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.

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.

As someone that has read the manga that this movie is based of, I can saffely say that booth are enjoyable in their own way. Some things have been changed within the story, but it does follow the same plot and at times re-enacts the same exact scenes from the manga. The fish were creepy and gave me a very strange feeling of dread in booth versions. I will however complain about two things: The first one is a particular octopus-scene that was not in the source-material and felt completely unnecessary and forced. The second thing is that the movie didnt end as in the manga. That is not a complete dealbreaker but I enjoyed the ending in the manga better. Wouldnt recommend watching this if you havent read the manga. It might be to much for some...

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...

A graphic, weird film that depresses more than it thrills. Still you certainly won't forget it and contains a strong eco, disaster meassage. Not sure if there is a huge fan base for this one but it's surely an oddball entry, to the 'Anime' genre. 6 stars for just being different.