Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi (Josee, the Tiger and the Fish)

Equipped with his passion for diving and admiration for marine biology, university student Tsuneo Suzukawa tries his best to juggle several part-time jobs to earn enough money to study abroad. But one night, in a fateful accident, he meets a girl in a wheelchair, driving his current path into a detour.

The girl, Kumiko—who prefers to be called "Josee"—initially comes off as rude. Tsuneo, however, is then convinced by Josee's grandmother to take on the paid job to be Josee's caretaker. Despite being annoyed with her bossy demeanor, Tsuneo sees the opportunity to save more funds to support his academic dream. Nonetheless, after putting up with Josee's behavior for some time, Tsuneo tries to quit, only to discover Josee's dreams of traversing the outside world—to experience a life free from her crippling condition.

Changing his mind, Tsuneo decides to accompany Josee in exploring the wonders that the world has to offer. Through their time together, the two begin to realize that the traits that bind them may be vital toward fulfilling their respective aspirations.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi was adapted from a 1984 short story collection of the same name. It was set to have its theatrical release in Japan in Summer 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie was postponed until December 25, 2020.

Prior to its release, the anime film was selected as a special invitation film for the 33rd Tokyo International Film Festival. It was also nominated for the 44th Japan Academy Prize in the Animation for Excellence award.

Episode Videos

Episode 1

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Adaptation:

Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi

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Characters & Voice Actors

Josee

Main

Kiyohara, Kaya
Japanese

Suzukawa, Tsuneo

Main

Nakagawa, Taishi
Japanese

Ninomiya, Mai

Supporting

Miyamoto, Yume
Japanese

Matsuura, Hayato

Supporting

Okitsu, Kazuyuki
Japanese

Kishimoto, Kana

Supporting

Lynn
Japanese

Yamamura, Chizu

Supporting

Matsutera, Chiemi
Japanese

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Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Suzuki, Mari

Producer

Herek, Samantha

Assistant Producer

Tamura, Koutarou

Director, Storyboard

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Opening Theme

"Take Me Far Away" by Evan Call

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Ending Theme

"Ao no Waltz (蒼のワルツ)" by Eve

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Reviews

May 3, 2021

LoneAce

Recommended

Let me begin by saying I've been waiting for this movie for a little more than 4 months, so although there is bound to be some bias in this review I will try to keep it as balanced as possible and write as if the anticipation was less. I will also try my best to include as little spoilers as possible, but if you have yet watched the trailer, you might get spoiled in the smaller parts

Plot - 10/10
As you might have read in the synopsis, Josee met Tsuneo by a chance encounter (check out trailer if you want to know what happened) and decides ... that despite her disabilities, she wants to see the outside world. If you have seen the trailer beforehand, you will know that both of them sneaked out when her grandmother took her naps, and they explored the world Josee had never seen or had not seen for quite a long time. It was during those times that she experienced more of the outside world, an experience that she found very exciting and scary at the same time.

I think the best part of the movie was when everything goes wrong, one after another. I know there is bound to be people who say something along the lines of "oh, but the climax was cliché" and I won't say they are wrong. But the way it is depicted in this tale is not very usual, and some scenes forces you to try sympathize with the characters due to how heartbreaking the implications and the events can get. Also, I can safely say that this is the only movie in which the storytelling of a children's book can be phrased in a way that makes the audience very emotional, so look forward to that.

Art - 9/10
The art in this movie is average at best. If you have seen Garden of Words or Your Name, then you might feel that the art in this movie is mediocre. This is where I disagree. The art serves as a support for the plot that we are paying our money for, and the art in this movie actually supports the plot well. You will not find yourself feeling left out by the characters who look so unrealistic that they seem to be of a different world. In fact, you might actually be drawn to the characters because the art makes them feel real, and the fact that a simplistic art style makes it feel realistic is a selling point of a movie.

Sound - 10/10
Now many people might be reviewing this based on the ending song Ao no Waltz by Eve since the Eve music video in Youtube had been very popular before the movie's release and had been the reason why many people watched the movie in the first place. While that song itself was good, we can't discount the fact that you only get to hear that during the last few minutes of the movie. So instead I will share about the ambient sounds and the speech patterns of characters in the movie.

The sounds in the movie are engineered in a manner that will leave you breathless. Some scenes include a lot of atmospheric noises which will improve the already realistic feel of the movie, while others uses the strength of silence to emphasize the feelings each character holds true within themselves. The way each characters spoke really reflects what is actually on their minds, rather than the words they actually used and the message they actually tried to deliver.

Character - 9/10
In terms of character development, I feel that it was done in a rushed manner and although it explains every character, their personalities, and their behaviors well, it does not give you time to process the string of information. However, I can’t say that it was done in a bad manner, it isn't. The main goal of this rapid development is actually to let you immerse yourself in their world and experience and understand more about the characters with the characters themselves. Confused?

Let me give you a rundown of my argument. Would you find watching a movie which tells everything you need to know about a character or one that makes you go in the same pace as the characters? I think the fact that we do not know everything about a character is realistic in the sense that, in the real world, we do not know everything about people we interact with, and instead only know what had been displayed by that person.

As for the characters themselves, there is not many to talk about, but there is much to talk about them, but I won't, you have to see for yourselves. There are some you hate but will grow on you, some you enjoy looking at, and some you might loath so much because of how rigid their minds work. It is this good blend that reflects how the real world actually is, and that’s how the movie makes its characters so relatable and not flat.

