Ocean Waves

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1:16

Ocean Waves

PG-13

Released Dec 28, 2016

1h 12m

Adventure

Drama

Anime

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Popcornmeter

89%

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18 Reviews

64%

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1,000+ Ratings

The arrival of a pretty transfer student from Tokyo sets in motion a change in the relationship between two best friends.

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Scott Marks

San Diego Reader

I'm not calling for Marvin the Martian to lead a parade of pink elephants down Main Street, but what's the point of animating if the end goal is to simply trace over an ABC Afterschool Special?

Rated: 0/5

Feb 16, 2017

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Valerie Complex

Black Girl Nerds

The title Ocean Waves lends credence to the story as it refers to the idea that teenage feelings are like waves: ever changing.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 6, 2017

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Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

A delicate, well-told drama that may lack the depth of something like Only Yesterday but proves that Miyazaki and Takahata's students were listening to their teachers.

Rated: 3/4

Dec 28, 2016

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Nicholas Oon

Maximum Hype (YouTube)

An exceptionally raw and unique Studio Ghibli movie. A film that deserves your attention, and a film that, to me, is criminally underrated.

Sep 5, 2021

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Steven Prokopy

Third Coast Review

The stakes of the film are fairly low, but it does an admirable job of capturing the frame of mind of teenagers and early 20-somethings, to whom such events mean the world while they are caught up in the moment.

May 1, 2020

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Rachel Wagner

Rotoscopers

It has some nice moments and the animation is lovely so I'm glad I saw it.

Rated: 5/10

Feb 6, 2019

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Lucas O

Rating: 56% This movie had some solid animation but lacked the Ghibli flair. I am not a huge fan of slice of life stories, and this was a slice of life/coming-of-age romance. It wasn't bad, but just very mid. Nothing made it stand out. The voice acting was good and I did enjoy the ending, but again nothing super bad or good, which makes it forgettable. Also be warned there is no ocean waves like the title implies, haha. (Supposedly its symbolic for teenage emotion)

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

08/05/25

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Michael D

As a general movie, it's passable. But as a Studio Ghibli movie, it's terrible and unfitting.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/02/25

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Audience Member

the ending is kinda a cliffhanger

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/14/24

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Irvin R

Es una buena película, algo confusa cuando la ves por primera vez, pero después de verla por segunda vez te das cuenta de que no es solo una simple película que habla del amor de dos adolescentes, sino que profundiza más sobre lo confuso y complejo que pueden ser los sentimientos cuando uno es joven, sin dejar de lado su hermosa y linda animación.'Puedo escuchar el mar' es un nombre metafórico. El mar es, muchas veces, violento e intenso, y otras veces, tranquilo y pasivo, tal como muchas emociones.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/30/24

Full Review

Liam D

One of Studio Ghibli’s most underappreciated movies. It treads familiar territory like in; Whisper Of The Heart and Only Yesterday but still a great movie by itself

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/23/24

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Jhosep G

I love the way this movie explores the hardships that young people have to go through. Highly relatable and the asthetics and the way they go through everything is just great. Only giving five stars because Rotten Tomatoes doesn't allow for more. And those people rating it less than five stars, are you guys okay?

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/26/24

Full Review

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Tomomi Mochizuki

Director

Nobuo Tobita

Taku Morisaki

Toshihiko Seki

Yutaka Matsuno

Yoko Sakamoto

Rikako Muto

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Kae Araki

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Ocean Waves: US Release Trailer

1:16

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Synopsis

The arrival of a pretty transfer student from Tokyo sets in motion a change in the relationship between two best friends.

Director: Tomomi Mochizuki
Producer: Nozomu Takahashi, Hideo Ogata, Hitohiro Wada
Screenwriter: Keiko Niwa
Distributor: GKIDS
Production Co: Studio Ghibli, Nippon Television Network, Tokuma Shoten
Rating: PG-13 (Some Thematic Material)
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Anime
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 28, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2019
Runtime: 1h 12m
Sound Mix: Dolby

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