Whisper of the Heart is in active circulation through a 4K remaster, an IMAX screening event, and a new art book volume, with a prime-time broadcast in Japan drawing a 7.5% household rating.
Whisper of the Heart, the 1995 Studio Ghibli film directed by Yoshifumi Kondo from a script by Hayao Miyazaki, has seen a burst of activity in 2026. GKIDS announced that the film will screen in North American IMAX theaters on April 21, newly remastered in 4K and presented in IMAX for the first time. The one-day event will offer both Japanese with subtitles and English-dubbed versions, continuing GKIDS' partnership with IMAX after a similar screening of Kiki's Delivery Service.
Cartoon Brew interviewed Atsushi Okui, the cinematographer behind most Ghibli films since 1993, about the 4K remaster. Okui stated that the goal was to recreate the original film color, not to make the cel art as vivid as possible. The remaster is part of a broader Ghibli effort to bring older titles to IMAX, with The Secret World of Arrietty also scheduled for a May 19 screening.
Iwanami Shoten released the sixth volume of the Hayao Miyazaki Image Board Complete Collection on June 4, which includes 178 image boards and storyboards from Whisper of the Heart and On Your Mark, along with an interview with producer Toshio Suzuki. In Japan, a special broadcast of the film on NTV on May 1 at 9:00 p.m. earned a 7.5% household rating, outperforming all regular weekly anime programs in the Kanto region that week.
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Iwanami Shoten released the sixth volume of the Hayao Miyazaki Image Board Complete Collection on June 4. The book collects 178 image boards and storyboards from Whisper of the Heart and On Your Mark, including unpublished drawings. It also features an interview with producer Toshio Suzuki. Volume 7, focused on Princess Mononoke, is due in December.
GKIDS announced that two Studio Ghibli films, 'Whisper of the Heart' (1995) and 'The Secret World of Arrietty' (2010), will screen in North American IMAX theaters this spring. Each film will have a one-day-only event: 'Whisper of the Heart' on April 21 and 'The Secret World of Arrietty' on May 19. Both are newly remastered in 4K and will be presented in IMAX for the first time. Showings will be available in Japanese with subtitles and English-dubbed versions. The screenings continue GKIDS' partnership with IMAX, which last month brought 'Kiki's Delivery Service' to the format. 'Whisper of the Heart,' directed by Yoshifumi Kondo from a script by Hayao Miyazaki, follows a middle schooler pursuing a writing career in suburban Tokyo. 'The Secret World of Arrietty,' directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and adapted from Mary Norton's 'The Borrowers,' follows a tiny family living under a human home. Miyazaki contributed to the screenplay and planning for 'Arrietty.'
Cartoon Brew interviewed Atsushi Okui, the cinematographer behind most Studio Ghibli films since 1993, about the 4K remaster of 'Whisper of the Heart' and the theatrical re-release of 'The Secret World of Arrietty.' Okui explained that the remaster aimed to recreate the original film color, not to make the cel art as vivid as possible.
Video Research published the Japanese animation television rankings for the week of April 27 to May 3, based on household ratings in the Kanto region. The top spot went to "Sazae-san" on Fuji TV with a 5.9% rating on May 3. "Detective Conan" on NTV took second place at 5.1%, followed by "Chibi Maruko-chan" on Fuji TV at 4.4%. A special broadcast of Yoshifumi Kondo and Studio Ghibli's "Whisper of the Heart" aired on NTV on May 1 at 9:00 p.m. and earned a 7.5% rating, though it was not listed among the regular weekly rankings. "My Hero Academia: More special" ranked fourth among regular programs with a 2.7% rating on NTV. The live-action "Thus Spoke Kishibe Rohan: At a Confessional" film aired on NHK on May 3 and received a 2.1% rating. The ratings are estimates based on a household survey and do not include recordings viewed later.