Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Hinako is a surf-loving college student who has just moved to a small seaside town. When a sudden fire breaks out at her apartment building, she is rescued by Minato, a handsome firefighter, and the two soon fall in love.
Ride Your Wave is a visually stunning Masaaki Yuasa film with fluid, expressive animation and gorgeous water sequences that elevate it cinematographically well above average. The romance is warm and the fantastical grief premise is emotionally resonant, though the plot follows a fairly conventional tragic romance arc. The voice performances are earnest and charming without being exceptional. Its novelty is moderate — Yuasa's visual style is distinctive but the emotional beats of loss and moving on are well-trodden, even if rendered with sincerity. The ending provides adequate emotional closure without delivering a truly memorable or surprising resolution.