Ocean Waves: this coming-of-age romance, by MOCHIZUKI Tomomi, tells the story of a pair of friends in high school and how their relationship with each other changes when a beautiful girl from Tokyo transfers to their school. It’s generally delicate and insightful, but the short run time doesn’t allow much space for the characters to be fully developed. Still, this is a fine example of an animated film that could easily have been a live-action film without major changes, reinforcing the idea of how flexible animation can be. The animation is beautiful but not stunning, with a style reminiscent of pencil drawings; the characters are well-designed and recognizable. The voice work is solid: TOBITA Nobuo plays the protagonist, a pleasant young man; SAKAMOTO Yooko, the arrogant new girl in town; and SEKI Toshihiko, the protagonist’s best friend. Nice musical score by composer NAGATA Shigeru.