If you were to discuss ‘Studio Ghibli films’ with any anime fan, several film titles are sure to come up. Examples include the worldwide success ‘Spirited Away’ and the critically acclaimed ‘Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind’, but you’ll have to dig pretty deep before someone brings up ‘Ocean Waves’ – the 1993 TV movie which was considered a rarity until it’s UK DVD release in January 2010. ‘Ocean Waves’ (also known as ‘I Can Hear the Sea’) is not made by the company’s prodigy Hayao Miyazaki but instead by Ghibli’s younger team in an attempt to make a reasonably cheap film in a short space of time; the end result went over budget and over schedule, but does the lack of Miyazaki’s magic make this Ghibli title worth your time?

Numbered 16 in the UK’s Studio Ghibli Collection; Ocean Waves is set in the small, country town of Kochi where we follow your average high school student Taku. At the beginning of his 2^nd year, he meets Rikako; the beautiful female transfer student from Tokyo. When Taku’s best friend Matsuno begins to develop a crush on the new girl, Taku finds his world turned upside down.

Outside of the lack of Miyazaki involvement, there are a lot of other things that separate this film from other Ghibli offerings; the major difference is the lack of fairytale-inspired plot and magical atmosphere. This title is very down to earth, it’s a coming of age story that many viewers will feel connected to and the film portrays the very normal, almost dull side of growing up in your teen years whilst also dealing with the first feelings of love. It’s doesn’t have the ‘loop hole’ that Whisper of the Heart did where a character was writing a fantasy story  so Ocean Waves won’t sweep you off your feet into a new world or create inspirational characters like other Ghibli titles did. Taku is your typical naive boy constantly dragged into Rikako’s problems, Matsuno is the hard working lad who quietly harbors love for the female, and Rikako is the moody teenager dealing with her parents’ divorce while also trying to fit into the town she rather not be in.

The film is only 70 minutes long, and since it takes its time to develop the atmosphere of the school life and the friendship between Taku and Matsuno, the love triangle never really develops the tension or passion that most mediums covering this type of story may contain. In all honesty, the ‘love’ side of the story never reaches the level of heart-wrenching intensity that many romantics out there seek in a love triangle, but Ocean Waves is not out to make you feel warm inside. It’s a statement of simplicity, life isn’t all peaches and cream, and sometimes we do things we regret, but we move on and one way or another, we reach the other side of it all. The film is more of a life lesson than anything else. In a way, it succeeds, in others it’s slightly underwhelming as the lessons learnt from the film require you to gather yourselves rather than it being spoon fed to you, and since the film doesn't go out of its way to please it's audience with flashy animation or big plot twists, many viewers may feel a tad bored.

As a DVD, there are 2 things that harm this flick; first being the extras, there’s only a sole Japanese trailer for the film. Considering that apparently the Japanese recent release contained a 10 year anniversary reunion, it’s a shame Optimum Films didn’t include it to warrant the RRP. The second is the lack of dub; understandable as this isn’t a high profile anime title, but this will cut off a decent chunk of anime fans and those who don’t like to ‘read while watching’. However the animation is fluid and nicely transferred to DVD despite it's age, subtitles are easy to read and there are no complaints with the audio track; simple yet delightful score to match the content of the disc.

Ocean Waves will seem lacking to most viewers, and the short amount of time you’ll spend on this film will past by you quickly without a second thought, but that doesn’t make it a bad film. It’s by no means ground breaking but if you are looking for an easy digestible film to pass the time, or just for something a bit different, Ocean Waves is a worthwhile contender.