Title: Josee, the Tiger and the Fish
Author: Seiko Tanabe (Original Author), Nao Emoto (Artist)
Book Type: Manga, Short Story
Series: N/A
Series Number: N/A
Genre: Romance, Slice of Life, Contemporary
Age: Young Adult
Disability: Wheelchair User
LGBTQ+: N/A
Published: 1984, 1985, 2020, 2022
Setting: Japan
[ID: A book cover. The title “Josee, the Tiger and the Fish” is written in simple black cursive at the top. In the bottom left corner, smaller, stacked black text reads “Original story by Seiko Tanabe” and “Art by Nao Emoto”. The background is cream, with art of a young girl down the right side. The girl has shoulder-length brown hair and is wearing a short-sleeved white blouse. In the upper and lower left corners, royal blue tang fish can be seen. /end]
Content Warning:
- Ableism
- Medical Content
- Car Accident
- Death
- Confinement
Summary:
College student Tsuneo loves the ocean and the creatures it harbors, and he dreams of studying abroad in faraway waters. All he needs is enough funds to go, so when a girl in a wheelchair suddenly barrels into his life, he readily agrees to work part-time as her caretaker. Getting close to the prickly Josee is easier said than done, but before he can give up, an impromptu trip to the beach shows them both that sometimes, they must take that first plunge to see the wonders that await. The hit animated film based on the striking story by Seiko Tanabe has been beautifully illustrated by Nao Emoto and collected in this single omnibus edition!
Notes:
This story was originally published in 1984 in the June edition of Monthly Kadokawa. The following year, 1985, it was republished in an anthology of other short stories with the same name Josee, the Tiger and the Fish. The “omnibus” edition of the original story (the cover of this entry) was published in 2020, to conincide with the release of the 2020 animated film of the same name. The story was licensed for English release in 2022.
There is a 2003 Japanese live action film.
There is a 2020 Japanese animated film.
Josee, a 2020 South Korean live action film, was partly based on the 2003 film.
There is a kindle edition.
Archivist Comments:
Originally I was going to put the short story collection on here, but then this one popped up. If you do want to find the short story collection, it is published under the same title and was originally published 1985.
I did not know there were several films for this story until I was writing up this entry.
The Disability Book Archive 
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