Whisper of the Heart (耳をすませば Mimi wo Sumaseba, lit. “If You Listen Closely”) is an animated film directed by Yoshifumi Kondō and produced by Studio Ghibli and was released alongside On Your Mark on July 15, 1995. The film is based on the 1989 manga of the same name by Aoi Hiiragi and published by Shueisha. The screenplay was written by Miyazaki. One summer evening, Shizuku Tsukishima, a junior high school girl living in Tama, a Tokyo suburb, looks through the checkout cards in her library books and notices a pattern: Each book had previously been checked out by someone named “Seiji Amasawa”. The next day at school, Shizuku shows her friend Yuko a draft of the song she has been writing for graduation. On the way home, Shizuku realizes she left her book at the school. She rushes back, only to find a boy her age reading it.
Aside from the obvious fantastical elements, the depiction and nature of Tama in the film is very true to life, with the exception of the library, which was invented from scratch. An illustrated Whisper of the Heart Seichi Map can be found next to a post box themed off the antique shop right next to Seiseki-Sakuragaoka station. The map in the cover image is apparently a third revision. The second revision (right) includes three manhole covers that may have been retired after a limited time. The art style of the illustrations is based off of the original manga.
