Lu Over the Wall

{{Infobox film

| name = Lu Over the Wall

| image = LuOvertheWall.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Theatrical release poster{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-02-14/masaaki-yuasa-yoake-tsugeru-lu-no-uta-anime-film-reveals-poster-visual/.112241|title=Masaaki Yuasa's Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta Anime Film Reveals Poster Visual|work=Anime News Network|date=14 February 2017|access-date=19 February 2021|last=Ressler|first=Karen}}

| native_name = {{Infobox Japanese

| kanji = 夜明け告げるルーのうた

| revhep = Yoaketsugeru Rū no Uta

}}

| director = Masaaki Yuasa

| producer = {{plainlist|

Junnosuke Itou
Yuka Okayasu

}}

| writer = {{plainlist|

Reiko Yoshida
Masaaki Yuasa

}}

| starring = {{plainlist|

Kanon Tani
Shōta Shimoda
Shinichi Shinohara
Akira Emoto
Soma Saito
Minako Kotobuki
Chidori (Daigo, Nobu){{cite web|title=映画『夜明け告げるルーのうた』公式サイト|trans-title=Film Lu over the Wall official site|url=http://lunouta.com|publisher=Lu Film partners|access-date=March 23, 2018|language=ja}}

}}

| music = Takatsugu Muramatsu

| editing = Ayako Tan{{cite web|title=夜明け告げるルーのうた|trans-title=Lu over the Wall|url=https://www7.atwiki.jp/anime_wiki/pages/22513.html|website=Anime@wiki|publisher=@WIKI|access-date=March 23, 2018|language=ja}}

| studio = Science Saru

| distributor = Toho

| released = {{film date|2017|5|19|}}

| runtime = 112 minutes{{cite web|url=http://www.animatetimes.com/news/details.php?id=1484738868|language=ja|title=『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！|website=animate Times|publisher=animateLAB|access-date=April 10, 2017|author=Lu Film partners}}

| country = Japan

| language = Japanese

| budget =

| gross = $161,253{{cite web |last=|first=|date=August 20, 2022|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6452332/?ref_=bo_gr_ti|title=Lu Over the Wall (2017) box office|publisher=Box Office Mojo|accessdate=August 20, 2022}}

}}

{{Nihongo|Lu Over the Wall|夜明け告げるルーのうた|Yoaketsugeru Rū no Uta|{{lit|The Song of Lu, the Dawn Announcer}}|lead=yes}} is a 2017 Japanese animated fantasy film produced by Science Saru and released by Toho about the eponymous ningyo. It was directed by Masaaki Yuasa, and written by Yuasa and Reiko Yoshida.{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-01-18/director-masaaki-yuasa-reveals-yoake-tsugeru-lu-no-uta-anime-film/.111211|title=Director Masaaki Yuasa reveals Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta anime film|work=Anime News Network|date=18 January 2017|access-date=10 April 2017|last=Ressler|first=Karen}} The music was composed by Takatsugu Muramatsu. It is the second Science Saru film, though it was the first to be produced.{{cite web|last=Hamman|first=Dan|title=Masaaki Yuasa Interview Part 1 (Night is Short, Walk On Girl)|url=http://www.animationforadults.com/2017/10/masaaki-yuasa-interview-part-1-night-is.html|website=Animation for Adults|access-date=March 23, 2018|date=5 October 2017|quote=I was making Lu and Walk On happened during that production.}}{{cite web|last1=Chapman|first1=Matt|title=Masaaki Yuasa interview: Lu Over the Wall & The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl|url=http://www.mymbuzz.com/2017/12/09/masaaki-yuasa-interview-lu-over-the-wall-the-night-is-short-walk-on-girl/|website=MyMBuzz|publisher=MCM Central|access-date=March 23, 2018|date=December 9, 2017|quote=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.}}

