Anime Movie Review: Josee, the Tiger, and the Fish

**spoiler-free!**

Plot summary: Kumiko, also known as Josee, is a young woman who uses a wheelchair but is prevented by her overprotective grandmother from going outside on her own, as she is afraid Josee will be harassed or hurt by cruel strangers. They meet Tsuneo by chance one night, a university student who is eager to earn money so he can study abroad in Mexico. Grandmother decides to hire Tsuneo as Josee’s informal caretaker, and he chooses to use his new job to help Josee explore the city against her grandmother’s wishes.

As soon as I saw the trailer, I was like “this is exactly the type of movie I would like” and I was right! For just a 98 minute movie, they really do jam pack a lot of story into it, and I was fully compelled the entire way through. Like, I had planned to watch this movie in parts because I thought I was too tired for a whole movie but I ended up watching it in one sitting because I was so invested (side note, the animation is amazing)!

First of all, I was very glad to finally see an anime romance movie having to do with college aged people/adults in their 20s. If you follow this blog you know I love a good cute high school rom com, but adults deserve cute love stories too, and I think Josee is a very good one if that’s the kind of content you’re looking for.

I also was glad to see an anime protagonist in a wheelchair, but I was a bit wary as I know stories about disabled people told by abled people are sometimes filled with harmful stereotypes. I’ll admit I haven’t looked into who actually wrote this story; for all I know they could be a wheelchair user. And of course I am not a disabled person so take my opinion on all this with a grain of salt, but I did think this movie avoided some of the common harmful stereotypes I’ve seen in other movies with disabled characters.

For example, Josee never implies that using a wheelchair is ‘restrictive’ or something, and she likes herself the way she is. However, there were other moments where I was like ehhhh that’s questionable, but I really don’t know what I’m talking about lol so I’m very curious as to what a disabled person/someone who uses a wheelchair thought of this movie. If that’s you, please share your thoughts below if you want!

Overall though I did really enjoy it, but I am the type to enjoy sappy trope-filled romdrama slice of life stories, so if that’s not your thing you probably won’t like this either lol. It definitely has some very ridiculous tropey scenes. But if you do like this kind of stuff (think Horimiya, Your Lie in April, Your Name), I highly highly recommend it because you will almost definitely cry!

Thanks for reading!

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Character Analysis: Ryuji Takasu from Toradora

**spoilers ahead**

I started with Taiga, so it only makes sense to end my Toradora analysis series writing about Ryuji. (you can read Ami, Kitamura, and Minori’s here).

In my opinion, Ryuji is one of the best male protagonists in all of anime; there, I said it. He’s kind, he doesn’t have toxic masculinity, he knows how to cook! The bar is pretty low, but Ryuji is leagues above it anyway. Truthfully, Ryuji doesn’t actually go through as much character development as some of the other characters; because he kinda rocks from the beginning, personality wise. However something that Ryuji grapples with and learns to accept throughout the series is his relationship with his family, and that’s what I’d like to talk about instead.

One of the only times Ryuji looks back on something he did and reevaluates his decision is the arc where he urges Taiga to reconcile with her dad; later on, he realizes this was a mistake and Taiga’s dad really sucks, and the reason he was pushing her to reunite with him is because Ryuji would’ve loved the chance to know his own father.

From the moment he’s introduced, Ryuji is complaining about how he looks too much like his father, who he never knew, who was absolutely terrifying and intimidating. He does have a good relationship with his mother Yasuko, who is implied in the show to have been a teen mom (and in the light novels, is confirmed to have had him at age 14/15). However, their relationship becomes more and more strained as Ryuji grapples with the fact that he feels guilty about Yasuko having to give up everything else in her life to raise him.

This culminates in the finale of the whole show, where he lashes out at her about how she’s projecting her own failures onto him, desperately wanting him to go to college. To an extent, they were both right. If Ryuji really didn’t want to go to college, it isn’t right for his mother to be forcing him to so she can live through him vicariously. However, that was not the case; Yasuko just wanted Ryuji to have as many opportunities as possible, and he was stubbornly rejecting those opportunities because he has unresolved guilt. Fortunately, they have a heart to heart and make up in the last episode.

I really love how this familial drama was incorporated into the primarily rom-com vibe of Toradora; it makes both Taiga and Ryuji feel more well rounded and whole, since we get to experience their home lives as well as their lives at school. Not to mention, Ryuji’s cozy, welcoming family is part of what makes Taiga feel more at home around him, bolstering their relationship with each other as well.

I hope you enjoyed this in depth delve into some of my favorite characters in anime. Thanks for reading!

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First Impressions: Sing ‘Yesterday’ for Me

Gonna start a new series called ‘First Impressions’. Usually I only post stuff about a series when I’ve completed it or if I really enjoyed it/recommend it, but I think it might be valuable to keep track of how I feel about a show at the beginning of watching it and after completion.