Enjoyment - 10/10
Won't go into too much details here since I've been waiting for this movie and it’s only natural that I will enjoy myself. However, in the theatres I was watching at, people cheered at the end of the movie so I guess it was enjoyable enough even if you watched it without any background information.

Overall - 10/10
Summary of this review, it's worth it to watch. Give it a shot.

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Apr 16, 2021

eroticmixologist

Recommended

I watched this in theater recently and decided to write a review, will keep it simple for those who's curious about this movie.

In summary, this romance drama is pretty standard as it goes, so if you expect something new or something compelling then you won't find it here. Animated movie formats in general are fast paced due to its short run time; relying on common tropes, character archetypes and melodrama to convey the story quickly and efficiently; it simply can't be fleshed out like a TV-series, and this movie is no different. Of course, this isn't a bad thing - what I want to address ... here is to know your expectations before watching this (and pretty much anything else). I personally watched this because I want a light-hearted casual show with nice interactions between the main duo. And yes it is a cute show which satisfied my needs, so if you watch the trailer and like what it has to offer then you should definitely give it a chance. Next up are my personal thoughts of this movie with no spoilers.

The main duo Josee and Tsuneo got to know each other during an accidental encounter. Tsuneo, as a poor college student, was offered a job right after by Josee's grandmother - it is to look after Josee and keep her safe from the outside world due to her condition. It wasn't easy for Tsuneo to earn the trust of a wary and awkward Josee who's confined from the outside world most of the time, but eventually he got through. And from there Tsuneo slowly helped Josee to see the world that she always wished to see; became more independent and overcome her physical condition that greatly hindered her life. You should be able to guess how the rest goes.

The movie doesn't waste time elaborating, it set up the story and the arcs quickly and efficiently. You will feel the quick pacing of the film (due to the format's limitation like I mentioned at the start), but it isn't feel rushed. The first half introduced our characters and established the duo's dynamic, and then it shifted gears right away into the second half where the drama starts surfacing. The general flow of the movie was decent from start to finish - exciting and cute at first, then it gets heavier during the drama act, goosebump during the climax and lighthearted in the end with a happy ending. I was pleased with the movie's general execution, although the first act where it established the duo's dynamic was kinda short in my opinion.

Tsuneo and Josee are classic characters you usually see in a romance drama, but what matters is the execution, and it was well done. Tsuneo is a hardworking college student who loves ocean life and want it to be his career goal. While Josee dreams of exploring the outside world, especially the sea. She loves drawing and her topic has always been about the world under the water. It is the love of the sea that draws these two together, and from here we see their relationship started to develop. Tsuneo is level-headed, matured and responsible; while Josee is a bit hot-tempered, and awkward due to lack of interaction with the outside world (which her overprotective grandmother played a big part in). But as she grew more comfortable around Tsuneo, she became expressive, happy, easily excited (and sometimes embarrassed) over the most mundane things of the outside world and it especially peaked when she saw the sea. It melted me a bit seeing these sides of Josee. During the second half we will see how the duo helped each other to overcome their struggles and life misfortunes. I won't dwell too much into this, but it was well paced and ended on a good note like I mentioned last paragraph.

The relationship dynamic between Tsuneo and Josee for the most part can be described as cute and light-hearted. Their interactions and dialogues remind me of Korean romance for some reason - short remarks; bashfulness between the two, especially from Josee as she became fond of Tsuneo, but for the most part, light-hearted and pleasant. Their voice acting are on point as well. There's only one gripe I had - I wished there was more development and connection between the two as they talk about their love for the sea because I love sea themes in general and unfortunately the movie doesn't cover this too much, which was a bummer.

The supporting cast are nothing special. They serve only as plot device, nothing more, nothing less. There's a love triangle but it existed only to move the story forward and the melodrama was rather awkward but ultimately it served its purpose and wasn't dragged out, which was a relief. Moving on.

Art, music & general direction was nice. You can check out Eve's MV Aono waltz to have a feel of everything. Unfortunately, 90% of the eye candy visuals and the most beautiful shots are all in that 4-minute MV so you won't find much more in the movie. Don't expect it to be stunning every frame like Makoto Shinkai's productions.

All in all, this is an enjoyable show and I had a good time watching it. Hopefully this review will help you make up your mind and have a casual, realistic view of what this movie is like.

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May 24, 2021

Daxonzion-

Recommended

[tl;dr is at the bottom of the review]

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is a movie that tells a story heavily focused on Josee (the disabled girl shown on the poster) and Tsuneo (the boy who walks besides Josee shown on the poster). When you saw this movie's poster for the first time, you might be thinking that this movie will tell one hell of a sad story. You're not wrong, but you're not completely right either if you think like that. My suggestion if you ever wanted to watch this movie, do not take your expectations too highly. I've heard a lot of positive ...

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Poll: Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Whateverlife - Apr 12, 2021	195 replies	by PochaccoX3 »» Today, 1:54 AM
Question about the ending mechian - Dec 24, 2020	25 replies	by Zaibansari »» May 26, 2:34 PM
Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi was a lovely anime film, but about the OST.. LordKirkis - May 18	9 replies	by LordKirkis »» May 22, 1:09 PM
How does Mai have more favorites on here than Josee? SaltyCookie_ - Apr 29	9 replies	by KayKimii »» May 5, 6:58 AM
Can you suggest similar hidden gems like this? zSlayPaladin - Jan 16	42 replies	by MrFanatic »» Apr 20, 1:24 PM

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