Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS BIG SPOILERS

I picked up this film for no other reason than the fact that it was directed than Masaaki Yuasa. This is a very different type of story than he would typically adapt. It's a story about love, coming of age and learning to move on from loss. Colorful, vibrant and fairly easygoing, it does away with most of Yuasa's hallmarks of frantic and wild feverdreams.

Nothing wrong with that, however I don't think the movie is very successful at giving its lead much of anything to do besides being an absolutely hopeless blubbering mess who comes off as a dysfunctional klutz who needs her hand held by her knight in shining armor.

The film starts off showing Hinako - the female lead - as an elusive, glowing trophy. Two friends, Minato and Wasabi, admire her surfing in the distance. They don't know her name, and accept that her existence in their lives could be as fleeting. Yet fate has her cross paths with both of them, and in fact Minato ends up saving her from a fire, and the two of them start dating.

It's then that you learn that Hinako is basically only good at surfing and doesn't have her life together in any way. She can't take care of herself, her house is a mess, she can't cook, she doesn't have a job - in fact, it's never quite made clear what exactly she's doing with her life. Minato, on the other hand, does everything for her and is basically the perfect cookie-cutter boyfriend. She becomes quite reliant on him. The only thing he can't do is surf, which Hinako teaches him.

This is a spoiler, but you can see it coming a mile away - Minato dies in a tragic surfing accident trying to save someone's life. Hinako then spends the rest of the film acting like a lunatic when she learns she can sing a song to make Minato appear in water whenever she needs him - which is basically all the time. The problem is, no one else can see him except her. So naturally, everyone around her finds her behavior strange. I can't tell if these portions of the film are supposed to be funny, or sad, or perhaps even both. It's a bizarre mix of emotions and it lacks any kind of magic or chemistry. The two only love eachother because of a dependency issue, and Minato is such a flat and uninteresting character that it's hard to miss him anywhere near as much as Hinako does.

The supporting cast is .. there. The only voice of reason is the stone cold Youko, Minato's sister. Minato's friend Wasabi doesn't do much of note besides live in the shadow of his buddy. And there's really not much more to it.

As the title suggests, the film is supposed to be about Hinako learning how to "ride the wave" of her life without Minato. But constantly throughout the film she howls and begs for Minato's help via their goofy water singing manifestation ritual. It's only at the very tail end of the story that Hinako learns to move on, and only because of Minato's help. She never once accomplishes anything on her own accord.

It's an unsatisfying story because of this abrupt end to Hinako's arc. The ending is bittersweet, as one might imagine, but it lacks any emotional punch. Hinako is hard to care about because she doesn't grow or change much, and when she does it feels unearned. Minato is hard to care about because he's basically an ideal and not much of a character. I, personally, only really enjoyed Youko's brief time on screen, a minor character by all means.

Should you watch "Ride Your Wave"? I'm not sure who I would answer "yes" to. If you like the works of Masaaki Yuasa, you probably are looking in the wrong place. If you like romantic stories, the relationships aren't fleshed out enough here to give a satisfying romance. Everything that "Ride Your Wave" represents falls flat. Perhaps it could offer some catharsis for those going through the loss of a loved one, but I think there are many other stories out there that do it better. If you are looking for anime in that vein, I might recommend something like "The Wind Rises", "Shinsekai Yori" or "Katanagatari" instead.

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I normally don't write reviews and forgive me if my thought process is all over the place. This review will contain spoilers (kind of) as well as my own personal experience, so please bear with me. This is my first review.

When I first saw the trailer for this film, I thought it would be another romance anime, but it was more than that to me. I'll start with the six points and why I scored them as such. I hope you enjoy this review. And even if our opinions differ, I'm glad I was still able to share my experience with you all.

Story (7): The story was nothing overly spectacular, but was very relatable in terms of someone starting their own path in life and working their way towards their future with each bump in the road along the way. Even so, I enjoyed the journey and really felt it on a personal level. Which I will discuss at the end of this review.

Art (9): The art style and animation in this film was absolutely gorgeous. The colors were bright and used effectively and I really enjoyed the pleasant look of the whole film. The movement of the waves were honestly what stood out to me most.

Sound (8): The soundtrack in this movie was very well done. The composition was put together in a way that I thought worked well. I'm no expert on sound design or music scores, but I enjoyed how everything flowed with the movie like a wave. It matched the tone and I had no problems with it.

Character (7): I enjoyed the characters. Nothing to write home about, but I was invested in them nonetheless. Nothing really more to say here. No complaints.

Enjoyment (10): As I stated in the beginning of this review albeit being short and to the point, I felt this movie on a personal level. I enjoyed watching it and I hope to see more from this studio.

I wrote this review because in April of 2019, my father who was eldery passed away and left this earth. He had been struggling for a long time but chose not to tell me because he knew I would worry. Even though he passed peacefully, it's been tough grieving someone who had been there my whole life.

I lost my job, my sense of purpose, my interests in a lot of things and have felt conflicted on where to go and what to do. I was sobbing by the end of this movie because even when people leave us they're always there in spirit. I felt my own father was trying to reach out to me while I watched this film trying to tell me that he wanted me to be happy and to get back on my feet.

