Masaaki Yuasa puts out some spectacular anime in handling a fairly standard setup: High School mates start a pop band, two guys with opposite personalities (introvert/extrovert) and a wealthy girl singer whose connections make things happen. She’s the usual hysteric sidekick (and a bit of a chore), but the boys are winning, with character animation showing more expression than normal for anime. That said, the figurative style becomes even more lively, and fun to watch, during flashbacks & digressions that dial down to an abstract illustrated storybook style. More of that, please! All of it nicely merging to display the texture of life in the buildings & layout of a little fishing town surrounded by water and distant mountains. So, it’s disappointing when magical sea creatures, the ‘Merpeople,’ enter the storyline in act two, causing trouble and making a mess of things. Title character ‘Lu’ is the first to show, falling hard for our morose teen musician when almost everything about her (design to voice to personality) is off-putting. The difference between what reads as ‘cute’ in Japan, and ‘creepy’ elsewhere, apparently lost in translation.* Later, the Merpeople storyline morphs toward a Living Dead scenario that doesn’t follow any logical path. Same-o on the flood they bring to cover the town till sunshine puts a stop to things. (Yep, we also get Vampire Tropes.) Lots of good animation wasted here; along with a fun pop score for those who can get into a bubblegum æsthetic. Perhaps Yuasa has other films to better show off his obvious talents.
WATCH THIS, NOT THAT/LINK: Our current go-to animation suggestion, and not just for an alternate take on coastal town kids & misunderstood sea beasts, is Pixar’s LUCA/’21, with cool motorbikes instead of a pop band. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2021/07/luca-2021.html
SCREWY THOUGHT OF THE DAY: *Or is she meant to look like one of the once ubiquitous ‘Troll’ dolls. Some found those cute, yes?
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