
            Shizuku Tsukishima is a junior high school student, living in a cramped apartment with her father, mother, and sister. As she returns from an errand to the store, her father who is a librarian, mentions how they're converting their check-out system, so that the check-out cards at the front of the books will now become obsolete. Pondering this, Shizuku goes to read a book that she checked out, and is drawn to the name Seiji Amasawa on the card. Checking her other library books, she's amazed to see that his name also appears on their cards as well!The next day, Shizuku gets up and goes early to school. Shizuku gets one of her teachers to allow her to check a book out from the school library, since the local public library does not have a copy. Looking over the book, she notices a dedication inside, that mentions the name Amasawa. While she is pondering this, her friend Yuko appears, and the two go off to talk.Shizuku has been working on a translation of the American song, "Take Me Home, Country Roads." While Yuko likes it, Shizuku still feels it's 'trite.' She also reveals a parody she wrote titled 'Concrete Roads,' the lyrics of which amuse them both. After a little bit, Yuko becomes serious, and secretly reveals that she got a love letter, but her feelings are torn, as she actually likes someone that she and Shizuku know: a boy named Sugimura.Shizuku then accompanies Yuko to her cram school lessons (important high-school entrance exams are a short time away), but then realizes that she left the book she checked out back at school. Going back to where she was sitting, she finds a boy there, reading it. He mentions her name (which he found in the check-out card on the front), and makes a mention that 'Concrete Roads' needs some work. This infuriates Shizuku, who stews over this critique of her writing all the way home. Later on that day, her older sister returns from visiting relatives, and begins critiquing Shizuku even more, much to her consternation.The next day, Shizuku plans to go to the library where her father works. Her sister makes a lunch for her to deliver to him as well. Getting on the train, Shizuku is surprised to see a large cat board the train. Curiously, she follows it out and into the city. After some time, the cat leads her to a small shop in a quiet neighborhood. Entering the shop, she is greeted by its owner, an old man named Shiro Nishi. Seeing her admiring a statue of a humanized cat in a suit, he then shows her a grandfather clock he has been restoring. However, realizing how late it is, Shizuku runs off to the library, but overjoyed at the wonderful little shop. Upon reaching the library, she suddenly realizes she left her father's lunch at the store. However, the boy she met previously who 'critiqued' her work appears, and gives it to her. He makes a little joke about the lunch being pretty big for her, and leaves singing 'Concrete Roads.' This just infuriates Shizuku even more with the mysterious boy.After some time, school finally starts up for Shizuku. During a break period while talking with Yuko, Sugimura appears, and Shizuku (knowing of Yuko's crush) hints that the two should study together. Yuko grows upset and drags Shizuku away, chastising her friend for her 'playful help.'Still curious about the dedication in the book she checked out, Shizuku goes to the teacher's lounge, where someone informs her that a Mr. Amasawa donated it, and that he also has a son who goes to the school. Shizuku bolts from the room, feeling that somehow, the boy she saw is Mr. Amasawa's son. While heading to lunch, she and Yuko pass by the boy again, who passes without a word. For some reason, this seems to upset Shizuku.At lunch, Yuko regales two of their classmates and a teacher with this news, and the girls tease Shizuku that 'springtime has finally come for her.' Shizuku vehemently denies any feelings for the boy, and holds back showing the latest work on her translation of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" unless the girls apologize. Doing so, they read the new translation, and admit to really liking the newly translated lyrics.On her way home from school, Shizuku stops by the little shop, only to find it closed. Later that night, she gets a call from Yuko, whom she meets at a nearby park. Yuko is in tears after she met with Sugimura, who was relaying a message from another boy about asking her out. The fact that it was Sugimura who made this requests upsets her so much, that she decides not to go to school the next day.The next day at school, Sugimura meets up with Shizuku, and they discuss what happened. Sugimura is not sure what he did to make Yuko run off and cry. Shizuku chastises him for not understanding that Yuko has feelings for him. The surprise on Sugimura's face is soon reflected in Shizuku's, when he reveals that he actually likes her! Shizuku rejects this idea, saying she just wants to be friends with him. Later on that evening, Shizuku sobs about how 'dense' she is about love as well.Later on, she gets on the train and goes back to the little shop. Still closed, she notices the cat, who sits down next to her. She begins to talk to it to get her mind off things. As she does so, the boy she saw the other day appears, and begins to have a conversation with her. He notes to her that he knows the cat, and calls him Moon ("Because he looks like a full moon"). However, the cat has no actual owner, and he's heard other people have their own names for him. The boy then reveals that his Grandfather owns the little shop, but that he's away at the moment. However, he allows Shizuku to enter the