Thank you for reading this if you did and I do recommend you watch this film.

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I wasn't really expecting much before watching this movie, mainly because I saw the trailer and I thought it was going to be some sappy love story which I've honestly seen my fair share but I'm really glad I actually watched it.

Story - 9
SPOILER ALERT
The story focuses on Mukaimizu Hinako and how she learns to "find her wave". It's about how people need to keep moving forward and learn to stand on their own even through the hardships. There's a lot of symbolism in the movie between riding a wave and the life of a person. The story also touches on motivation, as Hinako struggles with finding the strength to move on after the death of her boyfriend.

Art - 8
People will probably recognize the art style from the recent devilman series as its made by the same studio. The style, as with all their works, is simple but unique. But I particularly like this style because it gives something that can't be imitated by 3D CGI or live acting. It's a bit hard to explain but the style exaggerates certain things like when eating or doing actions, certain body parts may be way out of proportion than they should, and this exaggeration is something which you can only produce because your medium is 2D. Being a smaller studio, they obviously can't produce gorgeous backdrops or super intense action scenes but they've certainly proved that there's more to animation than just that, and you can convey so much even with simple animation.

Sound - 9
If you haven't heard of Oshima Michiru before it's about time you have. This woman is a living legend of a composer. The main reason I watched this movie actually was because I saw her name in the trailer. She produces a lot of background music for japanese anime or dramas. Usually they're orchestral, most of the time they have this nostalgic kind of vibe like the ET theme. In this movie however, most of the music is lighthearted and uplifting and it really helps in setting the mood and conveying the expressions of the characters. It's nothing extravagant but still really good.

Character - 7
There aren't many characters as this is a movie, so there isn't much time for introduction or development. But there are 4 main characters, each with different hair colors so the audience can tell them apart easily haha. No one really stands out as a really cool/unique character but the main focus of the movie is the story so as far as interaction between characters go, the dialogue was really good and nothing really felt that awkward or out of place to hear.

Enjoyment - 8
Really enjoyable. Probably something I would have enjoyed watching with my girlfriend if I had one :( This movie is about love, but it's also about coping loss and motivation so I think it appeals to a lot of whoever's watching this.

Overall - 8
The story is surprisingly good. Love stories usually struggle in any genre because it's so hard to relate to something I believe the majority of the population struggles in (especially anime otaku haha) but what makes this good is it also tackles other things besides love and it manages to do all this and make the story simple and easy to understand for the audience to follow. I like simple, simple is best. It's fun, refreshing and enjoyable to watch.

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The showing date for Tenki no Ko was announced the day right after I booked my flight to Japan, and that showing happened to be just a day after my flight back. In pure frustration, I decided I would watch at least one anime movie while I was there, and that happened to be this: Kimi to Nami.

After seeing only the trailer, I didn't really have much expectation for this other than a sappy, supernatural love story, but it was surprisingly good. The story was simple, the characters were easily relatable, and the music was fantastic. I still find myself humming BRAND NEW STORY every now and then.

It's a pretty good movie. Just don't raise your expectations too much; it's nothing groundbreaking, but not a waste of time either.

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Saving someone is easy; that doesn’t make you a hero. A hero is someone who helps a person save themselves, so they can learn, grow, and become a hero for someone else. Even a hero can need saving though, and Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara is a film about heroes saving heroes. More specifically, Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara is a film about two different couples where all four of them teach and learn from their partner how to find happiness in their life by taking personal responsibility for it.

Spoiler Warning: I’m going to spoil the movie, but if you’re bailing on me here, know that I recommend this film to everyone. It inspires me to be a better person, and although I didn’t give this film a 10/10, that might be even higher praise.

If anyone can be considered the ideal person, it’s Minato Hinageshi. He’s smart, has an amazing work ethic, and is extremely kind. He succeeds in everything he does, and everything he does is for the good of others. Everyone loves Minato and inspires to be more like him. He’s not perfect though; no one is. Minato always fails several times before he can succeed in anything, and the only talent he has is never getting discouraged. Growing up, Minato was no one special, but one day a girl saved him from drowning in the sea, and at that moment he decided to dedicate his life to becoming a hero like her. That day, the girl didn’t just keep Minato from losing his life; she gave him a reason to live. She inspired Minato to stop living a mediocre life and strive to make it the best it could possibly be. That girl, Minato’s hero, is Hinako Mukaimizu.

Hinako has lived a life very different from Minato’s. She has always been gifted in what she tries to do, but for the first time has hit a wall. She was always able to find her way through life, but after moving out and starting university, she feels lost. She can’t figure out her own path, so she clings to the people around her, fearing that they’ll leave her behind. She finds herself in a relationship with Minato and begins to latch on to him too, but after seeing someone close to her seemingly have their entire life figured out, Hinako starts to realize she can’t rely on others forever. With Minato’s help, Hinako starts to stand up and take her life head on, but before she can hold herself up on her own, tragedy strikes. Minato is killed in an accident, leaving Hinako to fall back down, devastated.

