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Amazon Lists Studio Ghibli’s “Ocean Waves” For DVD & Blu-Ray on April 18


I can hear the ocean, and I can see a long-forgotten Ghibli classic hitting home video in North America.

Amazon recently a published listing for Studio Ghibli’s Ocean Waves (Umi ga Kikoeru). According to the listing, the film will be released on April 18. The title will be presented in subtitled format.

Two SKUs are available:

Ocean Waves was a TV special, which first aired in May 1993. The feature was directed by Tomomi Mochizuki (Princess Nine, House of Five Leaves), with Katsuya Kondo (Kiki’s Delivery Service, From Up On Poppy Hill) providing character designs. Keiko Niwa (From Up On Poppy Hill, The Secret World of Arrietty) wrote the film’s screenplay.

GKids describes the Ocean Waves as:

Rarely seen outside of Japan, Ocean Waves is a subtle, poignant and wonderfully detailed story of adolescence and teenage isolation. Taku and his best friend Yutaka are headed back to school for what looks like another uneventful year. But they soon find their friendship tested by the arrival of Rikako, a beautiful new transfer student from Tokyo whose attitude vacillates wildly from flirty and flippant to melancholic. When Taku joins Rikako on a trip to Tokyo, the school erupts with rumors, and the three friends are forced to come to terms with their changing relationships.

GKids is listed as the film’s distributor on the company’s website. Ocean Waves is one of two films to elude Tokuma Shoten and Walt Disney Company’s 1996 distribution deal, which granted Disney the license to all other Studio Ghibli films. Grave of the Fireflies is the other film that wasn’t included.

GKids gave Ocean Waves a theatrical run, which kicked off in New York on December 28. By the time the film leaves theaters on March 10, it will have been shown in 54 locations. As of February 16, the film has grossed $80,090 in revenues.

Source: Twitter (WTK)

About the author

Samantha Ferreira

Samantha Ferreira is Anime Herald’s founder and editor-in-chief. A Rhode Island native, Samantha has been an anime fan since 1992, and an active member of the anime press since 2002, when she began working as a reviewer for Anime Dream. She launched Anime Herald in 2010, and continues to oversee its operations to this day. Outside of journalism, Samantha actively studies the history of the North American anime fandom and industry, with a particular focus on the 2000s anime boom and bust. She’s a huge fan of all things Sakura Wars, and maintains series fansite Combat Revue Review when she has free time available. When not in the Anime Herald Discord, Samantha can typically be found on Bluesky.

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