Fish and Water
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
A new graphic novel from Eisner award-winning graphic novelist Gengoroh Tagame, which asks: what if The Odd Couple were Japanese, living in the middle of COVID-19, and just might be . . . gay?
From Gengoroh Tagame, the brilliant mind behind My Brother’s Husband and Our Colors, comes Fish and Water, which follows the unlikely love story of two “straight” friends. Having met at a mutual friend’s wedding, Akira, a business sales administrator, and Koji, a freelance writer, quickly become close buddies. One day, during a visit with a farm client, Akira is offered a case of freshly picked cabbage. Since no one at his office wants it, and he is no cook, Akira decides to see if Koji (who loves to cook) might be interested. Koji accepts and invites Akira to join him. Lonely and in the midst of pandemic-related shutdowns, Akira welcomes the chance and one meal becomes many. Once they get past how to be COVID-cautious, they become quite relaxed with each other, creating an amusing but emotionally perplexing scenario. Eventually, Akira and Koji grapple with deciding if they are just friends, or something more.
Part exceptionally drawn character study, part contemporary comedy of manners, Fish and Water is a delightful love story for the modern era, considering how love and connection can find you in the strangest ways.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In his sweet latest, Tagame (Our Colors) kindles a slow-burn romance between two ostensibly straight men whose friendship might develop into something more. But for the "something more" to actually happen, they first need to acknowledge their mutual feelings. Akira, a clean-cut salesman, and Koji, a freelance writer who sports an adorably shaggy hairdo, have been friends since meeting at a wedding a few years back. During the Covid lockdown, Akira brings Koji, who loves to cook, some fresh cabbage he's received from a client. When Koji serves his friend a tasty cabbage dinner, a precedent is set. Over the following weeks, Akira finds excuses to stop by, and Koji encourages him by cooking one enticing meal after another. As they slowly grow more comfortable over the delicious dishes, they surprise themselves with more intimate confessions (Koji to Akira: "Things taste better with you"). Tagame's manga art is better than ever: in addition to his renowned talent for capturing brawny men in various states of undress, he also displays a flair for depicting cuisine. This lighthearted bromance-to-romance should charm the socks off fans of queer love stories.