The film was released in Japan on May 19, 2017,{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-02-14/masaaki-yuasa-yoake-tsugeru-lu-no-uta-anime-film-reveals-poster-visual/.112241|title=Masaaki Yuasa's Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta anime film reveals poster visual|work=Anime News Network|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=April 10, 2017|last=Ressler|first=Karen}} It was also released by Anime Limited on December 6, 2017,{{cite web|title=Lu Over the Wall|url=http://luoverthewallmovie.co.uk|website=Lu Over the Wall UK Official Website|publisher=Anime Limited|access-date=March 23, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190505123926/http://www.luoverthewallmovie.co.uk/|archive-date=May 5, 2019|url-status=dead}} and by GKIDS on May 11, 2018.{{Cite news|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-01-02/gkids-licenses-lu-over-the-wall-night-is-short-walk-on-girl-anime-films/.125999|title=GKIDS Licenses Lu over the wall, 'Night is Short, Walk on Girl' Anime Films (Updated) |website=Anime News Network|date=January 2, 2018|access-date=January 2, 2024|last=Pineda|first=Rafael Antonio}}{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BgjsK_NgqiC |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BgjsK_NgqiC |archive-date=2021-12-24 |url-access=limited|title=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|last1=GKIDS|author-link1=GKIDS|date=March 21, 2018|publisher=Instagram|access-date=March 23, 2018}}{{cbignore}} Half Symbolic Films released the film on January 31, 2019.{{cite web|url=http://halfsymbolic.com/masaaki-yuasa-australian-release|title=Masaaki Yuasa films coming to Australia|date=April 20, 2018|publisher=Half Symbolic Films|access-date=January 10, 2019}}

Plot

{{Nihongo|Kai Ashimoto|足元カイ|Ashimoto Kai}} is a lonely and pessimistic 9th grader living in {{Nihongo|Hinashi Town|日無町|Hinashi-chō}} with his grandfather, an umbrella maker, and father. His rock band, "SEIRÈN", was formed by his friends, {{Nihongo|Kunio|国夫}} and {{Nihongo|Yūho|遊歩}}.

One day, Kai explores {{Nihongo|Merfolk Island|人魚島|Ningyojima}} and meets {{Nihongo|Lu|ルー|Rū}}, the ningyo girl. The music beat allows her fish fin to transform into a pair of human legs. The two strike up a friendship, and Kai takes Lu around the town for a tour. Kai learns that Lu cannot touch sunlight or she will burst into flames. He also learned that Lu has a papa and her mother was killed by a ship. Kai introduces Lu to Yuho and Kuino. When Kai accidentally reveals the secret of the merfolk to the townspeople, Lu's love and power of music makes them dance around town. Despite Kai's selfishness, videos of Lu go viral and she becomes a celebrity. Inspired by her popularity, Yūho's grandfather reopens an old merfolk-themed amusement park on an island near the town. Kai becomes disinterested in the band and begins to ignore Lu. SEIRÈN plays the park's opening, but after Lu arrives and steals the show, Yūho becomes upset and runs away.

Meanwhile, anti-merfolk feelings have been rising in the town, and when Yūho cannot be found by her father, he puts the blame on Lu and captures her. As he threatens her with sunlight, Lu's father comes to save her, which triggers a curse that begins to flood the town. Kai and Yūho help Lu and her father escape, who in turn rally other merfolk to help the town escape the rising waters. In the process of helping, the merfolk destroy the natural cliff which shades the bay from the sun, exposing themselves as the dawn breaks. As the threat of the curse disperses, the townspeople gather themselves and use many umbrellas to save all sea creatures from the sun.

Kai apologizes to Lu and everyone dances happily until all sea creatures return to the ocean. Before parting, Kai and Lu declare their love for each other. Kai starts a new life in town. However, it is understood that Kai and Lu will see each other again in the future.

