Dec 23, 2022
Oh my god this movie infatuated me; I don't normally write reviews on MAL but I feel like I have a fair bit to say on this.
Firstly, the animation. It's not as visually incredible as Ghibli's other works (e.g. Only Yesterday and My Neighbour Totoro came out before and take place in a similar style but have slightly nicer backdrops), and this is because with this film, Studio Ghibli let it be animated almost entirely by young new animators, which in my opinion I think is great because it gives them fantastic experience early on in their careers without hurting the animation too badly, since
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I still think it looks great. Moments like the scene with Taku and Yutaka wistfully looking at the sea from the pier is one of my favourite parts of the film. The entire vibe and aesthetic of moments like this and in general the whole movie is part of the reason I like this film so much, which takes me on to my next point.
A big theme of this film is definitely nostalgia, and is portrayed through the high school setting and protagonists and that is added to in recent years from the 90s nostalgic anime aesthetic. As a teenage high schooler myself though, I find this film to be more relatable than nostalgic; almost as if I'd probably make the exact same decisions as Taku does in the film.
Speaking of Taku, now on to the characters. This is most people's problem with the film as they find Taku and Yutaka boring and Rikako being unlikeable. I personally have no problem with this as all 3 feel like they'd be real characters. Most people in life don't have complicated problems like Rikako does and everyone knows a girl like her. However I do acknowledge and also admit that I think the film would've been better if the relationship between Taku and Yutaka was explored a bit more. They have very good chemistry and it is hinted at very heavily throughout the movie that they may have feelings for each other which is why I wish the ending was a bit more open ended with some possibility of a relationship between Taku and Yutaka. Either that or adding a few more scenes with Rikako acting more positively toward Taku, since near the end he reminisces over his time with Rikako while thinking about her and all of it is her being negative toward him; it's almost comical. Then again, I do suppose in real life end up falling for no clear reason and Rikako probably feels that Taku is the only one who somewhat understood her problems, which is why she was willing to go to Tokyo to find him. Furthermore, many high school relationships are a bit like this since teenagers like Rikako are yet to mature and realise the world doesn't revolve around their problems. It all adds to the realism and relatability of the film in my opinion.
But that's pretty much my only problem with it. The story is simple but works wonderfully. It's not trying to be something grand or super deep, it's just a laid back high school love story between 3 people. The score also reflects it perfectly of the mood of the film and the quiet sea side town that it is set in, being calming and nostalgic. One leitmotif from the main theme of the movie "If I could be the Ocean" is repeated often times throughout the film which perhaps reflects the repetitive but nostalgic high school life and the melancholy life of the town Kochi.
To finish off the review, I'll recap on the film's main theme: Nostalgia. It looks back to a time where the smallest school melodramas meant the end of the world. Even at the reunion scene at the end you can see people laughing at the things they used to worry about. Even if they were not all always happy and sometimes turbulent, it was still nevertheless a simpler time when their only concern was what others thought of them. This turbulence in the characters teenage years may even reflect the name of the film: Ocean Waves; how life flows back so simply and forth like the waves of an ocean. All in all, Studio Ghibli's most underrated film for sure.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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