Ocean Waves
Movie, 1993, The '90s, Set in Kōchi
Ocean Waves is #8 of 25 in release order and #8 of 25 in chronological order in the Studio Ghibli.
The story
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Ocean Waves recap
Ocean Waves (1993) follows a love triangle between two high school friends in Kōchi and the guarded transfer student from Tokyo who comes between them. Tomomi Mochizuki directed this television film from Saeko Himuro's novel, made by Ghibli's younger staff for Nippon TV. Taku Morisaki (Nobuo Tobita) recalls his last years of school on a flight home. His best friend Yutaka Matsuno (Toshihiko Seki) falls for Rikako Muto (Yoko Sakamoto), bright, athletic and openly unhappy about her parents' divorce. On a school trip to Hawaii, Rikako borrows ¥60,000 from Taku, then uses it to fly to Tokyo, where she hopes to live with her father. Taku goes along, and finds her father has a new girlfriend. Rikako spends the night in his hotel room while he sleeps in the bathtub, then ignores him back in Kōchi.
Ocean Waves ending explained
Ocean Waves ends after a slap, a fight in the corridor and a punch from Yutaka break the friendships, and the three go to different universities. At a reunion, Taku learns Yutaka was angry that Taku held back for his sake, and that Rikako stayed in Tokyo to meet "someone who sleeps in bathtubs". Back in Tokyo, Taku sees her across a station platform and runs to her, and she waits.
Where to watch Ocean Waves
Ocean Waves is streaming on HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 89%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Porco Rosso, before Pom Poko.
- Chronological order: after Porco Rosso, before Pom Poko.
Cast
- Nobuo Tobita as Taku Morisaki (voice)
- Yoko Sakamoto as Rikako Muto (voice)
- Toshihiko Seki as Yutaka Matsuno (voice)
- Yuri Amano as Akiko Shimizu (voice)
- Kae Araki as Yumi Kohama (voice)
- Jun'ichi Kanemaru as Okada (voice)
- Ai Satou as Taku's Mother (voice)
- Aya Hisakawa as Young Girl (voice)
- Tomokazu Seki as Minarai (voice)
- Hikaru Midorikawa as Tadashi Yamao (voice)
- Sumi Shimamoto as Rikako's Father's Lover (voice)
- Reiko Suzuki as Mrs. Okami (voice)
Directed by Tomomi Mochizuki.