“Nothing will happen from waiting.”

Adapted from a 1984 short story collection of the same name it was nominated for 44th Japan Academy Prize in the Animation for Excellence award.

Marine biology student Tsuneo Suzukawa tries his best to juggle several jobs to earn enough money to study abroad. But one night, in a fateful accident, he meets Josee who sets his life off into a completely new direction.

©2020 Seiko Tanabe / KADOKAWA / Josee Project

Josee suffers from paralysis from the waist down, confining her to a wheelchair and the stifling care of her grandmother. That starts to change when she meets budding marine biologist Tsuneo. Looking to earn a bit of money to pay for his dream degree course in Mexico, Tsuneo agrees to help look after Josee. As the two spend more time together, Tsuneo begins to understand the difficulties Josee is living through, while Josee discovers a taste for the freedom that Tsuneo can give her.

Adapting a 1984 short story by Seiko Tanabe, director Kotaro Tamura deliberately aimed for a lighter plot than the original source material. He has said that he wanted this to be different from other films about disabilities, which often focus on how the character became disabled and the tragedy of the lifestyle they lost as a result. Instead, Tamura’s Josee was paraplegic from birth and so starts the film at her lowest point, already feeling trapped and bitter.

The events of the film pull her from the mire as she starts to see both herself and the people around her with more dignity and respect. That focus on her upward trajectory gives it an overall more positive and uplifting message and allows the story to end on a high.

Josee, the Tigert & the Fish was originally due to be released in summer 2020 but was delayed by the COVID pandemic, eventually releasing that Christmas in Japan and the following year internationally. Its story of someone escaping the confines of their home, and its themes of freedom, compassion and the beauty of life, resonated well with audiences coming out of lockdowns and life-threatening illness. Years later, the film’s touching, relatable story and gorgeously animated dream sequences contine to capture imaginations and hearts of every age.