Umi ga Kikoeru

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.

Ocean Waves is not trying to be anything more than it is, and what it is, is absolutely fine. The story moves very smoothly and the perspective of our young protagonist Taku is set lucid immediately, showing classic hero potential in challenging his school on a decision he finds unfair. He is rational, hard working and emotionally moral. He takes a sight of Rikako, a fiery, athletic beauty and childishly does not realise that he is mad about her, fine, however:-

As a strong upholder of ROMANCE, Ocean Waves is not critical enough in delivering the heart wrenching moments which it clearly builds up for, as ... the characters are endearing and well developed in emotional integrity. For me, it borders irritatingly on adolescent, as there are far too many missed opportunities for real love to blossom on screen. It would be argued that this is not what the film or original story ever set about doing, however, one cannot help but feel bitter not seeing the climax of humanity's better emotions, in neither words or embrace.

A friend of mine said that Studio Ghibli is practically a Japanese Disney, and with this in some area's I would wholly agree, though I have found at times all of their films to be incredibly mature and perhaps beyond the reach of younger audiences. Ocean Waves is no exception to this, as the ever impending love anti-climax is noticeable only when it's too late to be called subtle.

It is high school, she is a vulnerable beauty, for God's sake man, kiss her, just do it, do you not realise that she wants you to?

It makes me wonder, is it worth dedicating your own emotions to more than capable story lines if there are not fire works at the end, merely a screeching bottle rocket, slowly fading into a dismal silent fart.

Have you ever experienced that feeling where the manager for your favorite sports team decides to rest the best player for an important match? The team is performing well enough to stand on their own and keep the game leveled, but nobody is there to advance the score or awe the audience with their brilliance. The players are competent enough, performing what they are supposed to perform and following the tactics to a tee, but it all feels so pointless since their work does not translate into a total victory.

This is what this movie feels like. The two biggest players in Studio Ghibli history: Hayao ... Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, are not to be found here at all, and that of course decreased immensely from the quality of this film. So, what is this film even about? It is essentially a mundane premise about love and romance between two students. Knowing Isao Takahata, he managed to turn a mundane concept similar to this one into one of the greatest Anime movies ever made - Only Yesterday. Here, Takahata is nowhere to be found so that he can show us his magical directing, which is why a trivial concept such as high school love turned out to be such a disappointing product at the end of the day. Without Takahata’s directing to save the day, there isn’t much merit to this film at all.

Similarly, the concept of this film needed Miyazaki. His brain is imaginative, he creates some of the most imaginative, fantastical and surreal works ever put to the animation medium, and he would have created a movie that would be remembered for years to come and given endless amounts of praise if he were to take full control of the direction and script of this movie. Alas, he weren’t to be found here, which is why this movie is such a trivial work in the first place.

You might be wondering why I keep regurgitating the same points about Miyazaki and Takahata over and over again, and never go into plot specifics regarding this film. Well, there really isn’t anything to talk about in this film. The concept is a mundane high school romance story and the execution, while being “realistic”, falls flat in direction. No matter how hard I try, I can’t come up with anything out of thin air to say about this film or describe it. It is mundane, it is trivial, and it is boring. It neither does anything new nor does it do said thing excellently, even when it isn’t offensively bad.

To it’s credit, the movie is not of excruciating length, as it clocks in at about an hour and ten minutes, which is not much considering some lengthy titles Ghibli has pumped out over the years. The animation and the audiovisuals are good and are the typical Ghibli animations you would find anywhere in their discography. The soundtrack is good as well, especially the background Hawaiian music they chose for the lobby and money exchange scenes. Everything regarding the technicalities aspect is good and isn't offensive or anything.

Overall, I can’t say that this movie was bad. The characters were not archetypes, as they went through change and character development, even if those developments weren’t the greatest. The plot is not offensively bad or poorly written, and the audiovisuals, while not completely standing out from anything else, were good enough for the typical Ghibli film. However, even when it had factors working for it, those factors were not enough to make it excel in what it did. The movie is average and trivial, and thus should not be given praise or a positive score.

Honestly, I think this was one giant, spectacular flop. You're constantly waiting for something to happen, and then its over. There is absolutely no plot at all, no arc. Stuff just happens.

The main character is a complete doormat, she treats him like a sucker and he KEEPS TAKING IT. Every encounter they have, she takes advantage of him and insults him, she's rude and condescending. Then, at the end, all of a sudden they have some sort of bond and he's wistfully thinking about her, realizing that he's "crazy" about her. Of course the movie ends right there though. Don't bother fleshing that out.

I ... honestly don't understand why people liked this. I can appreciate slow plots, but NO PLOT?? NOTHING EVER HAPPENS!!!

Waves in the ocean. Ripples in water. Occurrences that don't impact on the world as a whole.

Ocean Waves is a story of similar impact; impacting only on three characters locked inside their own small little world. It's a story covering the journey towards adulthood of three high schoolers, where the friendship of two is damaged by the one thing besides hate that can destroy bonds - love.

Often over-looked because the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli and the director of many highly regarded Ghibli titles, had no role in the completion of the film, it's by far the most under-watched and under-rated of ... the Ghibli films I've watched thus far. Ocean Waves was an attempt at giving the younger staff members of Ghibli a chance to shine - a chance to come from under the shadows of the bigger names - and shine they did, though not as brightly as they would've hoped.

