Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta Episode 1 Discussion

AlexanderHD said:
Hands down one of the most adorable anime I have ever watched. This was just too cute. If only all American children movies were like this.
Pretty seaside setting. Loved the setting of this movie.

After watching enough anime, you start to draw connections and recognize stuff. It made total sense when I read that this studio did Devilman: Crybaby and Eizouken and Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome!!!

Not just the character design and choice of color aesthetic, but the animation itself was very peculiar. Similar to the other works I mentioned, but something still seemed to jump out. The Wikipedia actually says:So there’s a reason why this movie has such a unique feel compared to all the other anime out there.

And really, the art was GOOD. The animation was GOOD. Why are people complaining about bad animation. The animation checks all the boxes and was top-tier! It's just a deliberate animation style, an intentional and artistic choice, that shouldn't affect ones scoring imo.
But people are saying "bad art" too. 😭 Just because the character designs are not stiff or rigid traditional anime models doesn't mean it's BAD per se. Then again, there are times when a faraway character would have a squiggly little emoticon face like "*___*". Which I thought was pretty hilarious. I thought it was refreshing how the proportions of the characters changed. It's a staple style of this studio, as you'll see in Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome!!! and Eizouken.

My one complaint is that the end got a little boring. A sentiment I actually seem to share with some other critics of the movie. The plot and concept is fine. But the chaos of the climax got a bit repetitive to me. When the sea was rising.
I really liked the first half of the movie though. That's where I was really engaged.
Lu was adorable; and I also really liked the theme of music and being in a band. Kunio and the red head were so enthusiastic about their little band so it’s actually really sad they never experienced success from it.

Other notes. I thought Kai’s grandfather’s backstory was pretty sad. But it’s crazy how he straight up dies in the climax, or is presumed to have died when he actually became a mermaid? And they just kinda move on. It was cool when the grandfather used his umbrellas to shield the mermaids from the sun.
Kai’s moments with his father were also really wholesome. Not gonna lie, I actually thought that was Kai’s older brother up until when he was actually addressed as his father.
I thought Yuho Ebina’s grandfather, with the cowboy hat, was interesting too. He seemed like he’d be the central antagonist of the story. Seemed like there were some subtle allusions to America and capitalism there. I wonder if he and his son and granddaughter are part American/European hence the red hair.

Oh also, I watched the middle portion of this movie while skipping class in the bathroom stall. Afterward, I watched the rest at a Panera Bread.

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Update? During a quick skim through, I noticed a REALLY charming detail. Without a competent director, it could have easily been an inconsistency, continuity error, or "cinema sin". They make it a point that Lu can only bud functioning legs and feet when paired with music -- but then I thought back to the scene where Kai takes Lu around the town -- when he shows her the white sea shells, when she puts her hand in the frog, when they swing, etc. And I'm like, "Wait, there wasn't music being played during that scene, right?"

... and then I went back and rewatched, and you can see Kai walking around with his little stereo, with a gentle melody being emitted from it. Which I just thought was really nice attention to detail. If I were the director, I would've forgotten about the fact that Lu needs music to walk, and we would've had to go back in and animate Kai holding a radio in post. Another cool detail: the tape Kai plays says "To Naoko from Teruo", so to his mother from his father. (:

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Actually, yanno what, I think I DID find an "inconsistency, continuity error, cinema sin". It's revealed at the end that the grandfather's mother was only bitten by a mermaid -- and thus turned INTO a mermaid -- because they were drowning. The mermaid couldn't free the mother who was caught, so the mermaid decisively bit the mother to give her gills. BUT... remember when Lu dragged Kai around underwater? And Kai began to run out of air, so Lu put her mouth on his? I don't know if she was just blowing air into his lungs, or inflicting "magic" onto him to help with the underwater pressure. Whatever the case, Kai was underwater for a LONG time and didn't drown or need "bitten"... SO, I'm wondering, why didn't the mermaid who saved the grandfather's mother just blow into the drowning woman's mouth like Lu did? That would provid more time to untangle her. I know it's 'no fun' to be so logical, but if you DID want to get technical, I think this is somewhat of a cinema sin ... UNLESS, the entity that bit the mother 1. had different 'powers' than Lu, 2. was one of the weirder shaped merfolk that wouldn't have had the limbs to help untangle her, 3. was just too stupid (less human).

Also, this isn't a complaint, but I have to wonder WHY the loved ones of the old man and old woman didn't bother to come back and visit them after being turned into mermaids. Kinda sad that the grandfather's mother didn't return to her son, and that her son assumed she was literally eaten.