BLU-RAY REVIEW: OCEAN WAVES
04/17/2017

OVERVIEW: 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 in Ocean Waves, available on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD on April 18, 2017 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, in partnership with GKIDS. Rarely seen outside Japan, this "newly restored and better than ever" (David Ehrlich, IndieWire) Ghibli classic will be available to own for the first time in North America. Ocean Waves, detailed with stunning animation, takes a nostalgic look at the complexities of friendship and young love. The film has been hailed by critics as "a standout!" (Todd Ciolek, Anime News Network) with "a lot of heart" (Charline Jao, The Mary Sue), and is a New York Times Critic's Pick.

Also included in the release is the short film The Ghiblies Episode 2, a rare gem not available to own in North America until now! A charming and gorgeously animated collection of vignettes following the daily adventures of employees at an animation studio, this, along with Ocean Waves are a must-own for fans of Studio Ghibli's incredible body of work.

SYNOPSIS: 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. Never before released in North America, Ocean Waves is a beautifully animated adaptation of Saeko Himuro's best-selling novel, and a true discovery.

BLU-RAY: The film is presented in widescreen in a 1.78:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical format. The picture is just flawless. Not only the picture looks great in this release, also the sound it is good, a 5.1 Dolby Digital in English that provides a good complement to the picture. It also includes  English French and Spanish subtitles.

VIDEO:
Widescreen (1.78:1) 16x9

AUDIO:
Japanese DTS-HD 2.0

Subtitles - English SDH

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Blu-ray™ unleashes the power of your HDTV and is the best way to watch movies at home, featuring 6X the picture resolution of DVD, exclusive extras and theater-quality surround sound.

DVD offers the flexibility and convenience of playing movies in more places, both at home and away.

DIGITAL HD with UltraViolet™ lets fans watch movies anywhere on their favorite devices. Users can instantly stream or download.

Looking Back: Staff Reunion – Join the director, producer, writer and artists of Ocean Waves as they reflect on the film 10 years later US

 Theatrical Trailer