Whisper of the Heart

Shizuku is a bright girl who loves to read. It’s the summer vacation of her last year in Junior High School. Whenever she has time, she reads. Her other passion is translating lyrics to popular foreign music into Japanese. One day Shizuku notices that the name Seiji Amasawa is written on every book she has checked out from the library. She checks other books she has read recently, and the same name is there. Somewhere another person who she does not know shares exactly the same taste in books as she does. Every book that she has read, he has read first. She is not sure that she likes this. The next day, Shizuku is on her way to deliver her father’s lunch to him when she notices an ordinary -looking cat riding by himself on the train. At first she cannot believe a cat could be riding the train alone. When the cat gets off at the same stop as hers, she decides to follow him. The chance encounter with the cat leads Shizuku to the home of Seiji Amasawa, a family that loves music, and an encounter with a mystical and magical cat who teaches her to look for the hidden jewels of life. Shizuku’s dream is to become a writer. Seiji’s dream is to travel to Italy and become a famous violin maker. Shizuku learns that Seiji has applied to a school in Italy, and awaits the answer. Seiji and Shizuku’s road to happiness is strewn with obstacles. Each has their own dream pulling them in different directions. Yet the feelings they hold for each other are strong. This is the touching and heart-warming story of how they manage to carve out a space in their hearts for each other.