Ocean Waves -1993-1993 ((free))

The film, based on the novel by Saeko Himuro, is structured as a memory play. It opens in present-day Tokyo, where the protagonist, Taku Morisaki, is a university student preparing to fly to Kochi for a high school reunion. Seeing a familiar dish at the airport triggers a flashback to his final years of high school.

: Told through a frame narrative, Taku Morisaki travels back to his hometown of Kōchi for a high school reunion. On the journey, he reminisces about a complicated love triangle involving his best friend Yutaka and Rikako, a transfer student from Tokyo. Ocean Waves -1993-1993

When the older Ghibli staff (Miyazaki) saw the rushes, he reportedly scoffed. "They don’t know how to make a story," he grumbled. The producer, Toshio Suzuki, agreed. It was too subtle. Too quiet. Too real. The film, based on the novel by Saeko