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Ocean Waves

Original title: Umi ga kikoeru
  • TV Movie
  • 1993
  • PG-13
  • 1h 16m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
19K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
4,894
108
Ocean Waves (1993)
Trailer for Ocean Waves
Play trailer1:20
1 Video
40 Photos
AnimationDramaRomance

As a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.As a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.As a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.

  • Director
    • Tomomi Mochizuki
  • Writers
    • Saeko Himuro
    • Keiko Niwa
  • Stars
    • Nobuo Tobita
    • Toshihiko Seki
    • Yoko Sakamoto
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    19K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,894
    108
    • Director
      • Tomomi Mochizuki
    • Writers
      • Saeko Himuro
      • Keiko Niwa
    • Stars
      • Nobuo Tobita
      • Toshihiko Seki
      • Yoko Sakamoto
    • 66User reviews
    • 37Critic reviews
    • 73Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Ocean Waves
    Trailer 1:20
    Watch Ocean Waves

    Photos40

    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)
    Ocean Waves (1993)

    Top cast

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    Nobuo Tobita
    Nobuo Tobita
    • Taku Morisaki
    • (voice)
    Toshihiko Seki
    Toshihiko Seki
    • Yutaka Matsuno
    • (voice)
    Yoko Sakamoto
    • Rikako Muto
    • (voice)
    Yuri Amano
    Yuri Amano
    • Akiko Shimizu
    • (voice)
    Kae Araki
    • Yumi Kohama
    • (voice)
    Jun'ichi Kanemaru
    Jun'ichi Kanemaru
    • Okada
    • (voice)
    Ai Satô
    • Taku's mother
    • (voice)
    Aya Hisakawa
    Aya Hisakawa
    • Girl
    • (voice)
    Tomokazu Seki
    Tomokazu Seki
    • Minarai
    • (voice)
    Hikaru Midorikawa
    Hikaru Midorikawa
    • Tadashi Yamao
    • (voice)
    Rin Mizuhara
    • Additional Voices
    • (voice)
    Sumi Shimamoto
    Sumi Shimamoto
    • Additional Voices
    • (voice)
    Reiko Suzuki
      • Director
        • Tomomi Mochizuki
      • Writers
        • Saeko Himuro
        • Keiko Niwa
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

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      Did you know

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      • Trivia
        This TV movie was an attempt to make anime solely by the young staff members, mostly in their 20s and 30s. Tomomi Mochizuki, who was 34 years old then, was brought in to direct. Their motto was to produce "quickly, cheaply and with quality," but the project went over budget and over schedule.
      • Connections
        Featured in JesuOtaku Anime Reviews: Ocean Waves (2012)

      User reviews66

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      10/10
      Another lesser-known Ghibli triumph
      When I first saw "Nausicaa" in 2005 I went ahead and watched the brief docu on the Birth of Studio Ghibli that came with it. It contained a snippet of every film they produced from "Nausicaa" to "Howl". Of the films that caught my eye that had not yet been released in the U.S., the one I was most intrigued by was "The Ocean Waves". Perhaps what caught my attention was that the staff that animated the movie were all in their 20s and 30s, coming into their own since being recruited for "Only Yesterday" two years earlier, when Hayao Miyasaki and Ghibli decided to cultivate their own animators rather than delegating to external studios.

      Upon first viewing this film exceeded my expectations, and the energy and enthusiasm of youth simply surged throughout its ~72 minutes. I feel more connected to this film than some other Ghibli works mainly because the it involves characters in their late-teens to 20s living in the 90s, has a male protagonist, and also because the characters are so exquisitely deep and textured, and are the heart of the piece. No live-action actors or actresses could mimic their superb performances, and the modern urban and suburban settings are so richly detailed that this film feels more real than many live-action films in this genre. And as with all Studio Ghibli films; no matter who composes it, the score is first-rate, working in concert with the visuals to create the whole spectrum of moods and emotions exerted by the cast.

      In all, "The Ocean Waves" was a brilliant success on the part of the young animation team – deserving of a 10 in my humble opinion - and proof that Studio Ghibli is just as proficient portraying real life in the present-day time settings as it is at creating sublime works of fantasy. American Ghibli fans can only hope a DVD or Blu-ray is someday released here in the States, even though English voice actors would be hard-pressed to replicate their Japanese counterparts' work.
      helpful•25
      5
      • bmoredlj
      • Aug 14, 2006

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • July 13, 1994 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • Japan
      • Language
        • Japanese
      • Also known as
        • Puedo escuchar el mar
      • Filming locations
        • Kochi, Japan
      • Production companies
        • Nippon Television Network (NTV)
        • Studio Ghibli
        • Tokuma Shoten
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Gross US & Canada
        • $87,738
      • Opening weekend US & Canada
        • $4,942
        • Jan 1, 2017
      • Gross worldwide
        • $87,738
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 16 minutes
      • Color
        • Color
      • Sound mix
        • Dolby
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.85 : 1

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