Lu Over the Wall

Lu Over the Wall
UK and Ireland theatrical poster
Japanese 夜明け告げるルーのうた
Hepburn Yoake Tsugeru Rū no Uta
Literally The song of Lu, the dawn announcer
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa
Produced by Eunyoung Choi (animation)
Written by
Starring
Music by Takatsugu Muramatsu
Edited by Ayako Tan[2]
Production
company
Science Saru
Distributed by Toho
Release date
  • May 19, 2017 (2017-05-19)
Running time
 112 minutes[3]
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Box office $95,337

Lu Over the Wall (夜明け告げるルーのうた, Yoake Tsugeru Rū no Uta) is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film produced by Science Saru and released by Toho about a boy's encounter with a ningyo, a yōkai analogous to merfolk. Lu Over the Wall was directed by Masaaki Yuasa, and has a screenplay credited to Reiko Yoshida and Masaaki Yuasa.[4] The music was composed by Takatsugu Muramatsu. It is the second Science Saru animated feature film released, though it was the first to be produced.[5][6]

It was released in cinemas by Toho on May 19, 2017 in Japan[7] and by Anime Limited on December 6, 2017 in the United Kingdom and Ireland[8] and was released by GKIDS on May 11, 2018[9] in the United States.[10]

Plot

Kai Ashimoto (足元カイ, Ashimoto Kai), a young middle schooler, lives in Hinashi Town (日無町, Hinashi-chō), a lonely fishing village, with his father and his grandfather, a parasol maker. He used to live in Tokyo, but after his parents divorced he moved back to his father's home town. Kai has trouble telling his parents the complicated feelings he has for them, and he's lonely and pessimistic about his school life. One of his joys is uploading songs he writes to the internet.

One day, his classmates Kunio (国夫) and Yūho (遊歩) invite him to join their band, "SEIRÈN". As he reluctantly follows them to Merfolk Island (人魚島, Ningyojima), their practice spot, they meet Lu (ルー, Rū), the ningyo girl. Lu sings merrily and dances innocently. As Kai begins to spend time with her, he starts to be able to say what it is that he's really thinking.

But since ancient times, the people of Hinashi Town have thought that mermaids brought disaster. Something happens that puts a huge rift between Lu and the townspeople. And then, the town is in danger. Will Kai's cry for the heart be able to save the town?

Voice cast

Characters Japanese English[11]
Lu Kanon Tani Christine Marie Cabanos
Kai Shōta Shimoda Michael Sinterniklaas
Yūho Minako Kotobuki Stephanie Sheh
Kunio Sōma Saitō Brandon Engman
Isaki Shizuka Itō Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld

Production

In January 2017, Masaaki Yuasa announced on his Twitter that he was working on a new original anime film.[4]

It was animated in a hybrid form in which key frames were drawn on paper but, instead of the traditional clean-up and inbetweening still used in most Japanese hand-drawn animation at the time, these rough key frames were then traced and inbetweened in Adobe Flash[12]

Reception

Critical reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 34 reviews, and an average rating of 6.2/10.[13]

Charles Solomon from Los Angeles Times wrote that "Yuasa's bold imagery and sometimes convoluted storytelling defy the conventions of traditional animated filmmaking, but he is clearly an artist with an individual vision whose work offers something genuinely new and eye-catching."

On the other hand, Simon Abrams from RogerEbert.com said "Still, I can't lie: I was bored throughout the 112 minutes I spent watching "Lu Over the Wall." I initially thought that I was allergic to the mediocre English voice actors' performances. But I soon realized that that my biggest problem was that I couldn't reconcile the basic disconnect between the thrilling story-telling and the paint-by-numbers story. I wanted the film's creators to do something with their formulaic narrative, but they never did."


Accolades

Year Name of Competition Category Recipient Result Ref.
2017 Annecy International Animated Film Festival Cristal for Best Feature film Lu Over the Wall Won [14]
2018 Mainichi Film Awards Ōfuji Noburō Award Won

References

  1. ↑ "映画『夜明け告げるルーのうた』公式サイト" [Lu Over the Wall film Official Website]. Lu Over the Wall Official Website (in Japanese). Lu Production Committee. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  2. ↑ "夜明け告げるルーのうた』公式サイ" [Lu Over the Wall]. Anime@wiki (in Japanese). @WIKI. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ Lu Production Committee. "『四畳半神話大系』や『ピンポン』を手掛けた湯浅政明監督初のオリジナル作品『夜明け告げるルーのうた』が公開決定！". animate Times (in Japanese). animateLAB. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Ressler, Karen (18 January 2017). "Director Masaaki Yuasa reveals Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta anime film". Anime News Network. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  5. ↑ Hamman, Dan (5 October 2017). "Masaaki Yuasa Interview Part 1 (Night is Short, Walk On Girl)". Animation for Adults. Retrieved March 23, 2018. I was making Lu and Walk On happened during that production.
  6. ↑ Chapman, Matt (December 9, 2017). "Masaaki Yuasa interview: Lu Over the Wall & The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl". MyMBuzz. MCM Central. Retrieved March 23, 2018. While I was working on Lu Over the Wall, the other one came up suddenly, so I decided to work on both at the same time.
  7. ↑ Ressler, Karen (February 14, 2017). "Masaaki Yuasa's Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta anime film reveals poster visual". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Lu Over the Wall". Lu Over the Wall UK Official Website. Anime Limited. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  9. ↑ GKIDS (March 21, 2018). "From visionary anime director Masaaki Yuasa comes the first feature film from Science SARU, LU OVER THE WALL. Lu swims into theaters May 11! #LuOverTheWall". Instagram. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
  10. ↑ Pineda, Rafael Antonio. "GKIDS licenses Lu Over the Wall, 'Night is Short, Walk on Girl' anime films (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Lu Over the Wall". Sundance Film Festival 2019. The Sundance Institute. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  12. ↑ ."夜明け告げるルーのうた" [Lu Over the Wall]. Science SARU. Retrieved April 7, 2018. .
  13. ↑ "Lu Over the Wall (Yoake tsugeru Rū no uta) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
  14. ↑ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (June 18, 2017). "'Lu Over the Wall, In This Corner of the World anime films win awards at Annecy". Anime News Network. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.