When she learns that he is going to be moving away to learn to become a violin maker she decides that she will write a story which she promises the old man he will be the first to read. What follows is a tender love story that doesn't involve anything physical between the two as they realise how they feel. On day she sees a cat on the train, when it gets off at her stop she follows it and ends up at a shop run by an old man who's grandson, unknown to her is the boy who has been reading the same books. She is curious about a boy who has taken all of the books from the library that she is reading before her. The protagonist is Shizuku, a school girl aged about fourteen. People used to the Ghibli films of Hayao Miyazaki, who wrote the screen play for this, may be surprised that it features very few fantasy elements and those that it does feature are in a story written by the protagonist. It does share Ghibli's general coming-of-age theme. It's not the usual Ghibli and one can get a little frustrated when it never comes. This does get the confused adolescent sense and the uncertainty of ambition. Unlike other Studio Ghibli, this is much more of a teen romance with less of the usual fantasy. When he gets an interview, Shizuku resolves to test her skills and write a story. Seiji is trying to learn violin making in Italy. The shop owner tells her about the cat statue named Baron Humbert von Joekkingen and its lost soulmate Louise. One day, she follows a chubby cat from the train to a shop. Her best friend Yuko has a crush on a boy but he likes Shizuku instead. She encounters a boy who infuriates her and made fun of her rewriting lyrics. She notices the name Seiji Amasawa on the card of every book she signs out. Her favorite place is the library for the books and where her father worked. It's good stuff but it's best just to sit back and allow it all to slowly unfold.before your eyes. However, I'm glad it was a cartoon, as the artwork is among the finest I've seen in any cartoon. There are no spirits, witches, totoros or anthropomorphic pigs to adorn the screen-just very normal people and the film could have been just as easily been made as a live action film.
This sets this movie apart from Disney films but also from most other Studio Gibli productions. Because of this, the film isn't heavy on plot but it also has no cute characters you might expect to find in other full-length cartoons. As I mentioned above, all this is revealed very slowly and gently. At the same time, it also makes their slowly blossoming romance very difficult as well. Because this is such an unusual thing to do in Japanese society (where most teens are just about killing themselves studying to get into the best high schools and colleges), this makes his career choice problematic.
The film is essentially a love story between a girl of 15 and a classmate who is bent on leaving the country and learning the craft of violin making. Now this isn't meant as a negative criticism, but people who are quick to dismiss films that are different or foreign will probably not change their minds just because of this film because of its very leisurely pace and plot. However, if you are a bit of a snob and assume that Japanese animated movies are somehow second-rate, then this isn't a movie that will quickly convert you (for that, see MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO or SPIRITED AWAY). If you have reasonable expectations and don't mind that the movie seems to have a very slow and meandering plot, then you'll no doubt enjoy this well-made film.