Umi ga Kikoeru

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.

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.

This movie is about a girl who is a terrible human being and is very entitled and self-absorbed. She drags a lot of people down with her and her only real positive is being smart and getting very good grades. Two guys spot her and both like her, for whatever reason. Maybe they are major masochists? Seems more like they are just terrible people as well from this movie. If you compare this televised Ghibli film's art style to that of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Only Yesterday and Porco Rosso, it looks terrible. All of these films, in addition, came out before it, so I personally believe the quality was very poor. The music is... alright? The sound effects are pretty bad and the music is just okay. Overall, I personally would not recommend this movie and don't actually think it is any good, and this is coming from a fan of the genre and a massive Ghibli fan as well.

Great movie, I think i will find myself returning to it in a couple of months or so. I like the characters, some may say they aren't the best cast but I think otherwise. I was expecting a different side to the ending in all honesty, I felt satisfied with its conclusion unlike other films I have previously watched, then again I don't watch many films due to the fact that I drop most, this one just caught my attention somehow. It is definitely going in my favorite list and would recommend. I was not recommend to watch this movie i simply found it out as I was digging and it so happened to catch my eye, believe it was worth the watch, I may consider purchasing the novel even if it costs me a kidney 🥲

To make it really short: this movie is full of simps. 2, at least. The two male protagonists act really irrational at times, especially the main one (forgot his name, the one without glasses), and while I could forgive them if the girl of their interest was the most perfect person or extraordinarily beautiful, that was certainly not the case. Although she was constantly being described as being the most beautiful and standing out a whole bunch academically, her design was super generic and she didn't get to prove any of her supposedly qualities to the audience. On top of it, which was actually the most infuriating aspect of this watch, her personality was absolute trash: selfish, harsh, mean, exploitative, manipulative, narcissistic, the list goes on. Which made it even more incomprehensible when the main character finally admitted to himself that he had actually fallen for her. I legit was sighing loudly at the screen and made a big ol' facepalm. So no, this movie was not enjoyable to watch from a romance point of view, it was more frustrating to see everyone just do what the main girl wanted. I guess the most understandable people in the whole movie were the girl bullies/female classmates, because honestly, as bad as this sounds, they had a fair point in being angry at the main girl. Overall, the art of course was beautiful (as expected from Studio Ghibli) and I guess the story at least had good pacing and the usual nice visuals. I do understand now though why I had never heard of this movie before.

This movie was very disappointing. As expected of studio ghibli, art and sound was amazing... but the plot was horrible. The ending was very out of context. I was hoping in the end where yutaka and taku were in the seaside taku would come to realize his feelings for him since he did everything for rikako just because yutaka likes her. From the beginning it's seen that taku looks at yutaka differently... and special. I did not expect for taku to be ""crazy"" over rikako considering how she treated him like shit over and over again. It was very out of character ad context.

It's hard to write about this movie because functionally nothing happens. What is painted as a realistic high school romance ends up being a collection of five or so drabbles which do little to advance its characters, themes, or overarching plot. I kept waiting for the moment in which the two leads would finally share an emotional scene that delivered on the premise of the movie, but ended up with the best friend character just saying "by the way, you guys have liked each other the whole time." As a Ghibli film, the art and sound are expectedly good, but there aren't many chances to really flex either aspect as no scene particularly calls for impressive sakuga or instrumentation. Ultimately, all I can say is that both the art and music are technically sound, but not overly impressive. Character-wise, I liked Taku and thought that, in another movie, he could have been a fun, interesting protagonist and mostly enjoyed his interactions with Yutaka (save for their contrived confrontation near the end of the film.) The background characters are perfectly serviceable as well, though there aren't any standout examples. What takes the character section from a 5 or 6/10 to a 3 is Rikako herself. Throughout the movie, she was meant to be seen as a tragic, misunderstood character with a strong, independent attitude, but anyone who can actually see or hear probably won't feel the same way. Throughout the movie, she is seen taking advantage of Taku's generosity and her only friend's kindness in order to go on a trip that accomplishes absolutely nothing, getting pissy at Taku for no legitimate reason, slapping Taku for the same illegitimate reason, and finally hitting Taku one more time just for good measure after he decided not to get involved with a situation he had nothing to do with. However, at the resolution of the movie you're expected to forget all of that and accept that these two have a genuine, strong romantic bond. Overall, even though I have a lot of gripes with Rikako and the "plot" as a whole, I can't say that this movie is offensively bad. It's hard to explain, but even with those significant faults I at the very least enjoyed the look, sound, and atmosphere of the movie to the point that I didn't get bored while watching. That doesn't mean it's good by any means, but just the definition of average.

