Masaaki Yuasa rides waves in this charming portrait of love and loss.

Every bit as whimsical and profound as you expect from a Masaaki Yuasa feature film, Ride Your Wave is an easy-to-love portrait of love and loss, arguably making it the most accessible film Yuasa has made thus far. The story follows Hinako, a college student and passionate surfer, 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. It reads "happily ever after", but tragedy strikes when Minato dies in an accident at sea. Hinako is so distraught that she can no longer even look at the ocean, but one day she discovers that she can still communicate with Minato through water. Can the two really remain together forever?

This program screened as part of Kaboom Animation Festival 2025