romance from anywhere. Whisper of the Heart has none of that fake, self-indulgent crap that permeates Hollywood, movies about teens that pander to clichés and don't give a damn about real characters or love or true feelings. Whisper of the Heart doesn't fall back on cliché and formula. It's a truly great film. It's a remarkably honest and heartfelt look into a 14-year-old's life, her family and friends, how she falls in love, and there are moments so stirring, so wonderful and yet so simple. Yoshifumi Kondou, the director, showed all the qualities of being a master of animation. It's a real tragedy that he passed away. The film is full of moments that are real and beautiful that use animation, not to exploit the story, but to enhance moments with the simplicity they need in their presentation. And the screenplay, written by the great Hayao Miyazaki, is free from false sentimentality and melodrama. He gives us real characters here, ones so well written that anyone who has been a young teen can relate to them.

Whisper of the Heart is as good an animated film as you'll find. It's a one of a kind anime and it's beautifully done. Are you tired of Hollywood films peddled to you off a studio assembly line? Tired of clichéd romances that have no emotion or humanity?

You want something with real depth, soul, and heart? Seek out Whisper of the Heart. It's beautiful, and refreshingly done. You might just love this film as much as I did.

I was blown away by Whisper of the Heart. It is perhaps slow and simple, but it is also charming and poignant with great characters especially. The animation as always is wonderful, the stunning backgrounds and colours especially look absolutely amazing. And the visual effects are great too and do a great job of enhancing the story. The music is gorgeous and never feels obtrusive, and the song is absolutely lovely. The script is memorable too, while the simple yet very rich story still manages to touch me, as do the beautiful, subtle messaging and great characters here. Shizuku and Seiji are both likable characters with real warmth to them. The voice acting is excellent from all involved, especially Cary Elwes who is perfect as the charming handsome Baron. All in all, stunning and one of my favourites. 10/10 Bethany Cox