I have to say that Ocean waves is truly one of the most underrated movies to be honest. When I watch it I felt like I was back in school wondering what is gonna happen next. The feelings to the music were ones I never thought I'd feel again. From the school to the houses to the places that were shown in the movies. Even the main characters are believable and seeing how far their feelings go are truly understandable to a 'T'. The love part of the story is understandable but also you can see where it came from. trust me when I saw that if you are a fan of summer wars then you'll love this movie with its's feels.

After watching the anime I immediately went on MAL to rate the movie and I just could not believe the ratings for this show. Personally, I think Ocean Waves deserves more love and appreciation from its viewers. Yes, this anime does not have a complex love story to tell, it does not have those emotional, heart-warming, heart-wrenching scenes and it does not have the kind of romance that is popular in medias but that's what makes this show shine all the more. You rarely see this kind of anime where everything is calm and relaxing but enjoyable at the same time. I like how the personality of each character is so relatable and also the portrayal of their growth in the last parts of the show. I always held Studio Ghibli's soundtracks in high respect and they never failed to deliver. I was especially surprised when our main characters finally met at the train station during the final moments of the show. I thought the bgm was going to be emotional but it turns out to be bubbly and playful. Overall this anime was a nice break from all those mainstream shows I watched. I totally recommend it if you want an anime that does not take a toll on your emotional and mental health.

Ocean Waves gives the feeling of typical teenagers. Realistic, calming, and understandable. The characters are simple but likable, with each character's point of view touched upon at one point or another during the movie. The story had no particular twists or turns, just a matter of fact- "this can happen to you" type feel. I'm personally not a huge fan of the soft, 90's animation style. The characters always seem fuzzy and not as expressive as I'd like, which is why I gave it a 6/10. The OST was fitting for the storyline and allowed for nice visualization. Overall, it was good.

Movie is too short and romance doesn't make any sense. This film is supposed to be a love-triangle. Unfortunately, it's just a 1-hour nostalgia-bait where three people occasionally give updates about the other person. The story follows two highschool friends in Kochi, Japan. After a Tokyo girl transfers to their school, Taku needs to sort out his feelings for the sake of his bestfriend. Atleast, that's what the movie is supposed to be about. In reality, the film centers on this stuck-up chick with family issues. She tricks Taku into lending her money, then Taku realizes he's in-love with her. What? Just an fyi, this girl has no other endearing traits besides being stuck-up and manipulative. She takes advantage of people, then she ignores them. There was nothing in the movie that indicated any sort of romance between the three MCs. There was nothing in the movie that indicated any sort of jealousy, conflict, or tension between the two boys. Everybody just slaps each other for no reason. The longer you watch this movie, the more you realize how shitty of a person Rikako is, and how half-written Taku and Yutaka's friendship is. Maybe if the film was longer we'd actually see more character development. We'd have more time to flesh out Rikako's family issues, or maybe create tension between Taku and Yutaka. Unfortunately, the movie just "rushes" towards the end with scarcely any character development. It barely gives any context beyond school gossips, face slaps, and class reunions. The only thing appealing about this film is its 90s aesthetic and soundtrack. But for a Ghibli film, this was a major disappointment.

