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Ocean waves anime review1/10/2024 ![]() There's no extreme conflict or anything out of the ordinary that pops out in the movie it is the definition of the slice of life genre. Ocean Waves is not conventionally imaginative, it more so a simple story about the journey of a boy falling in love with a girl from Tokyo. Unlike Studio Ghibli's pieces like the critically acclaimed Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, Ocean Waves is definitely a hidden gem within legends. The film's refreshing rural setting and often stunning seaside backgrounds, along with its nostalgic early-nineties fashion choices, make this an eminently likable movie, if not an extremely memorable one. Whatever seemed of vital importance back then is a trifle now, and the people who you once swore eternal allegiance to are now distant, living their own lives in other cities. Few films zero in on the way that your world, and the people you see every day in high school, can completely change after graduation day. However, like most Ghibli films, it has a heartfelt and somewhat melancholy resolution. Regardless, it never really feels like we fully get to know any of these characters, perhaps because they're still fresh out of school when the story takes place, so there hasn't been much time for growth. Teenagers act out in sometimes callous or destructive ways, and the juvenile fighting and bickering of Ocean Waves is true to the high school experience. Many people reviewing this film have voiced their dislike for the female lead, not realizing that her unstable and manipulative nature is clearly borne from her family situation. Protagonists Morisaki and Muto are very believable as high school students, and often crass or emotionally clumsy in ways that feel real. Partway through the story, the focus shifts to the growing pains of young adulthood and the confusing pangs of first love, which completely sideline both Matsuno and the initial premise. The main reason why Ocean Waves doesn't make much of an impact is that it doesn't develop its core characters sufficiently Matsuno's entire character in particular, as well as his relationship to the two protagonists, is left woefully undeveloped. ![]() somewhat unnecessary love triangle between the protagonist, his best friend, and a beautiful but complicated transfer student. At the heart of the story, and what hurts it the most, is an ill-defined and However, Ocean Waves features college-aged characters reflecting on high school experiences, so everything is much more recent and compact. Like Takahata's masterful Only Yesterday, Ocean Waves features characters reflecting on their school experiences and the way they shaped them as adults. It's a refreshing coming-of-age story set against the picturesque backdrop of a seaside town. Still, I've never seen an outright bad Ghibli film, and this doesn't break that streak. Ocean Waves doesn't rank high among the Ghibli canon, as it doesn't feature Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata as director. ![]()
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