Ocean Waves, also known as I Can Hear the Sea (海がきこえる, Umi ga Kikoeru), is a TV anime movie made by Studio Ghibli. It was directed by Tomomi Mochizuki and was based on the novel of the same title by Saeko Himuro. The story is set in the city of Kōchi, on the Japanese island of Shikoku. It concerns a love triangle that develops between two good friends and a new girl who transferred from Tokyo. This film was an attempt by Studio Ghibli to allow their younger staff members to make a film reasonably cheaply. However, it ended up going both over budget and over schedule. At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly. As the plane takes off he narrates the events that brought her into his life... The story is told in flashback. In Kōchi, two years previously, Taku is working in a restaurant, where he receives...