Review of Ride Your Wave

Ride Your Wave I went in with the thought that it was going to be a drama filled romance regarding people learning the hardships of what it means to love someone. I was surprised to find out that it was a story revolving around recovering from loss, and dealing with the hardships of life as a whole. I Adore the unique art style, and how it resembles the tone with the color choices. This movie was able to make me feel happy and then sad within the time frame. It brings you up just to tear you back down, not with another tragic event, but withsomething that otherwise would've been lovely. Watching Hinako go through the film and learn how to cope and let go and take care of herself helps you understand the emotional person that she is. That paired with the ending is a big bitter sweet jab to the heart. Anime films are always hard for me to discuss because I understand that they are shorter than 20 episode shows, but i think within the run time the characters were developed nicely and I could feel for them.
At least Hinako and Minato anyways. Wasabi and Minato's sister (name is escaping me atm) I wish played a bigger part because I wanted to understand their feelings and actions too because they were played up to be important.. but it was good overall and I would definitely watch it again. The music is really good and the story is a nice change from what we usually get from romance derived media. Their relationship was only part of the story, while Hinako's recovery from it is the bigger idea. I love this movie :)