:: Story :: -- 8.5-9/10

In a nutshell, Ocean Waves is a romance, featuring a love triangle, without any supernatural elements whatsoever being included. There are black comedy and depressing sections of the story, leading to the ending being somewhat unpredictable.

Prior to a girl called Rikako transferring from Tokyo to a high school located in a small town by the sea, Taku and Yutaka shared a close friendship; one forged at the back-end of junior high when they were the only two in their school to persist in standing against the school's decision to cancel the school trip. From then onwards, despite being in different classes, the two remained close, inside and outside of school. But Rikako changed everything. Yutaka fell in love with her at first sight, starting with when he - as the class representative - showed her around the school. Yutaka also called Taku to the school on the same day, wanting to show the new girl to his best friend, and that's when their relationship started to become troubled; when Taku also became enchanted by her beauty.

The story is a simple yet moving affair. It's almost certain to be hard-hitting for anyone who has developed feelings for someone a close friend also has feelings for. Watching Taku attempt to sustain a friendship whilst being pulled deeper and deeper into the selfish world of Rikako, it was difficult for me not to get pulled into the world of the characters. Even for those who can't relate to the struggles of the characters, like myself, it'd be an absorbing experience.

The only real story negative is that it's too short, the film only lasting for around 70 minutes. Given that Ocean Waves was a 'youth of Ghilbli' project, with a small budget (which they ended up going over), it isn't shocking that one-third of the love triangle didn't get as much time as the other two-thirds. Likewise, it isn't a shock that the story ended right when it reached the good part; when the story reached its peak. But, viewed as it is, the story has enough quality to justify the 9/10 (rounded from 8.5) score I'm awarding it.

:: Characterization :: - 8.5/10

The main two characters (the two who get the most time - Taku and Rikako) are fleshed out well enough so that I was able to get an excellent understanding of their personalities. Taku is your typical nice guy, willing to help someone work through their problems without gaining anything in return, but he's also honest, being blunt where necessary. Rikako, on the other hand, is a spoilt child, blaming the break-up of her parents' marriage on her mother because she was forced to move away from Tokyo. Where as Taku shows consideration by thinking of the feelings of Yutaka, she thinks only of herself - lying to get money in order to return to Tokyo, deceiving her friend in an attempt to get her to go to Tokyo with her and many other things. But, as they say, opposites attract, and over the course of the story she starts to learn through experience.

My only issue with Rikako is that, because of the short length of the film, nearly all of it focused on her being selfish. Not enough was shown of her other side, or of her growth into a a more mature person - one not locked inside her own little world. If the film had been twenty minutes longer, with some scenes added just before and after the ending, I feel it would've improved the experience.

However, my main characterization issue doesn't lie with Rikako. The third part of the love triangle, Yutaka, quite simply didn't get anywhere near enough time for him to develop into more than a well-used plot device. Nearly all of the film focused on the developments of Taku and Rikako, Yutaka being excluded completely during the black comedy section in the middle. Yutaka being the friend of Taku and making him think twice about his feelings for Rikako made the story work, but it would've been more powerful if there had been three characters to care for rather than two.

On the whole, the characterization is very good. The realism of Rikako's personality in particular is worth noting. But I can't quite give the characterization side a 9/10 score when there could've been added development - development which would've increased my enjoyment.

:: Art / Animation :: - 8.5/10

As you'd expect of a Ghibli title, Ocean Waves is pleasing visually. The animation flowed (though, with it being realistic, there wasn't any fast-paced action or the like) and there were no obvious over-budget issues that caught my eye. The only negative that springs to mind is the trademark Ghibli facial artwork, which is the same except in the cases of certain types of characters. Having watched a couple of Ghibli titles in quick succession, I've noticed how the faces are often identical. What highlighted this to me in the case of Ocean Waves was towards the end, when I noticed that one of the supporting female characters with her hair like Rikako looked just like her (I thought it was her at first.)

To be fair, I'm probably nit-picking. What matters with regards to the faces is that the characters' emotions are conveyed, and the expression side had no issues whatsoever. When Rikako was pissed off and gave Taku the 'evil eye' feared by men worldwide, she looked convincing. When Taku lost his patience with Rikako because of her selfish ways, his feelings were etched on his face. Etc, etc. On the whole, the art impressed me, and I see no reason to mark a drama down because it had no action to be animated.

:: Sound :: - 8/10

The soundtrack has a good range of songs, ranging from depressing piano tracks to uplifting tracks, and the music fitted the mood well. After finishing the film, I couldn't recall an excellent piece I wanted to listen to over and over, but I did appreciate the soundtrack after downloading and listening to it away from the film, with no pretty images to distract me. There's music that sets the mood and music that's wonderful to listen to away from what it played alongside, and the Ocean Waves soundtrack is the former.

As for the voice acting, I felt whilst watching that the voices fitted the characters well enough. Like in the case of the music, I didn't end the film with any of the voices stuck inside my brain, but I didn't end with any negative feelings about the acting.

