2017·Animation·1h 52m
7.1
★
In a small fishing village, a gloomy middle school student named Kai meets a mermaid named Lu.
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa
friendship
beach
wave
mermaid
anime
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Where to Watch
Cast
Shota Shimoda
Kai Ashimoto (voice)
Soma Saito
Kuniko (voice)
Minako Kotobuki
Yuuho Ebina (voice)
Kanon Tani
Lu (voice)
Akira Emoto
Ashimoto's Grandfather (voice)
Shizuka Itoh
Isaki (voice)
Kenichi Suzumura
Teruo Ashimoto (voice)
Tokuyoshi Kawashima
Fuguda (voice)
Cho
Ebina's Father (voice)
Takayuki Sugo
Ebina's Grandfather (voice)
Mutsumi Sasaki
Chief Priest (voice)
Crew
Masaaki Yuasa
Director
Reiko Yoshida
Screenplay
Masaaki Yuasa
Screenplay
Koji Yamamoto
Executive Producer
Masaaki Yuasa
Executive Producer
Keiji Ota
Executive Producer
Eunyoung Choi
Producer
Abel Gongora
Animation Manager
Nobutoshi Ogura
Key Animation
Satoshi Nakano
Key Animation
Shizuo Kurahashi
Foley Artist
Reiko Yoshida
Script
Popular Reviews
85 reviews
Elliott Bustarde
6.0★ · 04/01/26
A movie for the 3 people that are under the belief that Ponyo has too much plot
A movie for the 3 people that are under the belief that Ponyo has too much plot
Nirmala
10.0★ · 01/25/26
MAU KETEMU MERMAID AH
MAU KETEMU MERMAID AH
Danny
7.0★ · 12/14/25
79
A movie that I am mad I missed out on for so long but, now I'm glad I finally got to it, this is a delightful time with some out of this world visual and audial cues.
First of all Lu is great, not just a vehicle for joy and love for these characters but a real person/fish who makes good decisions and sometimes messes up and thats why I love her, not to mention her great relationships with others, the chemistry is off the charts and the interactions feel and fluid as this movies teal water.
I'll get to my one big issue now, the protagonist, I don't know what it is but I just wasn't a big fan, he has that stereotypical shy kid turned good but he just comes off as too distant and arragant at times. His resolution feels forced as he just decides to stop being a dick, I think his motivations were not geniune and he just felt off the whole movie, but maybe its just me.
I do really like the plot and themes though, using the mermaids vs. humans to prove a very common theme of misunderstanding beyond generations is super engaging and always ends in a super charming way. There was a ton of action too and they were able to pair this with a kind of musical too, while that does get all over the place at times I think thats the beauty of this movie, just like life it can be messy at times but it figures itself out exactly how its meant to be. I think the subtext of love in this movie is what takes it to another level by the end, through every character and interaction there is so much emotion and it is portrayed masterfully, the rating for this movie is going up as I say this.
And like I said this movie had some of the most unique visuals and score ever, the incredibly vivid and alive colors and movements are super fun to watch and the music is super chimey and happy, pair these two and you are transported in such a quiet yet bright little town that can conquer anything and I want nothing more than to live here.
Overall, while some major structural and character issues for me, I won't let it take away too much from such a fun and happy movie, while still giving sail to some super heavy themes and amazingly engaging plotpoints.
A movie that I am mad I missed out on for so long but, now I'm glad I finally got to it, this is a delightful time with some out of this world visual and audial cues.
First of all Lu is great, not just a vehicle for joy and love for these characters but a real person/fish who makes good decisions and sometimes messes up and thats why I love her, not to mention her great relationships with others, the chemistry is off the charts and the interactions feel and fluid as this movies teal water.
I'll get to my one big issue now, the protagonist, I don't know what it is but I just wasn't a big fan, he has that stereotypical shy kid turned good but he just comes off as too distant and arragant at times. His resolution feels forced as he just decides to stop being a dick, I think his motivations were not geniune and he just felt off the whole movie, but maybe its just me.
I do really like the plot and themes though, using the mermaids vs. humans to prove a very common theme of misunderstanding beyond generations is super engaging and always ends in a super charming way. There was a ton of action too and they were able to pair this with a kind of musical too, while that does get all over the place at times I think thats the beauty of this movie, just like life it can be messy at times but it figures itself out exactly how its meant to be. I think the subtext of love in this movie is what takes it to another level by the end, through every character and interaction there is so much emotion and it is portrayed masterfully, the rating for this movie is going up as I say this.
And like I said this movie had some of the most unique visuals and score ever, the incredibly vivid and alive colors and movements are super fun to watch and the music is super chimey and happy, pair these two and you are transported in such a quiet yet bright little town that can conquer anything and I want nothing more than to live here.
Overall, while some major structural and character issues for me, I won't let it take away too much from such a fun and happy movie, while still giving sail to some super heavy themes and amazingly engaging plotpoints.
79
A movie that I am mad I missed out on for so long but, now I'm glad I finally got to it, this is a delightful time with some out of this world visual and audial cues.
