Ride Your Wave

Ride Your Wave (2019) is a Japanese animated film you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by Masaaki Yuasa (Devilman Crybaby, Ping Pong the Animation) at Studio Science SARU, it follows Hinako, a surf-obsessed college freshman who falls for Minato, a young firefighter who rescues her from a rooftop blaze.

Their bond forms through surfing, and Yuasa makes the water feel genuinely alive — the ocean sequences are some of the most inventive animation in the film. When Minato dies saving others, Hinako is left unable to move on. Then she discovers that singing the song they shared near any water brings him back, flickering in the waves.

Voice cast features Ryota Katayose and Rina Kawaei. The film sits closer to melancholy romance than feel-good fantasy — it's really about the gap between holding on and letting go. Stream Ride Your Wave (2019) on iFILM.