Tsuritama

Saving the world... by fishing?

Yuki Sanada has always felt like a fish out of water. Socially awkward and anxious, he struggles to fit in with his surroundings and moves from town to town with his grandma. As he and his grandma settle into the charming seaside town of Enoshima, Yuki hopes for a fresh start. However, his reputation at school is jeopardized by the arrival of fellow transfer student Haru. The eccentric Haru immediately makes a splash, wildly claiming to be an alien and declaring that Yuki is his friend. Pairing the reluctant Yuki with their classmate and fishing talent, Natsuki Usami, he tasks both of them with the absurd mission of saving the world from a mysterious threat in the ocean. Mischief and hijinks ensue, as these three embark on a whimsical adventure filled with laughs, heart, and self-discovery!

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Haru Main

Irino, Miyu Japanese

Sanada, Yuki Main

Oosaka, Ryouta Japanese

Yamada, Akira Agarkar Main

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Usami, Natsuki Main

Uchiyama, Kouki Japanese

Tapioca Supporting

Sugita, Tomokazu Japanese

Urara Supporting

Sakurai, Takahiro Japanese

Coco Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Joushi Supporting

Nakaya, Kazuhiro Japanese

Sanada, Keito Supporting

Hirano, Fumi Japanese

Heihachi Supporting

Furukawa, Toshio Japanese

Kimura, Makoto Producer

Katsumata, Hideo Producer

Oomatsu, Yutaka Producer

Minami, Masae Producer

Reviews

May 13, 2015

Astar

Recommended

Tsuritama is a show that will exceed your expectations. It will lure you in hook, line, and sinker, and make you question how an anime about fishing could ever be quite so enjoyable.

The story is set in the quaint town of Enoshima. There, the show’s protagonists—Yuki, Haru, Natsuki, Akira, and Tapioca (*quack quack*)—all come together to share in a singular pastime: fishing.

It is through the characters’ forced participation to undertake in this hobby that we are able to truly understand each and every one of their personal anxieties and motivations. We are imbued with a real sense of fulfilment, as through their fishing we are ... not only a witness to their own personal growth, but also to the most important theme of the show—friendship.

There can be no doubt that by the end of the last episode, you will find yourself truly invested in the characters. You will feel like you have walked through the streets of Enoshima yourself, and you will feel like you could just as easily cast off, and spend the afternoon winding down to a spot of fishing—it can be that immersive at times.

A big part of why is due to the art and the sound, which are both thoroughly quirky. The art in particular, opts for a unique style that colours the setting of Enoshima and its occupants, in a vivid, refreshing palette. It does a fantastic job of symbolising and emphasising certain parts, which at times can also make it feel rather reminiscent of a work by Shaft.

The use of sound is also well thought out. The OP and ED are incredibly catchy, and ease you into the feel of the show, whilst the soundtrack never feels repetitive, or out of place.

It should go without saying that there are obvious limitations. Notably, Haru, who you will turn out to either love or despise. There are also personal niggles of mine, which include how certain objects do not benefit from the art style, and how there is practically no development for the character Erika, but these are subjective.

Tsuritama, overall, feels like it offers exactly what it set out to do. It is silly, imaginative, and charming, never once complicating its wacky, yet simple plot with unnecessary information. It is a true feel good show that I can thoroughly recommend trying.

Duck!

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 9, 2013

Zomino

Mixed Feelings

An anime about fishing, that somehow becomes shonen.

I expected Tsuritama to be a slow slice of life that recreated the relaxing atmosphere of fishing and was driven by dialogue. Sadly the characters are mostly annoying and the strangely shonen ending is last minute character development. The whole fishing aspect is a bit gimmicky and I thought it was wasted potential. Yamada (Sugita Tomokazu) is awesome and the anime is visually really pretty but its still not particularly interesting.

People say Tsuritama is underrated...

...Nah

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Feb 2, 2015

vegetablespirit

Not Recommended

With age comes a sense of self. Or at least, that's what Tsuritama wants us to believe. Ironically, though, the series itself never knows what it wants to be – is it a dramatic slice of life or a quirky, supernatural adventure? The result is ultimately spontaneous, for better or for worse.

Yuki has a hard time making friends. Always moving from place to place, there's little time for him to get to know anyone, and his social anxiety doesn't help. More than anything, he's afraid of being considered weird. But while living with his grandmother on the island of Enoshima, Yuki meets a self-proclaimed ... 'alien' transfer student named Haru. To make matters worse, his grandmother is allowing Haru to stay with them, and he's asked their classmate to teach them to fish. Some may find this to be a bit of a boring premise, and they'd be right – it's just done very reasonably. When the rag-tag group begins to learn to cast their lines, choose their bait, and have fun, the series is at its best; even though the drama presented isn't anything groundbreaking, there's more than enough to keep the viewer entertained and smiling through these episodes... Until the direction of the series shifts drastically.

Disorienting would be an understatement. The events that follow this change feel like two completely different shows quickly mashed together. Plot elements that were previously completely ignored or played off as jokes were then brought to the forefront, and the elements I was beginning to grow fond of became totally irrelevant. As Tsuritama makes its way down a long checklist of sci-fi and coming-of-age clichés, we learn more about the history and goals of our characters as they work their way towards an unexciting climax. Given that the characters are nearly impossible to care about, the drama goes nowhere; the only effort put into writing them is regarding how weird or unique they are. It's enough for a simple slice of life, but becomes intolerable once any relatively serious element comes into play.

The only real consistency viewers should note is within the art and sound. If anything, the latter is too consistent. While the music is fun and compositionally playful, there's little risk or direction taken with it. The soundtrack is seemingly only made up of woodwind instruments and the occasional percussion, and that's the problem. While it may compliment the occasional scene, it usually sticks out like a sore thumb. The cheerfulness of it all doesn't refrain from playing in the middle of more dramatic or tense moments, so why not make use of silence? Character designs are also notable, but not in a positive fashion. The visuals are incredibly close to being considered good; you're shown scene after scene of bold, watercolour-inspired scenery and characters, yet something as simple as their hair doesn't match up with the rest of the artstyle. Thankfully, it's probably the only thing in the show that looks outright ugly, but it was more than enough to bother me a few times every episode.

With the first half of Tsuritama serving only as a setup for the second, it feels like a playful accident in which character development was an afterthought. As a whole, it could probably be described as an all-too-sweet desert stuffed into you after you're already full. The extra course proved to be a bit too much for me, but the less picky may find it welcome or even superior to the main dish. Taste is a strange beast to tackle.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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