shop from the rear entrance.Bringing her onto the main floor, Shizuku is surprised to see the Grandfather clock is gone. The boy explains that his Grandfather had just completed fixing it the day she forgot her lunch. Still upset over that joke, Shizuku is then surprised when the boy shows her the cat statue, which the boy dubs 'The Baron.' A cleaning accident to the statue, resulted in the eyes on the statue sparkling brilliantly in the setting sun from the nearby window.Afterwards, the boy shows Shizuku a workshop in the basement, where violin-making lessons are taught. He reveals that he wants to make this his profession, but admits that he still isn't that good at it. Overjoyed at such a creative venture, Shizuku asks him if he can play a violin. When he affirms this, she begs for him to play for her. He agrees on the condition that she sing. He begins to play "Take Me Home, Country Roads," and Shizuku begins to sing her translation. As she does, Grandfather and some of his friends come home, and join in with their own instruments. At the end of the song, they are all introduced, and Shizuku finds out the name of the boy: Seiji Amasawa. The same Seiji that had been checking out the same books as her.Later on that night, Seiji walks her partway home, as they discuss his plans to go to Cremona, Italy, where he wants to study violin-making. Grandfather is all for it, but Seiji's Father is against it. As Shizuku takes leave, Seiji mentions that he actually did like her song parody, "Concrete Roads." This leaves Shizuku in a good mood as she heads home.The next day, Shizuku sees that Yuko is back in school, but a rumor has circulated that someone saw Shizuku walking with a boy. Shortly afterward, Sugimura appears to chat with Yuko, telling her that he will tell his friend (whom he relayed the message from the other day) that she turned down his request. As Sugimura leaves, Yuko smiles in a relieved fashion. When Seiji comes by the room asking to see Shizuku, the classroom erupts into a raucous cheer that Shizuku (finally) has a boyfriend! Shizuku angrily storms off, and takes Seiji to the roof where they can talk.Seiji informs her that his Father will allow him to go to Italy, and the two have an intimate conversation, where Shizuku reveals that she seems to be developing feelings for him. However, some of her classmates have been spying on them, and she chases them off. For the rest of the day, she is very quiet, deep in thought.Later on that evening, she goes to Yuko's house to talk to her. Shizuku feels distraught for a number of reasons. One is that if Seiji goes to Italy, he'll be gone for several years, and she won't see him for quite some time. Another reason is that she feels that Seiji is working towards accomplishing a goal...something she doesn't have. Yuko points out that Shizuku does have talent, given how well she translated the song "Take Me Home, Country Roads." Yuko's observation energizes Shizuku, who vows to write a story. On her way home, she happens to see Moon leaving a person's house, and a little girl in the doorway calls him 'Muta.'Shizuku then begins to write her story, and consults with Seiji's Grandfather, who applauds her determination. On one visit, he shows her a rock that had been chipped away, revealing some lapis lazuli inside. This helps to inspire Shizuku even more in her writing, as she uses the lapis lazuli and the statue of the Cat Baron for inspiration. Sometime afterward, she meets up with Seiji again, who is going off to Italy. They say their goodbyes, and Shizuku continues to work on her story.However, her determination soon begins to get in the way of other things, such as her schoolwork. After her Mother is called to the school, and her sister sees the grades from a 'mock quiz,' Shizuku's Father sits down with her to talk. Shizuku reveals that she does care about her studies, but also needs to do what she is doing to better herself. Her Father shows sympathy, and allows her to continue what she is doing.Finally, Shizuku finishes the story, titled 'Whisper of the Heart.' She goes to Seiji's Grandfather, requesting he read it and let her know how she did. Once he finishes it, she panics, admitting that it is not perfect. However, he admits while it was not perfect, she can still keep refining it. The wave of exhaustion and realizing that it is not perfect, causes her to break down in tears, as she admits that she feels so far behind Seiji in achieving something. Seiji's Grandfather realizes how much she cares for his Grandson, and treats her to dinner to calm her down.After dinner, Seiji's Grandfather tells Shizuku that her story had some interesting points, notably that the Baron had a wife. In real life, the Cat Baron statue did have a partner. He had found the two statues while living in Europe, but the Baron's wife was being fixed at the time. It was then that Seiji's Grandfather decided that he would take the Baron statue, and his girlfriend would join him later, bringing the Baron's wife. However, this was during the war, and he never saw her or the Baron's wife again. Before Shizuku leaves, she is given the chipped rock with the lapis lazuli center as a gift.Very early the next morning, Shizuku awakes to find Seiji waiting outside! She rushes down to see him, and gets on his bicycle, as he peddles her towards a hidden place. When they arrive on a hillside, they are just in time to see the sun rise over the hills. It is then that Seiji reveals his true feelings, and that he is willing to wait for Shizuku, if she will wait for him. She agrees, and he embraces her, declaring his love for her.
    

