Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta

Lu Over the Wall

夜明け告げるルーのうた

19/05/2017 7.4 0 G

Synopsis

In the coastal village of Hinashi Town, Kai Ashimoto's grandfather warns locals about mermaids near Merfolk Island that supposedly devour humans. Music is rarely discussed in the Ashimoto household due to an old legend. Despite this, Kai finds comfort in creating looped beats on his laptop and sharing them online. Kunio and Yuuho Ebina, two cheerful classmates, discover Kai's videos and invite him to join their rock band. Kai agrees to a practice session on Merfolk Island, where he witnesses something inexplicable. Later, Kai attracts a mermaid named Lu to his room with his music. Lu has incredible water manipulation powers, grows legs with music, and just wants people to like her. Kai and Lu form a strong friendship, challenging the long-standing boundaries in Hinashi Town.

Background

In 2017, Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta became the first Japanese production in over 22 years to win the "Cristal for a Feature Film" award at the 27th Annecy International Animation Film Festival. In the same year, the film won the Silver Prize for Best Animated Feature at the 20th Fantasia International Film Festival. In 2018, the movie received the Ofuji Noburo Award at the 72nd Mainichi Film Awards and the Grand Prize at the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival. Director Masaaki Yuasa has acknowledged that some elements of Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta were inspired by Hayao Miyazaki and his work, particularly from the 2008 film Gake no Ue no Ponyo as well as Isao Takahata's Panda Kopanda. The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 5, 2019 by Shout! Factory.