WATCH: Studio Ghibli’s ‘Whisper of the Heart’ live-action sequel gets trailer and release date
Heads up to all Studio Ghibli and anime fans! The teaser trailer and new visuals have been released for the upcoming live-action sequel of the animated film Whisper of the Heart coming this October.
The new trailer highlights the overall story of the film, and features the voice of Yoko Honna, who voiced the protagonist Shizuku Tsukishima in the original 1995 film, as the narrator for the film.
The film stars Nana Seino (After the Rain, Nowhere Girl) as Shizuku Tsukishima, and Tori Matsuzaka (Hello World, .hack//The Movie) as Seiji Amasawa. Runa Hasuhara and Tsubasa Nakagawa have been cast in the roles of Shizuku and Seiji in their junior high school days, respectively.
Ghibli's Whisper of the Heart gets a live-action film, but is postponed to release. It's a story after 10 years of the original anime, starring Nana Seino as Shizuku, Tori Matsuzaka as Seiji. pic.twitter.com/fNksv7vBJZ
— otakujp (@otakucalendarjp) April 21, 2020
In the latest visuals recently released by the film's official website, the back view of The Baron, the anthropomorphic cat is seen keeping watching over the protagonists. The two visuals show a difference of 10 years of growth in the lead characters.
Whisper of the Heart was originally released in 1995 as an animated musical comedy and was written by legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki.
The film is based on the 1989 manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi and was animated by Studio Ghibli.
The musical coming-of-age romantic drama originally followed a young girl who longs to be a writer when she grows up who finds that all the books she chooses in the library have been previously checked out by the same boy.
After chasing after a large cat, befriending an eccentric antiques dealer and writing her first novel, Shizuku aims to find this mysterious boy who may well be her soul mate.
As reported by the Anime News Network, the new film's story is set 10 years after the original manga's story. Now 24, Shizuku has given up her dream of being a novelist, but works hard every day to sell books as a children's book editor at a publishing company. Meanwhile, Seiji is still following his dream abroad, even as the distance between him and Shizuku grows ever larger.
The live-action film was originally slated to open on September 18, 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is being distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and the Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company Shochiku.
Check out the trailer below.
Whisper of the Heart will premiere in Japan on October 14, 2022. The original 1995 anime is currently streaming on Netflix.