Watching a 1993's movie in the year 2022 made me feel i went back in time, purely a time traveling experience. Story-(6/10) Its a story about Taku, Rikako and Yutaka. Rikako being a transfer student from Tokyo. Its a story of how Rikako impacts their life especially Taku in chaotic and dramatic ways. I didn't feel like there was a solid plot to it, its mostly documents their life from college to their graduation and ends at reunion with some random events taking place in between. Art-(10/10) Let me be honest, this movie is nothing without its art, its pure aesthetic even after 30 years so yes the art and animation has actually passed the test of times. It has some great attention to details which some of the modern movies lack. well this is Ghibli, you cant expect any less. From sceneries to characters, its top class. Sound-(7/10) I don't have much to say about the sound to be honest, there was nothing bad about it neither there was anything exceptionally outstanding. it was perfect for the scenes and moods as far i remember. and voice actors really did their part, impeccable. character-(6/10) Personally i felt this move was centric around 2 characters, yea there was the 3rd but he wasn't the "main" main you know? Taku was too good to be real but at the same time he was decent character, so no complaints there. It was great to see him progress as person, moving to Tokyo as he graduated and holding no resentment against his friend. Rikako was a stand out character, you can say the movie revolved around her, a bit too much in my opinion. She played the character of self centered, spoiled and troublesome daughter perfectly. its a pity they didn't dive more into her character. As for the side characters, they don't really matter much in this movie, there was no attempt to bring them it which is quite understandable if you look at movie duration. overall-(7/10) I will recommend this to you if you have really nothing else to do or if you just wanna relax without thinking what's happening in the plot. Its not your typical Ghibli Movie, its really different compared to others, there's no fantasy element to it but slice of life, school drama with a pinch of romance. And a lots of beautiful aesthetic. Characters could be relatable if you had any problematic girl in your life XD, you might get bored or you might be in awe with the art style. Movie duration is perfect for a watch so you wont have to suffer for long. in my case I enjoyed it, its definitely better than the overall ratings it has on MAL. I guess that's it for the review, I know its not good enough but i will try to improve as I progress, thank you for reading <3

I’m sorry, but this movie sucked. Please don’t watch it. There is absolutely nothing to it. Nothing. Chick moves to school, is an absolute snob, standoff b*tch and then complains, wondering “why don’t I have any friends, woe is me, it’s so not fair.” With this, after mocking his accent, she takes advantage of the protagonist by lying about losing her money so she can ask him for his after having learned he probably has enough because he was working. Get this- she was even dishonest and used the god d*mn money to buy a f*cking plane ticket to Tokyo, deceiving her only friend who chickens out forcing the protagonist to tag along with her out of pity. Her father is kind enough to get him a hotel room! Not that it mattered because c*nt ass whore fell asleep on his bed drunk forcing him to sleep in the bathtub after having dragged him all the f*cling way out there. Then, first thing in the morning, she kicks him out to go show off to her ex from highschool. Peachy. You then learn that the movies explanation for why she is the way she is is because of a nasty divorce. And yeah, that does suck, been there done that, but good lord what a lazy, underwhelming and underdeveloped excuse for such a despicable character. This is only halfway through the movie. It gets worse, but you get it. Now you may be thinking, “well, highschool kids are real jerks. This must have some story or message that allows the watcher to gain a larger understanding of a story that expresses a part of human nature.” - or something like that. There must be a bigger meaning here? Well, maybe there was. But holy sh*t, there was absolutely nothing to show it. None of the characters got developed in the slightest. The protagonist kept taking her abuse, she kept abusing, and the protagonists best friend kept fawning over her. There was absolutely no change. Even though she was absolutely AWFUL to the protagonist and his friend, they fell for her anyways. Even though they had hardly any pleasant history, the protagonist claims he was “always crazy for her” with absolutely no elaboration. Why???? Did her slapping u turn u on?? Nothing. Nothing. When he half-opacity reminisces about their history together all of it was her being a complete b*tch, because that is all she ever was on screen. Truly ironic. I think the reason I am only so upset about this is because I LOVE studio Ghibli and this is really a let down. Though, of course, they managed to pull through with beautiful animation. Nice, soft, pastel post-war Japan. Aesthetically pleasing, sure. But even the art doesn’t particularly stand out among other Ghibli movies, so I am unsure of whether this should actually score it points. I’m conclusion: don’t waste your time. go watch from up on poppy hill or the wind rises instead, lol. at least those have a discernible message, an actual plot, and won’t make you rip your hair out in frustration.