Whisper of the Heart


            The film opens in Tokyo, where 27-year-old office worker Taeko Okajima, is planning to take a 10-day vacation. Having previously visited her sister's husband's farm in Yamagata. She had a good time there before, and has decided to go back again.As she prepares for her trip, her mind drifts back to her youth, when she was 10-years-old. After school lets out, almost all of Taeko's classmates have interesting places they are going to go to, but Taeko does not. When she brings this up to her family, they suggest that Taeko go with the family's Grandmother to a hot springs resort.Taeko eagerly goes with her Grandmother, but finds herself bored when all her Grandmother wishes to do is relax in their room. Taeko goes exploring the myriad baths in the resort by herself, but due to either the overwhelming beauty of one bath (or the heat of the baths), she passes out.While packing, she receives a call from her older sister whose husband owns the farm, and they have a laugh over the past incident.On her way to the train to the farm, Taeko passes by a fruit stand, and is reminded of when the family received a pineapple.This also happened during her 10th year, and she recalls how almost noone knew how to properly cut it. Her father decreed that it would not be touched until it was found out, and a few days later, one of Taeko's sister finds out. There is much eagerness once it is sliced into pieces, but slowly, the family quickly discerns they do not like its taste. Taeko attempts to stomach the pieces she has, and her sisters give her their pieces. In the end, the family concluded that the banana is the "king of fruits."Making it to the train station, Taeko also recalls more about the year 1966, when she was 10-years-old. With the popularity of the Beatles in full-swing, her sisters became enamored with the trends of the time. Her sister Nanako was in art school, and kept up with trends, including wearing a mini-skirt. Her other sister Yaeko had a small crush on an actress in a female acting troupe. However, while her sisters remember these things fondly, Taeko recalls she was too young to really get into these trends like her older sisters.One day after showing her Mother her grades, her Mother finds leftovers from her lunch, and expresses her disappointment in her daughter being picky, and not finishing her food. The next day at lunch, she is sitting next to a boy who is fine with finishing the radish and onion portion of his meal, but dislikes finishing his milk (per school rules, a student can only leave one item to be thrown away from their meal). Taeko offers to give him her radish and onions, and she'll finish his milk. The two quickly make a trade, but Taeko quickly finds that though she has no problems drinking milk, there's a bit too much for her to enjoy a second bowl.Afterwards, Taeko and several of her friends take part in a classroom debate. The topics cover everything from running in the halls, to handling leftovers. Not much is done regarding the issues, and there is much bickering and yelling.After remembering these things, the adult Taeko boards her train for the farm.Once aboard, her memories shift back to an encounter, where three girls from another class gigglingly inform her that a boy in their class named Hirota likes her. Taeko has no idea who Hirota, and her friends show her some graffiti near the school, showing Taeko and Hirota's name under an umbrella-like drawing. Her friends do some research, and find out that Hirota is a good pitcher for his classroom's baseball team.One day, both Taeko and Hirota's classes are pitted against each other in a baseball game.Hirota's female classmates eagerly chant that Taeko is watching, and Taeko's friends cheer for their own homeroom team, in defiance of the other girls. During the game, the cold gets to Takeko, and she rushes for the girl's restroom 4 times. At the end, she isn't there to see when Hirota wins the game. Seeing the game over, she rushes off to head home.On her way home, she encounters Hirota in the street. Both are very quiet, until Hirota asks Taeko which type of weather she prefers: rainy, cloudy, or sunny. When she mentions she likes cloudy weather, Hirota's face brightens, claiming he likes cloudy weather too, proclaiming they are 'alike.' Hirota happily rushes off, and we also see Taeko do the same.Back on the train, Taeko recalls this incident, and starts laughing at the innocence of youthful romance. As the train continues onward, Taeko begins to ponder just why she is finding her memories preoccupied with her 10-year-old self. As she ponders this, the memories of her schoolfriends run through the train car, and disappear.She then recalls the day when the boys were sent to play baseball, and the girls were given a lecture about menstruation. Needless to say, the lecture leaves Taeko and her friends a little uneasy. One of their classmates tells a little about menstruation, as she is already going through this as well. There is also some unease in purchasing underwear from the school for "being prepared."At lunchtime, several of the boys shock the girls by asking about word that the girls are to purchase underwear from the school. It soon becomes apparent that one girl named Rie, told about this to a boy she has a crush on. However, the boy's inability to understand what the girls having their periods or the underwear is about, leads to them annoyingly trying to look up the girls skirts.
    

Only Yesterday


            
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Yoko Honna

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