“Ocean Waves(Official Studio Ghibli)” is an animated film that was broadcast as a 90-minute special on the Nippon Television network on May 5, 1993.
This time, we will look back at the characters and voice actors of “Ocean Waves” and consider their respective charms and the story. What kind of people were the characters in “Ocean Waves”?
Please be aware that the following text contains sudden spoilers.
*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “【海がきこえる】登場人物＆声優一覧とキャラクター考察そして人物相関図“
Let an AI walk you through the highlights of this post in a simple, conversational style.
“Ocean Waves” Main Characters & Voice Actors List
| Name | Age | Voice Actor (Japanese dub) |
|---|---|---|
 Taku Morisaki | 2nd year high school to 1st year university | Nobuo Tobita |
 Rikako Muto | 2nd year high school to 1st year university | Yōko Sakamoto |
 Yutaka Matsuno | 2nd year high school to 1st year university | Toshihiko Seki |
 Yumi Kohama | 2nd year high school to 1st year university | Kae Araki |
 Tadashi Yamao | 2nd year high school to 1st year university | Hikaru Midorikawa |
 Akiko Shimizu | 2nd year high school to 1st year university | Yuri Amano |
Character & Voice Actor Profiles and Analysis
Taku Morisaki | Voice Actor: Nobuo Tobita
Basic Information about Taku Morisaki
The protagonist of the story, a first-year university student. He is from Kochi and is living as a student in Tokyo at the start of the story. “Ocean Waves” is centered around his recollections as he returns to his hometown to attend a high school reunion.
Although he is a character in the story, the story itself is his recollection, making “Ocean Waves” a “story from Taku Morisaki’s perspective.” This is evident from the fact that all the narration and monologues in the story are in Taku Morisaki’s voice.
Therefore, this story lacks any objectivity and is filled with “what Taku Morisaki saw,” “what Taku Morisaki experienced,” and “what Taku Morisaki felt.”
Consequently, the other characters are composed of the superficial things he saw, but one of the interesting aspects of “Ocean Waves” is imagining the inner worlds of the other characters using Taku Morisaki’s perspective.
However… it’s a bit different to say that all his monologues are the “truth.”
This is something we all experience. For example, when we were students and in front of someone we had a crush on, did we really think, “I like you, I like you, I really like you!”? Some people might have, but didn’t we actually suppress those true feelings for some reason? Even though no one was listening.
A similar thing happens in “Ocean Waves”; he cunningly conceals his own true feelings. And it becomes clear at the end of the story that it was merely a concealment.
Of course, this concealment is obvious to us, but I think enjoying such “subtleties of youth” is one of the ways to enjoy “Ocean Waves.”
I’ve summarized these points in the following article, so please give it a read:
About the Voice Actor, Nobuo Tobita
Taku Morisaki’s voice was performed by voice actor Nobuo Tobita. He has voiced characters in many works, and Kamille Bidan from “Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam” is also voiced by Mr. Tobita. Once you know, you can tell it’s the same person, but I never really thought about it until I looked it up.
More surprisingly than Kamille, Mr. Tobita also voices Maruo in “Chibi Maruko-chan.” You can certainly detect elements of Kamille and Taku, but this was also something I only realized after looking it up.
Rikako Muto | Voice Actor: Yōko Sakamoto
Basic Information about Rikako Muto
The other protagonist of the story. She is in the same year as Taku Morisaki, a first-year university student.
The story begins when she, a Tokyo native, transfers to a high school in the rural area of Kochi and unleashes a “Tokyo-style wind” on two boys. To be precise, they were just caught in the blast, but for Taku Morisaki and his best friend Yutaka Matsuno, it was a powerful punch.
If this story were set in Tokyo, it would probably become a “Tokyo Love Story” and end with “Rikako Muto was Tokyo itself to me,” but the setting in Kochi and the fact that they are high school students prevents that.
This is a very personal opinion, but wouldn’t “Ocean Waves” be more interesting for a male audience than “Tokyo Love Story”? I’m open to all disagreements.
Of course, Rikako Muto not only remained a powerful punch for the protagonists but also grew properly within the story. By leaving Tokyo and encountering different human relationships, or rather, different values, she realizes how one-sided her perspective was and, in a way, becomes an adult.
It might seem a bit too convenient, but that’s probably just “how it is.” Humans can grow in an instant, and they can also fall. Encounters with people are truly precious, aren’t they?
About the Voice Actor, Yōko Sakamoto
Voiced by former stage actress Yōko Sakamoto. As an anime voice actress, she played Sakura Kozakai in the 6th episode of the OVA “Shinigami no Ballad.” (directed by Tomomi Mochizuki, who also directed “Ocean Waves”).
She also sings the ending theme of “Ocean Waves,” “Umi ni Naretara” (If I Could Be the Sea).
Yutaka Matsuno | Voice Actor: Toshihiko Seki
Basic Information about Yutaka Matsuno
The shadow protagonist of the story and left-handed. He is Taku Morisaki’s best friend and also the tragic underdog. His love for Rikako Muto is mercilessly crushed by his best friend, Taku Morisaki.
He is brilliant and probably went on to Kyoto University, but he wasn’t just a book-smart type; he was a man with strong convictions. Frankly, as a “prospect,” Matsuno is clearly a better choice than Taku, but life is absurd.
Still, Matsuno’s heart must be quite strong not to fall into school refusal after being told “you’re creepy” by the person he loves. It could be said that his heart of steel supported this story.
I can only pray for much happiness in his future.
