By the mid ’90s, Studio Ghibli had only released films by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, and so the search began for the next generation of the studio’s filmmakers. Producer Toshio Suzuki highlighted Yoshifumi Kondō, who had often collaborated with Miyazaki and Takahata even before Studio Ghibli’s founding. Sadly, Kondō died in 1998 from an aneurysm, and was only able to direct one film for the studio, but what a film.

On its surface, Whisper of the Heart features a lot of Studio Ghibli trademarks, starting with its young female protagonist, a burgeoning author named Shizuku. But unlike many Studio Ghibli films, Whisper of the Heart remains firmly rooted in the here and now, as Shizuku struggles with her desired profession and wrestles with writer’s block. (On a sidenote, this film should be required viewing for artists everywhere.) Yes, there is one fantastical sequence that is absolutely breathtaking in its execution, but Whisper of the Heart is primarily focused on the mundane and the quotidian, even when Shizuku experiences the first pangs of young love.

Boasting some of Studio Ghibli’s most exquisite animation and design, Whisper of the Heart may not be as well known as the studio’s other works. Nevertheless, it easily ranks up there with the best Ghibli titles even as it presents a bittersweet vision of what might’ve been were Kondō still with us.