Ocean Waves (1993)

One of Studio Ghibli's more mature works, Ocean Waves. IMPORTANT NOTE: This movie has only been released in Japanese, so there is no English dub. But the DVD has subtitles, so if you can't stand reading the subtitles, do not watch this film. Some of the subtitles are inaccurate (I have been teaching myself Japanese for almost 5 years) but they are only minor mistakes and don't effect the overall story. The Story The story is about two high schooler boys who meet a new transfer student who causes a lot of trouble for them while they are drunk from love. The story is defiantly for a more mature audience. It has a lot of mature themes such as divorce, love, exams and growing up in general. The film handles it's themes perfectly in a realistic and mature way. Younger audiences may get bored or confused by the storyline but teens and adults will enjoy this film. The only problem I have with this film is it's ending. Many of the scenes towards the end of the film feel like a perfect conclusion to the film (such as the two friends looking out to sea with each other after they have left high school) but the film keeps going and in the final 10 minutes, it draws up questions just before the film ends but they are never addressed. If the film ended sooner like in the scene that I mentioned earlier, the story would of been perfect. The Characters The two boy friends are quite dull. The protagonist is quite bland and we barely know anything about his friend. The girl on the other hand is the most interesting character in this film. She has to deal with her parent's divorce and try to fit in with her new classmates. The side characters have no personality whatsoever, so we don't know the other relationships the characters have with there other friends and their families. The Animation/Special Effects The animation is very well done. But it frequently reuses the same footage over and over again and the film also uses a weird white background over the animation sometimes which appears to have no purpose other than to save money on the animation budget. But it isn't nearly as distracting as the recycled footage. The character designs are the worst I have ever seen from Studio Ghibli. Other than the character's hair colour and glasses, some of the characters look exactly the same, making it hard to tell who is who sometimes. Especially if the character's hair is hard to see or if their glasses are off. The music is also something I found distracting. It sounds nice, don't get me wrong, but when there is an emotional scene happening, the movie plays happy, cheerful music which does not suit the scene at all. Final Thoughts Overall, this is a great film for older Studio Ghibli lovers to watch. Unlike Disney who focuses their films mainly at a younger audience. Studio Ghibli makes films for audiences for all ages. With films for younger audiences such as 'My Neighbour Totoro' and 'Ponyo'. While some are aimed at older children such as 'Spirited Away' and 'Pom Poko'. Then there are films aimed at teens and adults such as 'Grave of the Fireflies' and this film. Animation studios in the west would almost certainly never make a film aimed at an older audience which is why Studio Ghibli is loved by people by all ages. They know that animation is not just for children and teens and adults love animated films that the west sadly does not provide. The West have TV shows aimed at adults such as 'South Park' and 'Family Guy'. But these shows are very rude and are made to be as immature as possible and making crude and offensive jokes that not all people enjoy. What the west lacks is 'mature' animated films that respects it's audience and provides them with beautiful animation, great storytelling and a engaging storyline that films like this film provides. Many people have the stubborn mindset that animation is only for children. But as soon as you show them this DVD, they will rediscover what made them fall in love with animated films in the first place. The Story 4/5 The Characters 3/5 The Animation/Special Effects 3/5 Overall 3/5