Anime Review Studio Ghiblis Whisper of the Heart

If there is a finer, more widely-respected animation studio in Japan -- and maybe in the whole of the world -- than Studio Ghibli, it's hard to say who that might be. Under the stewardship of their founder, Hayao Miyazaki, they've been responsible for some of the finest

Now many of their titles are being reissued in the U.S. on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, thanks to a partnership with Disney. Newest to the lineup: Whisper of the Heart (compare prices here), originally released to great acclaim in 1997.

Whisper, a coming-of-age story adapted from Aoi Hiiragi's manga of the same name, was the first -- and, sadly, last -- of the Ghibli productions directed by Yoshifumi Kondo. A character designer and key animator on many other Ghibli projects, he directed Whisper but succumbed three years later to an aneurysm, shortly after finishing work on Princess Mononoke. He was apparently being groomed by Miyazaki to succeed him in leading the studio, and Kondo's death compelled Miyazaki (himself far from young by then) to slow down a bit and even consider retiring -- at least until Miyazaki was impelled to create his next masterwork, Spirited Away.

See what we thought of Whisper in our full review.

Image: Whisper of the Heart; image courtesy Pricegrabber.