Ocean Waves [DVD]

I discovered this movie off of a scenery tumblr post awhile back and thought the artwork was really beautiful so I ended up watching the film. I also thought it was interesting how it was made by some younger members of the Studio Ghibli team.Ocean Waves is really a beautiful movie. Not just because of the scenery, the attention to detail, the characters, and the soundtrack but also because of the story and how much nostalgia and peace it can bring to the viewer.The characters themselves are very simple and the story is as well, but I think it is the way it's told that gives it that certain allure. The movie is long and can be seen as a bit slow throughout but if you really enjoy sentimental coming of age films and films that have beautiful animation and detail then I don't think it will be an issue. There are scenes in this movie that are really special and some of them can even make you emotional simply because of the way they capture moments. I'm glad I made this purchase because this film is an instant classic in my opinion.(The only problem that I have to speak of is with the subtitles. I usually watch foreign films in the language they were originally made in and some of the subtitles have errors which should definitely be addressed for the viewers' sake. I believe it was a part of a sentence that came up and the subtitles were numbers and symbols instead of the word(s))

Great product! Awesome quality made for a fantastic experience

This was a terrible movie that only redeemed itself because my husband and I could riff on it while we suffered thru it.But the buying experience was great.

This movie is a curiosity in several different ways: For a start, there are no waves and just a glimpse of ocean; the disks’ jacket picture of the beach with a siting girl and a stones tossing young man is not from the movie.Also, during a fallow period when no new movies were being contemplated, because of difficulties finishing “Porco Rosso”, among other things, one of the leading lights of Studio Ghibli, producer Suzuki, gave a group of young members of the staff, thereafter known as the “Young Producers Team”, the job of making a movie based on a novel that the young ones saw immediately as most un-Ghibli as well as hard to animate and, therefore, were not at all sure that it was possible to make a good Ghibli movie out of it.They were also given six months and a smallish budget to do the whole job, which put great pressure on them, particularly the director Mochizuki. To top it all, another of the studio’s leading lights, Miyasaki, when he saw what the movie was going to be like, blasted the young ones and their work, saying: “You have made a movie about WHAT IS; art is about WHAT IT SHOULD BE.” True enough, in my opinion, but very unfair to the young ones, under the circumstances.The above is what you learn by watching the long video where the main people responsible for the film discuss what went on, how they did it, including a long segment on an initial visit to the city of Kochi, where most of the story takes place, to make sure their illustrations of the places shown in the movie were accurate, at least within the limits placed by artistic considerations. A city and places that they revisit in the video, in 2003, some eleven years after – and close to fourteen years ago, as I write this review.This video is, in my opinion, at least as interesting as the movie, and perhaps even more.This is a movie about teenagers that are together during high school, part ways when they go to university, each in different cities, get together again towards the end, where boy seems to get girl.The girl in question is very attractive, but self-centered, impulsive, inconsiderate, and head strong, so all I can say to the “lucky” boy that (maybe) gets this girl at the end is: “Good luck with that!”This is a small story, slightly entertaining, with nothing much to uplift or inspire the viewers to greater things -- things beyond, say, gazing at their own navels (or smartphones) all day long; a movie about the lives of some somewhat endearing but not particularly interesting young people to whom nothing particularly interesting actually happens.The graphics are quite handsome, although simpler and sparer than the usual Ghibli production values, which is understandable given the very tight time and budget requirements imposed on the creators (both of which had to be exceeded in the event).The movie dialog is in the original Japanese, with subtitles. Some people, not used to subtitled movies, might not like this. Some other reviewers complain about a difficulty seeing the subtitles: that is not my experience: in white letters with a black outline, I found them quite easy to read and of a size small enough so as not to cover too much of the picture.My opinion, short version: Not bad, nicely drawn pictures. But, so what?

In Japanese. Didnt pay it any mind, because studio ghibli has never done this before and i didnt think to look. Until I popped it in and found out. At 1st I thought amazon just sent the wrong copy, but I noticed it was my mistake not theres. Movies like this need to have subbed in big letters. Reviews way at the bottom or specific info at the bottom is just not enough unless your actually looking for it.

The basic story of teens meeting and falling in love suggests a comparison with other Ghibli films such as From Up on Poppy Hill and Whispers of the Heart, or non-Ghibli works such as The Girl Who Flew Through Time, in which Ocean Waves does not fair well. I'd rather give it 3 1/2 stars (I keep changing from 3 to 4 stars). The story just isn't as engaging and the characters less compelling than in the other films I've mentioned. Still, it's good. I'm sure that I'll come back to it, after this initial disappointment, and find that it's pretty damned good compared to most of what's out there. Just, for a Ghibli, I wanted so much more.My real criticism is with the transfer. Because all the other Ghibli films have been dubbed I just assumed this would be. Subtitles are not necessarily a problem. But white subtitles on a white background? I lost about a quarter of the dialog because of this. Also the colors seemed to lack in saturation in the dark scenes. Maybe it was meant to look washed out.

I enjoyed this Ghibli animation for many of the reasons I enjoyed all of the others: stellar soundtrack, crisp, colorful animation, thoughtful design elements, and above all, a nice story. The only reason I am giving this movie four stars is because I really didn't enjoy the female lead's character very much. I know her character was meant to be moody and unpredictable, but I really found myself disliking her. Usually, I like to project an image of myself on female characters, try to relate to their story. But hers seemed finicky, untrustworthy, and a bit all over the place. However, the two male leads captured my attention and held on tight. I rather enjoyed watching their characters develop.

Just wish it was dubbed in English.. for the passive watching experience

高校生活をかつて高知で送った私にとってはまさにドンピシャ。高知城、播磨屋橋、鏡川、帯屋町なつかしいなあ。ちょっと地理的に無理がある所もあるけどそれはご愛嬌。土佐弁もほぼあの通り。東京の女の子が高知って時代劇みたいな喋り方今でもするんだあ、というくだりは笑える。ちなみに英語字幕ではサムライ言葉になってこれも笑える。高校生が飲酒するシーンがありためにTVでは現在は放映不可というらしいですが、コンプライアンスで窮屈な時代になりました。海外版のジャッケットでは桂浜でのデートシーンが使われていますが本編ではこのシーンはなく不思議です。カットされてシーンを使用してのでしょうがやや納得できません。竜とそばかす姫も高知が舞台でしたが、魅力があるんですね。

国内版の『海がきこえる』 Blu-rayを観たことがないため、比較できないが、画質、音質とも、自宅の39型テレビと Blu-rayデッキで観る分には良好、問題なし。▪️仕様（ギブリーズも同じ）音声：日本語のみ字幕：英語のみ（ON OFF可能）本編開始前に、おもいてぽろぽろ、思い出のマーニーの強制予告あり（音声は英語）特典は未視聴3月8日に注文して、届いたのは3月20日。到着まで時間を要する。せっかちな方や短気な方にはオススメできない。パッケージの紙がかなりシワシワ。国内版は高額だが、本商品は安い時は2000円ちょっとで購入可能。ちなみに私は送料込みで2391円で購入。国内版は手が出せないという方、待つことに抵抗がない方にはオススメ。