:: Overall :: - 8/10

To sum it up, Ocean Waves is something for anyone who can handle anime without supernatural elements distancing its story from reality. It's a must watch for fans of romance with a realistic edge.

Don't ignore it simply because of its unknown status compared to the other Ghibli titles. A lot of people go into anime to escape reality - to see something different - and I'm sure that has played a part in it being scored harshly compared to certain other Ghibli titles. It's more than worthy of a place in any Ghibli collection. Trust me when I say that Miyazaki not being involved doesn't make it any less of a film.

I've never thought a day would come when I would rate a Ghibli movie with such a low score. What happened here? What actually happened?? I was waiting an hour and 12 minutes for one huge nothing. It actually got a good start with the interesting friendship that formed between the two male leads. It actually had a bit of a potential, and that died not long after. Their friendship played a next to zero role in this huge disaster.
Now, about the female lead. Oh, how horrible the female lead was. There was nothing, and I mean NOTHING likeable about her. Everything she did ... was either rude or useless. And guess what? Both friends fell for her. But of course they did! Why wouldn't they?! That's the epitome of logic!
All in all, the movie was a complete waste of time. I have no clue what it was trying to achieve, other than being ridiculous.
The only good thing about it was the slap (oh, how I enjoyed that) the female lead received and it was completely deserved.

They are not painted, they are alive!

"Umi ga Kikoeru", also known as "Ocean Waves" and "I Can Hear the Sea" - one of not very famous movies by «Studio Ghibli» and the most unsuccessful its project in terms of financial profitability.

However, this is a wonderful shot of the anime. Obvious its advantages - the lack of cheap soap opera effects, typical of many melodramas. The ability to dive into the world of perfectly adequate anime characters, that doesn't happen often. Unusually shown love triangle....
Someone might say: the plot of "Umi ga Kikoeru" undeveloped, but look back: do fifteen or sixteen years teenagers understand what ... they really want from life? Only fragments of relationships, lost connections, the first conflicts and stupid talks, unprofitable, but before the offensive that stuck in the memory of a lifetime... But the main focus of the movie placed on the the characters growing up, change their views. The romance in the film is like a weak and inconspicuous at first spark intensifying feelings: embarrassment MC, Morisaki Taku represented Muto like her boyfriend at a meeting with her father and the former boyfriend, a shame to sleep in the bath and other amusing silliness. Tenderness Morisaki, carefully sheltering with blanket, cried her eyes out and asleep on his chest Muto. Incredible scene of homecoming and reunion, with lots of small details.

After watching a feeling of quiet melancholy and tranquility left in the soul. The sense of reality.
Take a look at the scenery, think about your hopes for the future at the end of school, remember the first homecoming and find out yourself.

P.S. Sorry for my second-rated english. And thanks for reading.

An individual’s world is small, cramped. It can be very hard to understand the reason behind our own actions let alone know why others choose this or that path for themselves. What we do provides the best clues for explaining us, yet they are just the surface, little waves of the ocean that don’t necessarily reveal our deeper character and thoughts. There is always a distance between what we are and what we do. We cannot get rid of the occasional reflection that people’s behavior often appears silly, egocentric, and to be a bit harsh, meaningless. Nevertheless those tiny waves stay as the best source ... of understanding human beings. Ocean Wave is about those waves. Although the original title means "I can hear the Sea" I think "Ocean Waves" better suits this anime.

The anime does not have a straightforward plot, though it can be hardly called unique. It can seem hard to get into because what the movie tries to convey is a sort of sensibility rather than action. It is somewhat similar to 5 centimeters per second. It depicts lives in small contexts, casts light on everyday worries and dreams, instead of throwing a grand event at us. The story does not dive into deeper feelings that determine characters. It focuses on the small ripples on the surface. Relations happen under the surface. It has a soft relaxing atmosphere, a trait not only Ghibli works but many other Japanese anime and movies share. The ending is beautiful, with no plot twist, nothing glamorous, yet fairly heart-warming. Characters are realistically and beautifully depicted. The story is not fast-paced, it lets us stay with the heroes and understand them a bit, and while there, understand some of our own feelings as well.

Ocean Wave is a Ghibli work, but one point must be mentioned. Ghibli movies share some common elements that make them typical in their category. Binge-watching is not recommended. But it is helpful to bear in mind that Ghibli productions stand worlds apart from the rest. They change over time. They grow, mature in some respects, and sometimes regress. For example, earlier Ghibli works have stronger and more active characters than later ones. Later works have somewhat repetitious characters, as if copied from the older ones. Nevertheless, their every work stands above from the majority of anime inundating the market with brainless battles, half-naked teenage girls, which give the impression that they’re specially tailored for unapologetic pedophiles fast approaching their midlife crisis. Therefore, every Ghibli work is always a fresh breath of air that helps us forget the stench of average popular anime.

Jesus. I thought the general consensus that this was one of Ghibli's worst features would be an exaggeration, but that description is spot on. Usually I only do reviews of anime when I care enough to do a full analysis, but that isn't the case here. I'm just disappointed enough to write a quick summary, especially after seeing a flurry of reviews claiming that this movie isn't as bad as other people seem to think.

