A new trailer has been released for the live-action sequel of Aoi Hiiragi's manga Whisper of the Heart, which was previously adapted into a well-known animated film by the legendary Studio Ghibli.
The new trailer appeared on Shochiku's official YouTube channel, which will be distributing the film along with Sony Pictures Entertainment. The first trailer established that Shizuki and Seiji, the story's protagonists, have maintained contact through written letters since they parted ways as children to pursue their individual passions. This new trailer opens with flashback shots of Shizuku and Seiji in their middle school years, but is followed with scenes of the couple as working adults. Shizuku, a budding novelist in her youth, appears to be facing difficulties with her publisher and her family, while Seiji is shown breaking a string on his violin while playing. The teaser ends on an uplifting note, with a shot of the famous "Baron" statue that helped bring the young couple together.
Yuichiro Hirakawa will be writing and directing the film, with Nana Seino (live-action adaptation of Tokyo Tribe) starring as the adult Shizuku Tsukishima and Tori Matsuzaka (live-action The Promised Neverland, .//Hack The Movie) co-starring as the adult Seiji Amasawa. The middle school versions of Shizuku and Seiji will be played by Runa Yasuhara and Tsubasa Nakagawa, respectively. The adult version of Yuko Harada, Shizuku's best friend from youth, will be played by Rio Uchida, while the middle school version will be played by Sara Sumitomo.
Hiiragi's original manga debuted in Shueisha's shojo manga magazine Ribon in 1989. It is a coming-of-age story about a girl in junior high named Shizuku Tsukishima, a young bookworm that loves fairy tales. She eventually realizes that all the books she checks out from her library are also being checked out by a boy named Seiji Amasawa, whose name is on each of the checkout cards. Shizuku ends up meeting Seiji when she finds herself at a mysterious antique shop run by the boy's grandfather. Inspired by Seiji's passion for painting (one of the few major differences between the manga and the 1995 film, which has Seiji as a violin maker) Shizuku decides to pursue her own dream of writing a novel.
Studio's Ghibli's film adaptation of the story was released in 1995 and directed by Yoshifumi Kondo. Ghibli also released a spinoff film in 2002 called The Cat Returns. This film's story features a living version of the Baron helping a young woman named Haru to escape the clutches of the Cat Kingdom after she unknowingly rescues their prince.
The live-action Whisper of the Heart film will be released in Japan on Oct. 14. Studio Ghibli's animated adaptation and The Cat Returns are both available on HBO Max.
Source: YouTube