Ok... LOL STORY The first "focus" of the story is about Taku's (the preotagonist) interpretation of Yutaka (his best friend) falling for Rikako, a girl who'd just moved to Kochi (the city the story is set in) and entered their school. Plus, Taku's life and why he wanted to go on a school vacation. The second "focus" of the story is on the school vacation, Rikako asking Taku for some cash (LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) cuz apparently Yutaka had told Rikako that Taku had been working part time jobs (Because he wanted to go on a school vacation). The third "focus" of the story starts with Taku unravelling reason why the Rikako asked him for money and why she still hadn't given it back to him. Ok, this "focus" is basically about Rikako's life. We (the audience) find out about how Rikako'd lived before moving to Kochi. (For the shoujo fans, this "focus" explains how/ why Rikako fell in love with Taku) The fourth "focus" of the story. Taku and Rikako comes back and goes back to their normal relationship (Yall must not forget relationship =/= feelings cuz they'd most likely already developed feelings for each other. It's not story that is badly written. It's usually how highschoolers are). Yutaka finds out about their trip to Tokyo and admits to Taku that he'd already gotten rejected. Taku rushes to meet Rikako and tell her that she shouldn't have told Yutaku that they had stayed in the same hotel. Fifth "focus". About Rikako being isolated. Rikako gets in a confliction with her classmates. Taku was punched/slapped by Yutaka/Rikako cuz he'd been just observing when Rikako was being (kinda) bullied. So, the final "focus of the story is a class? reunion (more like the graduates of the same year as Taku and Yutaka reuniting). Basically whole bunch of nothing (JUST LIKE IN REAL LIFE). Taku and Rikako stares at each other and the story ends there. 10/10 Everything flows smoothly. ART/SOUND This is a Ghibli film. 10/10 CHARACTERS Personally, the characters almost seemed reminiscent to me. You can empathize with the characters. If yall mfs expected a tragic backstory, yall dumb af. This is a story about highschoolers. You mfs not finding problems with characters in other story and finding problems with this one is buffling to me. 10/10 ENJOYMENT 10/10 OVERALL 10/10 cuz this is how a story about highschoolers should be. This is some real stuff lmao