Even though I respect your opinion if you think that this movie is "good" or maybe even "great", having that thought after watching this movie is something that I find unfathomable. ... I think that Ocean Waves rightfully deserves the reputation it has and is one of the most aggravating film experiences that I've had to sit through in a while.

ART:

Nothing to critique here; typical early Ghibli style and charm.

SOUND:

The score is forgettable at best and off-putting at worst. Some scenes were coupled with undeserved orchestral swells that made moments feel even more artificial or exasperating than they already were. Voice acting was good for main characters but occasionally spotty for the supporting cast.

CHARACTER and STORY:

Here we go. If you don't already know this movie's reputation, viewers tend to hate the female lead, Rikako. I had seen this trend before watching the movie and was fully prepared to disagree with or at least criticize that line of thinking. "She can't be that bad," I thought. "Surely some people just don't understand her motivations or are blowing her personality out of proportion. Right?"

Boy was I wrong. Not only do I completely agree with this sentiment, but as of now, she is one of the most unlikable characters I have ever been forced to watch. I've seen non-villains and villains alike in movies, people who are antagonistic scumbags that have committed atrocities and all kinds of abominable actions, yet they all seem more human than the self-centered, deceitful, underdeveloped Rikako. As the movie goes on, she only continues to grow more inhuman, irritating and repugnant.

"But that's the point. This is a story of a girl tearing two best friends apart and the struggles of youth. That's why it's a drama."

Is that really the point though? Cause I don't think so, and it doesn't seem like the writers thought that either.

Romance is also listed in the tags, and that seems to be what the story is shooting for, especially with how the movie ends...except that no one in their right mind would find this movie romantic, nor is the romance given proper development or a conclusion. In fact, the romance doesn't even really begin, it's just implied within the last minutes of the film. If you tried to tell me that this was a romance movie before I looked at its Wikipedia and MAL pages, I would've laughed in your face.

The story and "romance" in this movie consists of Rikako being a selfish, manipulative, uncaring asshole and two guys falling in love with her anyway. Her motivations for being an asshole are cliche (you could probably guess them without watching the movie) and never justified. We are given some superficial dialogue about why she turned out this way and then the movie expects us to somehow forgive her for being such a terrible character, even when none of the reasons for her actions are resolved or acknowledged in a meaningful manner.

The two male leads are flat and one-dimensional. Not only do they have seemingly no reason to love her (besides the fact that she is attractive) but the movie doesn't even attempt for either of them to get close to her in any significant way. She uses Taku and then abandons him just as quickly. Yutaka tries to befriend her and fails miserably. This is somehow enough to make the friendship between Taku and Yutaka fall apart.

The movie's third act is short and pointless. Taking a walk together is enough to fix Taku and Yutaka's friendship. A reunion at a bar suddenly makes all the character's reveal how they've "grown" over their time in college, when really the only character that has developed in any way is an irrelevant girl that was barely in the movie. The rest of the them haven't changed at all. What's even more laughable is that after all the pain she's caused them, Taku realizes at the reunion that he still loves Rikako...for some reason (this is especially hilarious when the only memories that he can recall are of her being an asshole to him). What you're looking at is a movie where almost nothing happens, and what does happen is not justified or impactful in any stretch of the imagination. The melodrama is neither entertaining nor well-executed, and you will leave the movie wondering what the hell you're supposed to take away from this experience.

CONCLUSION:

A movie hasn't made me this upset in a long time. This is not a feel-good slice of life and it's also not a romance. It's a drama, and it handles that label with extreme laziness and ineptitude. Unlikable characters with nonexistent development. Meandering dialogue. No sense of direction. A rushed ending. I'm not sure if this movie has any positive aspects. What I am sure of is that this movie barely scrapes over the hour mark and it almost feels like two.

The premise is not inherently terrible. Watching a friendship deteriorate due to a manipulative person is a classic plot that could've been handled well, but it doesn't even feel like the focus of this movie; it's just something that happens out of the blue toward the end of the second act. But the romance doesn't feel like the focus of this movie either. So what the hell is the focus of this movie anyway? Rikako being an asshole? Yeah, pretty much.

An interesting movie, but so filled with frustrating moments that for me personally the viewing experience wasn't particularly enjoyable. On the whole, it's similar to the Korean movie My Sassy Girl, minus the humour and well done ending of the latter.

Story

I have to admit the plot is quite unique for an anime. I was yet to see a love story start with the girl asking the guy to lend her money out of the blue. The fact that pretty much everything that matters happens under the surface is also a nice touch, but it leaves the viewer to reach a lot of his own conclusions, ... some of which I feel should've been enforced by the script writer.

Art

Generic 80s-90s anime style; blurry details, very similar-looking characters, colourless eyes, etc. Not at all impressive.

Sound

The background audio is fine, though not strikingly good. The voices are not very good, as they feel a bit artificial and there's plenty of clipping (eg whenever a female shouts, which is quite a few times). The ED song is very nice but I couldn't appreciate its soft melancholic atmosphere since the rest of the movie was filled with frustration.

Characters

Well, they are certainly memorable, but I can't even count the number of times I was frustrated by each of the three main characters. That doormat of a male lead could drive the most patient of people starking mad with his inaction and self pity. The heroine isn't much better - I suppose she was meant to be a tsunderekko, but while the tsun side is apparent throughout the movie the dere one seems to have been left as an exercise for the reader (or watcher as may be the case here).

