In Waves, An Animated Story of Two Young People Enduring Illness Through Love and the Sea

In Waves is an animated drama-romance in which AJ and Kristen’s young love is tested by Kristen’s sudden illness. Adapted from AJ Dungo’s graphic novel, its English-language Netflix cast includes Will

AJ, a high school student in Los Angeles, meets Kristen, who is passionate about surfing, and steps beyond his everyday life of skateboarding and drawing. The two fall in love, and Kristen introduces AJ to the joy of the ocean and surfing. But when Kristen suddenly becomes ill, the future they had imagined together faces entirely different circumstances.

A Community Sustaining the Love Story

The film does not treat the illness as mere background. AJ and Kristen endure adversity through their friends and their shared love of surfing and the sea. As a result, the story’s central axis is not only the changing relationship, but also the process by which one person encounters another’s world and broadens their way of living.

From Graphic Novel to 2D·3D Feature Animation

The feature debut of director Phuong Mai Nguyen, the film adapts AJ Dungo’s graphic novel of the same name, with Fanny Burdino and Samuel Doux writing the adaptation. Production company Silex Films presents it as a feature animation combining 2D and 3D, and it was theatrically released in France on July 1, 2026, distributed by Diaphana. Netflix stated that Will Sharpe voices AJ and Stephanie Hsu voices Kristen in the English version.

Netflix Release and Regional Differences

Netflix announced that it would release the film worldwide on December 11, 2026, excluding France. In other words, the French theatrical release and the Netflix release are separate distribution paths for the same work, so the release date cannot be treated as a single worldwide simultaneous premiere.