The Ocean Waves seems to be a less enjoyed film from the Ghibli repertoire, and going in with that knowledge it certainly coloured my perspective but even with that I came out enjoying the movie because the director even though he lacked some clarity I think had his finger on the pulse of this sort of nostalgic feeling, romance that you look back on fondly. Romance in high school (in real life, and especially with Japanese culture considered) is ridiculous, and unnecessarily complex because at that age everyone has blind spots and I think this movie portrays that well. Now one reason, It seems people dislike this movie is summed up as "Rikako is a cunt." I even went in expecting that and it was the complete opposite! The way she acts makes sense with the context of what she is going through. Which is primarily why I wrote this review, to dispel that belief a little. ------------------------------------------ Spoiler Free Conclusion ------------------------------------------ I give it a 7/10 overall. There are improvements that could be made by fleshing out some characters a bit more but I think it mostly succeeds in the story it aims to tell. You just might have to think about it a bit more to fully understand the dynamic. It certainly could have been made a bit more easily understandable and relatable. ------------------------------------------ [Spoilers Begin] ------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------ Rikako's Issues ------------------------------------------ Rikako is going through a difficult time in her life. She was forced to move from the big city Tokyo to small town Kochi which meant a big lifestyle change in addition to losing her friends, changing schools etc... She then struggles to understand the dialect in Kochi and it hurts her ability to fit in; Which ends up being a problem that persists throughout her entire high school life. The reason she moved is because her parents had a messy divorce and even though she and her father were on the same side in the divorce he didn't fight to let her stay with him and keep her life intact. Furthermore, it is heavily implied he very quickly entered another relationship, and this may be the reason he chose to let her move with her mother. She simply feels betrayed by her family. Her Mother for uprooting her and her Father for not standing up for her. So, she lives alone from her Mother in Kochi. She also has no friends because she has a hard time fitting in. Being isolated like this makes it easy to lash out, especially as a teenager. Which explains most of her interactions. ------------------------------------------ Character Relationships ------------------------------------------ Then we have Morisaki who’s close friend Yutaka has a major crush on Rikako and out of loyalty to him he does his best not to make any moves on her even though he has seriously fallen for her (whether he realizes it or not). Morisaki ends up having to escort Rikako to Tokyo so Rikako can visit her Father whom she misses and planned to visit (by plane) without her mothers consent. This visit goes badly, and she does not stay with her Father that night and they end up staying together in a hotel. Rikako then confides her deeply personal (and painfully recent) history with Morisaki and he comforts her (sparingly, out of loyalty). Rikako tries to impress him the next day by showing off her old boyfriend but Morisaki calls her out on the stupidity of the situation and she agrees it was stupid. After this point it's clear Rikako likes Morisaki, probably due to his level head and for being able to call her out on her stupid attempt to impress him. He also is somebody she trusts and is one of the only people to have been kind to her in Kochi. I think she also know he likes her back too at this point. That makes it even more frustrating when he refuses to reciprocate out of continued loyalty to Matsuno. So now she just feels worse, she is so close to somebody but cannot reach out to them. She probably feels even more isolated, maybe humiliated even for sharing her life and having a vulnerable moment with him. Then Matsuno confesses to her. I think it's clear now why she acts harshly to this. She knows that he is the reason Morisaki is steering clear of her, and so when he confesses to her she tells him, she hates him and Kochi and everyone from here. Then Matsuno tells this to Morisaki and he gets incredibly angry at Rikako for doing this to his friend and he storms away to talk to her. They have a big public fight at school, and he yells at her basically defending himself (from the rumours about sleeping together in Tokyo) and his friend from her words. She slaps him and he slaps her back then she tells him before leaving "You're such a loyal friend! Satisfied?" ------------------------------------------ Final School Scene ------------------------------------------ Then everything explodes once more soon after. Rikako isolates herself further not participating in school events and such. Which results in her getting ganged up on by the other girls for not helping in the school festival events. Morisaki witnesses this and afterwards tells her sarcastically that she was impressive standing up to them and making one of them cry. This hurts and angers Rikako because from her perspective he should understand why it is so difficult for her, and that she likes him. So, she slaps him (again) and runs off crying. Matsuno sees Rikako running away crying and finds Morisaki who he asks what happened. Morisaki says she got scolded by her classmates and she stood up to them. He gets angry that Morisaki didn't step in for her and punches him to the floor. Matsuno did this because (as explained later) he realized at that moment that Morisaki has been holding back on his behalf, and in a moment of anger and frustration at himself for not realizing this, he punches him. Morisaki is left feeling confused Rikako’s reaction, (because he fails to see she likes him) and further confused at Matsuno’s reaction of sudden anger. At their age we are all so focused on ourselves and can't see beyond that. Every character had blind spots. (Rikako’s being that she should have realized lashing out would not improve her situation, as hard as it is to stop. And she could have been more direct.) ------------------------------------------ Conclusion of Film / Theme ------------------------------------------ In the end Morisaki and Rikako meet up in Tokyo after the class reunion and likely end up together. At this point they have both grown up and can see the faults of the past clearly. There is also a small theme of how it's so difficult to go through life when your world is so small, and you lack perspective. A classmate that didn't like Rikako in high school commented at the reunion "It's kind of like changing seats. When you are little and must sit next to someone you hate, you do not even want to go to school. The problem is your world is too small. If you have something other than school, like piano lessons, people you dislike aren't a problem." It just shows how differently you act when you're older and you realize the world is bigger than just what you see, and how little some things matter. It is a pretty surface level observation, but it is applicable to how people treat each other and make a big deal of rumours and such during that period of their lives. As I said it's a bit of a shallow observation so I think it could have been implemented a bit better but perhaps that's partly the translations fault. ------------------------------------------ Final Score & Thoughts ------------------------------------------ In conclusion, I give this film a 7/10 which is above the average 6.67/10 it has currently (which is rare for me). I think there is a lot of room to make this more easily relatable and understandable without analyzing it so deeply. I also think Morisaki’s character could have …