Voice cast

class="wikitable"

!Characters

!Japanese

!English{{Cite web|url=http://www.sundance.org/projects/lu-over-the-wall#/|title=Lu Over the Wall|website=Sundance Film Festival 2019|publisher=The Sundance Institute|access-date=January 20, 2018}}

Kai

|Shōta Shimoda

|Michael Sinterniklaas

|Kanon Tani

|Christine Marie Cabanos

Yuho

|Minako Kotobuki

|Stephanie Sheh

Kunio

|Soma Saito

|Brandon Engman

Isaki

|Shizuka Ito

|Alyson Leigh Rosenfeld

Lu's Father

|Shinichi Shinohara

|Michael Alston Bailey

Teruo

|Kenichi Suzumura

|Ethan Murray

Chairman

|Choo

President

Granny Octopus

Chief Priest of Shrine

|Mutsumi Sasaki

|Derek Stephen Prince

Homeroom Teacher

|Shingo Horii

Fuguda

Nodoguro

Kameda

|Takaaki Seki

|Raymond K. Essel

Kujirai

|Riki Kagami

|Wayne Grayson

Shiira

|Atsuyoshi Miyazaki

|Jason Simon

Young Grandpa

|Reidai Hirabayashi

|David Thompson

Esojima

Grandfather

Production

Yuasa announced on his Twitter that he was working on the film in January 2017. 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 traditional animation at the time, these rough key frames were then traced and inbetweened in Adobe Flash..{{cite web|title=夜明け告げるルーのうた|trans-title=Lu over the Wall|url=https://www.sciencesaru.com/blank|publisher=Science SARU|access-date=April 7, 2018}}.

Yuasa acknowledged that Lu shares some similar plot elements and the visual subject of water with Hayao Miyazaki's film Ponyo, and that it occurred to him late into the production of Lu. He considers this due to the influence on him of Miyazaki and Isao Takahata's Panda! Go, Panda!: Rainy-day Circus, which Miyazaki reused elements of himself in Ponyo, and is happy for his works to include such homages to works he admires.{{Cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2018-10-27/devilman-crybaby-director-masaaki-yuasa-unveils-new-anime-film-kimi-to-nami-ni-noretara/.138738|title=Devilman Crybaby Director Masaaki Yuasa Unveils New Anime Film 'Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara'}}{{Cite web|url=https://2018.tiff-jp.net/news/en/?p=14806|title = Acclaimed Animator Announces His New Project [Lu over the Wall: Q&A]}}

Kazuyoshi Saito's 1997 song {{nihongo|"Utautai no Ballad"|歌うたいのバラッド}} was chosen to be the theme song of the film.{{cite web |title=斉藤和義「歌うたいのバラッド」、湯浅政明監督の最新アニメ映画主題歌に決定 |url=https://natalie.mu/music/news/217375 |work=Natalie |language=Japanese |date=2017-01-19 |accessdate=2021-03-28}}

Reception

=Critical reception=

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 78% approval rating based on 45 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Lu Over the Wall can be more fun to watch than to follow, but director Masaaki Yuasa's distinctive visual style offers colorful compensation for an occasionally scattered story."{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lu_over_the_wall|title=Lu Over the Wall (Yoake tsugeru Rū no uta) (2017)|work=Rotten Tomatoes |publisher=Fandango Media |access-date=November 12, 2020}} Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 62 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/lu-over-the-wall|title=Lu Over the Wall Reviews - Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|work=Metacritic|access-date=November 12, 2020}}

Charles Solomon from Los Angeles Times wrote, "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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-lu-over-the-wall-review-20180510-story.html|title=Japanese animation Lu Over the Wall gives mermaid tale new life|last=Solomon|first=Charles|website=Los Angeles Times|date=10 May 2018|access-date=2018-11-29}}

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."{{Cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lu-over-the-wall-2018|title=Lu Over the Wall Movie Review (2018)|last=Abrams|first=Simon|website=Roger Ebert|access-date=2018-11-29}}

=Box office=

Lu over the Wall grossed $161,253 at the box office.

