Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi

Plot

Tsuneo is a university student and Josee is a young girl who has rarely gone out of the house by herself due to her being unable to walk. The two meet when Tsuneo finds Josee's grandmother taking her out for a evening walk.

Cast

Not seen anything else by the creators.

Verdict

I'm that guy who wants to like anime, who really wants to be an anime fan but seems to consistently struggle whether it be movie or television show. You see I don't like the cutesy stuff, I don't like the Naruto/Dragonball over the top stuff and that seems to make up far too high a percentage. When it's come to shows I've enjoyed the likes of Death Note, Attack on Titan, Sword Art Online etc and most of the Studio Ghibli stuff however many comparable movies haven't won me over to the same extent.

After Your Name (2016) I went in assuming the worst and something in the same vein. Don't get me wrong I enjoyed Your Name but didn't get the critical acclaim.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is a quaint, sweet, thought provoking poignant tale that I very much appreciated however the execution I found lacking. How? I'm not entirely sure. It should have been an emotional tour de force, yet I found myself oddly unimpacted. The writing wasn't to the standard I expected and Josee's resentment and attitude I respect but thought it waned too slowly and for this reason I didn't empathize as much as I expected nor wanted.

I respect the film and what they were trying to do but for me it just missed the mark.

Rants

It does pain me that I don't like anime as much as I'd like. I've watched plenty of films, countless shows and my enjoyment tends to lack. Don't get me wrong Ghibli stuff is great but beyond that I struggle especially with shows. I've been recommended countless from Hitman Reborn! To Magical Girl Site and Highschool of the Dead! If you have any recommendations by all means contact me via the details on my profile.

Breakdown

Deep meaningful stuff Great premise Character likability suffers Something is simply missing.