8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Shizuku Tsukishima, a young girl in junior high, loves to read. Yet, every time she opens a library book, it seems the same name appears on the cards: "Seiji Amasawa". As Shizuku learns who this person is, she also begins to learn about herself and her goals in life—a discovery that will change her life forever.
Starring: Yoko Honna, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, Minami TakayamaForeign | 100% |
Anime | 92% |
Family | 52% |
Romance | 23% |
Comic book | 13% |
Music | 3% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
ENG: 3998 kbps; JP: 3978 kbps
English, English SDH, French
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In collaboration with Studio Ghibli and GKIDS, Shout! Factory has reissued Yoshifumi Kondô's Whisper of the Heart (1995), which was written and storyboarded by Hayao Miyazaki. The 2-disc Blu-ray and DVD set has ported over all of the same extras present on the 2012 Disney/Buena Vista release, has licensed a nearly five-minute featurette that appeared on both the Region B UK Studio Canal and AU Madman Entertainment editions, and has enclosed a slender leaflet. For thoughts on the highly acclaimed anime feature and a critique of a/v specs, you can see my colleague Kenneth Brown's review of Disney's BD/DVD twin pack here.
This edition comes with a slipcover, an Elite case for the discs, and an exclusive booklet (see centerfold photo in Screenshot #3). Cover art on the slip and keep case covers is identical (see #s 1 and 10).
Front of slip cover and back of BD case.
Shout! presents Whisper of the Heart in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1 that mirrors its original theatrical exhibition. For reasons unexplainable, Disney encoded the main feature on its BD-50 at an average video bitrate of only 17.95 Mbps. Shout! has given the MPEG-4 AVC-encoded transfer a new encode that almost doubles its predecessor (a mean of 30000 kbps). The entire Shout! disc boasts a total bitrate of 40.76 Mbps. Frame grab #s 5-9 are taken from the new disc.
Shout! has divided the feature up into twenty-four chapter breaks.
Whisper of the Heart's sound track options consist of the original Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (3978 kbps, 24-bit), an English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 alternate mix (3998 kbps, 24-bit), and a Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps) dubbed in French.
There are three subtitling options: English SDH for the English sound track, English subtitles for the original language version, and French subtitles.
For a time, Whisper of the Heart was arguably the rarest American Blu-ray in the Studio Ghibli library. Indeed, used copies of the B.V./Disney package go for over $70 while factory-sealed copies will cost you $150. Shout! Factory has rectified this scarcity with a fine reissue that features a new video encode and an illustrated booklet with original text translated into English. The re-release is a no-brainer and comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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