Before his death, Minato made two wishes: to watch Hinako become independent and to stay with her forever. After his death, Minato’s spirit stays with Hinako, unable to pass on until she no longer needs his help. Whenever Hinako sings their favorite song, Minato will appear in nearby water. Originally, Hinako tries to reattach to Minato, but eventually realizes she needs to let him go. Finally, with Minato’s help, Hinako learns to stand on her own two feet and take responsibility for her life, to ride her wave. After Hinako has finally become independent, she sings their favorite song to a pool of water one last time to see if Minato is still there; of course, he isn’t. Minato has seen both of his wishes granted, Hinako is finally on the right path, and he is able to stay with her forever. After Hinako sings to the water, a message from Minato to her plays throughout the city, one scheduled a year in advance, saying that they’ll be together forever. Even though they can no longer walk side-by-side, Minato will live on Hinako’s heart, forever (yes, many tears were shed here).

Throughout the movie, a second couple echoes the same themes seen in Minato’s and Hinako’s relationship. Minato’s best friend, Wasabi, and Minato’s sister, Youko, grew up in his shadow. Both of them are constantly compared to him, but never meet expectations, so they start to feel like they aren’t good enough. Youko stopped going to school because she felt like no matter what she did, she couldn’t meet the same standards that Minato set for them for their parents. Frustrated, she starts to fight with them, but once at a time when Wasabi is over at their house, he tells her to stop caring so much about meeting expectations. Wasabi got Youko to realize that she doesn’t need to follow in Minato’s footsteps and to be happy being her own person. Wasabi’s words changed Youko’s outlook on life, saving her by releasing her from the shackles she trapped herself in, and she fell in love with him in the process. Years later, Wasabi finds himself plagued by a similar mindset. He wants to help others but feels like he is inferior to Minato in every way. Youko repeats what he once said to save her, and he realizes that it was his words that saved Youko, something that Minato could never do. This helps Wasabi step out of Minato’s shadow and walk his own path.

All four relevant characters in Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara struggle with the same thing at one point in the story. The feeling that they aren’t as good as someone else. This causes them to rely on others more than should and stop taking responsibility for their lives. Everyone learns to accept their shortcomings and continue to walk forward without having to keep someone else as their crutch. They all find their independence through inspiration. Unfortunately, most inspiration is extremely fleeting, so inspiring someone to make life changes is one of the hardest things anyone can do. Although, if you’re able to do it, you’ll become their hero.

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You can make something groundbreaking by doing nothing groundbreaking and everything else really damn good.

Just a quick heads up for anyone who may want to watch this movie: DON'T WATCH THE TRAILER. The trailer for some damn reason spoils the entire movie and makes it not near as intriguing to watch. I'm glad I didn't watch the trailer until after the movie.

I am just blown away about how surprisingly spectacular this movie was. Looking at the score and the reviews, I thought this would either be a disappointing, boring ass movie like Shikioriori or a real solid, heartwarming movie like Summer Wars; and it was none of the above.

I deeply ADORE this movie and Science SARU has become one of my all-time favorite studios.

Yes in fact, the reviews do speak the truth; the movie does nothing groundbreaking, but DAMN IS IT AMAZING. The writing is maybe slightly above average, the plot has been done a million times before, the execution was exquisite, the character design is simple, but beautiful, the characters themselves are memorable, the animation is so clean it puts Mr. Clean himself to shame, and I still can't get the soundtrack out of my head.

Does this movie deserve the score it has? In my opinion, hell no.

Ride Your Wave is one of those movies that does nothing different, but absolutely everything extremely well.

Do not sleep on this emotional, heartwarming mastapiece of a film. You may not love it as much as I do, but I can assure that you are in for a tasty-ass treat.

Watch this sh*t now.

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Youko in the beginning of the film: "Being in love is for stupid people"
Youko at the end of the film: "Not being in love is for stupid people"

Ride Your Wave, a subtle true-to-life romance film with the the title relating to the initial connection of
the tragic yet life-chaning event between Minato and Hinako.

[SPOILERS]

Story: 8/10
After saving Surfer/florist Hinako Mukaimizu in an apartment fire by Firefighter Minato Hinageshi, both
enjoy their company while initially surfing yet deepen their relationship. One day, at the beach Minato is surfing
and sees people who are in need on the shores; he goes out in order to save them but to no avail fails and loses
his life. Hinako deals with the mental trauma of losing the closest person to her yet can't help but see
realistic projections in the water when she sings their song "Brand New Story - GENERATIONS from EXILE TRIBE".
Minato's incident influences Hinako to pursue a life-saving career of being a life-guard in order to prevent
future tragedies. (that's the gist of it)

Now that I think of it, Ride your wave was more of your realistic tragic romance film despite having fantasy elements
especially after the death of Minato. However, it gave the film a more positive mood rather than Hinako remaining in a
state of depression for the duration of the film. I noticed that there were at least 3 montages which could have been fully
utilised to enhance the death of Minato if the film was adapted into a series of 12/13 episode with the fireworks incident
at the end finalizing the series - It would just make the overall emotion of the series more dramatic but I guess budgets exist.

Art & Sound: 7/10
This film didn't excel to the expectations of Mamoru Hosoda or Makoto Shinkai yet it did leave somewhat of a
satisfying viewing experience. the VA for both main characters singing was well orchestrated and had an emotional
attachment every time Hinako sang the song.

