![]() It happens early on in the film, when Taku, the insecure protagonist, recalls in a series of flashbacks his first meeting with his best friend Yutaka, a serious and somewhat mysterious classmate. So I popped it on without much expectation for how it would stand up next to Ghibli's all-timers like Spirited Away or even similarly mundane coming-of-age classics like Whisper of the Heart. But as Ocean Waves lazily told its story of two high school boys whose close friendship would eventually be tested by the arrival of a new girl at their countryside school, something piqued my attention. But its absence never bothered me that much even among Ghibli aficionados, Ocean Waves is one of the lowest-rated films of the studio's 22 movies, and it's written off as the one made-for-TV movie that only hardcore Ghibli enthusiasts, and local Japanese residents, would have seen.īut in 2014, Ocean Waves finally received a Blu-ray restoration that made its way to the States, and in 2020, it was made available to stream for the first time ever on HBO Max. I was an avid Ghibli fan and eagerly bought all of the studio's films on DVD in my childhood, but Ocean Waves was the one gap in my collection. But while on the surface Ocean Waves is a film about two best friends stuck in a love triangle with a truly unlikable girl, the movie's theme of repressed teenaged angst unexpectedly becomes a fascinating ode to repressed sexuality.įor a long time, Ocean Waves eluded me. ![]() Ocean Waves is a wistful slice-of-life film so steeped in nostalgia that it may as well be shot entirely in sepia tones, with a paper-thin plot that is stretched over 72 slow-moving minutes. Why It's Essential Viewing: To be honest, the film that Studio Ghibli ended up making is far less interesting than the queer-coded film they accidentally made. But what those young Ghibli animators did manage to achieve sets Ocean Waves apart from the rest of the studio's filmography: they made Ghibli's most queer film. Ultimately, the experiment failed in the first two aspects - Ocean Waves went over budget and over schedule, airing on local television in 1993 to little fanfare. The sort of love story you don’t even realize is a love story until after the fact.(Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they've been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.) The Movie: Ocean Waves Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max The Pitch: In the early '90s, Studio Ghibli launched an unusual experiment: the studio gave its youngest animators, all in their twenties and thirties, a chance to make a cheap, quick film to show what they could achieve. Ocean Waves is, first and foremost, a drama in a minor key. However, those seeking the grandeur and fantastical elements of other Studio Ghibli films ought to temper their expectations. Still, Ocean Waves is a deeply charming and resonant look at the tug of longing that so often comes with memory, the utter mess of youth, and the beautiful delirium of love. In addition to that, the filmmakers translate this memory of the event to the audience in a jarring tonal shift. However, I think the film takes it further than this because it is in this interaction that Taku sees her differently and rejects her personality. She later admits she acted differently to impress the boyfriend. In this scene, Rikako takes on an irritating presence and behaves radically different than we’ve seen her previously. ![]() ![]() A great example of this is when Rikako meets her ex-boyfriend with Taku in Tokyo. The use of memory has a great framing device for this as how Taku reflects and reminisces on his time is exactly how the characters and events portray to the audience. Taku and Yutaka hanging out near the ocean One way in which the film portrays Taku’s reminiscing is through these stunning freeze frames in the center of the screen surrounded by a white border, sometimes varying in size. As he prepares to head back to his hometown of Kōchi for his school’s reunion. The framing device of the film is Taku reminiscing on his time spent with Rikako. It was animated by Studio Ghiblifor Tokuma Shoten and the Nippon Television Network.Īs he journeys back from Tokyo to his high school for a reunion, Taku Morisaki recounts his memories of his school days, focussing in particular on a love triangle that developed between him and two of his friends.Ī narrative about reminiscence and love – Ocean WavesĬentered around a love triangle between three high-school students Taku Morisaki, the main protagonist and narrator, his best friend Yutaka Matsuno, and newly transferred Rikako Muto. It’s based on the 1990-1992 novel of the same name by Saeko Himuro. Ocean Waves, known in Japan as I Can Hear the Sea, is a 1993 Japanese anime television film directed by Tomomi Mochizuki and written by Kaori Nakamura.
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