Umi ga Kikoeru

In the city of Kouchi, high school student Taku Morisaki is going about his work when his friend Yutaka Matsuno calls and asks him to get to their school as soon as possible. Taku arrives, and Matsuno introduces him to Rikako Muto, a beautiful girl from Tokyo who recently transferred to their school. Although Rikako is academically and athletically gifted, her generally unpleasant attitude leaves her with virtually no friends outside of Matsuno and another girl from her class.

After a chance encounter during their class trip, Taku suddenly finds himself more involved in Rikako's personal life, much to Matsuno's dismay. Struggling to balance his friendship with Matsuno and his own budding infatuation for Rikako, Taku must come to terms with his feelings and understand how a girl with a troubled past is having such a massive effect on his life.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Morisaki, Taku Main

Tobita, Nobuo Japanese

Muto, Rikako Main

Sakamoto, Youko Japanese

Matsuno, Yutaka Main

Seki, Toshihiko Japanese

Shimizu, Akiko Supporting

Amano, Yuri Japanese

Morisaki Taku's Mother Supporting

Satou, Ai Japanese

Mrs. Okami Supporting

Suzuki, Reiko Japanese

Apprentice Supporting

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Okada Supporting

Kanemaru, Junichi Japanese

Kawamura Supporting

Tokumaru, Kan Japanese

Kohama, Yumi Supporting

Araki, Kae Japanese

Mochizuki, Tomomi Director, Storyboard, Theme Song Lyrics

Urakami, Yasuo Sound Director

Murata, Kazuya Episode Director

Niwa, Keiko Script

Reviews

Jul 7, 2024

Zeoguri

Recommended

Umi ga Kikoeru (aka Ocean Waves) is a real oddball amongst Studio Ghibli's nostalgia-infused critically acclaimed children's movies. A made-for-TV teen drama set in a contemporary rural Japanese city, Umi ga Kikoeru has been described as a slice-of-life drama, a teen-romance, and a coming-of-age story but in truth I don't think any of these labels are actually accurate.

The story follows a college student's reminiscence of a high school love triangle (if you can even call it that) between himself, a proto-tsundere type girl who transfers in from Tokyo and can't help standing out from the other girls, and the close male friend who 'saw her ... first' that the MC would never betray. Now, at this point you probably think you have this story all figured out, its got all the familiar teen-romance anime tropes after all, but this really isn't even that kind of story.

Actually, Umi ga Kikoeru is a complex meditation on Japanese high school life and its values (conformity, thinking about what's best for the group, placing the needs of your friends before all else) as well as the changes in perspective that occur when one losses that sense of belonging. Great emphasis is placed on the fact that this story is about *Japanese* high school students as I'm fairly certain that most American viewers won't find it even slightly relatable. Actually, one of the common takeaways I've heard from non-Japanese viewers is that the movie has a lot of gay subtext which really just goes to show you that "high school" isn't some universal experience that transcends cultures.

All things considered, this Ghibli deep cut isn't easy to recommend to most viewers. It's dated for sure, distinctly Japanese, and too literary for entertaining genre trappings; but it isn't just some cheap made-for-TV movie intended to provide a moments entertainment and then to be forgotten either like one might expect. In many ways I'd compare it to an earlier Ghibli film Only Yesterday, but Umi ga Kikoeru is a more ambitious and mature film and I personally enjoyed it a lot more.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jun 27, 2024

Wildflower3

Mixed Feelings

It’s not a bad movie, it simply has bad characters – and that’s basically the same thing…

Story 5/10
The story itself is rather short and uneventful. Unfortunately, what can make a good story (namely characters) can also be the reason to tear it down… In itself I don’t mind the premise of the movie. While I’m not a fan of love-triangles in general, it’s not entirely unrealistic that a person could come between a friendship if both friends fall for him/her. And maybe it could even help their friendship once they overcome it. I also didn’t mind the way the story was told by ... means of flashbacks. The movie was clearly going for nostalgia feels and with the atmosphere they managed this aspect well. Also it screamed the 90’s (which of course is not hard given it’s a movie from the 90’s) and I really like that aspect of the movie. Because unfortunately, that’s where my positive feedback ends. In the end there wasn’t much to take from this story, it didn’t have a purpose and it was rather superficial (especially for a Studio Ghibli movie). It’s not what made the movie bad for me though that’s on something else… If it would have just been for the story, I’d just consider it bland and average…

Characters 1/10
I always thought there would be no bad Studio Ghibli movie… Yet this is the second one I didn’t like. But even with the other one I did not enjoy as much, at least some of the characters were decent or had potential… Not so much with “Ocean Waves” though but let’s start with one who’s a little more harmless… Our male protagonist Taku. To be perfectly honest, he is not the best aspect of the movie but not the worst either. He has some great qualities in the sense that he seems to be hard working and he helps people. There’s also something slightly selfish about it but I do think that out of all the characters he probably has the most potential (if you could call it that). No character development from him either but he also seems to be the one who is (mostly) self-aware. Well, not always but still… There are some minor and major issues I do have with his character… First when he is introduced, working part-time and then suddenly leaves his workplace earlier because he got a call from his friend (not even for an emergency but something trivial)… and then not just having this kind of lousy attitude but also after learning why his friend called him, not even mentioning that and asking… Like if it would have been an emergency maybe that’s not so bad but come on! I’m the last person on earth who wouldn’t want to leave work early but this kind of irresponsibility as minor as it seems… I don’t know it’s just not a good quality. They tried to play it off as “You can’t trust kids these days” but there surely are kids who wouldn’t do that unless it’s a real emergency (you could say maybe he is a loyal friend but I don’t even think that’s the case, considering where this movie goes).