Enjoyment

The somewhat unusual plot and lively progression could've warranted a quality hour of entertainment, but I felt that the characters' actions buried the few good parts deep beneath the sea of frustration, rendering the film little more than a test in patience.

The only notable thing about this is that it includes the WORST female love interest of all time. She’s a spoilt brat who complains about her life being so “sad” because her parents got a divorce and she had to move…Oh, boo hoo. And that she has no friends because she’s a snobby, whiney, manipulative, rude b*tch who makes fun of their accent and has absolutely no regard for anyone else but herself. She scabs money off of people instead of just getting a job, takes advantage of the main characters and is a huge hypocrite who purposely makes life hard for people who are ... nice to her. Not to mention she makes other people do everything for her and has no gratitude whatsoever towards them. In fact, she’s just plain mean.

When she gets confronted about her attitude (and deservingly so), she gets angry or doesn’t care. If she actually had a sad life then I would feel sorry for her but she doesn’t. At all. I’ve been through more than her in my teenage years (including a divorce and both parents remarrying) and I would still consider myself very lucky and privileged. The MC doesn’t deserve any of the sh*t he has to endure and he seems to be the most patient guy ever. Alone, he’s not a bad character but the fact that him and his buddy have a crush on a psycho b*tch makes me question their sanity. She doesn’t even have a chance at a redemption arc so you’re just left hating her forever wondering if she’s still a massive c**t as an adult.

Maybe the movie just hasn’t aged well with divorce probably being much more taboo back then or maybe it's saying something about city kids idk, but I cannot stand her, even if she’s supposed to be like that. If you want to be severely frustrated/annoyed then go ahead and watch. However, if you’re looking to enjoy the aesthetic (cause I do love the animation) then you would be better off watching on mute with some nice music in the background lol. I don’t see how anyone can actually enjoy sitting through this torture unless you’re looking for a tutorial on how to get into a toxic relationship :)

Ocean Waves is a rather obscure movie of the Studio Ghibli kanon. It is a made for TV movie with the younger generation of animators working at Ghibli at the time, so it really isn't surprising that it is little known. It is a departure from the norms of Studio Ghibli, not only because it doesn't involve Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, but it also one of the movies more grounded in reality. So without the big talents that made the studio, where the movie stand? It's pretty good, but a far cry from Studio Ghibli at top form.

The story is one of young adults ... just a few years out of high school. This is funny to say because most of the movie is a flashback to high school. Majority of the movie is the protagonist Taku reflecting on his time in high school, specifically his relationship with the beautiful and volatile transfer student Rikako Muto, as well as his best friend, Yutaka. The movie shows Taku's high school life until his graduating year, then cuts forward to him revisiting his hometown a few years later for a class reunion a few years later.

Being that majority of the film takes place in high school, as you can expect it is drama driven. Thankfully, it is not its not melodramatic. In fact, it has the same gentle touch Studio Ghibli is well known for. It is typical high school drama with a love triange, school gossip, and adolescent antics; but restrained rather than overblown. The dynamic between the characters works well, as we get a fairly good sense of their relationship, which honestly do feel believable. The also does a pretty good job conveying some of the frustration of the teenage years, most prominently in the way Rikako behaves because she was forced to move to the country-side as a result of her parents divorce. However, the story is too safe frankly; everything in it is commonly used in this kind of drama. While it isn't executed badly, it also isn't done with enough finesse or inspiration to truly make it stand out. The only part that really feels inspired is Taku's class reuinion, which makes up only the last fourth of the movie. The material is quite good, but ultimately feels a bit underwhelming because of how it is presented.

On the technical-side of things, well, this is Studio Ghibli we're talking about. Even though this is a made for TV movie not a theatrical release, it still looks very good. The character designs have the usual warm Ghibli charm; being both fairly realistic and appropriately cartoony. Backgrounds are beautifully detailed, and the animation is smooth, certainly more fluid than necessary for this kind of story. The music is also very good, as one might expect. Wonderful orchestrated pieces which fit the tone of the movie nicely. All that said, the movie doesn't really impress. Just as with the story's execution, the overall direction is competent, but not amazing on any level. There are not any shots or scenes which grab you with the way they are captured on screen. It is obvious that the animators had skill, but perhaps lacking in cinematic chops. The movie looks and sounds good, but not exceptional.

Ocean Waves is definitely not Studio Ghibli at its best, and honestly, it is not hard to see why the movie is overlooked. It has a good story, and good technical merits; it's just lacking in the inspiration that is present in most of the studio's works. Still, it is a good movie and certainly worth its run time, which is a little over an hour.

A simple, nostalgic, and comforting film. Ocean Waves manages to portray a realistic high school experience and the (both desirable and not so desirable) things it entails. The characters are written in a way that makes them feel like actual high school students, each with their own flaws and imperfections. They experience new things together and support each other, but at the same time act childishly and get into overblown arguments. It is these elements that work together to convey the nostalgia of high school memories – the characters make mistakes, but are able to later look back fondly on the memories they've made. The ... relaxing music and simplistic art style complement the movie's slow, laidback atmosphere. However, I will say that the film isn't necessarily romantic, nor does it include a huge obstacle that forces the characters to work together to overcome like many other romance anime. This movie isn't for everyone, but I personally really liked how realistic and nostalgic the film felt.