Character: 6/10
The entire beginning of the film up until both main characters met were basically character development segments
in order to establish the characters so the viewer would understand their standing with the main characters.
It definitely felt a bit forced, especially the fire incident where both Wasabi and Minato rushed to Hinako's
aid above the top of the apartment building but I noticed more rivalry that way which was interesting.
A small detail I noticed the most was when Youko, Minato's little sister told Hinako and Minato when they were dating
that being in love is for stupid people which made me feel some sort of jealousy but at the end of the second fireworks
incident, when Wasabi and Youko 'hook-up', Youko tells Hinako "Not being in love is for stupid people". (probably
to show her support for Hinako and Minato. ~ Also montages to develop character is a bit anti-climactic when someone
is killed off for a plot-twist so it wasn't as emotional.
~overall some good pieces of character development but would have liked a proper series of events and consideration
for the romantic connection between both main character's love.

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*Spoilers ahead, though I try to be vague.*

I made the mistake of renting this movie, and I don't know what I miss more: my money, my time, or my sanity.

This movie is a mess from the start. Within the first twenty minutes, they establish a romance between the main characters, Hinako and Minato. It's cliche, predictable, and I found myself cringing. I can't understand how we, as the viewers, are supposed to feel emotionally invested, or even care about the characters when the movie speeds through their relationship, just to get it out of the way.

The viewer must sit through a terrible song, sung by Hinako and Minato, as they go on dates to establish that, 'look, these two are in love'. After that's over, tragedy strikes. I felt nothing but annoyance at this point, but I continued to watch.

Hinako soon realizes that she can summon her beloved by singing the song from the relationship montage. I close my eyes and take a breath. I know where this is going. Sure enough, that terrible song is sung, repeatedly, over the entire course of the movie.

Does anyone remember that meme of Mr. Incredible where he's on the ground, clearly in pain, with the caption "I can't...not again. I'm not...strong enough" -- because this is how I felt every time Hinako sang that @#%! song. The singing was like nails on chalkboard. It made me grit my teeth. I felt my blood pressure rise with each broken note.

Music aside, Hinako is obnoxious and unlikable. She sulks, pouts, and makes everything all about her, despite the fact that others are suffering too. She acts erratically and obsessively. She comes across as unintelligent and klutzy, without any redeeming qualities. She's nothing without her man. I haven't disliked a character so much in a long time.

In contrast, Minato is the 'cool guy'. He's laidback, intelligent (I guess), seems to have his life together, and is completely enamored with Hinako, which is frustrating to watch. I failed to see where the attraction stemmed from, but they touch on that later, and...well. I've seen better plot twists on the Neopets RP boards.

But I digress. Hinako just can't seem to move on, so she brings Minato with her wherever she goes, except he's carried around in a water bottle and in a blowup porpoise, because he can only exist in water. Oh, and she's the only one that can see him, so her friends think she's crazy. Rightfully so.

Minato's character offers nothing. He throws up the shaka (surfs up) sign in every scene, offering little tidbits of encouragement while Hinako goes off the deep end. She acts giddy and seems to think that their relationship can persevere despite the fact that her man is literally in a water bottle.

All the while, the "goal" of the movie is for Hinako to 'ride her own wave', aka move on without Minato.

And...that's the movie. What you expect to happens, happens. It's predictable, it's boring, it's cringeworthy and frustrating. I enjoyed Lu Over the Wall, so I thought I'd like this one, but it's a hard pass. If anything, watch it to see how bad it is, but don't spend your money like I did. My review may come across as harsh, but I don't care. I haven't disliked a movie this much in a long time.

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Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara or Ride Your Wave is Masaaki Yuasa's latest film and coming from a long time fan of his, I'd say this is probably his weakest one so far. But even his weakest work makes for a great watch that's enjoyable and has at least some interesting things about it.

Before watching this film it's best that you know what you're in for so that you'd be in the right mindset. This is a relatable and sweet (if cheesy and a very fairy tale-esque) portrayal of young love which then turns in to a story of overcoming loss, letting go of the past and finding new passions in life. The surfing and catching waves motif in the film is akin to catching new opportunities in life instead of hiding underwater and letting opportunities pass over you.

Not a bad concept and this is tied together nicely with every aspect of the film. I especially like the hints we get about the main character early in the film about her clinging to her childhood by having her move in to her childhood town, using her childhood surfboard, eating her childhood food, listening to a song from her childhood... etc' etc'
it's a little heavy handed, but it makes for good foreshadowing to what she's about to cling to later in the film.
The male lead observed baby sea turtles struggling to enter the sea which hints at what he's going to cling to as well.
The chemistry between the two leads is pretty solid, if a bit cheesy and the film is able to set up a fairly cute love story in its first act, using montages, seeing them have fun together and hearing them have nice casual conversations too.

The supporting characters don't have too much of a character arc of their own, but they're also given enough personality, screen time, serve enough of a purpose in the story to justify their existence and they do just that - support.
You have a another firefighter who's not very good at his job, but is trying his best to improve and is also used as a red herring to make the audience think he's gonna be another love interest for the main character. There's also the real love interest's little sister who's the voice of reason and does play more of a role later in the film.

