That film, Whisper of the Heart, is still one of the studio's most realistic romances.
Yoshifumi Kondo, a top animator at Studio Ghibli, was briefly set to be the successor to Miyazaki and Takahata. Sadly, he passed away in 1998 from health issues, having only completed one film. That film, Whisper of the Heart, is still one of the studio's most realistic romances.