Whisper of the Heart (2022 film)

Whisper of the Heart
Kanji耳をすませば
Revised HepburnMimi o Sumaseba
Directed byYūichirō Hirakawa
Screenplay byYūichirō Hirakawa
Based onWhisper of the Heart
by Aoi Hiiragi
Produced by
  • Asami Nishī
  • Hirotaka Arakaki
  • Yoshiya Nagasawa
Starring
CinematographyKōichi Nakayama
Edited byMakiko Yamaguchi
Music byHiroshi Tanaka
Distributed by
Release date
  • October 14, 2022 (2022-10-14)
Running time
114 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Whisper of the Heart[a] is a 2022 Japanese romantic drama film written and directed by Yūichirō Hirakawa based on the 1989 manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi. Co-distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Shochiku, it takes place ten years after the original manga (as well as the 1995 anime film with the same name), and focuses on adult Shizuku and Seiji. The film stars Nana Seino and Tori Matsuzaka. Whisper of the Heart was released in Japan on October 14, 2022.[2]

The film marked the first live-action film adaptation based on the manga.

Premise

A 24-year-old Shizuku has given up her dreams as a novelist, but works hard at the children's book publishing company as an editor. On the other hand, Seiji still follows his dream abroad, even as the distance between him and Shizuku grows ever more.

Cast

  • Nana Seino as Shizuku Tsukishima
    • Runa Yasuhara as young Shizuku
  • Tori Matsuzaka as Seiji Amasawa
    • Tsubasa Nakagawa as young Seiji
  • Rio Uchida as Yūko Harada
    • Sara Sumitomo as young Yūko
  • Yuki Yamada as Tatsuya Sugimura
    • Towa Araki as young Tatsuya

Production

In January 2020, it was announced that a live-action film adaptation based on the Whisper of the Heart manga written and illustrated by Aoi Hiiragi was in the works. Yūichirō Hirakawa directed the film, with Sony Pictures Entertainment and Shochiku co-producing and distributing. Nana Seino and Tori Matsuzaka starred as Shizuku Tsukishima and Seiji Amasawa respectively.[3][4] The film was inspired by the 1995 anime film adaptation produced by Studio Ghibli. Manga artist Aoi Hiiragi expressed her gratitude and excitement towards the live-action film.[5] In June 2022, Yuki Yamada and Rio Uchida were cast as Tatsuya Sugimura and Yūko Harada respectively, while Towa Araki and Sara Sumitomo were to portray their younger selves.[6]

Anne Watanabe provided the theme song for the film, "Tsubasa o Kudasai" (翼をください, lit. "Please Give Me Wings")[2]

Release

The film was first scheduled to release on September 18, 2020, but was delayed to October 14, 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Reception

Box office

The film debuted at number 4 out of top 10 in the Japanese box office in its opening weekend.[8]

Critical reception

Mark Schilling from The Japan Times ranked the film 2 out of 5 stars, as he thought the film's target audience felt too domesticated.[9] Alicia Haddick from Crunchyroll gave the film a mixed review, after offering high praise for the original Whisper of the Heart, she goes on to state that "The latest live-action incarnation is made worse by the potential of the story it could have told had they only chosen to follow through on something genuinely evolutionary, rather than nostalgic".[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: 耳をすませば, Hepburn: Mimi o Sumaseba, lit. "If You Listen Closely"

References

  1. ^ "耳をすませば" ["Whisper of the Heart"]. eiga.com (in Japanese). October 14, 2022. Retrieved October 14, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Komatsu, Mikakatsu (July 12, 2022). "Whisper of the Heart Live-Action Film Releases Full Trailer featuring Theme Song by Anne". Crunchyroll. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  3. ^ Pineda, Rafael (January 13, 2020). "Whisper of the Heart Manga Gets Live-Action Film Sequel After Inspiring Ghibli Anime". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "「耳をすませば」清野菜名＆松坂桃李で実写映画化！10年後の雫と聖司を担当". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  5. ^ Baseel, Casey (May 28, 2022). "Live-action Whisper of the Heart sequel reveals new images, original creator comments". SoraNews24. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  6. ^ "実写「耳をすませば」雫の同級生・杉村と夕子役に山田裕貴と内田理央、25歳の2人演じる". Comic Natalie (in Japanese). June 25, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Whisper of the Heart Live Action Sequel to Open on October 14!". TokyoOtakuMode. April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
  8. ^ Komatsu, Mikakazu (October 17, 2022). "Japan Box Office: Whisper of the Heart Live-action Film Makes Its 4th Place Debut". Crunchyroll. Retrieved October 17, 2022.
  9. ^ Schilling, Mark (October 27, 2022). "'Whisper of the Heart': First love story is sweet but shallow". The Japan Times. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Haddick, Alicia (October 30, 2022). "REVIEW: Whisper of the Heart Live-Action Sequel is Trapped on the Past". Crunchyroll. Retrieved October 30, 2022.