The thing you really need to know going in to this film is that it relies heavily on happenstance and fairy tale logic:
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
The inciting incident of the film is that the main character is saved by a fireman from a fire who (later turns out) just so happens to be the same guy she saved from drowning when they were kids.. Who later becomes her boyfriend, who later drowns in the sea, dies and becomes a firefighting ghost with water powers who saves the day in the climax (yeah it can't be her imagination at that point).. It's also worth mentioning that the climax is set up pretty conveniently too, with one of the supporting characters who just so happened to overhear the same punks who set off fireworks illegally and caused the fire in the beginning of the film, planning their next fireworks playtime in an abandoned building where there happens to be a dried up tree that catches fire easily..
[End of SPOILERS]

Maybe making this feel like a fairy tale was intentional, I have no way to know that. I'm just pointing this out because this does hamper some of the character's control over the story in retrospect. It feels like the scenarios are driving the characters half the time and not the other way around. This isn't too bad though since in a lot of the film the characters do act in a way that's significant and that's tied to their personalities, it's just that the transition between acts or the actual plot points that feel kinda forced and establishing that ghosts exist in the middle of the film isn't the best decision.

Visually, the film is quite beautiful in terms of imagery and background art that seems to have great depth of field and has very fluid character motions, impressive character acting, as well an emphasis on food and coffee animation that is also very elaborate. Coming from Yuasa Masaaki this is probably his most mainstream looking film, in the sense that the characters look a lot more "animeish" and further away from Masaaki's usual abstract style. Which is fitting since the film in general is more of a crowd-pleaser (not that there's anything wrong with that) and further away from his more abstract and weirder works.

Soundwise it has breezy pop music, great sound design and excellent voice acting all around, especially from the main character who is the only one to sound like an actual anime character, while the rest sound like they have more realistic speech patterns (not the first time this has been done).

Overall, I'd say it's Yuasa's weakest work, but still a terrific film that's emotionally powerful, fun, has nice atmosphere and hits all the right notes.
Yeah, it's pretty sappy, but I guess I'm a sap..

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I watched this film in the theater purely because it's hard for Anime films to screen in theaters overseas and when one makes its usually a really good one. I came in, with no pre-exisiting notions, i hadn't even seen the trailer so i had no pre-conception of the film.


SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Story (3):
Firstly I thought the Film was Mediocre at best. The story was very linear and simple. Girl falls in love boy, boy dies trope. Although this is okay and can be interesting, the story didn't make it interesting and instead dragged out a semi-pointless story of Hinako dating water Minato.

Art (6):
The art was really good at times and really bad at other times. When it came to scenery and back ground, the art was fantastic. Especially the water. However, when it came to characters the art was just bad, I myself am an Artist/Animator and this was something an independent could do on their own.

Sound (7):
Now the sound in this movie was relatively good, especially the music and sound effects. However a big problem with the title song is that it played almost throughout the whole movie (whether it was sang by the characters or played in the background) which made the audience sick of the song by the end of the music. So although it was a good song, it's overplayed too much.

Character (4):
I think where the movie really failed was in establishing any emotional connection between the audience and the characters. We basically got a short montage of Minato and Hinako and then when story kicks in it expects you to already be connected to Hinako, who we have seen no character development for and only seen her ride a wave and get saved by Minato. We are then expected to engage with Hinako and her post-minato's death mentality. At first I thought that they were gonna deal with psychosis and denial, because it seemed like the water Minato was not real and in her imagination (which i thought could've explored some interesting territory) but ultimately it turned out that it was real and gave emotional weight to her character.

Enjoyment (3):
i'll be honest here, i did not enjoy this movie. It set up the premise really quickly and was straight to the point and i was not able to connect to the movie on a personal level despite any similar experiences i have had.

Overall (5):
Overall the movie is mediocre at best. There's nothing groundbreaking and the story is very bland and linear. So if you're expecting to be wow'ed then this movie is not for you. I'd say watch this movie if you're looking for an anime flick to pass the time with.

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Holy Cannoli, does this movie have an Opening. Almost immediately out of the gate, we're thrust into an intense, high stakes situation that not only gets your blood pumping but sets the stage for everything else to come in the story. You get a very clear picture of who are characters are, what they're like, and just what kind of movie this is going to be.

Personally, I was enthralled from start to finish. Invested in the characters, in love with the story, impressed by the animation, there's nothing I have to complain about. Even the twist, which I didn't see coming at all, was superbly done and emotionally resonant.

Of course, this movie couldn't start the way it does without ending in a similar fashion, and boy does this movie have an Ending. Another intense, high stakes, blood pumping situation that has you on the edge of your seat.

This movie made me smile, it made me cry, it made me walk out of the theater feeling content, and it will do the same for you.

