ANI-MOVIES, *Ride Your Wave

At first appearance, Ride Your Wave might seem like it was riding the success of Weathering With You, in reality this supernatural romance came out a month before the other film. Masaaki Yuasa director of such anime as Devilman Crybaby and Japan Sinks: 2020, made this feature-length film which garnered as much praise as Weathering With You. It also is the first time that a major anime showcases on Japanese surfing, not including Eureka Seven which has giant robots in it.

Hinako is a college student now living on her own who loves to indulge in her hobby of being a surfer. Her apartment builiding catches on fire thanks to some drunk hooligans with fireworks, but is saved by local firefighter Minato, and the two begin a budding friendship as she repays him with learning how to surf. They eventually fall in love, and start planning a future together. Unfortunately, Minato is killed trying to surf on his own, leaving Hinako stuck in a state of depression. The once plucky surfer girl can find no solace in anything, but she soon discovers if she sings her favorite song near some water that Minato's spirit appears in water form. So, Hinako now goes around town either with a water bottle or a large water-filled whale toy inhabited by Minato, who also know has waterbending abilities. During this period, Hinako becomes greater friends with Minato's younger sister Yoko, and his junior firefighter Wasabi, forming a small but not so reinforced love triangle. Hinako begins to question whether she should move on with her life instead of longing over Minato's passing.

Ride Your Wave seriously follows the theme of "everything comes around" as several plotpoints get brought up again by the film's conclusion, including Hinako and Minato's past before they started dating. The movie soundtrack seriously insists that you enjoy Hinata's song she uses to summon Minato with, so it might prey on your nerves a bit. Storywise, the ongoing narrative is smooth and nearly flawless, and you get to experience the budding romance before its premature ending. The animation is superb, especially the magical approach that water takes on as both a glimpse of the spirit world and as a force of nature. The only real problem with the American release is that the subtitled edition doesn't cover enough of the screen and could stand to have more of an outline to make it out good enough. Ride Your Wave is both a heartwarming and heartwrenching anime film that will make you believe in love after death.