Surviving as a Fish isn't groundbreaking in any ways, but it's full of passion. The world building can be confusing at times but remains consistent within the lake. The author will take opportunities to showcase his passion for fishing by occasionally infodumping on the audience about a certain species of fish or fishing technique. This is done under the guise of the main character having a hobby in fishing during his life and can occasionally happen out of nowhere. The premise is inherently ridiculous. While comedic at times, the series takes itself surprisingly seriously. Yushin is determined to become human again and protect his wife from the man who killed him. The isekai elements are rather generic with there being bosses to take down or being the last survivor remaining but it still leads to a fun story. It keeps avenues open for the direction of the story. The twist as to what could explain the isekai happening was handled well and leaves the audience thinking. The B plot follows Yushin's wife Hyehun as she investigates his death. She has her own conflicts with Chairman Kang and puts herself at risk being the only person who cared about Yushin's disappearance. Every character has agency within the story. Even the unimportant survivors have some impact on the plot with their backstories explored. Things will sometimes happen just to split the characters up, but everyone and their motivations are throughly explored while they're on their own. Far from a masterpiece, the writing remains consistently entertaining but leads to a predictable climax.
The characters are well balanced with relatable qualities. Yushin spends too much time at work and doesn't realize the importance of family until he becomes a fish far away from his wife and child. Hyeyun lacks many defining character traits but serves as Yushin's main connection to the human world. Jihye is one of the other survivors who is turned into a goldfish. She's a bubbly, trusting girl who tags along with Yushin. Jihye undergoes the most development outside of Yushin making plenty of mistakes and bad calls along the way. The crayfish is the antagonist among the survivors and proves there's other motivations they have besides just becoming human again. He mirrors Yushin as he had the opposite relationship with his family Yushin did. Even the main fish antagonist reflects Yushin's treatment of people under him in his human life. They're all men on a mission to have their wish granted who will do whatever it takes to get there. Chairman Kang is a rather one dimensional villain and mostly just the vessel for the story to happen. His motivations make no sense other than he's crazy. In the end though, everyone brought something to the table with more depth than I expected.
The art was good but didn't have any defining characteristics. The style looked like it could be the art for just about anything. It certainly felt like the debut series of someone who didn't have their own style yet. That being said, the fish are surprisingly expressive. They're given human eyes and use their fins like hands. These actions are often cut together with human drawing of characters (mostly Yushin). The special effects were quite limited as well. Hostile enemies were usually given red eyes to show they're bad or there are swirls to show the character is ill. Nothing really stands out, but it's still serviceable.
I quite enjoyed this series. I'm not a huge fan of isekais but the ridiculous premise and surprisingly serious execution kept me reading. The themes aren't spectacular but they exceeded my expectations. While the ending is predictable, the ride is fun and leaves you with surprisingly meta commentary. It's a nice break from some of the more generic concepts out there.
Plot: 8.5/10
Characters: 8/10
Art: 6.5/10
Enjoyment: 8.5/10
Overall: 7.9/10
