From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, comes a poignant and wonderfully nuanced story of adolescence and growing up.

Taku and his best friend Yutaka are headed back to school for what looks like another uneventful year. But they soon find their friendship tested by the arrival of Rikako, a beautiful new transfer student from Tokyo whose attitude shifts wildly from flirty and flippant to melancholic. When Taku joins Rikako on a trip to Tokyo, the school erupts with rumors, and the three friends are forced to come to terms with their changing relationships. Ocean Waves is a beautifully animated adaptation of Saeko Himuro’s best-selling novel, and a true discovery.

For thoughts on Ocean Waves, please check out my thoughts on No Streaming Required:

Video Quality

Ocean Waves comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of GKIDS and Shout! Studios with a dazzling 1080p transfer that allows this early Studio Ghibli tale to thrive. This release follows the Universal release on Blu-Ray in 2017 which should look almost identical, but we do not have that disc to compare. The textures of the character designs and the environments are impressive and give the films a nice sense of space. One of the areas where the animation really soars is the distinct details of the character designs. Black levels are first-rate, and there are no serious signs of banding or compression issues. The colors are very bright and vibrant in a way that radiates off the screen. There is a complexity to the hues that unlock a greater depth within the work. Delineation is crisp and pleasing with no unnatural jagged lines or color bleed. Fans of the studio will be overjoyed by this presentation.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original Japanese (with optional English subtitles). There is practically nothing in the way of age-related anomalies here with the track running free of damage. Dialogue sounds perfectly clear without sound effects or the whimsical score impeding important information. The world provides a very inviting atmosphere that is not dulled when there is a shift in the time period. The track handles these atmospheric effects quite capably. The reserved sonic ambitions of this one mean it is not a particularly cacophonous presentation, but it presents everything precisely without much in the way of damage or other unwanted issues.

Special Features

Feature Length Storyboard: An option to watch the film completely in storyboard form.

The Ghiblies Episode 2: A nearly 25-minute animated short film from 2002 written and directed by Yoshiyuki Momose that takes a humorous look at working at an animation studio.

Looking Back – Staff Reunion: A 50-minute archival featurette from 2003 in which five of the main staff members from the film reunite after 11 years to discuss their work on the film, what they have been up to in the interim, the pressures of working on a Ghibli film, what they used as inspiration in the making of the film, and more.

US Theatrical Trailer: The minute-and-a-half-long trailer is provided here.

Booklet: There is an exclusive booklet featuring interviews with the director, the animation director, and the producer, along with a tribute to the late editor.

Final Thoughts

Ocean Waves is a work from the legendary Studio Ghibli that is a bit of an outcast and was nearly kept from American audiences until there was an effort made to give it a second life. Admittedly, this is one of the weaker efforts from the creative entity, yet that can only mean so much when you are discussing one of the greatest artistic forces the film world has ever seen. The narrative is gentle and contemplative, but the script does not reach the glorious heights of other titles from the studio. It still has a lot to say about growing up and the nature of love that is touching and relatable. GKIDS and Shout! Studios have released a Blu-Ray with a fantastic A/V presentation and a couple of decent special features. If you are even a casual fan of either of Studio Ghibli, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection. Recommended

Ocean Waves is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: GKIDS and Shout! Studios have supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.