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needed more yonkage. in terms of art it was good. the song playing in throughout? good song. now in terms of the yonkage mentioned earlier, i felt as if there wasn't enough, ya know? girl needed more sad cause, and i only felt the yonk towards the end (the New Years Scene). Overall pretty forgetful except for the song they drilled into your head.
needed more yonkage. in terms of art it was good. the song playing in throughout? good song. now in terms of the yonkage mentioned earlier, i felt as if there wasn't enough, ya know? girl needed more sad cause, and i only felt the yonk towards the end (the New Years Scene). Overall pretty forgetful except for the song they drilled into your head.
needed more yonkage. in terms of art it was good. the song playing in throughout? good song. now in terms of the yonkage mentioned earlier, i felt as if there wasn't enough, ya know? girl needed more sad cause, and i only felt the yonk towards the end (the New Years Scene). Overall pretty forgetful except for the song they drilled into your head.
needed more yonkage. in terms of art it was good. the song playing in throughout? good song. now in terms of the yonkage mentioned earlier, i felt as if there wasn't enough, ya know? girl needed more sad cause, and i only felt the yonk towards the end (the New Years Scene). Overall pretty forgetful except for the song they drilled into your head.

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Ride Your Wave is the story of a young and naive surfer who falls in love with a firefighter; the two have a whirlwind romance that eventually leads to something supernatural. This movie is the latest anime feature from director Masaaki Yuasa (Lu Over The Wall, Night Is Short), who I find very hit or miss, but I'm happy to say I thought this was a hit! In fact I loved this movie so much I almost gave it a 9/10, but a few things held it back to a strong 8/10. When I first saw the trailer I rolled my eyes a bit because it comes off as a cheesy romance movie, but honestly the romance was VERY well done. Probably one of the best anime romances, ever. The main couple just have such natural chemistry and are so likable, they feel like a real couple and you just want to see things work out for them. I LOVED the design for lead girl, Hinako! She is just so cute and upbeat and strong and a total surfer babe! I'm not kidding when I say I'd literally watch a movie with any plot that has her in it, I just find her so entertaining to watch. Like that opening scene when she gets a surprise call from mom and she's trying to make lunch while trying to keep every box in her house from falling on her? I was in stitches! I wanna point out Hinako's tan, how she's much darker skinned than the male lead. For me this is a big deal since I almost always see the opposite in anime, where a tan male lead is accompanied by a much lighter skinned female lead (I could give so many examples but look at Natsu vs. Lucy in Fairy Tail or Ash vs. Misty in Pokemon). Anyway, Hinako's tan skin to me shows how atypical, how against the grain she is. Furthering my point is the fact that her boyfriend admires her surfing skills so much that he says SHE's HIS hero, when in a normal romance anime I feel like the female lead would be going goo goo eyed over the male lead's athletic ability, y'know? Minato's a pretty loveable lead as well, a dude who became a firefighter solely because he loves helping people. You can see why Hinako falls in love with him so fast. Side note: I couldn't help but notice that Minato's got the same design as Ryo from Devilman Crybaby (only with dark hair), so I kept thinking to myself that this was an alternate reality where Ryo wasn't an asshole and got a girlfriend lol. I also have to mention that Minato's best friend Wasabi and Minato's sassy little sister Youko have a side romance that's actually VERY well done and cute as well. Even minor characters shine in this film! The animation is really solid, the designs are a bit lanky and noodley, but less so than normal Yuasa outings. The animation almost looks like a normal anime movie!

OK, so if I loved it so much why did I only give Ride Your Wave an 8? Well, this is where it's hard to avoid spoilers, but I'll say the film doesn't stay light hearted for very long: it's actually a movie about coping with tragedy, which might throw some people off guard. It's a very sad film that can be hard to watch at times, so please don't watch this if you're already in a sad mood. Where I subtract some points is the supernatural twist related to the tragedy, which I found a bit silly and kind of hurt the film. Though it did lead to some great comedy, like when Hinako accidentally summons the water spirit in a toilet. Another big minus for me was that the film plays its theme song "Brand New Story" WAYYY too fucking much! It's a catchy song but I heard it so many times I just wanted to puncture my ear drums! Don't believe me? It's the theme of the movie, so they play it as part of the OST, AND it happens to be the fave song of the leads so they are CONSTANTLY singing it or humming it or listening to it on the radio, AND it's actually plot related because Hinako can only summon the water spirit by...you guessed it, singing that DAMN song! There's also a tiny twist at the end where you find out Hinako and Minato were like destined to meet, blah blah, it's really unnecessary and forced and stupid. My biggest complaint is that Youko and Hinako's actions at the climax are very dumb, like they kind of deserved to drown. Why would you follow these dangerous characters without contacting the police? And then Youko says they have to wait for the gang to light the fireworks, but then she says they have to take a perfect picture of the gang in the act, but THEN she says she needs a good video of it before they call the cops!? Ugh, just call the damn cops and get outta there, dummy! Anyway, please watch this film, it's worth it for the lovable cast and exceptionally well done romances.

