Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish
Apr. 21st, 2022 03:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rynlingJosee, the Tiger, and the Fish is a feature-length anime movie from 2020 about the relationship between two kids in their early twenties living in the suburbs of Osaka, with the twist being that the girl is in a wheelchair. The first forty minutes are very chill and lovely and completely drama-free; but, when the drama finally happens, oh boy does it ever happen. The story has a happy ending, because of course it does, but it's a journey to get there. The art and animation are beautiful, and the narrative pacing is perfect.
I'm familiar enough with the academic conversation surrounding portrayals of disability in popular media to be aware of the elements of this movie that might be open to critique, but let me tell you with complete sincerity in my heart that I absolutely do not care. Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish is sensitive, and it's smart, and the happiness of the ending felt very real and very powerful to me.
The movie also portrays something about Japanese culture that I personally find compelling, which is the unquestioned assumption that an old structure needs to be torn down so that something new can be built in its place. It doesn't matter how beautiful a house may be, because its beauty is specific to the people who lived there; and, if the people who originally built the house have moved on, then there's no reason for that specific house to remain standing. This is why, generally speaking, it's a positive moment of growth and development when a character watches their old house being torn down. Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish has a really great example of this that made me tear up a little.
Also I love the girl's salty grandmother. What a legend.
I'm familiar enough with the academic conversation surrounding portrayals of disability in popular media to be aware of the elements of this movie that might be open to critique, but let me tell you with complete sincerity in my heart that I absolutely do not care. Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish is sensitive, and it's smart, and the happiness of the ending felt very real and very powerful to me.
The movie also portrays something about Japanese culture that I personally find compelling, which is the unquestioned assumption that an old structure needs to be torn down so that something new can be built in its place. It doesn't matter how beautiful a house may be, because its beauty is specific to the people who lived there; and, if the people who originally built the house have moved on, then there's no reason for that specific house to remain standing. This is why, generally speaking, it's a positive moment of growth and development when a character watches their old house being torn down. Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish has a really great example of this that made me tear up a little.
Also I love the girl's salty grandmother. What a legend.
