When
it comes to mer-people, the Celts have their selkie, the Slavs have the
rusalka, and Japan tells tales of the ningyo. Those ningyo legends have a
darker tone than our Disney and Ron Howard mermaid movies, so it is not so surprising
many residents of a coastal Japanese fishing village hold misconceptions
regarding ningyos. One compulsively cheerful ningyo will do her best to change
their prejudices, starting with a moody Tokyo transplant in Masaaki Yuasa’s Lu Over the Wall (trailer here), which screens
during the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival.
Yuasa
has been busy, having already released Lu
and Night is Short, Walk on Girl in
Japan this year. While both feature his “flat” style of character rendering, Lu is clearly intended for a much
younger audience. After his parents’ divorce, Kai moves to the harbor town of
Hinashi with his father. The moody aspiring electronica DJ reluctantly joins
the band led by town princess Yuho and her torch-carrier Kunio, mostly because
he is curious to see Mermaid Island, where they practice.
The
island was once the site of an ill-fated ningyo/mermaid-themed amusement park,
but deserted jutting rock formation always shielded nearby “Mermaid Harbor”
from the sun they dread. This is one of the few ningyo legends that is
apparently true. They also really enjoy music, especially Lu, who can’t help singing
along with the band. As luck would have it, she has a better voice than Yuho,
so Lu replaces her as lead vocalist. Of course, this makes things awkward when
they actually get live gigs, especially considering the anti-ningyo sentiments
of old-timers, like the old granny who blames the ningyo for her husband’s disappearance.
It
is indeed true ningyo can turn the land-bound into ningyo with a vampire bite
to the neck. However, they only use their powers for good, as when Lu liberates
all the puppies in the pound, turning them into merdoggies. She pretty much has
everyone in the audience won over at that point. Still, she is a bit
young-looking to be hanging with Kai and Kuho. Supposedly, they are in middle
school, but their animated figures look more like high school teens, whereas Lu
resembles a nine or ten-year-old. Technically, Yuasa keeps things squeaky clean,
but when Kai finally admits he has feelings for Lu, it should make everyone
feel a little uncomfortable.