Whisper of the Heart

Crombie, Zoe (2026). Almost heaven: Transnational exchange in Whisper of the Heart’s adaptation of “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. Mechademia: Second Arc, 18(2), 73-88

"In this article, I examine the function of the John Denver song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in the Studio Ghibli film Whisper of the Heart (1995, Mimi o sumaseba), interpreting the use of the song as an adapted text and not simply a soundtrack choice. Analyzing the history of the song in Japan and its thematic and narrative role in Kondō Yoshifumi’s only film for Studio Ghibli, this article identifies how transnational exchange and a Japanese point of view are paramount to Ghibli’s use of Denver’s song, with both works ultimately conveying a sense of yearning for an impossible time and place. The key frameworks of adaptation studies and transnationalism are utilized, as is a comparative analysis of the various translations and interpretations of “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” in order to explore the narrative and thematic significance of the song. This article concludes that the film utilizes adaptational processes to provide a transcultural, polysemous use of Denver’s song that contributes to Whisper of the Heart’s unique place in Ghibli’s filmography.

Nakamura, Koji (2013). The representation of Miyazaki’s Whisper of the Heart - Japanese identities combined with Western individualism. Invene, 1, 57-70.