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
Other:	Shinkai

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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

More staff

Staff

Cook, Justin

Producer

Suzuki, Mari

Producer

Kasahara, Shuuzou

Producer

Herek, Samantha

Assistant Producer

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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

Reviews

Apr 20, 2024

Reina__

Recommended

Josee, The Tiger & The Fish is a beautifully animated story about the growing relationship between a mobility aid-bound girl named Josee & Tsueno, who becomes her caretaker and helps her get out of her home and explore the world, animated movie formats in general are fast paced due to its short run time - relying on common tropes, 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. The realistic anime texture of the world was so colorful and bright. The romance and drama were great. Josee, the Tiger and ...

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Apr 11, 2024

Sudiboy

Mixed Feelings

As you people can see, i have a mixed feeling about this movie even though i give it 8/10.
Some aspect of the movie is really stunning and not something you often see/or ever see in other movie.
But, some other part feels... normal or fine
and that is why i cant give it above 8/10

Art - 11/10
Let me write the obvious first,
the animation and the art is absolutely gorgeous. from the color, propotion, the smoothness of the animation, and etc. is fire.

Secondly, the less obvious.
through out the movie i feel like the animator go to an anime world and film the movie there, mainly ...

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Dec 22, 2022

RebelPanda

Not Recommended

I consider myself a very patient person. It takes a lot to get under my skin. Even when I watch bad anime, I still enjoy riffing on the flaws.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish managed to irritate me. Trying to finish it was like waiting at the end of a school day, watching the clock tick tick tick… I constantly paused to take in the frustrating decisions the characters made, then brace myself for more melodrama. The protagonist, Tsuneo, is a lot like me. Maybe that's why I had such a strong reaction to it. We're both 22-year-old guys planning to study abroad, working a ... part-time job to save money. Except, he's much more patient and resilient to psychological abuse than I am.

His tormenter is named Josee. A slightly older woman with a disability that prevents her from walking. You might assume from the art that she is a pleasant person. That is so far from the truth. Tsuneo and Josee met by coincidence—someone pushed her down a hill. Luckily Tsuneo caught her moments before she hit the pavement. Instead of graciously thanking him for saving her life, she accuses him of being a pervert for groping her. He did not. Their wacky facial expressions imply this false sexual assault accusation was meant as a joke—that's the kind of tone-deaf humor we're dealing with here. Their relationship proceeds as follows: Tsuneo wastes his time and energy to ensure her happiness and livelihood while she begrudgingly puts up with him. A series of contrived unfortunate events befall Josee throughout the film. That's what forces him to stay by her side and help. After saving her from nearly dying, Josee's grandmother invites him in for dinner. For some reason, everyone ignores the sexual assault thing. Her grandmother continues inviting him over to assist with chores for payment. While writing a thesis, applying to school abroad, and a part-time job, he chooses to keep working for this bizarre family for a bit of cash. Josee calls him her "Servant" but she treats him like that too, and this is supposed to be cute? Why the hell does he put up with her awful personality? Josee and Tsuneo's dreams merge in Kon-esque psychedelic montages, among other unanswered questions. Cool, but why?

Nothing about the art style stood out aside from the dream sequences. At least the animation is fine, but the background art is pretty bad for a Bones production. I appreciate that they animated everyone with 2D rather than CGI, the complex movements of crowds and designs of each one take time and commitment to a seamless experience. The compositing was quite good too. Characters blended with the background well because of the soft line art and lighting filters.

I love stories about awful people. One of my favorite anime is Monster (2004). The antagonist Johan Libert is a devilish serial killer. The difference between Johan and Josee is that we understand why he murders people because he's well written. We're assured his actions are morally reprehensible because the protagonist recognizes his unwavering cruelty. Whereas Josee to Tora wants us to believe she is completely justified and we should root for her success. Tsuneo returns to her, not even for the money, to be tormented. His autonomy, dreams, and self-respect vanish into thin air at Josee's will. Josee blackmails Tsuneo by saying she'd accuse him of sexual assault again, and he's forced to oblige. Do human beings do this? Unlikely, but not impossible. Do human beings fall in love with blackmailers? I hope not, but evidently, this dude does. I regret to inform you this is a "love" story. Is Tsuneo a masochist? Likely. Is he desensitized to abuse? Very likely. The most frustrating thing about him is that he's too one-dimensional to loathe him. There's nothing to him that explains his self-destructive choices. His closest friend is only interested in chasing women rather than worrying about this man's descent into madness. The side cast is equally inconsequential, and the character designs are not unique at all. Other torture porn movies go through great effort to acknowledge the misery—he just suffers emotionlessly.

Josee takes advantage of Tsuneo's kindness (or stupidity) by guilt-tripping him. When she's feeling sad that he's gone, she avoids him until he runs back like a dog—sometimes returning with an apology gift as though he did something wrong. Tsuneo simply speaking to a female friend makes Josee bitter and jealous, despite still treating him like dirt beneath her wheels. Rather than talking things through, she manipulates him into staying with her. One unfortunate coincidence after another forces them together… And now it's a romance. The movie repurposes old cliches—sudden death, freak accidents, and rapid mood swings for a quick burst of melodrama. One or two contrivances are easy to overlook. The ENTIRE story is made of contrived situations.

Despite being the most rational voice in the movie, Tsuneo's female friend (the one Josee hates) the film treats her as rude and unsympathetic. Firstly, she treats him like her equal, respects his space, and is open about her feelings. She is not flawless; however, she always attempts to speak rationally by asking Josee to treat Tsuneo with dignity. Suddenly, she drops degrading comments that make her attempts seem artificial and misguided. The script implicitly validates Josee's disdain for the woman. A well-written character doesn't randomly alter their personality like her. It is a pattern of contradictions used to absolve Josee of her rude behavior. Josee herself is not a very likable character unless you love kawaii cliches and hate yourself. There are a few pros to her: The screenwriters illustrate ableism in a way that's not condescending. A businessman bumps into her wheelchair and blames her for getting in the way because of her condition. It evokes an intense reaction without preaching. Portraying people with disabilities is often a problem anime have—see Komi-san Can't Communicate. Since the film is based on a live-action movie from 2003, I'm assuming the themes were forward for the time. Nowadays, they could've done a lot more to realistically convey life for someone with a disability.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2003) had a different ending than the animated version. I doubt it could've been any worse than the overly idealistic way this insidious crap wrapped up. Imagine a train full of cow manure derailing into a burning pit full of used needles—it was worse. Many of us know what it is like to be manipulated. Watching it romanticized disgusted me. A tragic event portrayed through rose-tinted glasses. I understand these characters are just lines on a screen, but they are lines I despised. If you found something to love here, as so many people seemed to, I'm happy for you. If this sounds like something you'd hate, avoid it. Please, God, avoid it.

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Poll: Which version of the story is better? Old_School_Akira - Jun 18, 2021	16 replies	by Kimuraa_ »» Yesterday, 8:28 AM
Poll: Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ) Whateverlife - Apr 12, 2021	211 replies	by uncleqrow »» Apr 19, 10:02 AM
Can you suggest similar hidden gems like this? zSlayPaladin - Jan 16, 2023	46 replies	by the_slothes »» Jan 14, 3:40 AM
Question about the ending mechian - Dec 24, 2020	28 replies	by merope28 »» Jan 4, 8:48 PM
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