Ranked #1413

Ocean Waves

This is one of the most underrated ghibli movies. It's certainly quite different from the other ghibli movies. It doesn't contain any fantasy and Hayao Miyazaki isn't involved in the production anyhow. It's just a slice of life/drama/romance story, a hell of a good one too. Ocean Waves may be one of the most natural animes I've seen. It doesn't throw in a load of super tragic drama or anything of that kind. It only tells the story of a group of teenagers as they walk the path to adulthood.

The story is takes place in Kochi, Japan, a small town by the sea. Morisaku Taku and Matsuno Yutaka are two ordinary high schoolers and best friends. In the middle of the semester a city girl named Muto Rikako transfers to Matsuno's class. As the class representative he has to show her around school and that's how they get know each other, soon enough Morisaku is introduced to her. Muto has quite a hard time getting into the class. She's talented at sports and studies and quickly becomes popular, but that changes as many of the girls get envious of her and she becomes known for being a snob.

The art and animations are really good. No different from any other works from studio ghibli. If your fond of the typical 90s animations you will definitely like the art in this one. The characters looks typically ghibli, but the design is quite different. It doesn't "re-use" the same main characters as many ghibli movies seem to do. Not just only the way they look. The personalities are really different too. Morisaku is just the ordinary kind and honest guy, the one that is always there to help. Matsuno is the reliable best friend that's very respected by Morisaku. Muto is kind of spoiled and self-centered. She acts very tough though she's actually pretty sensitive. I think the characters develop great and I could really tell how they've matured through time.

The music was really good, very calm and fitting. It set the right mood. Voice acting is also very well done. The only thing I can complain about is the sound quality at times but it could have been fansub group's doing.

I enjoyed this movie a lot. It's just a charming and relaxing story that will make you smile. It's not super romantic just very sweet at times. It's one of those stories that make you wish for the characters happiness. Anyone who loves a down to earth, short love story will enjoy this movie and if you enjoyed Whisper of the heart you may like this one. read more

Individual’s world is very small: one can’t understand others’ actions; they may seem silly, egocentric, and even senseless. Characters’ doings are not on the surface, you can see only waves of that ocean, these are the only hints in understanding human beings. Ocean Wave is about these small waves.

It does not have a straightforward plot, though it can be called unique. It can seem hard to get into, because what the movie shows is not some type of romance, drama or anything different. From that point it has a slight similarity with 5 centimeters per second. It is about persons’ lives in their small contexts, but it does not dive into person’s deep feelings that determine their characters. Relations happen under the surface. It is soft and relaxing, it does not fill you with emotions or leave you with a bitter taste. The story is open-ended, everyone can understand in his/her own way. More than that, ending is just beautiful (not expected or unexpected, movie’s aim is not that.

Ocean Wave is a Ghibli production, but one point must be mentioned. There is a widespread ‘prejudice’ toward Ghibli productions. It is a tendency to call them as ‘typical Ghibli product,’ but if it is done we can miss the point. One must bear in mind that Ghibli productions change throughout the time, it evolves and matures. The reason behind why people still tend to call them ‘Ghiblitic’ is the reality that those changes are more subtle than that of the other studios. For instance, difference between Nausicaa: of the Valley of the Wind (1984) and Princess Mononoke (1997) are radical though they might be seem very similar at first sight. Back to the subject, Ocean Wave is very unique, though it can be called ‘typical Ghibli production.’

Characters are excellent, their characteristics are not easily revealed. They are not like those of popular anime in which characters are successfully depicted, in a way one can easily understand who is what type of person at first sight. Characters are realistically and beautifully depicted. They are ordinary persons and thus it is much more different to create a regular character. Another good point is characters mature through time, without important changes in their characteristics. That is also hard to do in anime production.

P.S.: if you need info about plot or genre Google it.
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