My Cultural Diet

It’d be easy to label this coming-of-age melodrama, which was originally created for broadcast on Japanese TV, as one for Studio Ghibli completists only. It’s a bit slight compared to the usual Ghibli offerings, with none of the fantastical elements typically associated with the studio’s name. Taku and Yutaka are high school best friends, but their relationship gets complicated upon the arrival of the pretty Rikako, who has recently transferred to their school. Though an excellent student, Rikako’s personality veers between cheerful and distant, and she seems to enjoy pitting Taku and Yutaka against each other. As Ocean Waves unfolds, however, it’s clear she has her own complicated issues. Again, Tomomi Mochizuki’s (House of Five Leaves, Dirty Pair Flash) film can feel a bit slight, and its characters are occasionally less than sympathetic. Nevertheless, it boasts the same honest and careful attention to detail as any Ghibli title, and the quality of its animation doesn’t suffer despite being a TV production. I have kids of or approaching the same age as Ocean Waves’ protagonists, so I appreciated its depiction of the messy emotions and melodrama accompanying those years even as it occasionally hit a little too close to home.

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