Two major issues with Taku’s character are something else though. I do feel like it’s not good for a friendship to fall for the same person your friend loves (not to mention there is basically no good reason that happens) and you might think it’s something beyond a person’s control… which is true… But it reminded me of one of my favorite Korean movies where two friends (girls) also fall for the same guy (but it’s kind of a misunderstanding) but the way it’s handled later on even after the feelings were developed, is much, much better while here it’s never communicated properly. And even when Taku and Yutaka finally talk it out (later on and not even properly) it doesn’t seem genuine. While you could think maybe Taku did all these things for Rikako because he is just a nice guy, I don’t think that’s the case either. Which leads me to the biggest issue I have with his character… Because in the beginning he even states how when he first met Rikako he thought she would never see Yutaka’s true potential/ what great person he really is because she was probably superficial (which ironically exactly came true) but then he proceeds to fall for her… For NO REASON! Based on what? On her looks. Because nobody in this world could tell me it’s for her personality. So basically this movie is trying to tell us it’s not about looks when it’s exactly all it’s about in this particular story. And that’s probably what bothers me the most here.

There’s one word to describe Rikako’s character and it’s: insufferable.
She does not possess one redeeming quality and there is no reason for me or anyone else to think that these guys fell for something else than her looks which is portrayed as extraordinarily pretty. If she wouldn’t have looked like this they wouldn’t have fallen for her…
Of course in the beginning her personality was not obvious. It did bother me when everyone started to say “Oh, she is so different”… Yeah. Typical “She is not like other girls” but in a very, very bad way (not that the other female characters were likable but I’ll get to that eventually). Rikako is incredibly selfish, self-centered, manipulative, everything revolves around her and there is just so much I could add. I really, really tried to look for some good or redeeming qualities in her or even waited for some sort of character development but it never came. And if she did change until the day of the reunion (because for the audience it was hard to tell) there was no chance we would know by just the simple statement of one supporting character saying they met and both had realized how small their worlds had been at that time. Yet both characters are put on the same level when they never were. The movie tried to excuse Rikako’s behavior and attitude with her difficult family situation but as hard as it is to have a torn family, it’s not an excuse to be a spoiled brat and exploit people as she did. There was not a single reason or scene that indicated how and when Taku or even Yutaka could have fallen for her and I just don’t get it… Everything she did and said just made me dislike her even more. If that was the goal of the movie then we have another masterpiece. But I have the feeling that’s not the case… When she rejected Yutaka it was because of his dialect. Sure! If that’s not superficial, I don’t know…

As for the female supporting characters they were not exactly great either but I never felt Akiko was hostile or hated Rikako from the very beginning up until she said it herself during the reunion. To me it seemed more like she tried on several occasions to speak to Rikako and help her so she could include herself more in the class and adapt more easily. Even when she and the other girls confronted her during the school festival for her lack of involvement I didn’t feel they were in the wrong. It wasn’t even like they were bullying her or saying mean stuff. All they did was telling the truth. It might not have been the best approach to tell her off like this but they were honestly not in the wrong for doing so. Of course there might have been girls talking behind her back because Rikako was a good student and because she’s pretty and they might have been jealous. But you can’t tell me that all of them had bad intentions or didn’t try to include her. But of course just because Akiko said so she’s suddenly put on the same level despite the movie showing us something entirely different. And then there’s Yumi… who might have been a pushover but she was another of Rikako’s victims, yet it was as if they wanted to show us “She has one friend, so she can’t be that bad” but still everything Rikako did to her was selfish as well.

It’s been long since there was a female character I disliked as much as Rikako… Much less in any Ghibli movie I watched so far.

Animation/Music 8/10
Compared to other Studio Ghibli movies, it also lacked a little in that area but these were still the aspects that kept me going (that and my hope for the FMC to redeem herself somehow or to realize she has to change). And I kind of liked the artstyle and atmosphere more than I thought I would.

Overall 4/10
Would I recommend this movie? If you really want to watch all Studio Ghibli movies… Maybe. I don’t know what exactly they were going for with this but I have yet to find another Ghibli movie with a character so insufferable and unlikable it made me want to write a review (even though I don’t like writing negative reviews, much less on a Studio Ghibli movie). The best thing I took from watching this movie, is probably another proof how characters are the essence of every story (in one way or another). And that there are well-written and not so well-written characters out there. Unfortunately in this case it’s the latter (and that’s an understatement). I’m still glad I watched it and I won’t be wondering if all these negative reviews are exaggerating (they are not, most of them are almost too nice).

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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Jan 19, 2024

Mr_Richards

Not Recommended

Rikako is a petty arrogant child who treats both Taku with very little consideration, yet the viewers are supposed to believe there's a love going on and the moments they spend together were happy, despite Rikako's gaslighting, insults, manipulation and obvious contempt. It bothers me how our two protagonists hate each other, but the movie tries to trick you into believing the opposite, but to no avail.

89% on Rotten Tomatoes and 73 critic score on metacritic. WHY?!
Any romantic anime recommendations are appreciated. I need something to wash away the bad taste Umi ga Kikoeru left in my mouth.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Umi ga Kikoeru Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 ) Veethorn - Nov 8, 2009	95 replies	by shirley1994 »» Jun 27, 3:58 AM
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