Lu Over the Wall is
a mad-cap
animated extravaganza about the strange journey a young teenage boy,
Kai (Shota Shimoda) takes. His life is shaken up when he finds
himself meeting a peculiar mermaid, Lu (Kanon Tani). The film is
executive produced by Akihiro Arai, Masaaki Yuasa, and Keiji Ota.

Working on his skills as a
musician,
Kai finds himself entertaining Lu with his music after their chance
encounter. The tiny mermaid's infectious enjoyment of the music is
contagious to all around her. Lu is soon dancing like a character out
of Footloose. This leads to an almost
uncontrollable
dance-sensation which springs up in nearly everyone who encounters
her high-energy enthusiasm.

This film is more than a
little bit
silly. This is a quirky anime film through-and-through. Each frame of
the story is practically bursting with energy and originality. In
fact, Lu over the Wall feels like one of the more
experimental
and creative anime films to come out over the last several years.

Featuring a seriously-fun
screenplay
written by Reiko Yoshida (The Cat Returns) and
Masaaki Yuasa
(Mind Game), part of the fun of this film is it's
ability to
surprise again and again. The film takes the audience on a fun ride
which doesn't ever seem to lose steam or inspiration. The music by
Takatsugu Muramatsu (The 8-Year Engagement) is also
rather
deliriously uptempo and it makes the film even more distinctive.

Director Masaaki Yuasa (Night
is
Short, Walk on Girl, Mind Game) has a
unique vision here
which is brimming with style without sacrificing a good story or
characters from being a part of the fun along the way. One of the
ways in which Yuasa proves his craft is through the animation
direction on this project. Lu is a visually stellar work which is
experimental, strange, and beautiful. The film has an enjoyable blend
of traditional anime artwork with water-color inspirations which ebb
and flow with uncommon energy. A truly enjoyable and beautiful anime
which should not be dismissed.

color="#222222">The
Blu-ray:

Video:

color="#222222">Lu
Over the Wall style="font-style: normal;">is
presented on Blu-ray with a strong 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high
definition presentation in the original 1.78:1 widescreen aspect
ratio. This is a gorgeous looking film with such distinctive
animation. The art style feels so unique and original. The
high-definition presentation is a feast to behold with vibrant
colors. The release does have minor compression and occasional
banding. However, these detractors are quite small and overall this
is a superb Blu-ray release which does an impressive job of
presenting the film.

Audio:

The
audio is
presented with both English and Japanese 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
presentations. These lossless quality high-resolution presentations
are impressive. The Japanese audio is superb and the included English
subtitles are well-done. The music score sounds particularly vibrant
here. A lossy French 5.1 audio presentation is also provided on disc.

color="#222222">English
subtitles are provided for original Japanese presentation. English
SDH subtitles (for the deaf and hard of hearing) and French subtitles
are also provided.

Extras:

style="font-weight: normal;">Audio
Commentary with Filmmakers color="#222222"> style="font-weight: normal;">
includes a discussion with director Masaaki Yuasa, producer Eunyoung
Choi, and anime critic and moderator Ryota Fujitsu.

style="font-weight: normal;">Interview
with Director Masaaki Yuasa color="#222222"> style="font-weight: normal;">
(HD, 28 min.) is a sit-down discussion with the creative visionary
behind the film.

style="font-weight: normal;">Theatrical
Trailers and TV Spots for Lu Over the Wall color="#222222"> style="font-weight: normal;">
(HD, 5 min.)

Final Thoughts:

It's
not every day
that a new anime filmmaking voice makes a huge impression. Director
Masaaki Yuasa demonstrates his
impeccable
talents as a filmmaker with this creative gem bursting with a
original sensibility that never lets go. color="#222222">Lu
Over the Wall charms,
delights, and
surprises with its uncommon delights.

Highly Recommended.

Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.