We’ve often declared our love for all things Ghibli, so a new DVD release from the Japanese animation studio par excellence is always welcome. Ocean Waves is now available for the first time in the UK, but it actually dates from 1993 when Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki gave up-and-coming animator Tomomi Mochizuki the opportunity to direct a TV special. Miyazaki’s vision for Ghibli included the studio providing a showcase for young talent, but the experiment backfired when Ocean Waves went over budget and over schedule.

Seventeen years on, it’s fascinating to be able to see this important part of Ghibli history at long last. Unlike the vast majority of the studio’s work, Ocean Waves (based on a novel by Saeko Himuro) is told in a neorealist style. Taku is a university student in Tokyo who has a Proustian reminiscence about being part of a love triangle in his hometown of Kochi. The bulk of the film is told in flashback as Taku recalls the emotional complications caused to himself and his best buddy Matsuno when a beautiful girl called Muto transferred to their school.

There are no cat buses, flying castles or stink spirits here, yet there is still magic to be found in Ocean Waves’ character-driven tale. It’s the magic of first love, childhood bonds and the romantic rites of passage into adulthood. The unshowy visuals match the mood perfectly as, cupid-like, Mochizuki crosshairs the heart of the story.

Ocean Waves is a fine – if belated – addition to the Studio Ghibli canon. With Ponyo showing at the Duke Of York’s from 12 February and the studio’s adaptation of The Borrowers due for a Japanese release this summer, Ghibli fans have plenty to celebrate.

Ocean Waves (Optimum Asia) is out now on DVD.

Colin Houlson