GKIDS has today announced that Masaaki Yuasa’s masterpiece film Lu Over the Wall will be making its way to theaters across North America beginning May 11 in both English dubbed and subbed formats. Passionately crafted by the incredible team at Science SARU, Yuasa’s own studio, the film has received numerous awards and critical acclaim for some blatantly obvious reasons. If you’re yet to see it yet, let’s kick things off with the trailer that GKIDS began streaming, found below:
Perhaps best known for his high-energy works including Ping Pong and the recent Devilman CRYBABY anime series, Lu Over the Wall perfectly captures the spirit of Masaaki Yuasa’s works and applies them to a powerful new story. Originally released May 2017 in Japan, my initial exposure to the film would actually be through a stumbled-across exhibit within the halls of Nakano Broadway, where I was drawn in largely due to the Yuasa association.
For those unfamiliar with the film’s story, you can find the official GKIDS synopsis below:
From visionary anime auteur Masaaki Yuasa, comes a joyously hallucinogenic but family-friendly take on the classic fairy tale about a little mermaid who comes ashore to join a middle-school rock band and propel them to fame. Kai is talented but adrift, spending his days sulking in a small fishing village after his family moves from Tokyo. His only joy is uploading songs he writes to the internet. When his classmates invite him to play keyboard in their band, their practice sessions bring an unexpected guest: Lu, a young mermaid whose fins turn to feet when she hears the beats, and whose singing causes humans to compulsively dance – whether they want to or not.
As Kai spends more time with Lu, he finds he is able to tell her what he is really thinking, and a bond begins to form. But since ancient times, the people in the village have believed that mermaids bring disaster and soon there is trouble between Lu and the townspeople, putting the town in grave danger. Winner of the Grand Prize at the prestigious Annecy Animation Festival, and premiering in English as an official selection of Sundance 2018, Lu over the wall is a toe-tapping, feel-good demonstration of Yuasa’s genre-mixing mastery that will leave you humming long after you leave the theater.
Set to begin airing across North America May 11, you can find further information via the official website.