Spoilers ahead! I had not heard of this movie until i stumbled across it on netflix and i was surprised to learn that it is a Studio Ghibli and at first glance you could be forgiven for not thinking it wasn't Ghibli as it doesn't have that trademark Ghibli animation. Unfortunately it is also missing Ghibli's fantastic story telling and charm. We follow Taku Morisaki a pretty normal small town highschool guy. Everything is normal until the big town and down right b**ch Rikako Muto transfers to school. She pretty much avoids everyone and does nothing to fit in or hardly speaks to anyone. They take a school trip to hawaii where Muto speaks to Taku and asks him for money right away which he very stupidly gives to her along with his friend who is just as stupid. Later we find out this money is being used to let Muto go to Tokyo to see her father and she wants to drag her new friend along regardless of how her friend feels about it. The friend calls Taku who shows up to try and stop her only to end up taking the friends place and head to Tokyo with a girl he has hardly spoken to. They proceed to have a bad time n the trip and return home and end up fighting which includes them both hitting each other. You can clearly see how this is a blossoming romance. . . . . Taku seems like a decent guy and why he falls for a selfish girl that treats everyone like trash is a mystery me even going as far as to apply for collage in Tokyo to go and look for her. For me Muto ruins this movie and its a real shame as it looks very nice for a 1993 release and i was really hoping to find a hidden gem here but it just wasn't to be thankfully it is short so its not a bad watch if you want some decent 90s animation and a story that while has a awful lead isn't bad enough to ruin your day. If you want to watch it to tick off your Ghibli check list then by all means watch it and move on. I just wouldn't watch it again 5/10

This review contains minor spoilers Ok so here's the deal. This movie is just plain shit, I don't understand what kind of lesson(s) they're trying to give out to the audience but I didn't receive any awe from this movie whatsoever. First of all, wtf is this story? The beginning was ok because it seemed like one of those relaxed movies that I can get into a good mood after watching it. But now I'm just confused as to what this movie wanted to offer. Second, why are the characters so gullible in this animation? I know it's just a lil ghibli studio movie that I can watch without thinking much of, but who the hell lends an almost stranger a shit ton of money, then goes to some other bigass town on a damn PLANE with them just because for the sake of it?? It doesn't make no god damn sense. Lastly, it's just shit man. I don't know how else i would put it. I know it's an old movie and all but they really didn't put much thought into this one when they were making it. Also the main character chick is slightly racist lol Anyway it was a waste of my time.

Now don't let the rating of this on MAL fool you!! This was really good! If there's anything I've learnt from my recent anime movie watches on MAL, it's that the ratings can absolutely be misleading!! So glad I went with my gut and decided to find out for myself with each movie I've watched recently. If the synopsis appeals to you, check it out! Regardless of the overall score. You never know if a diamond is sleeping in the rough of poor user ratings on MAL (sincerely no offense to the users) This was a lovely coming of age story about two friends and a girl who came into their lives and tested their friendship. Now if you're thinking that this is one of those angst filled love triangle type of stories that just make you tired with all the back and forth drama, then you might be glad to hear that it is not! On the contrary it takes you on a calm peaceful journey as we watch these 3 interact. And at the end it leaves you feeling really warm and satisfied. The art has that old anime art charm that induces happy calming hormones, the sound fits perfectly with the slice of life nature of the story and the character development is astounding for the duration of a movie (a very good thing). So if you are looking for something calm, relaxing and entertaining, then I highly recommend this! It's mature, well-paced and light. Loved it!!