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I watched Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara expecting a lot, because its director is Masaaki Yuasa, the same person who directed incredible shows like Devilman Crybaby or The Tatami Galaxy, and what I got was nothing but an amazing emotional movie that never stops impressing. It is a rollercoaster of emotions that in the end almost left me with tears in my eyes. It is a beatiful, wholesome movie about how people can influence other people´s lives even if they do not realize that. It never gets melodramatic, it never gets boring. It is just what it is, and is not trying to be pretencious in any way. I am trying to keep this short to not give any spoilers away, so, if you somehow are interested in this movie and managed to find this review, I tell you: Go watch it. The eight I am giving this picture might seem a bit low, and this movie is not nearly as good as, for example, Tatami Galaxy, but it is still one of the best anime movies of 2019. Do not hesitate and go catch this wave, you will not regret it.

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When I first watched the film, I thought the pacing was way too quick for me to actually understand what was going on. Although I will say that the fire fighter scenes were pretty intense regardless if they were only training or had to attend buildings that were on fire due to fireworks.

I understood this films backdrop involving the feeling of losing someone through drowning and honestly the ending was a near hard hitter for me. However I would have liked if the couples experience together was more in depth because as I said yet again, it was rather rushed. It didn't give much in depth either with the other guy who had a crush in her or if he was going for someone else. Since I'm not gonna say spoilers to telling you who's who, it's best to watch the film.

Animation wise, it was pretty alright. Not amazeballs but it was easy on the eyes at least.

As much as the film did offer a bit of emotion, it's not the ultimate worse or disappointment I've ever seen. However room for improvement is what it definitely definitely needs in terms of story pace development.......

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Nb: Sorry for my bad english, i partially write this review as a tool to get good at english (

This movie is the first Masaaki Yuasa movie I checked out. As a new anime fan, i've already heard this director name in several places. Just out of curiosity I go and watch one of his movies.
This movie was quiet an enjoyable one In my Opinion. From the story standpoint there is no particularly special about it, but it has a pretty good story still. The ending has somethings that don't really stick the landing Imo, I won't spoil it here just in case. The characters are fine I guess, my favorite one being Hinageshi Minato the boyfriend guy.
Most of my enjoyment comes from the animation and the art style. As a mostly visual and auditory person this movie was super enjoyable all the way through.
One last random thing, I really love the song that they use throughout this movie.

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Probably a 6,5.

Great art, especially the riding-the-waves-on-the-air scenes and even the bubbly love scenes.
But the characters were almost annoying. Their love story had developed fully at 20 minutes in. The back story was revealed almost in the end, so before, it was hard to relate. Also the type of all 4 characters was again, the "happy, harmless, hard working" type so it becomes impossible to relate. Like, this is a systemic stereotype, give us a break. Lastly, it seemed that everyone else other than the 4 youths, was either too promiscuous or too old to be considered a character.

**Warning: Contains Spoilers**

I am writing this review straight after watching 'Ride Your Wave'. I went in thinking it was a nice bittersweet story between our main characters; Hinako and Minato. I was not excepting to not only cry not once, not twice, but three times during this movie!

Story: 8/10
We start off with our female protagonist; Hinako Mukaimizu who moves next to the sea in order to surf again, as she did during her childhood. While still unpacking in her new apartment, a firework mishap sets her apartment building ablaze. while trying to escape the blaze she is saved by our next main character; Minato Hinageshi. Hinako tries to teach Minato to catch the waves, teaching him how to surf.

Minato decides to practice surfing to surprise Hinako, while having a break, he begins texting her. He gets interrupted however once he hears a cry for help. Minato swims out and manages to save the persons life, but with the cost of his own life.

As Hinoko struggles with the loss of her loved one, she would hum the song they both sang together. In doing so, Minato begins to appear as a spirit in any body of water.

I hear a lot of people disliked the ending of this movie but I quite liked it, just the fact when Hinako was training to be a lifeguard, She still panicked as it reminded her of Minato. She got inspired by Minato to help others who were in danger.

Art: 10/10
The art style is very unique in this movie, at first i didn't like how they did thier necks at the start of the movie but eventually it grew on me. Water animations were excellent. The viewing experience was really enjoyable as the movie progressed. The animation style especially demonstrated the emotional scenes really well.

Sound: 10/10
Music was great! The main song in the movie was extremely catchy. The fact that Hinako and Minato were singing during the middle of the film while spending time together was such a nice touch, gave more meaning to the song. The voice acting was great also, fitting their character roles very well. Excellent work to Rina Kawaei for Hinako's emotional scenes.

Character: 8/10
I thought that I would end up writing a lot about Youko by the end, but I really liked her character during the end of the movie as she warms up a bit towards Hinako. However I did have an issue when Wasabi 'confessed' to Hinako as it felt so unnecessary and was pushed under the rug during the movie.

Seeing how our main characters bloom during their time together was very wholesome and enjoyable to watch. The fact Minato had conflicts with himself about not being able to help or touch Hinako really made it more realistic, I'm glad that he just doesn't accept that fact that "Hey, This is fine." cause lets admit, most people wouldn't just accept that fate with their significant other.

Enjoyment: 9/10
Other then the fact I was bawling my eyes out during this film, I did really enjoy it. It was a really emotional film. Normally with cliche emotional series I rarely cry, but this is one of them that made me did. I would definitely watch this film again!

Overall: 10/10
I can say this is an underrated movie in my opinion. I recommend this to any anime fan who likes romantic-drama films. I can see why someone would dislike this movie as it can be cliche for this genre but other then that, its quite an enjoyable film. Highly recommended from my part.