Alright the only thing that compelled me to write a review was all the positive reviews I saw that were driving me insane. So the apparent draw here is that Ocean Waves is supposed to be "nostalgia" fuel or some bull shit. Listen if you want to watch something that will make you reminiscent of being young, watch Only Yesterday. Its also a Ghibli movie, its super slice of life with lots of cute moments and has a nice ending. This movie, on the other hand, or atrocity more like, goes on for way too long with nothing occurring but the characters being terrible to ... each other. Particularly the female lead is awful. Absolutely dreadful and selfish she is and right when the movie makes it seem like she was about grow as a character she continues to be a bitch. Her and the male lead have NO chemistry, no sweet moments, and no development. Yet by the end we're supposed to like them together? Fuck you. I'm sorry but if this movie made you nostalgic, high school must've fucking sucked for you. This is not how you're supposed to treat someone that you like or are in love with, let alone your friend.

Looking upon the Ghibli filmography through the lens of an anime expert, Ocean Waves is a classic in its own right. It may not be optimistic and atmospheric like Miyazaki or symbolic and sad like Takahata, but in the process of being dwarfed by the famous Ghibli greats, it finds its own place. It’s bold in its honesty and simplicity, unafraid to diverge from the studio’s norm. Instead of a couple charming and heroic children, Ocean Waves is led by a couple confused and moody teenagers. Instead of a fantastical adventure determined by good and evil, they embark on an uneventful time lapse through young ... adulthood determined by life’s events. It develops a relationship with both mature and immature complexities that often leave the viewer—

That’s it, I can’t do it anymore. I need to address something. You know why this movie isn’t popular? Why it hasn’t become a late classic in the eyes of Ghibli fans? Because the, dude, the main man, the protagonist of Ocean Waves, is a goddamn SIMP. If you’ve seen this movie, you know what I’m talking about. Seriously, if you looked up “simp” on the urban dictionary, a picture of our hero would sit comfortably right next to the paragraph about how simps sacrifice their own integrity, both social and moral, to appease some girl they have a crush on. He doesn’t even know he’s simping until he realizes that everything that ever fell off the rails in his highschool life could be traced back to stupid decisions he made to accommodate some random girl that never gave him the time of day. He loans her money, goes on a freaking plane so that she doesn’t travel by herself after her friend bailed, lets her sleep in his hotel bed while he sleeps in the bathtub, deals with her daddy issues, and after all that, the one time he doesn’t simp, the time he lets her get bullied without intervening, his friend punches him in the FACE. Uh oh, guess you weren’t simping enough, buddy. She walks all over this dude like a ten-cent tatami mat and this movie has the gall to punish him in the end for NOT going out of his way to fight her battle? How about a little respect for his simpin, huh? He is literally a role model for every twitter and instagram simp out there, because eventually he gets the payoff. But at that point, is it even worth it? Well, I’ve seen simps settle for far less from their queens.

8/10 for revealing a unique side of Ghibli that grows in distinction as it ages, but overall 7/10 for inventing the concept of simping.

This show is what taught me to never judge an anime from its MAL score.

I think a lot of people get caught up with Rikako being an unlikable character or how the show feels so different to that of other Ghibli movies. In a way those statements are true but this show isn't about any of that. I believe in its heart, this show is a love letter to youth and nostalgia. I think Yutaka set the tone early in the show when he said he'll remember the school did something wrong if they canceled the class trip, even 20 years after graduation.

The peak of ... the show was definitely the class reunion. Its nice to see everyone just get past all the dramatic nonsense of high school and just be more adult.

Overall I enjoyed this movie a lot. I may not recommend it to anyone younger but for us older folks past college, I think this show is like eye candy down memory lane.

PS: This show was the first Ghibli show to not be directed by Isao Takahata or Hayao Miyazaki and I gotta say the younger studs of Ghibli definitely have a very nice sense of fashion. The wardrobe of the characters seem like something I might definitely pick up next time I'm going thrift shopping lol.

Let's start by talking about the plot. A girl from Tokyo named Rikako moves to the far smaller town of Kochi with her mother after her parents divorce. She creates quite a stir with her high grades, athletic prowess, and general distant attitude. Morisaki Taku gets caught up in her affairs when his friend, Yutaka, tells her all about him. The story isn't bad, but it's not anything special. It certainly isn't one of Studio Ghibli's more imaginative or interesting tales. The main problem with the story is that the ending is very trite.

One of the big themes is divorce. Honestly, the fact that ... the story comes from Taku's perspective really helps with this. Seeing him as an outsider piecing everything together is more effective at showing the subtle impact of divorce than Rikako's more personal perspective could. The problem with this theme is Rikako's reaction. She acts like a petulant child over the whole thing and, honestly, she's too old for this reaction I could understand it coming from someone who's thirteen or so, but she's supposed to be sixteen, seventeen when the main action takes place. She should have a better understanding of the situation than that. Maybe there are some people who react that immaturely to a divorce at that age, but it certainly doesn't make you feel sorry for her. The love triangle aspect is actually handled pretty well. The infatuation is played up very subtly and the characters react pretty realistically to it. They also avoid the whole melodrama problem that you frequently get from this sort of story.