“Come back when you’re in the top 100! But I’m at 89 already!” The aesthetic of this film is extremely crisp. Everything from the beautiful animation (as to be expected from Ghibli, even if it’s one of their b-teams) to the elegant soundtrack, filled with flowing flutes and playful keyboard sections. The colors are all soothing to the eye, and the outfits are SPECTACULAR and honestly probably nail most of the film’s aesthetic down to what it became. Even the framing does some unique techniques, using a white border to frame a smaller screen of the animation from time to time. All of these aspects come together to give off a comforting “slice-of-life” feeling that you don’t find that often in current day media. The main characters, Taku and Rikako, are also both pretty fantastic. Rikako is very dense, and has too many layers for Taku to really understand her on a decent level, and doesn’t really get a grasp of what he was clueless on until he’s an adult. Taku is very straight to the point and scarce, and doesn’t exactly look into the deeper issues he faces, instead going more off of the face value of it. These characters clash, and it should be more memorable, but unfortunately it’s not. Ocean Waves feels like it’s missing substance at times when it tries to introduce further drama into this relationship. These characters are great, but the plot is a bit too nonsensical and sloppy to embody them. Ocean Waves is most comparable to a late night drive for me. Sure, it’s enjoyable in the present, but how much of this experience will you really remember? Maybe a couple standout things, but both deliver a similar promise: to relax the mind and unwind a bit while partaking in both. Even after just finishing it, I can only remember the few great things about this film, but the melodramatic, and almost mindless plot become distracting as the film comes to a close. Once you realize you only have about 10 minutes, you say to yourself “Really? That’s all? I was feeling comfortable where I was at, but now I’m being thrown off with little conclusion to walk away with?” While the film does have a decent ending, it just feels weakened from how little it did to build up to this state. I think another 15 minutes detailing more info on Taku and Rikako’s interactions would have made this feel a bit more worthwhile. Otherwise, a pretty enjoyable experience I suppose. It had some small editing issues here and there, but they’re small enough to be forgivable. It’s aesthetic is strong enough to get through the film by just taking in how gorgeous some parts of it look. Perfect is too much, but calling it unique feels more proper. Strong 6 to a light 7!

Mediocre. That's the best term to describe this anime movie. I came into it expecting a love triangle romance, and instead walked out with a bitter taste of disappointment and confusion. The main character's love interest is a snobby, selfish, downright manipulative individual, yet the movie somehow manages to frame it as desirable to the main protagonist. Why would anyone find a person like that desirable, especially years after high school? Are the main protagonist's standards so low that he'd settle for such a manipulative person? Instead of developing a stronger romantic bond between the main character and the love interest, Umi ga Kikoeru instead ham-fists an impromptu escapade to Tokyo and calls it character development. Anyone that has any familiarity with the romance genre will likely come to the same conclusion: there is seldom romance here, and whatever romance that is presented and developed between characters are contrived and stretched to a point of confusion. While excelling in art and sound, Umi ga Kikoeru is lacking heavily in an interesting portrayal of teen romance. Although the movie is a product of its time period, it was likely made with a specific audience in mind, one that desires a run-of-the-mill romance plot with some kind of resolution at the end. If the viewer's desire is a flat plot with beautiful art and music, then this is a great waste of an hour and some change. This anime could've been greatly improved by fleshing out the dynamic between Taku and Yutaka. Early on in the show, Taku reflects "Ever since then, I've always thought of Yutaka differently from others." Although this line can be interpreted in many ways, this seems to hint at a deeper connection between Yutaka and Taku that could've been focused on more in the anime. Perhaps Taku had feelings for Yutaka but then fell in love with Rikako. Unfortunately, this is probably my attempt at making this anime movie more interesting. Final Score: 3/10