A Tropical Fish Yearns for Snow

nathandouglasdavis Jan 3, 2020

9

This manga perfectly portrays and evokes a sense of loneliness. Both through its inclusion of insecure and melancholic characters and through its usage of talking and illusory animals. Unfortunately, it may evoke loneliness a bit too well, since it's overflowing with feel-bad moments and I get a bit lonely and depressed myself just reading it. And I don't like feeling bad, so I then get frustrated at the pervasive drama, stemming from these stupid worrywarts being trapped in their own sense of isolation. However, that being said, I do think this type of codependency, jealousy, and subsequent self-hatred would be a believable consequence of two lonely people becoming emotionally attached to each other. And the feel-good moments of the story are all the more gooey because of it. [Originally reviewed at chapter 25] [Updated upon completion] Addendum: I feel like it might be a bit too sentimental, significated, and seeped in its melancholy syrup. And I'm also not sure if the Salamander and Frog references were overdone or not. It largely worked, but I think the recurring references also added to making the manga feel corny and making the epiphanies at the end not land all that well for me (though, honestly, I feel that epiphanic wrap-up sessions are already pretty cringey). I can say that I still like the general story and the characters, but I've changed my mind about it deserving to be a 10/10. Story--8 > 7; Characters--10 > 9; Overall--10 > 9

Curiousmadra Apr 19, 2021

6

I admit, it is a cute story about two school girls who are pretty the same in terms of feeling lonely at times due to them going on to adulthood . They both share the same love for exotic fish and join a aquarium club together. I was rather disappointed that I didn’t get the Yuri vibes as it needed to have because the story would have been far more interesting involving the girls feeling passionate for each other (yes I am a picky hooligan who reads too much romance shenanigans). I also didn’t like the fact that the art dipped towards the end like cmon man, leave the art alone as it is jeez!! anyways worth a read if you wanna simple story!

Ilikefemboys1 Aug 2, 2023

8.5

this story is amazing. it doesnt feel like a romance but it might be, i think its more a story about how theres always the special friend that you have a connection with like no one else; but who knows. the characters are all likeable and fun, the message is nice, its a pretty good length and the art is pretty nice. Also, the salamander and frog is an amazing way to convey this story. all around its very cute and wholesome.