
The girl, thought of by most at the school as haughty, has few friends. Once the school year starts, Taku and Yutaka engage in a friendly rivalry for Rikako’s affections. It’s known that she used to live in Tokyo, and it’s generally agreed that she’s quite beautiful. Yutaka has summoned Taku to school to take a gander at the new transfer student who will be joining them in the fall. It’s at the local high school in Kochi that we meet Taku Morisaki (Nobuo Tobita), a junior who’s spending his summer earning much-needed cash working as a dishwasher, and his best friend Yutaka Matsuno (Toshihiko Seki). Though it boasts a rather dense population of some 340,000 people, it’s considered a rural town-particularly in comparison to ultra-urban Tokyo. Though it lacks the technical flourishes of films like Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away, it’s a lovely and graceful slice of modern life.ĭirected by Tomomi Mochizuki (“Ranma 1/2,” “Kimagure Orange Road”), the film takes viewers to Kochi, the capital city of Kochi Prefecture on the island of Shikoku.
#Film ocean waves movie#
The film, based on the novel I Can Hear the Sea by Saeko Himuro, was originally conceived as a TV movie and was produced on a much stricter budget than the typical Studio Ghibli feature. Though it’s not directed by Miyazaki and it’s not technically new, the 1993 film Ocean Waves comes from the fine folks at Studio Ghibli and is just now being released for the first time in America-meaning dedicated anime fans would do well to pay attention. (As of November anyway, the 75-year-old says he’s got a “project proposal” for a new feature he wants to make.) After all, Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli is responsible for some of the most beloved animated features on the international scene ( Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Ponyo). And there are the waves.įans of Japanese animation can be forgiven for their constant on-again, off-again speculation whether “semiretired” master Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki will ever direct another film.
