Ocean Waves (2016)

A Masterpiece!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

During the first scene, I was intruiged and excited to see where this would go... Guy sees girl - a 'when and how will he see her again' kinda story. That's what I thoughtWe go back in time and we realise he knew her from years before and I was more intruiged. His friend has a crush on her - yet again, I'm still caught up. And then we meet the character. This is where it all falls to pieces for me. As a girl myself, I found Muto to be the manifestation of all that is bad about girls(or people). She's manipulative, she's selfish and self obsorbed, she's mean and she 'hates' all these country people. And on top of that the main character wonders several times about her manners and (bad) upbringing. And when her classmates gang up on her (not cool tho, but you see where they're coming from), she's yet again defiant, mean and selfish. But Taku sees her as this person who really stand up for herself, and is 'something else' - I disagree. I wonder why Taku and Matsumo fall for her. Except for the fact that she's pretty.... and perhaps because Taku feels bad for her background story, but really you're not even taken through that story in a way that makes you empathise with her. I love how Studio Gibli always have a morale in their stories, but I lack to see what it is in this case.

Really well animated film, especially knowing it came from Ghibli's "junior" producers. Overall I enjoyed it, especially the little bits of humor here and there. The main girl character was extremely unlikable, but a good character. I found the dynamic between the two boys interesting and compelling. Their friendship was honestly more interesting than either of their relationships with the girl. And I will say that I'm not sure I exactly believed that they were both in love with her, mostly because she was so truly selfish and immature. So the ending seemed a little trite to me. Also, this might be unfair, but I always go into a Ghibli film hoping for something that will spark wonder and amazement, and this film definitely didn't have that magic element (literal or figurative). Still, well worth the watch.

This was my first time watching this film with English subtitles. I had heard it about it online because I am also a fan of many other studio ghibli's films such as Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo and The Cat Returns. This was one of the first films not directed by Hayao Miyazaki or his son and have to say, I believe that was one of the main reasons for my low rating. The story line was interesting, and seemed like just an interesting intriguing love story. But as you got deeper into it, it just seemed very predictable... almost everything that happened was obvious right from the start. At least from my knowledge of watching the film. I know it was created originally as a TV film but still.. they could have had a little bit more to offer to the viewers when it came to the plot twists and turns. We all knew the ending was going to be the way it was... These movies are just better off as movies NOT TV shows and directed by none other then, hayao. He is the true mastermind.

The huge fan of Studio Ghibli (and especially Miyazaki) that I am, I was really excited to find this, the last Ghibli full-length production that I had yet to see.That excitement turned steadily into sadness. The complete lack of plot-line and ludicrous love interest simply appalled me. This made-for-television piece of crap does not deserve to belong to the otherwise amazing Studio Ghibli canon. What could possibly motivate people to write such positive reviews for this? I am baffled. If I was Taku, the main character in this dreck, I would have absolutely NO nostalgic feelings for any of the events that occurred, let alone for the SURELY bi-polar Rikako.That H. Miyazaki had nothing to do with the direction, animation, or writing of this horrifyingly tedious movie provides some solace... unlike every single other Ghibli production that I have seen, this one is completely and totally charmless.The second star was awarded for the only moment in the entire movie that I and my girlfriend enjoyed: that ephemeral moment of redemption that occurred shortly after the 51-minute mark, when Taku b*tchslapped Rikako. Yosh.