Ocean Waves (1993)
…………………………………………………
Ocean Waves Movie Review
Ocean Waves is a 1993 teen anime film. It is the only TV movie from Studio Ghibli and admittedly one of their weakest efforts.
………………………………………………….
“And that’s when I knew…
I’d always been crazy for her“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
The film has a very standard teen story which is basically a triangle between two male friends and a girl whom they both get infatuated with. I do not get triangles, I find them annoying and this movie is no exception. That entire conflict between the three felt overly familiar, typical and pretty boring.
The film does get teenagers meaning that it portrays them somewhat realistically and especially their messy relationships and interactions within the school. The highlight for me was the ending as it explored and showcased nostalgia superbly and I just loved both that dock scene which is so well shot and the final scene which is very powerful.
The movie did succeed cinematically in its third act, but the rest of it was pretty uninspired and I could see that it was made for television as it was both technically uninspired and pretty average in terms of story and characterization.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Speaking of the characters, they are a nuisance and a big problem the film just never overcame. All of these characters are somewhat unlikable and thus I could not care for them. Taku and Yutaka are somewhat unlikable at times and mostly just boring, but Rikako herself is very annoying and bitchy. She is especially unsympathetic toward everyone in the film and it is thus difficult to get behind her and the boys’ infatuation with her.
Ocean Waves was made by younger creators at Studio Ghibli and is the first film from the studio with no involvement from either Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata. And it shows unfortunately as Tomomi Mochizuki just could never compete with those two genius directors. His direction here is pretty pedestrian and he does nothing inspired or interesting with this average material.
The anime is very well acted, on the other hand. Everyone did a good job in their roles. The film is also very well scored and I really liked some of the symphonic pieces here and there, especially in the third moving act. I wish the rest of the film was as emotional or as memorable as that last third. The film is short, but still somewhat prolonged for its very thin plot.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
The animation is actually pretty solid. Now obviously this is the weakest animated Studio Ghibli film but it is not fair to compare it to the rest of their pantheon as it is the only TV movie and thus it lacked in terms of budget. But I have to congratulate them for making an above average TV film as the animation is very strong for television standards and at times even quite beautiful.
It is difficult comparing Ocean Waves to the theatrical Ghibli releases and that is why I did not include this film in my ranking of all their films. If I had to rank it, it would be somewhere near the bottom of the list as it is pretty much the same in terms of flaws and strengths as ‘From Up on Poppy Hill’. But then again I do not wish to compare it as it doesn’t belong in the theatrical category.
Ocean Waves has a pretty strong third act with some moving scenes and a memorable take on nostalgia. It is also very well scored and animated as it looks especially strong for television standards. However, the plot is your standard teen story with a boring love triangle and somewhat unlikable characters. It’s not a bad film, but it’s definitely one of Ghibli’s weakest efforts.