First of all Lu is great, not just a vehicle for joy and love for these characters but a real person/fish who makes good decisions and sometimes messes up and thats why I love her, not to mention her great relationships with others, the chemistry is off the charts and the interactions feel and fluid as this movies teal water.
I'll get to my one big issue now, the protagonist, I don't know what it is but I just wasn't a big fan, he has that stereotypical shy kid turned good but he just comes off as too distant and arragant at times. His resolution feels forced as he just decides to stop being a dick, I think his motivations were not geniune and he just felt off the whole movie, but maybe its just me.
I do really like the plot and themes though, using the mermaids vs. humans to prove a very common theme of misunderstanding beyond generations is super engaging and always ends in a super charming way. There was a ton of action too and they were able to pair this with a kind of musical too, while that does get all over the place at times I think thats the beauty of this movie, just like life it can be messy at times but it figures itself out exactly how its meant to be. I think the subtext of love in this movie is what takes it to another level by the end, through every character and interaction there is so much emotion and it is portrayed masterfully, the rating for this movie is going up as I say this.
And like I said this movie had some of the most unique visuals and score ever, the incredibly vivid and alive colors and movements are super fun to watch and the music is super chimey and happy, pair these two and you are transported in such a quiet yet bright little town that can conquer anything and I want nothing more than to live here.
Overall, while some major structural and character issues for me, I won't let it take away too much from such a fun and happy movie, while still giving sail to some super heavy themes and amazingly engaging plotpoints.
A movie that I am mad I missed out on for so long but, now I'm glad I finally got to it, this is a delightful time with some out of this world visual and audial cues.
First of all Lu is great, not just a vehicle for joy and love for these characters but a real person/fish who makes good decisions and sometimes messes up and thats why I love her, not to mention her great relationships with others, the chemistry is off the charts and the interactions feel and fluid as this movies teal water.
I'll get to my one big issue now, the protagonist, I don't know what it is but I just wasn't a big fan, he has that stereotypical shy kid turned good but he just comes off as too distant and arragant at times. His resolution feels forced as he just decides to stop being a dick, I think his motivations were not geniune and he just felt off the whole movie, but maybe its just me.
I do really like the plot and themes though, using the mermaids vs. humans to prove a very common theme of misunderstanding beyond generations is super engaging and always ends in a super charming way. There was a ton of action too and they were able to pair this with a kind of musical too, while that does get all over the place at times I think thats the beauty of this movie, just like life it can be messy at times but it figures itself out exactly how its meant to be. I think the subtext of love in this movie is what takes it to another level by the end, through every character and interaction there is so much emotion and it is portrayed masterfully, the rating for this movie is going up as I say this.
And like I said this movie had some of the most unique visuals and score ever, the incredibly vivid and alive colors and movements are super fun to watch and the music is super chimey and happy, pair these two and you are transported in such a quiet yet bright little town that can conquer anything and I want nothing more than to live here.
Overall, while some major structural and character issues for me, I won't let it take away too much from such a fun and happy movie, while still giving sail to some super heavy themes and amazingly engaging plotpoints.
Naye West
10.0★ · 06/30/25
It's beautiful I love it so much it make me cry
It's beautiful I love it so much it make me cry
Quinn
9.0★ · 05/03/25
this one's been on my list for a while and it didn't disappoint!! masaaki yuasa is kind of my goat so i knew i would enjoy this but it wasnt what i was expecting and it was SO much fun. i've noticed yuasa really loves movies with a lot of Water. like notably this and ride your wave (2019) & even some sequences in the night is short walk on girl (2017) <-which is the same year as this movie! it makes sense given the fluid and dynamic sequences that are usually in his movies, especially the grand spectacle aspects of his movies, water animation is a great medium for a lot of visually beautiful moments. i just feel like whenever i watch a movie by yuasa im like Yeah, this is what animation was made for like look at this stuff!!! also the music in this was SO freaking good im obsessed with it, banger after BANGER. im so glad they took the time and fleshed out yuho, i thought her plotline was so well done and one of my favorite parts of the movie. her and lu are like my best friends. AND lu's dad, i got so excited whenever he was on screen cause i knew something awesome was about to happen. also this had just a really great, fun, unique interpretation on mermaids. There was merdogs. YAY!
this one's been on my list for a while and it didn't disappoint!! masaaki yuasa is kind of my goat so i knew i would enjoy this but it wasnt what i was expecting and it was SO much fun. i've noticed yuasa really loves movies with a lot of Water. like notably this and ride your wave (2019) & even some sequences in the night is short walk on girl (2017) <-which is the same year as this movie! it makes sense given the fluid and dynamic sequences that are usually in his movies, especially the grand spectacle aspects of his movies, water animation is a great medium for a lot of visually beautiful moments. i just feel like whenever i watch a movie by yuasa im like Yeah, this is what animation was made for like look at this stuff!!! also the music in this was SO freaking good im obsessed with it, banger after BANGER. im so glad they took the time and fleshed out yuho, i thought her plotline was so well done and one of my favorite parts of the movie. her and lu are like my best friends. AND lu's dad, i got so excited whenever he was on screen cause i knew something awesome was about to happen. also this had just a really great, fun, unique interpretation on mermaids. There was merdogs. YAY!