This rare Studio Ghibli movie is certainly a weird one. It’s different for what it doesn’t do – as in – it doesn’t do a whole lot with the medium of animation.
It’s very much a slice-of-life drama that feels like it almost could have worked as well as a live action.
Ocean Waves was directed by Tomomi Mochizuki from Studio Ghibli in 1993 and released directly to television. Ocean Waves is a story about nostalgia and young love.
Based on the novel by Saeko Himuro, Ocean Waves is a rather eventless boy-meets-girl movie, making it an odd choice for animation.
Ocean Waves was a risky anime to make considering the subject matter, the 6 month timeline, and the fact that the youngest and least experienced members of Studio Ghibli were tasked with directing a feature-length film without the guidance of Hayao Miyazaki or Isoa Takahata.