Ocean Waves

Out of my own sheer stubbornness, I’ve never been particularly drawn towards Studio Ghibli movies but I recently stumbled across Umi ga Kikoeru, which I had honestly never heard of before. I was immediately struck by its poster which, rather than displaying the fantasy elements that the studio is renowned for, seemed very normal (for the lack of a better word); almost as if it were some sort of uncovered Makoto Shinkai film. I was especially surprised to see that Miyazaki didn’t direct it! I was immediately drawn to it and simply had to watch it!

Umi ga Kikoeru tells the story of Taku and his friend, Yutaka Matsuno - both high schoolers in the secluded town of Kochi (in Shikoku, not India like I originally thought xD) - as they become fascinated by the mysterious female transfer student from Tokyo, Rikako Muto. It explores the connections between these people as well as the other students in her school and Rikako’s family.

The central theme of this movie is adolescence. This movie navigates the confusing emotions and feelings of adolescence is a very sincere and down-to-earth way, which is a great triumph of this movie. The dialogue flows very nicely and feels realistic. I enjoyed seeing how the characters evolve by the end. Despite its PG rating and it being made by the typically age-friendly Studio Ghibli, it’s a mature movie - I think only young adults and above can really appreciate this.

Speaking of the characters, the dynamic between the characters is very captivating. Rikako Muto is an especially fascinating and unique character. I think she’s slowly become one of my favourite movie-exclusive anime characters. It’s fun trying to understand how she operates. Taku and Matsuno are charismatic in their own way too.

Despite its short runtime, nothing feels crammed in or rushed. It’s very well-paced. I love how laid back it is - I think the simplicity of this movie is very effective. You can really sit with the characters and the setting and take everything in (whilst still giving you plenty to think about). It’s a very vibey movie. Those looking for a very dense and thematically-rich movie certainly won’t find any solace in this movie. Despite admittedly not having watched many Studio Ghibli movies, I do recognise how effective and efficient they are as story-tellers.

As with pretty much all Ghibli ventures, the animation is splendid. Since the story is so grounded, the movie doesn’t have much room to display the creativity that the studio is so well-known for. But it’s still very pleasant to look at.

The soundtrack is very basic (certainly not as grand or magnificent as other Ghibli works) but memorable. I love that quaint piano track (First Impression) that serves as the main motif of the movie. It suits the tone of the movie so well although I could understand if one were to find it a bit annoying after a while.

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Overall, ‘Umi ga Kikoeru’ is a great and underrated drama which I will certainly be revisiting in the future. I’m surprised how low it’s rated. Thanks to this movie, I will certainly check out more of Studio Ghibli’s catalogue in the future. I feel ashamed that I've been stubborn for so long.