About the Voice Actor, Toshihiko Seki
Voiced by voice actor Toshihiko Seki. He has voiced characters in a great many works, and I think it would have been quite difficult to grow up without hearing Mr. Seki’s voice.
Personally memorable roles include Sakamoto Ryōma in “O~i! Ryōma,” Dew in “The Legend of the White Whale,” and Doi-sensei in “Nintama Rantarō.”
Yumi Kohama | Voice Actor: Kae Araki
Basic Information about Yumi Kohama
Rikako Muto’s only friend, who couldn’t fit in at Kochi or her new high school. You could even call her a best friend. Without her, Rikako Muto’s high school life would have been completely different.
Her biggest job in the main story was probably passing the baton of the Tokyo trip planned by Rikako to Taku Morisaki. Matsuno must have cursed Yumi Kohama, thinking, “Why wasn’t it me?”
However, looking at it from a slightly cynical perspective, wasn’t Yumi Kohama just a tool for Rikako to realize her plan until the Tokyo trip was over? In fact, Rikako doesn’t cling to Yumi Kohama and travels with Taku Morisaki just because he’s willing to come along.
But for Rikako, who underwent rapid personal growth during the Tokyo trip, she probably became an irreplaceable friend.
In any case, she did a good job. For Taku Morisaki.
About the Voice Actor, Kae Araki
Voiced by voice actress Kae Araki. While she may not often play leading roles, she has voiced characters in many works. Famous roles include Chibiusa in “Sailor Moon,” Kari Kamiya in “Digimon Adventure,” and Hilde Schbeiker in “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing.”
Tadashi Yamao | Voice Actor: Hikaru Midorikawa
Basic Information about Tadashi Yamao
A friend of Taku Morisaki. He appears occasionally throughout the story, but was he really necessary? He seems to be placed there to prevent Taku Morisaki’s circle of friends from being extremely narrow.
What we can know about him is that he apparently liked Yumi Kohama. And that he confessed his feelings at the reunion, fueled by alcohol.
Nothing more, nothing less.
About the Voice Actor, Hikaru Midorikawa
Voiced by voice actor Hikaru Midorikawa. For my generation, he might be most famous as Kaede Rukawa from “Slam Dunk.” Besides that, he has voiced major characters in many works, such as Shintaro in “Nangoku Shōnen Papuwa-kun,” Heero Yuy in “Mobile Suit Gundam Wing,” and Seto Kaiba in “Yu-Gi-Oh!.”
Akiko Shimizu | Voice Actor: Yuri Amano
Basic Information about Akiko Shimizu
The person who admonished Rikako for not helping with the preparations for the cultural festival. She might have thought she was doing the right thing, but there’s nothing more infuriating than being lectured by a classmate.
In the end, she wasn’t a very mature person, as she ganged up on her with others. At the reunion, she casually reflects, “We were just kids,” but she can only look back like that because Rikako Muto had a heart of steel. If she had been a little weaker, it wouldn’t have been something that could be dismissed with “we were just kids.”
I was also passionate about my high school’s cultural festival, but not all my classmates were enthusiastic. It must have been a painful time for them. Living in the closed space of a school requires a strong sense of “tolerating those who are not like you,” and those who lack that are called “children.”
It’s a situation full of contradictions, but what should be done?
About the Voice Actor, Yuri Amano
Voiced by voice actress Yuri Amano. She also voiced the heroine Keiko Yukimura in “Yu Yu Hakusho.” But for me, it feels more fitting to think of her as the voice of Rain Mikamura from “Mobile Fighter G Gundam.”
Other Characters
The Principal | Voice Actor: Takeshi Watabe
The person who announced the “cancellation of the school trip” to Taku Morisaki and others in their third year of junior high. In the end, “thanks” to that, Taku was able to meet Matsuno, so in a way, he did a good job.
However, since the cause was poor academic performance, perhaps the upperclassmen who neglected their studies did the best job.
Kawamura | Voice Actor: Kan Tokumaru
When Taku and his classmates protested the “cancellation of the school trip” to their homeroom teacher, this teacher made a discriminatory remark as easily as breathing, saying, “You’re looking down on her just because she’s a woman, aren’t you?” The day will probably never come when he realizes his discriminatory attitude.
I want to believe he had lost his senses after being defeated just before that, but I don’t want to become an adult like that.
Rikako’s Father | Voice Actor: Kinryu Arimoto
If he had been a man of good conduct, “Ocean Waves” would not have existed. Perhaps he is the biggest contributor of all.
He was flustered by Rikako’s sudden visit, but he’ll probably manage to get along with his mistress one way or another. I wonder if they had a fight after that.
Okada | Voice Actor: Jun’ichi Kanamaru
Rikako’s ex-boyfriend, the epitome of “disagreeable.” The scene where the three of them—Okada, Rikako, and Taku—are talking is probably when Taku became a special person to Rikako.
Okada and Rikako are talking like typical high school students, but Taku, after hearing a speech from his own mother about “a parent’s feelings,” dismissed them both as “children.”
If Taku hadn’t heard that story from his mother, “Ocean Waves” would have been a completely different story.
Taku Morisaki’s Mother | Voice Actor: Ai Satou
As mentioned above, the mother who unintentionally made a “nice pass” to her own son.
I don’t know if Taku himself realizes it, but if he does, he’ll probably be forever in her debt.
The proprietress | Voice Actor: Reiko Suzuki
The proprietress at the part-time job who said, “Taku, phone call for you.”
The apprentice | Voice Actor: Tomokazu Seki
The apprentice chef at Taku’s part-time job.
The images used in this article are from “Studio Ghibli Still Images“.
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