-Written by John Cajio.
Ocean Waves is a film that mostly does not suck. Ocean Waves is a film that was made for television on a cheaper budget by the younger, less experienced staff at Studio Ghibli. Written by Keiko Niwa and directed by Tomomi Mochizuki, without any apparent input from the studio’s already legendary filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata, Ocean Waves largely succeeds thanks to a brisk 73-minute runtime and a heartfelt coming-of-age tale.
Ocean Waves follows the perspective of Taku Morisaki (Nobuo Tobita) as he deals with a burgeoning “will they?” sort of relationship with new transfer student Rikako Muto (Yōko Sakamoto). Caught in the middle is Taku’s best friend, Yatuka Matsuno (Toshihiko Seki), who becomes absolutely smitten with Rikako.
Ocean Waves is a film about teenagers, and the often foolish choices that teenagers make. Rikako, for example, quickly becomes isolated from the rest of her peers upon her arrival in Kochi from Tokyo. Part of this is due to her vaulting straight to the top of the class academically while trouncing the other girls athletically. She’s also an exceptionally attractive girl, so the boys are tongue-tied around her while they simultaneously objectify her whenever she’s not in earshot. In short, she intimidates her classmates with her natural gifts. And Rikako not only does nothing to dispel things by being friendly and warm, she doubles down by being cold and arrogant, driving them all further away.
Yatuka and Taku are the only boys observed to really try to talk to Rikako. But Yatuka is so taken with her that it doesn’t matter how poorly she may treat him; he’ll always defend her like he is her white knight in shining armor. Taku is the only one that tries to take her down a peg or two, but even he makes baffling choices like loaning her a ton of money after just one conversation or making a last second decision to accompany her on a disastrous trip to Tokyo.
As an adult, it’s frustrating to watch them make these choices. But as a teacher that works extensively with teenagers, it also all very much tracks. It’s a frustratingly accurate portrayal of teenagers and the dumb choices they frequently make that they think are smart choices.
It all comes together in the end, as many Studio Ghibli films do. The film’s epilogue takes place a few years later and puts a nice button on everything. It may be a bit predictable, but it feels earned.
Art direction and design is an area that hurts Ocean Waves. The lower budget in place for this film is evident in plain and uninteresting character designs. Too many characters look like clones of one another. I was occasionally confused by the designs between Rikako and the one female friend that she does eventually make, Yumi (Kae Araki), for example.
More attention was given to the characters than to the backgrounds. The backgrounds, while showing much of that Studio Ghibli potential for rich and vibrant detail, more closely resemble sketches—very good sketches—but sketches nonetheless. Meanwhile, the characters show much greater detail and clarity, so there is a constant visual disconnect. It is also evident that fewer animation frames were drawn to illustrate actions than we are used to seeing from the vaunted studio. All of these hold back the film.
Ocean Waves was crafted on a smaller budget by younger, less experienced staff. But it’s still a Studio Ghibli film. And that counts for quite a bit here. There’s a strong coming-of-age romance story that’s worth experiencing.
One last thing to note: as of this writing, there is no English dub available, so the only way to experience Ocean Waves as an English-language viewer is in the original Japanese with English subtitles. For anime “purists,” that’s usually the preferred way to watch anyway, but folks who prefer an English dub should know that there isn’t one available here.
Directed by Tomomi Mochizuki.
Written by Keiko Niwa.
Starring Nobuo Tobita, Yōko Sakamoto, Toshihiko Seki, Kae Araki, etc.
6.5/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE (IT MOSTLY DOES NOT SUCK)
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