Throughout, we get to see how pumped he is with the thought of going abroad to study the one thing that he is enthusiastic about, ever since he was a young boy.
I have a bit to say about her, but first let’s go on to what one of the major themes Josee, The Tiger and The Fish has: chasing dreams. Around the start of the film, we see that they both have very different personalities while he is more optimistic about life, Kumiko (or Josee, as she prefers to be called) has grown to be a bitter, crabby and unpleasant girl due to being confined in her grandmother’s house for so long. A chance encounter leads him to Kumiko, an highly-talented illustrator who is confined to a wheelchair. Tsuneo is a college student studying marine biology, who has plans to study in Mexico. But was it, really? Or was my own personal relationship with melodramatic anime getting in the way of my enjoyment? I had already read some critics’ reviews, all of which using words like ‘must watch’, ‘remarkable’ and ‘absolute gem’.
I think there was just one thing that was holding me back slightly. But while the live-action films were far more mature in their nature, this anime adaptation by Bones takes us on more of a light-hearted journey, while sticking to the atypical traits of a romance anime. Josee, The Tiger and The Fish is originally a short story from 1984 by Seiko Tanabe, and had had already been adapted twice: once in a 2003 live-action film, and the other in a Korean film released last year.
#JOSEE THE TIGER AND THE FISH MOVIE#
And why? Because back when I saw it, the melodrama really dominated the entire movie, leaving the rest of it be like some sideshow, including the gorgeous-looking fantasy world the movie was set in. Meanwhile a movie like Maquia (also by P.A Works) has an issue when it comes to it all. A show like P.A Works’ A Lull In The Sea keeps piling it on episode-by-episode but because the setting and theme works so well, it’s something that wasn’t a major problem. What do I do when it comes to shows and movies that pile on the melodrama, I ask myself whenever one comes along.