Morisaki Taku and Matsuno Yutaka are both pretty good characters. I especially like Taku's snarky personality and willingness to call Rikako out on her bollocks. You can probably guess that the problem is Rikako. As a character she's not very compelling. She's either acting like an anti-social snob, whining about the divorce or acting like a spoiled brat. I've already been over how she doesn't have the excuse of being young, so does she at least have the excuse of being in a bad situation? Not really. She's from an upper class family and her peers try to reach out to her several times only to receive the cold shoulder. Yes, moving is difficult but she doesn't even put in an effort to make friends or get to know people. As a result I just can't empathise with her.

The art is great. The only problem I have with it is that, during a few scenes, the proportions go askew for no reason. These scenes usually involve someone getting punched or slapped. But that's a pretty minor complaint and the art is good aside from that one factor.

The music and voice acting are both downplayed, but I honestly think that adds to the atmosphere and helps highlight the importance of the scenes that do showcase the music or voice acting. Very clever, Studio Ghibli.

This is another anime with no yuri earning it a yuri factor of 1/10.

My final rating for Ocean Waves is a solid 7/10. It's good overall, but it's certainly not Studio Ghibli's best work.

This movie was quite difficult to watch. I was captivated at the beginning, truly enjoying the odd relationship that formed between this sweet, pushover of a guy and this horrible, manipulative bitch. I liked that he didn't seem even remotely interested in her, and I was genuinely hoping for the slight sexual tension between him and his male best friend to flourish into something more, but alas... they both fell head over heels for the saucy minx. I was utterly shocked and frustrated when he pulled these seemingly lifelong feelings out of his ass in the end and turned the personality I thought I knew ... into something much more impressionable and weak. The slap was SO WELL DESERVED and his actions at the movie's close completely undermine it.

I only have two positive things to say: (1) I guess it shows the true influence of manipulation/shallowness and really highlights how a toxic person behaves. It's one of those movies that leaves you more disgusted and disappointed in the characters than happy and bubbly, but at least it gives a little bit of insight on how the world works. People get into unhealthy relationships all the time, and you kind of see the thought process of someone involved in a similar situation. "She's pretty" turns into "I'll love her forever, no matter how self-centered, vile, and just plain cruel she is." (2) The art is AMAZING. I could rewatch this movie (and probably will) a hundred times just to look at the intricate pastel frames of post-war Japan. It's truly soothing to the eye and its visuals definitely win it a few more points.

I don't really have much else to say. It left me feeling kind of empty and made me lose a bit of faith in the human race, but it's very pretty.

Ocean Waves is a Ghibli production that tells the story of a couple of senior high school kids in a normal, magic-less world. It involves 2 old friends, and a girl that comes between them.

Ocean Waves is the only high school drama from Ghibli. It doesn`t quite feel like the other real-world Ghibli movies (whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday), nor does it feel much like your run in the mill drama. For one, there aren`t any tear jerkers, which dramas swear by, and the cute-innocence of the typical pre-teen leads of Ghibli is also absent. To top it off, there isn`t much of a ... climax either. With the story being completely focused on the relationship between the guys and the girl, there isn`t much room to depict daily routines so it misses the slice of life genre as well. In the end, the movie feels like a story your friend is telling you about an unusual, and complex relationship he had with a girl he met in high school. It`s not built like a romance comedy or a TV drama. Nothing in Ocean Waves is all that captivating. It never tries to tug at your heart strings with true-love romantic cheese, and in this way, it has its own unpretentious, grounded charm that sets itself apart from other Ghibli representations of love.

The story follows the main character as he comes to understand an un-mannered, stuck up Tokyo girl who just transferred to his small town school. It`s not a boring story, but with the lack of a functional build-up/climax structure, it`s not easy to get into. Thankfully though, the characters are interesting enough to pick up the slack. The real draw of the story is learning about the aforementioned girl. The other two main characters, and the other minor characters as well, feel transparent enough. The way they showcase emotions like jealousy, infatuation (not love mind you), and frustration are usually on point, and its easy to feel for them, but they`re not very complicated, nor are they the focus of the movie. Muto, the Tokyo Girl, is the object of the film. She is fittingly complex, and the story develops around your, and the main character`s discoveries about her life and her personality.

The first few minutes of the film sets the tone: the main character is reminiscing about Muto and his high school years, and he tells the viewer the story. You can`t come into this movie expecting a typical romantic comedy where boy meets girl, boy gets together with girl, boy and girl separate because of a conflict, which builds up to a climax where boy gets back with girl. Ocean Waves just doesn`t flow like that. It is an amusing, lighthearted movie nonetheless.

I can think of an instance or two where the characters seemed a little bit corny, and over-expressive, but overall, it is more faithful to reality than a vast majority of Anime and TV dramas. If the lack of a meaty romance rife with love-drama doesn`t turn you off, there is plenty to like about Ocean Waves. It straddles the line between high school life, high school romance, and nostalgic slice of life.

