Danica Davidson
February 1, 2023 
This June 20, the live-action Whisper of the Heart will become available through video on demand. But not everyone has to wait that long to see it. Capelight Pictures, a distributor from Berlin, is going to offer it in select theaters this Friday, but only in New York City and Los Angeles.
The movie is based on the work of Aoi Hiiragi, and it won’t just be a live-action reboot of Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart. Instead, it’s going to take place 10 years after what happened in the Ghibli film. Shizuku, who wanted to be a novelist, has only been able to find work as an editor, and she misses Seiji, who is living far away.
Looking toward the cast, Nana Seino plays Shizuku Tsukishima, Tori Matsuzaka plays Seiji Amasawa, Runa Yasuhara plays Shizuku in middle school, Tsubasa Nakagawa plays Seiji in middle school, Yuki Yamada plays Tatsuya Sugimura, and Rio Uchida plays Yūko Harada.
Yūichirō Hirakawa, who has worked on the live-action The Promised Neverland, is helming the project as the director. The plan was for the movie to premiere in 2020, but we all know how much things went according to plan in 2020. As a result, it didn’t open in Japan until October 14, 2022.
GKIDS gave this description for the original Whisper of the Heart movie from Studio Ghibli:
“A chance encounter with a mysterious cat sends Shizuku, a quiet schoolgirl, on a quest for her true talent. Together with Seiji, a boy determined to follow his dreams, and enchanted by The Baron, a magical cat figurine who helps her listen to the whispers of her heart, Shizuku embarks on a life-changing adventure that takes her beyond the boundaries of her imagination. This beautiful tale based on a screenplay from Hayao Miyazaki will delight and amaze audiences of all ages!”
Source: ANN
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
