The Romantic Fantasy Anime On Max That Will Leave You Sobbing

This anime follows the story of Hinako Mikaimizu. She’s passionate about surfing but has no other part of her life planned out or put together, leaving her a bit of a mess.

She ends up saved by a firefighter, Minato Hinagesho, after fireworks set her apartment ablaze and they end up dating.

Where Hinako is disorganized and has no goals in life, Minato is the complete opposite. He is organized and has solid plans for his future.

While Hinako continues her carefree life, Minato is the one handling most of the cleaning, working, and important parts of their relationship. So when an accident leaves her again on her own, Hinaki must learn to ride her own wave and find purpose in her life.

Masaaki Yuasa directs Ride Your Wave, and it’s pretty different from the other anime he’s been in charge of, such as Night Is Short, Walk on Girl, Devilman: Crybaby, and The Tatami Galaxy.

If you want to know more about the emotional turmoil you’ll be in after watching the movie, the scriptwriter, Reiko Yoshida, also wrote the script for A Silent Voice and Violet Evergarden.

Most of the voice actors for Ride Your Wave are rather new. At most, they’ve been voices for one or two other anime, but for many of the main cast, this is their first time voice acting. Still, they managed to do a great job of bringing the characters to life.

Ride Your Wave has a 7.61 on My Anime List. This is a pretty reasonable ranking, as I would give it a 3.5 stars myself. It’s a sad story about falling in love, moving on, and growing up, but some areas feel rushed, and it’s hard to form emotional bonds with the characters before tragedy strikes.

Overall, the biggest issue is the rushed feeling at the beginning. It’s hard to care for a character we only see for a few minutes before they’re killed off. A little more time getting to see and connect to the happy character would have made for a bigger emotional hit.

However, many of the more negative reviews might have to do with the director. He’s considered a visionary who heavily experiments with his stories, making anime that epitomizes humanity out of chaotic and experimental storytelling methods.

The fans who watched Ride Your Wave for the director might have felt a bit more disappointed with this story, as it was much more “normal” and predictable compared to some of his other anime.

However, Ride Your Wave is still a great story, especially if you’re looking for something that delves into loss, love, and growth. In fact, if you have never seen an anime by Masaaki Yuasa, this is a great one to start with.

While much of the plot and story is standard for the anime industry, it does show hints of his standard directorial style within the movie.

If you’re ready for a nice crying session, watch Ride Your Wave on the streaming platform Max.