Surviving as a Fish

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Fishekai. If you arent going to read it after knowing exactly what it is then this isn't for you. Company President Yushin is drowned alive in a lake by his business partner only to become a fish in his dying moments, miraculously surviving. A ridiculous premise takes itself seriously and delivers messages about realizing what's important to you, family, and regret.

Surviving as a Fish isn't groundbreaking in any ways, but it's full of passion. The world building can be confusing at times but remains consistent within the lake. The author will take opportunities to showcase his passion for fishing by occasionally infodumping on the audience ... about a certain species of fish or fishing technique. This is done under the guise of the main character having a hobby in fishing during his life and can occasionally happen out of nowhere. The premise is inherently ridiculous. While comedic at times, the series takes itself surprisingly seriously. Yushin is determined to become human again and protect his wife from the man who killed him. The isekai elements are rather generic with there being bosses to take down or being the last survivor remaining but it still leads to a fun story. It keeps avenues open for the direction of the story. The twist as to what could explain the isekai happening was handled well and leaves the audience thinking. The B plot follows Yushin's wife Hyehun as she investigates his death. She has her own conflicts with Chairman Kang and puts herself at risk being the only person who cared about Yushin's disappearance. Every character has agency within the story. Even the unimportant survivors have some impact on the plot with their backstories explored. Things will sometimes happen just to split the characters up, but everyone and their motivations are throughly explored while they're on their own. Far from a masterpiece, the writing remains consistently entertaining but leads to a predictable climax.

The characters are well balanced with relatable qualities. Yushin spends too much time at work and doesn't realize the importance of family until he becomes a fish far away from his wife and child. Hyeyun lacks many defining character traits but serves as Yushin's main connection to the human world. Jihye is one of the other survivors who is turned into a goldfish. She's a bubbly, trusting girl who tags along with Yushin. Jihye undergoes the most development outside of Yushin making plenty of mistakes and bad calls along the way. The crayfish is the antagonist among the survivors and proves there's other motivations they have besides just becoming human again. He mirrors Yushin as he had the opposite relationship with his family Yushin did. Even the main fish antagonist reflects Yushin's treatment of people under him in his human life. They're all men on a mission to have their wish granted who will do whatever it takes to get there. Chairman Kang is a rather one dimensional villain and mostly just the vessel for the story to happen. His motivations make no sense other than he's crazy. In the end though, everyone brought something to the table with more depth than I expected.

The art was good but didn't have any defining characteristics. The style looked like it could be the art for just about anything. It certainly felt like the debut series of someone who didn't have their own style yet. That being said, the fish are surprisingly expressive. They're given human eyes and use their fins like hands. These actions are often cut together with human drawing of characters (mostly Yushin). The special effects were quite limited as well. Hostile enemies were usually given red eyes to show they're bad or there are swirls to show the character is ill. Nothing really stands out, but it's still serviceable.

I quite enjoyed this series. I'm not a huge fan of isekais but the ridiculous premise and surprisingly serious execution kept me reading. The themes aren't spectacular but they exceeded my expectations. While the ending is predictable, the ride is fun and leaves you with surprisingly meta commentary. It's a nice break from some of the more generic concepts out there.

Plot: 8.5/10
Characters: 8/10
Art: 6.5/10
Enjoyment: 8.5/10
Overall: 7.9/10

Note: I'll keep this review mostly spoiler free for those interested in checking it out.

This series has a very unusual premise that's honestly a bit silly: the leader of a company has died after being betrayed by a co-worker, but just as he is about to pass out, a mysterious being offers him a second chance at life. If he succeeds, he will be granted a wish of his choice (return to his old life). He desperately accepts, of course. When he wakes up, he is now a little bass in a lake, and the only way to return to his old life is by ... completing a series of quests like the ones in a RPG game, and stand as the sole "survivor" of this twisted test by leveling up. After this bizarre premise, we could expect a comedy, but this manhwa goes in a more interesting route. There are silly moments, of course, but this story mainly focuses on the regrets of our protagonist as he reflects the mistakes he has made and attempts to survive as one of the weakest creatures in the lake, just as he did when he was working on the company and had to push other people away to stand at the top, or at least that's what he initially thinks. He uses his knowledge to outsmart his enemies, but he is constantly pushed back by his initially terrible abilities. As the story progress, we are shown his desire to fix his mistakes and return to his family, and we can't help but empathize with his purpose despite the many mistakes he made as a human, and how unlikable he was.

The author themselves is a fishing enthusiast, and the protagonist (a former fisherman) uses his knowledge about marine life to survive against human fishers as well as other creatures, so the story is also kind of accurate to the ecosystem our protagonist faces (there are still some fantasy elements, of course). We are shown many fish species, and the threat of some fishing techniques and pollution. It's far from trying to tell a ecologist tale, but it still teaches the reader about some issues that fishing brings to marine life.

We also learn that by becoming stronger, his human memories slowly fade, as such is the price of "getting used" to his new life. I personally adore this topic and it's executed in a way kind of similar to that of Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki, for those faimilar with it. Like Shinichi, he starts to wonder if by being closer to his goal he will lose his humanity. But what other choice does he has?

Surving as a Fish shows itself as the usual "leveling-up and become strong isekai", but pushes it further to encapsulate topics not all manhwa of the same genre do (the value of a life, regret, memories and desire to improve) and subvert your expectations, which can be a nice surprise to its reader. The execution may fall a bit short at times, but it still accomplishes this purpose in a way the reader may not be expecting and that will surely please them.

Am I trying to talk about the depth of a story of a man that turns into a bass? I sure am. Am I remotely correct, or just trying to push my philosophy and interests into a dumb isekai that's surely not complex? Maybe, you decide.

Some final ratings:
Characters: 8/10
Artstyle: 6/10
Writing: 7/10

Conclusion: Surving as a Fish is an interesting isekai that makes use of its premise to surprise the reader with a compelling story and characters. Despite it's RPG elements, it tries to stay true to the lake ecosystem it takes place in, makes an attempt to tackle the philosophy of being a human and shows our protagonist slowly improve as a person as his journey goes on. It's far from a masterpiece, but it will surely be a nice surprise for those familiar with the genre and those interested with marine life. 7/10