Plot: A gloomy high school kid's life changes when he encounters a mermaid.

I am always slightly nervous as to what I'm getting myself in for with any Japanese animation that isn't Studio Ghibli.
The style of story-telling in most Japanese would feel so bizarre to a generic Western audience.

But like with anything, if you watch enough, you can gradually be accustomed to their style and fall in love with it. I have had that when discovering Studio Ghibli and have now seen all of their feature films. I have also discovered other major Japanese animations such as Ghost In The Shell, Akira, Paprika, Perfect Blue, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and most recently Your Name.

I have loved almost all of the ones I have mentioned and now I am delving into more and more new releases from this wonderful film-making country.

First and foremost, this particular feature is completely bonkers in both its presentation and pacing. There is dazzling bright colours in its animation that was like watching a living rainbow dance. It moves along at such a speed at times that they quickly covered certain parts of the story in a split second and it takes you a while to understand what just happened.
Even with the film going like a freight train, I thought it was thorough in its detail and sweet and funny in its tone. It explains the history rather well and gives the film great depth and made me further enjoy this world the director has dropped us into.

The story felt like a mix of Ponyo, E.T., Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs and even The BFG and My Neighbor Totoro in small doses.

As mentioned, it's pacing is hard to keep up with especially in the final act. It seems to be cramming so much in and wrapping up everything little sub-plot that it loses its heart and soul and prevents me from calling this great.

Despite the craziness, I still managed to enjoy it. I liked the story and the history they gave it. You can see the heart and passion they've put into a sweet and funny story with such striking animation.
There are some cheesy moments. But the way it was delivered still maintains that high level of fun and enjoyment.

It is always a refreshing change to see something like this and I continue to be amazed at the variety of stories and mad animation films that the far East are conjuring up.

Rating: 7/10