Interest

Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta Voice Actors Appear at Dolphin Show

Since the title character of the upcoming anime film Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta (Lu over the wall) is a mermaid, it's only natural that aquariums would be interested in pumping up interest in it. Two aquariums in the Tokyo area are doing just that.

Voice actors Shōta Shimoda (Kai), Kanon Tani (Lu) and Shinichi Shinohara (Lu's father) made an appearance at the dolphin show at Aqua Park Shinagawa in Tokyo on April 26. Shimoda showed up in very ordinary clothes, claiming that these fit his character, who is "gloomy in that special pubescent way" and whose "heart is closed over his parents' divorce." Tani (who also plays Yotsuba in your name.) wore a green top to evoke the seaweed that Lu wears and put ribbons in her hair to evoke the two little fish in Lu's hair as well. Shinohara (Hipopotas in Pokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages) came in full costume and blue face paint.

Each of the voice actors revealed a little about themselves. Shimoda asked Shinohara if he could coach him in judō sometime. Playing his role made Shinohara miss his daughter more and express a wish to go out with her sometime. Tani wished that she could go on a trip with her younger sister for her 13th birthday (May 4). In response, the dolphins cried out "so her mother could hear it." Tani also made the dolphins jump at her command to the crowd's applause.

Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, another aquarium, will also do its part to promote Lu no Uta. Starting on May 3, the triangular roof of its Aqua Museum will display images from the movie. On May 13, one of its songs, "Uta Utai no Ballad" ("The Ballad I Want to Sing"), will begin to play as background music inside the aquarium. The Aqua Stadium will have a giant LED screen showing the film's trailers. The "welcome tank" on the 1st floor of the Aqua Museum will also recreate the sea that Lu lives in, complete with the aquarium's mascot fish, yellow tang and pink square anthias.

Yoake Tsugeru Lu no Uta is directed by Masaaki Yuasa (Ping Pong, The Tatami Galaxy, Yoru wa Mijikashi Arukeyo Otome). The protagonist, Kai, moves with his father from Tokyo to the declining fishing town of Hinashi to live with his grandfather following his parents' divorce. Kai is unable to give words to his complex feelings about his parents, so he passes his middle school life gloomily. His one joy is uploading his musical compositions to the internet. One day his classmates Kunio and Yūho invite him to join their band, and when he reluctantly accompanies them to practice on Mermaid Island, the three of them meet a mermaid named Lu. Through her cheerful singing and dancing, Kai is slowly able to open up about his feelings. However, calamity strikes and Kai must shout from the bottom of his heart in order to save the town. The film premieres on May 19.

Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise has previously staged an exhibit of "micro-monsters" that look like something out of Digimon or Pokémon.

Sources: Anime! Anime!: Katsunori Takahashi (2: Yuma) and Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise; Image from Excite News