Ocean Waves is a bit of an odd duck among the Ghibli pantheon. It’s by far one of the studio’s least watched properties, possibly it’s least well known entry of all. It’s the one Ghibli film to not receive a high-quality English dub with a cavalcade of A-list actors. It was a directed by a one-time director for the studio whose future output would range from very good to, well, Pupa. It certainly feels like a very different animal right from the get go, eschewing both the usual lush, lived-in Miyazaki feel and the usual stark, sharp-edged specificity of Isao Takahata’s work in favor of ... a pale, washed-out aesthetic most reminiscent of the past sequences from Only Yesterday with the color saturation turned every further down. It’s a wispy, incidental coming-of-age romance, not so much lacking presence as keeping a low profile, a movie with humble ambitions and even humbler execution. It’s not the kind of production that screams “instant classic” or “underlooked gem”; it feels very much like the kind of insubstantial fluff that gets put out to pad the balance sheet, albeit with a decidedly more high-class air about itself than the usual slice-of-life show. And having now watched Ocean Waves myself, I can confirm that it’s only really worth that amount of consideration. It’s not an awful film, but it’s so light and insubstantial that it passes through you with barely a reaction, leaving no lasting impact in its wake.

Set in the rural prefecture of Kochi, Japan, the story follows high school friends Morisake and Matsuno as a new transfer student arrives from Tokyo: Rikako, a beautiful girl who mostly keeps to herself and avoids interacting with the greater school ecosystem. This aloof attitude gets her labeled as stuck-up and arrogant, but Mastuno quickly develops a crush on her nevertheless. Morisake, meanwhile, is slower to warm up to her, but a series of chance meetings help him realize that her seemingly simple life is a lot more complicated and messy than it first appeared. There’s a constant thread of distrust of authority running throughout the film, as the school administrators and parents of the characters are painted as petty, often self-serving, and more concerned with reputation than their children’s well-being. In Rikako’s case, the pressure takes the form of a fractured family, with a father back in Tokyo and her mother moving to Kochi, with neither of those lives being the life she wants deep down. Yet she’s also been more influenced by that pressure than she realizes, being quick to anger and mistrust, even as Morisake becomes further embroiled in her personal life, sparking jealousy from Matsuno and rumors from the classmates. It’s an interesting angle, and if it was explored further, I think it would give Ocean Waves the sense of identity it’s sorely lacking.

Sadly, the film as it exists doesn’t really have that much to say about bucking against authority in the rigid society of Japan, or how kids are pressured by their environments. In truth, it doesn’t have much of anything to say at all. It just sort of goes through the motions, walking through Morisake and Rikako’s developing relationship, hitting all the beats you expect it to hit, and then it’s over. At just barely over an hour’s runtime, Ocean Waves doesn’t have the time it needs to develop any of its observations into anything meaningful. There’s very little sense of structure either; moments come and go, story threads are abandoned just as it feels like they’re really getting going, climaxes just sort of fade into the next scene without any real resolution, and just when it looks like we’re gearing up for a big emotional confrontation that might give some meaning to the story, it jumps ahead to a “Let’s see how far we’ve come” epilogue that’s far too proportionally long in comparison to the rest of the movie. It could almost be its own third act with a little more fleshing out. And the animation is too simple and workmanlike to cover for it, lacking both Miyazaki’s stunning fluidity and Takahata’s incredible artistry. It does have some very good blocking and editing, which helps improve the overall visual punch with strong staging, but the world is just every generic washed-out watercolor “days of our youths” color palette imaginable.

Perhaps all that could be forgiven if the romance itself was strong enough to carry the film, but sadly, while the main couple does have decent chemistry, it can only go so far. In fact, I think this film helped me pinpoint my one real consistent criticism of the Ghibli pantheon; I don’t think they write romance very well. Too many times, as with Ocean Waves, I feel like the main couple ends up getting together because that’s what’s “supposed” to happen with the lead guy and lead girl. Even when they do have actual chemistry, that sense of inevitability is really hard to shake. As a result, I feel like the Ghibli movies that handle romance the best- Spirited Away, Ponyo, and Porco Rosso, to just rattle off what comes to mind- are the movies that play the most directly into that emotionally driven spirit. They’re able to sidestep the problem of assumed love by having the central couple just obviously be really fucking good for each other, sailing on their incredible chemistry as the reason to get invested in their relationship. Ocean Waves, though, is aiming to be much more naturalistic, and as a result, it can’t escape the creeping sense that ultimately, the reason these two develop feelings for each other is because some stuffy studio head really believes in the undying power of the “boy meets girl” trope.

Perhaps that won’t bother you; like I said, their chemistry is pretty good, all things considered. But it’s indicative of my entire overall apathy towards Ocean Waves. It’s not really good, it’s not really bad, it’s just there, not saying much and not accomplishing anything beyond existing as a sequence of color and light and sound. At the very least, it’s short enough that it never gets boring, and there are a handful of enjoyable moments to keep engagement up. But there’s no reason for anyone to seek out this movie. Only seek it out if, like me, you want to see every single Ghibli film, regardless of whether or not they appeal to you. Because all other Ghibli films, even those I’ve disliked, have more to offer than Ocean Waves.