Ahhh... after watching this movie by Studio Ghibli, I feel so refreshed and revitalized! Ocean Waves, or Umi Ga Kikoeru, is just such a calming and soothing anime that I doubt anybody wouldn't feel nice after watching it. There are a few problems with it, but overall it was a very good movie to watch.

Like I said, there are a couple of problems. The one thing I really disliked about the movie was the female lead, Rikako. She is portrayed as possibly the most annoying girl I've ever seen in an anime, and nearly every word she spoke grated on my nerves of jelly. It only worsens when she begins to be featured in nearly every scene, which is somewhere around the halfway point of the movie. Although it was only around seventy minutes long, I was still hoping some parts would just hurry up and end.

Ocean Waves is not at all like a usual Studio Ghibli film. That is probably because it is not associated with Miyazaki at all. It doesn't have that mystique to it that requires an active imagination. It is just a simple love story in a simplistic, yet very realistic environment. Each and every one of the characters felt real to me, and many of them were developed quite well. Even some of the side characters were pretty well developed. The only character I had a problem with was, once again, Rikako. Despite being a major character, she doesn't change at all from the beginning until the last minute of the ending. I was somewhat disappointed throughout the movie because of this, but it was still an enjoyable experience nonetheless.

I really liked the music in Ocean Waves, and it is just as soothing as the title of the movie. My favorite song, Umi ni naretara by Youko Sakamoto, fit the mood of the story perfectly and it was great to listen to after the anime ended. Personally, though, I think that the anime ended too quickly. I really would have liked to have seen the story fleshed out a bit more and I certainly would have given it a higher rating if there was an epilogue. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it.