Gyo

...and it ain't just the walking fish!

Granted, I haven't read the Manga upon which this 2012 Anime movie titled "Gyo" (aka "Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack") is based upon. And after having sat through this 2012 Anime, then I can honestly say that I have zero intentions of reading the Manga.

Writers Junji Ito, Takayuki Hirao and Akihiro Yoshida put together a very bizarre storyline here. Sure, as I sat down to watch this Anime in 2023, I thought that zombie fish was a strange concept, but I opted to watch it regardless, giving the Anime the benefit of the doubt.

And I have to say that "Gyo" was no my cup of tea. Sure, there were parts of the story that were good, but the overall picture was a swing and a miss. I just couldn't get into the vibe here that director Takayuki Hirao was trying to portray on the screen, and it was just difficult to take the whole thing serious.

The art style in "Gyo" was adequate. Not the best of art seen in an Anime, for sure, but it was adequate enough. Despite the fact that the creature concepts made zero sense. The animation in "Gyo" was good, though.

I am sure that there is an audience out there for something such as "Gyo", I just happened not to be a part of that particular target audience.

My rating of "Gyo" lands on a four out of ten stars.

Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack

The reason why fish don't speak is they would drown every time they tried.

Although verbal evolution is far-off, this anime confirms upward mobility is not.

Graduates Aki, Erika and Kaori head to the seashore to celebrate their recent liberation from the classroom only to discover a freakish fish on the beach that has grown a pair of motorized legs.

More ambulatory vertebrates soon appear on land, including a Great White Shark that stalks the sidewalks for its next meal.

Time reveals the military's involvement in creating a self-perpetuating mechanism propelled by the death stench of its victims.

The most bizarre aquatic tale to ever surface, this acutely drawn anime inspired by the multi- volume horror manga fails to deliver the unnerving scares of its muse, but it does feature the key moments that comprise its greatness.

Incidentally, once they can ride a bike, these biped fish will dominate the Ironman Triathlon.

Yellow Light

vidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

this was one of the weirder animes i've seen in a while...and i've seen some weird ones...

fish decide they've had enough of living in the sea and grow mechanical legs and invade the land in huge numbers, killing or worse, infecting people with a strange virus that make them bloat up, turn green and expel noxious gases...

i haven't read the manga (if there is one), but i've heard the creator or director was into weird stuff and i heard right...the animation is good and the characters interesting...good story, but kinda bleak...i wont spoil it, but say its definitely different and more than a little gross, but i didn't mind it...

I just don't get movies like this. Why make a movie based on a certain thing and then have such utter disrespect for that certain thing. Junji Ito is by far one of my favorite authors, and while Gyo is far from his best work it still was pretty good. It was Ito doing what he does best. Evoke an otherworldly feeling of terror and mixing that up with bizarre imagery.

While this movie has some elements from the manga it completely lacks the essence. The world wide chaos is somewhat there and some of the imagery really lives up to the manga. But for the most part I just get the feeling this is based on a badly told resume rather than the manga itself. Characthers that where not even in the manga are added. Now that wouldn't be a problem if they actually did something useful to flesh out the story, but no. They are a complete waste of space. Only there to fill out key elements of the manga where they didn't belong in the first place.

The characters that was in the manga are completely altered beyond recognition. Kaori and Tadashi even switch places in the chain of events that took place in the manga. Important pieces of the story are breezed over or just omitted. The sheer incompetence at work here just astounds me. As an adaption this fails miserably. Maybe you can enjoy it if you haven't read the manga. But as one who have I must say this one was just painful to watch. Some credit must be given to the animation witch at times is really great, apart from the cgi. I never was a fan of 3d animation.

The sense of total despair and hopelessness as the army of fish is slowly taking over human territory is there. I just wish they could have at least tried to follow the manga better. A total waste of time if you have read the source material. I give it 2/10 and that's being generous.

This is a rather bizarre horror film based on Junji Ito's manga, where fish with mechanical legs invade Tokyo, creating chaos. It's a weird, unsettling mix of body horror and absurdity that some will love for its strangeness, while others might find it too much. The animation is decent but not spectacular, focusing more on gross-out moments than scares. The pacing can feel jumpy, and the characters are forgettable, offering little beyond reacting to the madness. It's a film that sticks with you-either for its odd charm or its overwhelming weirdness. Definitely didn't have me bored, however not something I'll probably watch a second time.