Lu Over the Wall

My first exposure to feature-length anime, Lu Over the Wall made me gasp at the level of imagination that has gone into its creation where a lonely, taciturn boy finds a companion in a mermaid who has special powers and who changes her appearance a little when exposed to human music. The animation is top-notch and so is the storytelling which tries to relate with social issues such as xenophobia (?) and others that we as a whole are currently grappling with. Lu Over the Wall is funny, uplifting, and delightful. TN.

(Watched and reviewed at its India premiere at the 3rd Japanese Film Festival of India in Mumbai.)

This was a fun movie, with infectious music. It taps in to what seems to be a running theme of modern industrailzied Japan making war on its traditional spirits, kind of like in Summer Days with Coo. It also features mermaids, who have an exuberance like Ponyo, but less child-like, and more adolescent-angsty.

I have absolutely no idea of the story line, and fortunately gave up trying. Some wonderful graphics, dance scenes and colorful interludes. What does it all mean? Just watch the ever changing scenes and don't give it a second thought.

A mixture of delightfully refreshing and painfully stale, Lu Over the Wall is a film that shows flashes of greatness but never really comes together as a definitively above-average film. Just like its lead character, Kai, Lu Over the Wall spends a lot of its time going through the motions. While much of this movie is uniquely displayed from a visual standpoint, most of what's being conveyed is an obvious plot-line told through point-blank dialogue & characterizations. Simplicity is sometimes to be expected from cartoons but Lu Over the Wall plays its narrative hand so plainly that it may have its viewers bored before the halfway point.

The playful direction and cinematic choices of this movie may help hold the attention of its viewers but, due to Lu Over The Wall's meandering pace, I would not be surprised if some will be eager for the ending. There is beautiful, frightening and humorous imagery in this movie and enough overall quality that I would say the film was an enjoyable experience. But there is also enough fat along the way that I won't be eager to experience it again. In the end, Lu Over the Wall's combination of ancient folklore, modern music and striking images gives it a special feel that is, unfortunately, overshadowed by its limited script.

Writing: 5/10 Direction: 7/10 Cinematography: 8/10 Acting: 7/10 Editing: 6/10 Sound: 7/10 Score/Soundtrack: 7/10 Production Design: 7/10 Casting: 7/10 Effects: 8/10

Overall Score: 6.9/10

For a movie that begs a comparison to Ponyo, it barely squeaks past it in terms of it's creative presentation, but stumbles at style consistancy and plot coherency.

While nothing in the movie *doesn't* make sense, a lot of it is hard to follow due to weird pacing decisions during important events, and visual decisuons that hamper communication in favor of leaning into Yuasa's presentation style.

The music is just OK for a movie about music, and the few scenes of high energy have a peculiar disconnect from the rest of the film.

Ultimately this movie feels like it started with good intentions, but ran out of creative steam somewhere in development. If you're a big Masaki Yuasa fan, there are things here for you, but it's otherwise OK to miss.

Go watch Mind Game instead if you wanna know what this director is about.