=Accolades=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year !Award !Category !Recipient !Result
rowspan="3" \| 2017 \| Annecy International Animated Film Festival \| Cristal du long metrage \| rowspan=5; \| Lu Over the Wall \| {{won}}{{cite web\|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-06-18/lu-over-the-wall-in-this-corner-of-the-world-anime-films-win-awards-at-annecy/.117637\|title='Lu Over the Wall, In This Corner of the World anime films win awards at Annecy\|work=Anime News Network\|date=June 18, 2017\|access-date=June 18, 2017\|last=Hodgkins\|first=Crystalyn}}
Shanghai International Film Festival \| Best Animation \| {{nominated}}{{cite web \|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000605/2017/1?ref_=ttawd_ev_3 \|title=Shanghai International Film Festival 2017 \|website=IMDb \|access-date=February 23, 2020}}
Fantasia International Film Festival \| Best Animated Feature - Silver Prize \| {{won}}{{cite web \|url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000235/2017/1?ref_=ttawd_ev_2 \|title=Fantasia Film Festival 2017 \|website=IMDb \|access-date=February 23, 2020}}
rowspan="2" \| 2018 \| Mainichi Film Awards \| Ofuji Noburo Award \| {{won}}{{cite web\|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/devilman-crybabys-masaaki-yuasa-might-be-the-most-important-voice-in-anime-right-now\|title=Devilman Crybaby's Masaaki Yuasa might be the most important voice in anime right now\|work=SYFY WIRE\|date=May 18, 2018\|access-date=November 29, 2018\|last=Inoa\|first=Christopher}}
Japan Media Arts Festival \| Grand Prize \| {{won}}{{Cite web\|last=\|first=\|title=Animation Division {{!}} 2018 [21st]\|url=http://archive.j-mediaarts.jp/en/festival/2018/animation/works/21an_Lu/\|url-status=live\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113075131/http://archive.j-mediaarts.jp/en/festival/2018/animation/works/21an_Lu/\|archive-date=November 13, 2020\|access-date=January 6, 2022\|website=Japan Media Arts Festival\|language=en}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

!Award

!Category

!Recipient

!Result

rowspan="3" | 2017

| Annecy International Animated Film Festival

| Cristal du long metrage

| rowspan=5; | Lu Over the Wall

| {{won}}{{cite web|url=https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2017-06-18/lu-over-the-wall-in-this-corner-of-the-world-anime-films-win-awards-at-annecy/.117637|title='Lu Over the Wall, In This Corner of the World anime films win awards at Annecy|work=Anime News Network|date=June 18, 2017|access-date=June 18, 2017|last=Hodgkins|first=Crystalyn}}

Shanghai International Film Festival

| Best Animation

| {{nominated}}{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000605/2017/1?ref_=ttawd_ev_3 |title=Shanghai International Film Festival 2017 |website=IMDb |access-date=February 23, 2020}}

Fantasia International Film Festival

| Best Animated Feature - Silver Prize

| {{won}}{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000235/2017/1?ref_=ttawd_ev_2 |title=Fantasia Film Festival 2017 |website=IMDb |access-date=February 23, 2020}}

rowspan="2" | 2018

| Mainichi Film Awards

| Ofuji Noburo Award

| {{won}}{{cite web|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/devilman-crybabys-masaaki-yuasa-might-be-the-most-important-voice-in-anime-right-now|title=Devilman Crybaby's Masaaki Yuasa might be the most important voice in anime right now|work=SYFY WIRE|date=May 18, 2018|access-date=November 29, 2018|last=Inoa|first=Christopher}}

Japan Media Arts Festival

| Grand Prize

| {{won}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Animation Division {{!}} 2018 [21st]|url=http://archive.j-mediaarts.jp/en/festival/2018/animation/works/21an_Lu/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113075131/http://archive.j-mediaarts.jp/en/festival/2018/animation/works/21an_Lu/|archive-date=November 13, 2020|access-date=January 6, 2022|website=Japan Media Arts Festival|language=en}}

References

External links

{{official website|http://lunouta.com}} {{in lang|ja}}
{{official website|http://www.fujicreative.co.jp/Portals/0/special/anime/lu}} {{in lang|en}}
{{official website|https://gkids.com/films/lu-over-the-wall/|United States and Canada official website}}
{{official website|http://halfsymbolic.com/lu-over-the-wall|Australia official web page}}
{{anime News Network|movie|19053}}
{{IMDb title|id=6452332|title=Lu Over the Wall}}