“Whisper of the Heart”, coming of age manga that also was adapted into animated movie version by Studio Ghibli, will become a live-action movie, premiering on Sep. 18, 2020. In addition to the romantic plot between Seiji and Shizuku, an additional original plot set 10 years after was added to the movie. Seino Nana was cast as the 10-year older Tsukishima Shizuku, and Matsuzaka Toori was cast as the 10-year Amasawa Seiji.

“Whisper of the Heart”, is a romantic coming of age manga serialized on the “Ribbon” magazine by author Hiragii Aoi. The manga was adapted into a feature-length anime film by animation Studio Ghibli, becoming a huge hit.
The story begins when the book-loving protagonist, a third year middle-school student Tsukishima Shizuku meets Amasawa Seiji. The two don't get along very well at first but end up falling in love with each other eventually after Seiji finds out that Shizuku dreams of becoming a novel writer.
Ten years later, a now 24 years old Shizuku works at a publishing company as a children's book editor, and leads a hectic life of selling books after abandoned her original dream. On the other hand, Seiji who's still pursuing his dreams is currently living overseas. A gap between their relationship starts to open.

The actress playing the grown-up Shizuku, Seino Nana was the female lead on “Shiro demo Kuro demonai Sekai de, Panda wa Warau”, etc.. Matsuzaka Toori, who plays the grown-up Seiji, is well known for his roles on “Impossibility Defense” and “Call Boy”. The director behind the movie is Hirakawa Yuichiro, responsible for “ROOKIES Graduation”, “Until the Break of Dawn”, “The Memory Eraser” and other dramatic feature-length films.

Live-action movie “Whisper of the Heart” will premiere on Sep. 18, 2020.

<Cast/Staff Comments>
[10-year older Tsukishima Shizuku: Seino Nana]
I feel honored and happy to be acting as Shizuku in the live-action movie version of this widespread title “Whisper of the Heart”.
I will do my best to interpret the adult version of Shizuku and act accordingly to her pure heart.

[10-year older Amasawa Seiji: Matsuzaka Toori]
I've watched the animated movie of “Whisper of the Heart” countless times. I feel like the movie does a splendid job of conveying the bitter-sweetness and eagerness of being young. Including me, I bet a lot of people wondered what would have happened after the events of the animated movie. I feel very happy to be part of the movie that tells the after story. I've worked before with director Hirakawa in the movie “Until the Break of Dawn” and I still remember to this day how nervous I was, since it was my first ever performance with him. I hope to bring that same sense of joy and nervousness to the movie this time.

[Director Hirakawa Yuichiro]
It's a huge pressure to be directing the 10-year later continuation of such a celebrated movie, “Whisper of the Heart”. I'll do my best to deliver a heartwarming movie by bringing together the staff and the main cast in this project.

[Producer: Nishi Mami]
I'm a huge fan of the movie “Whisper of the Heart”, myself. So when I got involved with the project, it was hard to decide which direction to take the plot to. Among the various ideas, the one that stood out the most was a plotline that illustrated what would happen 10 years later after the conclusion of the original story.
I felt very certain that we could turn this movie into a masterpiece when the main cast, Seino Nana as Shizuku, and Matsuzaka Tori as Seiji were decided. Do look forward to seeing this tale about childhood and adulthood on the theater.

（C）Hiragii Aoi/Shueisha （C）2020″Whisper of the Heart” Production Committee