Joze to tora to sakanatachi / Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020) – 4/5

Charming and sweet indeed

„Joze to tora to sakanatachi“ or „Josee, the Tiger and the Fish“ is a relatively new Japanese anime movie from 2020 and I got the chance to see this one tonight at my local theater and as you can see from my rating I am glad I took it. The film runs for slightly under 100 minutes and if you look at the team who did this, it was quite a challenging project, so it is even nicer that it went all kinds of right in the end. If I see it correctly, director Kôtarô Tamura had not worked on a full feature release before 2020, even if he was far from a rookie and like 15 years already in the industry at that point. It is based on a short story by Seiko Tanabe and this was by far not the first time his work got turned into a film, but on other occasions it was rather live action projects. Fittingly, Sayaka Kuwamura who wrote the screenplay had also mostly worked in live action before this project. Many obstacles had to be overcome as you see and I am really glad they delivered. As for the voice cast, I cannot say anything negative. I don’t speak Japanese, so I saw the original version with German subtitles, but what I saw and heard I liked. It is also quite fitting I think that the film’s title refers to Josee as she is the star here, even if she is only the co-lead and the plot circles more around the male protagonist than her, even if they are so closely connected of course. There’s also a bunch of supporting characters like the male protagonist’s friends or the girl’s grandmother. I will get to those a little later.

I will just do some brainstorming now when elaborating on the film and what I liked and what I did not like too much. Luckily, what I liked was more frequent and I already have to dig a bit deep to find negative aspects or stuff that did not feel entirely realistic. I struggled for example with the title character’s grandma in general, like how quickly she died out of nowhere, but then again it can happen like this in reality too and also maybe she kept her illness a bit away from Josie, so the girl is not too worried. But also the idea how she treated Josie there was a bit bizarre. Like how she did not want her to leave the house, even if she did not physically force her to stay inside, did feel a bit strange. Like slight kidnapping really because at that point it was not possible yet for Josie to get out on her own. I mean the old lady is scared of Josie being pushed down a steep road or something the way it happened when the two main characters meet, but this felt so strange. I mean the old lady can just stay close and pay attention or take Josie to some kind of bookshop for example where it is really safe for her and she totally enjoys it there too. It was also interesting from a cultural perspective, like here in my country authorities might have stepped in if the granny treats her like this. But it is a different part of the world. Also I was a bit shocked how people saw the disabled there. I mean of course there is also tolerance, but some were highly disrespectful too. Maybe this explains the granny’s worries. I think Josie calls them all tigers on one occasion and maybe this is supposed to symbolize the dangers waiting for her in the outside world. Of course, we also get to see a real tiger on one occasion. Looking at how common tigers are in Asia, I am even a bit surprised we see them so rarely in anime films. Maybe because they are not from Japan. The one here is also living in a zoo. I liked how he was animated. The part when Tsuneo talks about the fish in the aquarium and the exact species was also nice, but still I feel a bit like the title is not the film’s biggest strength, even if it is memorable. Maybe that is what counts.

Aside from the key plot we have here, there is also a great deal of comedy included, maybe more than you get with anime in general. I will just mention a few scenes. The lead male’s best friend brings strong entertainment value. Like how he is cocky in a nice way, how he is crazy about women (the moment how he gets curious about his buddy’s new employer and the buddy says something like she is 80 years old) and also the moment with the mobile phone reference and how he calls Josie a fairy from the analog age was when everybody in the audience was really laughing so hard. There were other moments too like when the two girls who like the main character are not too nice to each other and they still give each other a high five on one occasion and then immediately afterwards are enemies again. This implies that without the romance rivalry they actually could have been good friends. Or also how Josie is experiencing all this stuff that is new to her, be it crêpes, a movie at the theater or an airplane that gets her really curious. Or how Tsuneo feels sick up there in the giant wheel. Women are in charge and the driving force here many times in this film and it’s surely not a coincidence. Many, many other moments here that will make you smile, one every three minutes or so at least. From the dramatic perspective, the story is relatively simple: We have a guy running into a girl (wheelchair girl), or actually literally it was the other way around, and initially they cannot really stand each other, but as they are somewhat forced to spend time together, they grow closer, especially when he takes her outside and on a trip to the sea. This trip to the sea and all the joy that came with it was maybe the film’s highlight for me. Either this or the scene with her drawings or paintings and how she tells the mermaid story to these kids and at the same time also to the man she has feelings for. I found this much more memorable than the additional drama that came from him having a car accident when he saves her from an approaching car. And also better than the scene at the very end when they finally confess to each other that they are in love. These scenes were not bad or anything, but also not as great as they could have been.

Actually, when she went missing towards the end, I wondered if she was maybe really a mermaid from the very start, also because her legs would not function and also because of how she tells her cat that it must get along on his own eventually, so maybe she would go back to the sea. Not the path they took though. She stays human. Oh, now that I mentioned the cat already, that one was awesome. Pretty fat black cat, but really cool and fun to watch. Pity it disappeared a bit in the second half. I actually thought this cat could be an enchanted tiger, the one from the title, but this was also not the case. No magic or supernatural elements in this film. All about science and realism. The cat disappearing for the most part was not the reason why I felt the film got better in the second half and changed from good to great even. The story idea of Tsuneo having to leave to follow his dream was okay, even if I could have done without it. Interestingly enough, we find out during a scene at the very, very end, even after the credits that he left for Mexico to study there, but he came back to Japan to see Josie again when it’s the time for the cherry blossoms to fall, something they talked about earlier in the film. There’s the romance, even if their meeting was pretty cold and they really kept all physicality out, except the moment when they kiss and hug a while before that. Visually, this film is a success of course as well. We should not take this for granted. My favorite shot was maybe the one that shows us Josie through the (imaginary) camera in front of her when we see her there covered in sunshine and shadows from the trees. Very brief moment, but pay attention. It is worth noticing. I had to think a bit of her coming from the dark into the light and experiencing life outside her home.

As for the two growing closer, there are also many examples: One would be how she is mad that he entered her room, but literally one scene later they stand in her room and she does not seem to bother at all. She trusted him already at that point. You can also see this with what she says to him when they stand in front of the tiger compound. They do have a connection. Already had one at that point. The scene of her swimming in the water relatively early on was also quite nice in her imagination. Some good music there too. Her love for water is also something that makes him more interesting for her with his profession and the fact that he loves to go diving with his friends. So this film was really at its best when it was going for the beauty of the moment, also how she makes friends with the librarian and how clumsy she is with this. Like really all the girls in here were kinda cute. With the more serious inclusions, it did not always feel right. One example there would be the suicide attempt (it was one, no?) near the rails when he gets there quickly enough to save her before the train arrives. I could really discuss a lot more from this film, mention many other scenes that had awesome attention to detail, but I will leave it at that and I just suggest you go watch this film or, if you already have, which you should have given the spoilers in my review, give it a second or third watch. It is good enough for that too and you will always discover something new here I am sure. Even during the 54th watch. I think this is also a pretty good pick to start with if you are not super familiar yet with the genre of Japanese animated movies. Unfortunately, it has been going a bit under the radar, especially here in Germany, but I have a feeling this will change with time and the view count should inevitably rise over the years. This film deserves it for sure. I myself will also rewatch it on some occasion for sure and it would also be pretty cool if it gets a sequel at some point. I think the ending makes it possible to go on with the story after he returns from Mexico. That is all now. Highly recommended and surely this film is somewhere among my favorite animated films from the 21st century.