Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, is the new anime based on the short story of the same name written by Seiko Tanabe in 1985, premiered on Tokyo International Film Festival 2020 last week. At its most superficial level, it's the story of Tsuneo helping Josee become more independent – both physically and mentally – by working to overcome the physical disability that governs her existence. It's a good setting for a movie; however, what elevates him artistically is how he uses a visual metaphor to tell this story rather than a simple verbal exposition.
Josee's legs are never shown uncovered throughout the film - nor is the exact nature of her disability made clear (apart from the fact that she has been that way since birth). They're always wrapped in a skirt, whether she's in her wheelchair or crawling around grandma's house.
In a film where the sea is a fundamental part of both the characters and the story, it's obvious what the visual metaphor is: Josee is a mermaid lost on dry land.
Content Index
Josee, The Tiger and the Fish
The whole world was not designed for Josee. Much is literally beyond her reach, elevators are very rare, the pavement dictates where she can and cannot go, and even something as simple as riding a train requires an employee and a special ramp just to get on board. And that's before adding ordinary pedestrians to the equation. For many of them, she and her chair are an unpleasant obstacle to everyday life.
But her house is even worse. Her chair can't make it through the doorway, so she's forced to shuffle from room to room. Trapped at ground level, she cannot cook, clean, or do any of her other daily necessities. She is totally dependent on her grandmother for everything – and her grandmother is intent on keeping her as isolated as possible from the dangerous world outside. All Josee can do is dream – spend her days painting pictures of the world she can't get out and see.
Lessons from the movie
And thematically, that's what this film is all about: dreams. Everyone has them, but few come true. However, the trick is that no given dream will ever be achieved.
The important thing is to find your way to your dream and work hard to get there. This often means doing a lot of things you don't want to survive in the meantime – and dealing with a host of new problems that come your way. Sure, there will be detractors trying to dissuade you, but the only time a dream becomes truly impossible is the moment you give up. Also, those who care for you will help you do whatever it takes to get them.
Synopsis
Tsuneo is a young man who loves the sea and dreams of diving in Mexico while studying abroad. This is his life's goal and he works all sorts of part-time jobs in an attempt to finance it. One of those jobs is being a person's caretaker socially. An isolated paraplegic woman named "Josee" who lives alone with her overprotective grandmother.
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