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This romance story will bring quite a wave of emotions.

My top scores would have to be Art and Story. Lowest would be Characters then Sound. Heres what I think:

Art: 9| While the art really brings out the emotions, it kind of looks weird at certain times, kind of alien. It is so much better than some lip flapping picture though!
Story: 8| The plot of the story brings you in and the beginning sets up the romance story to be something great, but the amount of timeskips or quick speed ups to try to fit a romance story that should be more fleshed out into a 1hr time frame, kind of kills the big tragedy that's suppose to set up for the revival at the end.
Sound: 5| The theme song is super chipper, really sets the fun in the waves and how nice it is in that summer surfing season. Its just when its sung the 11th billion time that is gets old. Not to mention the very mediocre soundtrack that accompanies a scene. Wouldn't mind just listening to background or sfx over the music.
Characters: 7| While the main (Misako) has a lot of bright, cheery eyed, star struck, klutz you learn to love and cry and cheer with. The other characters aren't so fleshed out and are more like story placeholders rather than actual beings.
Overal & Enjoyment: 8| I enjoyed it! The art is captivating, funny, sad, and the story is well thought out. Misako is a character I would love to have as a friend. I wish I could talk with someone I love by singing a song and calling them up from the water. It has some bad sides, but that's what happens when a big romance tragedy and revival arc all have to fit in a 1 hr time slot. I would love to be able to read this as a manga or even watch it as an episodic anime show.

Spoilers Ahead!
The story the art and even the characters are so nicely drawn, with so much emotions. You wish that you could be there in those heartbreaking moments, or wish you can slap those fire making gangstas' faces.

The art style really brings out those emotions. Instead of static faces with a lip flap, you can see their whole face contort or scrunch up or even get super red. It makes them more animated and relatable than some 2D mouth moving picture. The story is a wave of emotions itself. From the beginning where it sets up some guy admiring his "hero" and this girl who wants to be out there, do things, show the world she is more. Then the two meeting up realizing they have so much more in common and a past too. Their love story blossoms until it is all taken away from him saving someone's life. In the end though, the girl realizes her dreams, finds her place in the big world, and realizes she can take on any wave.

But what this story lacks, is the time it needs to flesh out a romance. The beginning is sweet. Its romantic. It drags me in because I see the romance blossom in real time, but then I'm suppose to believe in tiny glimpses of the romantic adventure these two have in short tiny story points? Yes it's cute they are singing the theme with tiny laughs and so much emotion, but I can't relate or really see everything blossom.

Its like trying to figure out what the ocean is except you live in the middle of a continent and all you have is a snow globe that's has a small replica of "Panama Beach".

So when the big dramatic climax comes in, I'm not invested enough in the relationship to realize how big the drop, the tragedy, will become. I'm sad that such a lovable character was taken away from me, but how can I feel heartbreak when I haven't even felt love? I'm sad that Misako is so broken down, I'm sad that her passion to surf died with her boyfriend. I'm sad that such a bright sun like her is so broken. Yet her boyfriend who is the tragedy, I'm not so sad about and their now broken relationship.

Okay, so time is one downside. In romance you have to take it slow sometimes to really make the drop so much more painful. Another downside to this story is...the side characters.

So we have Wasabi and Kyoko, and also Misako's two friends. In the beginning we see a bit of all of them. All their different personalities but they seem more like static characters or placeholders then actual beings. Misako's friends are just that "her friends". I don't see the quirky or the hip or the sloth or anything. Just two placeholders friends for two scenes.

Kyuoko seems just like another placeholder too, except with a larger role. She is the little sister Hinako and pretty protective too. She has this running gag with "Love is bad" but she isn't really funny or something cute. She's just kind of pops up sometimes. The we go back to Misako sulking, or a timeskip, or her talking to water Hinako.

Wasabi, I had high hopes for. Like maybe by the end he would be so much more. Maybe be a senior firefighter or help Misako with the flower shop. Instead we are pushed this weird, "So like, I know you were my former bff's gf but like...I've always liked you soooo, wanna like me?" At this point I'm disappointed. The story does skip over this mistep, "by not bringing him back till the end (and one scene with Kyoto) [yes I spelled it wrong]." Eventually he becomes a "good firefighter" and eventually gets a girl that actually likes him.

The sound is pretty mediocre too. The waves don't really sound good, but I'll leave that out, cause I can see the recording issues. The soundtrack is pretty bland, and my the time you hear the theme song the 11th billion time it kind of gets pretty boring too. I'm not a sound expert but I could have just watched the movie with just regular sfx and I would have still been fine.

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Saw this in the cinema today, a lovely bittersweet anime movie. It has some amazing animation throughout the movie. One of a few movies that I have seen recently that wasn't that predictable. The main song although annoying a few times in the movie (as it is literally the only song you hear properly over and over in the movie) is actually really good (big Backstreet boys vibes) and cant really be changed or removed as it would not work with the plot. i think the main think i disliked is the freaking hand gesture the main guy does ahaha. Seriously though if you have seen the trailer and liked it, its enough for you to watch it , trust.

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