**contains spoilers(?)/descriptions of the first two episodes**

Sing ‘Yesterday’ for Me, or Yesterday wo Utatte, is a slice of life anime currently airing this season. I’ve only watched the first two episodes but so far, I’m enjoying it. I don’t know anything about the manga and didn’t read any description of it before watching, so as of right now I’m not quite sure what the story is going to be or what the title is referring to. But it’s pretty good!

I was initially drawn to this anime because of the art style, honestly. I really loved the muted tones of the poster and the way the characters are drawn; it had a familiar sort of vibe to it. The only other anime I’ve seen by this studio is Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, but for some reason I don’t think that’s what I’m reminded of.

All of the main characters are pretty mysterious and you know very little about them upon introduction. Three of who I assume to be the protagonists (aka the people on the main poster) were introduced in the first episode, and in the second episode we briefly meet Rou, who I think is supposed to be the fourth. We don’t know much about Rou yet besides the fact that he was childhood friends with Shinako.

The main protagonist Rikuo is a recent college graduate who works at a convenience store. While some other characters (and he himself at times) think that this makes him lazy and an underachiever, Rikuo insists that he just doesn’t know what he wants to do for a career yet and for now he enjoys the flexibility of an hourly job.

I’ve watched a number of anime with a ‘lazy/can’t be bothered’ protagonist that can honestly be pretty insufferable to watch, but Rikuo doesn’t strike me as that type. We don’t know much about his backstory yet, but even without any context, he is clearly not lazy or indifferent. So far, he seems like a pretty cool guy. It is also established early on that he has a crush on Shinako.

This anime has a ‘high schooler who thinks they’re super mature and tries to flirt with 20-something year olds’ character which is not my favorite trope to say the least, but there are hints of something deeper going on with Haru, so I’m holding out hope that maybe she’ll get less irritating. She has the most identifiable character design/carries a crow around with her so I’m assuming she’s pretty popular with the fanbase.

Shinako is probably the most mysterious character thus far; during the whole second episode it was clear that something weird was going on with her that we didn’t know about yet. Towards the end, it is revealed that she still has feelings for a boy she loved in high school, despite him having died nearly 5 years ago. With the addition of this information, I’m starting to grasp the mood/genre of this show.

I’m not the type that needs to finish everything I start; I have better things to do than force myself to watch a show I’m getting bored of/just don’t like, so if I end up losing interest in Yesterday wo Utatte I am probably not going to finish it. However, with the direction it seems this show is going, it is very likely that I’m going to watch it in its entirety. So stay tuned for the follow up post to this one!

Thanks for reading,

-threecheersforinking

WYSW: March Comes in like a Lion

**why you should watch**

Another one of my top favorite anime, March Comes in like a Lion is evocative, emotional, and definitely underrated.

I’ll admit, it took me a couple tries to get into this show. I watched the first episode ages ago and it didn’t hook me, but later on I decided to give it another chance, and I am so glad I did.

March Comes in like a Lion or 3-gatsu no Lion is about Rei Kiriyama, a teenager who plays professional competitive shogi. Shogi, if you’re unfamiliar, is usually considered to be the Japanese version of chess. Rei struggles with making connections with others due to his isolated lifestyle, but he eventually befriends a small family who help make his life worth living.

This anime is sometimes compared to another show I love, Chihayafuru, in that they are both about obscure Japanese ‘sports’. But besides that, I can’t really say they have much else in common. Chihayafuru is about the fun and exciting aspects of team sports, but 3-gatsu no Lion is much less about shogi itself and more about how Rei navigates the struggles of his personal life while balancing a professional competitive career.

March Comes in like a Lion does make an effort to teach the viewer the rules of shogi, but the results of the match are much more important than watching the match itself unfold. Playing shogi is Rei’s job; winning matches is how he makes money and it is what allows him to live on his own at age 17. This results in much higher stakes than most anime about sports, because his actual livelihood is at risk if he loses a game.

The characters in 3-gatsu no Lion are all very complex and emotional individuals, some of whom you’ll have a love/hate relationship with. You’ll eventually learn that Rei has a complicated relationship with his family, and his interactions with them can be particularly painful to observe. Luckily, nearly every interaction Rei has with the Kawamoto sisters is wholesome and lovely, and more than makes up for watching him struggle with his family.

I’m making my way through the manga right now, and I love the art style so much! I think the anime does a great job of capturing it, too.

Thanks for reading! Please check out March Comes in like a Lion, the third season is (hopefully) coming soon so make sure you’re caught up in time for that!

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Anime Rec List: Drama/Thriller

A recommendation list of anime that falls under the drama/thriller category! There’s some spooky stuff in here so know yourself

Erased

The Promised Neverland

Parasyte: The Maxim

Steins;gate

Death Note