#OCEAN WAVES GHIBLI MOVIE 0NLINE SERIES#

A glossy and embossed cardboard slipcover is included that features a classy banner on the top that reads 'A Studio Ghibli Film.' (As good as it looks, I personally prefer Disney's consistent packaging style of Ghibli releases over Universal's.) Some pre-menu content plays when you start the disc, including trailers for Only Yesterday, When Marnie Was There and Miss Hokusaki, but all of it is skippable. Both discs come in a standard two-disc Elite keepcase. Universal has given Ocean Waves a combo pack release that includes a Region-free BD-50 and a DVD – but not a digital copy. Nothing that follows is worthy of the movie's great intro scene, making this Ghibli production a total bust. Nothing that happens after the stellar opening sequence had the power to make me smile or believe that the film was headed in the right direction.

#OCEAN WAVES GHIBLI MOVIE 0NLINE SERIES#

With Ocean Waves playing out like a standard CW high school series – love triangle and all – it didn't take long to not only lose me, but keep me at a great distance. I didn't like teenage drama as a teenager and I certainly don't like it as thirty-something seeking on-screen entertainment. Ocean Waves is like an animated version of those. Series like 90210 and Dawson's Creek were popular at this time. Considering it was made for television, it's no wonder that it has the feel of a '90s teenage high school drama. It was made by a bunch of youngsters that the studio heads deemed up-and-coming. It wasn't created by the bright and creative minds of the studio's beloved titles. It was then that I learned the sad history of the film: Ocean Waves isn't a Ghibli film it's a Ghibli made-for-television movie. If you don't root for at least one of your main characters, then there's nothing worth investing in.Īfter watching the film, I did my due diligence of online research as prep for this review.

This results in each of them being extremely unlikable. They constantly throw others – and even one another – under the bus just to fulfill their selfish desires. We follow their friendship/relationship as they mature, yet their selfishness never reduces. Our two leading characters, Taku and Rikako, are entirely selfish. Unfortunately, that's the only charm that exists within the film. And the way the filmmakers executed it was perfect. I recall attractive girls having that same effect on me as a teenage boy.

For me, this classic act of adolescent boyhood started the film off on the right foot. It turns out that Yutaka called Taku in distress because of a beautiful new girl, Rikako, that just moved to town and will be joining their middle school classes. We immediately fear that he has terrible news however, that's not the case. When he gets to Yutaka, he finds Yutaka sitting at a window entirely speechless. As if Yutaka's world was being burned down by a fire that only Taku could put out, Taku races from the restaurant. While working as an after-school dishwasher, Taku gets a phone call from a friend, Yutaka, claiming to need Taku in that very moment. Their story begins in Taku's hometown of Kochi, Japan. Ghibli's 24-year-old film tells the story of a boy, Taku, and the one that got away from him. With a character clash like that, you don't care if the two end up together or not. It can emotionally pull you in - but if you mentally recognize that the combination of character personalities is toxic, then everything is for naught. Have you ever seen a film about two characters bound to a 'will they or won't they' relationship? That dynamic can be compelling. What you see is what you get, and what you see isn't very good. The big disappointment with Ocean Waves stems from that blanket statement no longer holding true to all Ghibli films. In other words, all Ghibli films are designed with deeper meanings.

One element that I appreciate the most about Ghibli is that all of their films – be it a childish kids movie like Ponyo or a serious adult-themed film like The Wind Rises - is that there's always a deeper underlying meaning for the grown-up viewers. I blindly walked into Ocean Waves and, while watching it, sat there emotionlessly asking myself, 'Ghibli made this ?!' As wild, odd and out-there as they may be, I can always find something that I love in each one – that is, until now. For me, Studio Ghibli is typically always on point with their films.

Ocean waves ghibli movie 0nline