Review of Ride Your Wave

Ride Your Wave is a 2019 Japanese animated film directed by Masaaki Yuasa (The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, Tatami Galaxy and Devilman Crybaby). It follows a story of a female surfer named Hinako who is still unsure on what to take up in college and has a hobby of surfing. In a fire incident, she is rescued by a firefighter named Minato. The two eventually developed romantic feelings for each other and discover the different sides of their personality. With an unexpected turn of events that occur, Hinako’s life changes. I loved Masaaki Yuasa’s previous works mentioned because of how artistic and original hisanimation is and by doing so, I gave his film a watch. During the first half of the film, I felt a little bit worried because the story seems a bit predictable at first and would kind of be a romantic comedy film. However, in the second half of the film, because of that one event, it made me hook to the film even more. Throughout its running time, I felt somewhat good as to how the story unfolds with Hinako and how she deals with the situation she is facing as of the moment. The story itself still managed to keep itself solid from the beginning to the end.

The characters in the film were also good. I loved how the film fleshed out its two main leads, Hinako and Minato, a bit more so that I could get to know more about them. They are both definitely carrying this film fully throughout its runtime which makes me interested in them more. The message of the film is what made think of the movie a lot because of how it leans into the theme of “finding your wave”. It symbolizes how a person must learn how to discover his or her own path in life despite the tragedy that one must accept in order to overcome all of it. The way how they depict the mutual love between life and death is something that will remind me how people will always be watched by their loved ones in search for meaning of life.

Its song “Brand New Story” is definitely the song that may catch the attention of the audience more. It is very catchy and gives a boost to the film. Both versions of the song in the film: Hinako and Minato, and the original band were great to listen to. The animation is great and the studio Science Saru managed to do a job well done with its beautiful effects of the background such as the ocean, fire and sky. Yuasa’s direction, although it wasn’t as amazing as its previous works as mentioned in the first paragraph, was still great all in all.

Ride Your Wave may not be much of a memorable film but it still deserves attention to the anime community. The film will make you think a lot about your relationships with your friends and family that defines how happy or successful your life will be. Masaaki Yuasa’s film has done a great job in telling a story that the audience may not expect at first look. The animation and art style are as what you can expect from Yuasa’s great previous works. It is a sweet romance anime film that will make you smile and cry at the same time throughout the film.