Youth and Ambition in Whisper of the Heart

Studio Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart is a coming-of-age story following Shizuku and Seiji, two budding artists finishing middle school in Tokyo. The movie explores their relationship and ambitions for artistic greatness set against beautiful scenes of summer and kaleidoscopic daydreams. As the pair earnestly work toward their goals, sometimes to their own detriment, they confront the reality of their youth as both an obstacle and a gift. 

Seiji dreams of being a master luthier and spends his free time carving violins in the basement of his grandfather’s shop. When he has the opportunity to go to Cremona, Italy to train under an expert, he jumps at it. He is willing to sacrifice a high school education for his dream, telling Shizuku, “I know what I want to do, but I don’t know if I’ll get to do it. I fight with my parents about it every day.” In fact, he even tells Shizuku that after returning for their graduation ceremony, he plans to go back to Cremona for ten years. Seiji is so fixated on his goals that he is set on skipping a vital part of adolescence in order to pursue them. Despite his age, his plan to be a world-class violin maker is all that matters to him, and he is determined not to let his age stop him.  

Inspired by Seiji’s determination, Shizuku decides to write a book. As she becomes more and more invested, her ambition takes a toll. She starts staying up all night, failing to do her chores, slacking off on her studying, and eating less. Her drive to succeed becomes tangled in her self-worth, prompting her to say, “I promised myself I’d achieve this certain goal, or I’m not good enough.” She soon sits down with her parents and says she may skip high school so she can continue pursuing her writing. In this way, her fixation on being both successful and as "accomplished" as Seiji becomes damaging to various aspects of her life. While her classmates prepare for entrance exams, Shizuku focuses only on finishing her book. 

Eventually, both are told they have promise as artists, but they are not yet great. After Shizuku’s initial distress, the two seem to be content with this outcome and choose to go to high school. At first this feels counterintuitive, given their passion throughout the film, but it reveals an underlying desire to remain carefree kids. 

Whisper of the Heart shows how youth, something Shizuku and Seiji see as an obstacle, is a gift that should be embraced. At the beginning of the movie, Shizuku’s carefree lifestyle as a student on summer break is continually contrasted with the adults around her. Crowds of adults commute to work, her parents complain about work, and her sister lists the many chores she has to complete. Meanwhile, Shizuku reads books, hangs out with her friends, and watches blimps drift across the sky, even when she is running late. However, once her focus on her writing appears, this lighthearted attitude disappears.

While reading books as research for her story, Shizuku comes across an image of a prisoner locked in a cell making a violin, sadly looking away from the instrument and up into light. This image reflects the trap Seiji and Shizuku create for themselves, limiting themselves by dedicating everything to their art so early. They do not leave room for themselves to be kids, viewing their youth as simply an obstacle to their goals and planning to skip high school for the sake of their art. 

Whisper of the Heart stands out as a coming-of-age story, with its exploration of young and ambitious creatives making it stand out among its peers. Growing up, many people have dreams that seem enormous, dreams that youth seems to hold them back from. Shizuku and Seiji’s story shows us that embracing our youth is important, and the immense pressure we put on ourselves is often unnecessary. Whisper of the Heart is a reminder that the world around us and the relationships we form are beautiful, and we don’t have to prove we’re “good enough” to live meaningful lives. 

P1 & 2: into the specifics of Shizuku and Seiji's dreams and ambitions. I will discuss Seiji's dream to be a master luthier and how they affect how his spends his time and his academic goals, before shifting into Shizuku's continued drive to be a writer and how it impacts her health, relationships, and academics

P3:  plan to discuss the role their youth plays in both furthering and slowing down their dreams, acting as a driving force for their creativity while stopping them from doing exactly what they want.

P4: Since their relationship of young love also impacts their goals, I will discuss how their youth, ambitions, and relationship interact in the story. 

P5: he article will end with a reflection on how "Whisper of the Heart" succeeds as a such a unique coming-of-age story because of how it explores young and ambitious creatives, shedding light on an issue not often mentioned in media that is integral to many people's experience of growing up.

-her mom in college, intensive summer course for master’s thesis

-dad working at a library dealing with computerization process

-packed crowds of adults heading to work

-unrelenting optimism (mom worried about being late to work, shizuku is late too but instead watching blimp/talking about how the day is gonna be great)

-reading over summer break instead of studying for high school entrance exams

-Yuko thinking about boys for the first time (love letter + crush), Shizuku says she doesn’t think about boys

-Stupid jerk, stupid jerk!!

-sister coming home laden down with bags, Shizuku crying to a book in her room

-sister doing tons of chores, grocery shopping

-shizuku the smiling face amid bustling crowd of adults on subway

-“At least you’re going to school because you want to!”

-”Ahh! I love being a writer!”

-Yuko staying home for feeling sad ab crush

-sees Seiji making a violin, he says how great it sounds is based on skill of craftsman

-Shizuku says it’s like magic

-“I’m not close to being good enough.” about making a better violin

“My ultimate goal in life is to be a world-class violin maker” “No, if you really want to be good, you have to be trained in Cremona, Italy.”

“You’re not going to high school?” “My parents think I am, but my grandpa is trying to convince them otherwise.”

“That’s great that you know what you want to do with your life. I don’t have a clue what I want to do with mine.”

“I know what I want to do, but I don’t know if I’ll get to do it. I fight with my parents about it everyday.”

“I just wanted to say that I actually liked your lyrics. You’re a very talented writer. You should keep pursuing it—it’s not a waste of time.”

“Don’t we get a choice?” “You do if you study hard.”

-Seiji gets two months to prove himself, if he doesn’t have potential he has to come back for high school

“I’m happy for you. Your dream’s coming true.”

-Sh thinks she’s wasting time reading books

-S checked out books to get his name on the check out cards before her

Coming back for graduation, then going back to study for 10 years ??

“He’s so much better than me…He’s going straight for his dream.”

“How could I ever encourage him? He’s worked so much harder than I ever have.”

“Everyone in school thinks you’re talented…”

“I;m not close to being good enough. That’s what Seiji said! He isn’t sure he has any talent either. I should test myself like he is. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll try being a writer.”

“All I have to do is give my writing a try.”

“No one should expect perfection when they’re first starting out.”

“When you first become an artist, you are like that rock. You’re in a raw natural state with hidden gems inside. You have to dig down deep and find the emeralds tucked away inside you.” (around 35:00 left)

Insanely imaginative scenes, riding air currents, jumping over towers, planetoids floating through the air, 

Shops out of every color/geodes/planets, descendants of magicians working as artisans

Looking through books- picture she sees “It’s a prisoner locked in a cell, and he’s making a violin”

“You should keep working. I’ll wait until you’re done.”

“I just can’t seem to stop writing for some reason.” - up until 4 in the morning, not paying attention in class, not doing her chores, not eating well

Starts refusing to go to high school

“I promised myself I’d achieve this certain goal or I’m not good enough.”

Mom- “Well, I have to admit I’ve often dreamed about straying from the path myself.”

“If things don’t go well, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”

“And Seiji, he’s so much more accomplished than I am. I can never catch up. I can never be good enough.”