Ocean Waves (Umi ga kikoeru) (Studio Ghibli Collection) (1993)

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General		Extras
Category	Childrens	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1993
Running Time	72:00
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Tomomi Mochizuki
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Nobuo Tobita Toshihiko Seki Yoko Sakamoto Yuri Amano Kae Araki Jun'ichi Kanemaru Ai Satō Aya Hisakawa Tomokazu Seki Hikaru Midorikawa
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	$29.95	Music	Shigeru Nagata Katsuya Kondō Katsuya Kondō

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English (Burned In)	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     There are perhaps two types of Studio Ghibli films - those of master Hayao Miyazaki ... and the rest. That is not a reflection of the quality of this or the other non-Miyazaki films in the studio canon. Rather it is a tribute to the way in which the great man has dominated modern animation, creating works that are exciting, bittersweet and profound.

     For Miyazakiphiles be warned; Ocean Waves, directed by Tomomi Mochizuki, contains none of the fantastic characters of Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle or Princess Mononoke. Instead, it is a gentle coming-of-age story about two teen guys and the girl they both fall for.

     The Japanese title of the film Umi ga Kikoeru translates as I Can Hear the Sea , undoubtedly a more romantic title.Ocean Waves can be seen as the "lost" Studio Ghibli. Whilst every Miyazaki directed film has made its way to these shores and the other Ghibli films like Grave of the Fireflies, My Neighbours the Yamadas and Only Yesterday (the film to which Ocean Waves is closest in tone) have scored local releases, Ocean Waves has lingered since 1993 before finally making it to Region 4 DVD. There are probably a couple of reasons for this delay. The film was apparently made by Ghibli as a chance to let its young animators flex their creative muscles and was intended for television broadcast rather than cinematic release. Finally, it is a "little" film with no show stopping scenes or even greatly dramatic plot turns. It is a teen romance tinged with nostalgic disappointment. Yet, for all those limitations Ocean Waves is still a worthy part of the Ghibli canon. What it does have is the power of simple storytelling through thoughtful animation.

     Ocean Waves was based on the popular novel by Saeko Himura. It tells the story, essentially in flashbacks, of Taku, a high school student living on the island of Shikoku. When we first meet Taku he is at a train station and spies a beautiful woman. Is it, could it be, Rikako? In flashback we see how Taku and his best friend Yutaka are entranced when Rikako arrives as a new student from Tokyo. She is beautiful, clever and good at sports - in short, perfect. Yet love doesn't run smooth and Rikako is at times prickly, difficult and mean. So begins a giant life lesson for Taku. Will his love for Rikako drive him and his friend apart? Will he ever truly understand her wilful ways? Is she really worth it?

     Ocean Waves has less plot than any Ghibli film I can remember and perhaps has a limited appeal due to its "teen romance" tag. Its prime audience will be teens; my test audience of 13 year old girls found it took a while to get into its rhythms but once inside the film was compelling. At 72 minutes it does not outstay its welcome. Teen Ghibli fans should lap it up and completists will find some things to enjoy in this tale.

Video

     Ocean Waves was made for television but carries an original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. This ratio has been preserved for the DVD release. It is 16x9 enhanced within a letterbox.

     The animation style in Ocean Waves is clean, clear and uncluttered. It is also rendered simply. So although it has that Ghibli hand-painted look it is basic in its images and pretensions. As a result this will never be a demonstrator DVD. The lines are a little too basic and the colours a little on the pastel side, a little wan, without any striking images.

     Having said that, this is a pretty good transfer of a 1993 anime. There are no defects in the source print.

     There are subtitles in English which are burned into the print.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     The sound for Ocean Waves is a fairly basic Japanese Dolby Digital 2.0 running at 256Kb/s.

     Those who like to watch anime with an English dub be warned that no dub track exists. The voice actors all speak clearly and I doubt a Japanese speaker would have much difficulty understanding the dialogue.

     The score is a suitably emotive romantic accompaniment to the film.

     There are no technical problems with the soundtrack unless you count the incessant cicada drone as a defect!

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     The only extra is the brief trailer. It is not 16x9 enhanced.

    This film has been released in Region 2 in the same format. It is yet to be released in Region 1.

     Ocean Waves is lesser Ghibli but that doesn't make it lesser anime. Those after an addition to their Ghibli collection will buy it outright but those who like teen romance will also get some value out of the release.

     The transfer is nothing special in either sound or vision but it is no disgrace. Some extras would, however, have been nice.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall