Ocean Waves (1993)

Ocean Waves (1993)

aka I Can Hear the Sea

Dir. Tomomi Mochizuki

Originally, I considered writing something for each of the Studio Ghibli feature films and presenting them in chronological order, but I'm not a completist and I don't like all of the films, so I'm skipping the ones that I don't want to watch again. Of the selection that remains, the next is the lesser-known Ocean Waves.

Produced by Studio Ghibli but made-for-television, it's a story about youth and maturity, set in a competitive Japanese high school environment and in the wider world.

The three main characters are friends Tako and Yutaka and the girl who turns both their heads, a transfer student named Rikako. She's self-centred and takes advantage of Tako's good nature, but that doesn't stop him pursuing her.

It felt somewhat uneventful while viewing, but after the credits had rolled, and I'd sufficiently pondered on what had occurred, I realised that a fair amount had actually happened, so I concluded instead that 'unassuming' or 'understated' would be more appropriate adjectives to describe its modest goals. And while it has no bearing on my feelings overall, it's interesting to note that it's Ghibli's shortest film, to date.