Fish and Water

Translated by Anne M. Ishii
Ebook
On sale Jun 23, 2026 | 192 Pages | 9780593702239

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A tender and beautifully illustrated story, FISH AND WATER is a new graphic novel from Eisner award-winning graphic novelist Gengoroh Tagame. He asks: What if The Odd Couple were Japanese, living in the middle of COVID, and just might be . . . gay?

From the brilliant mind behind Gengoroh Tagame (My Brother's Husband, Our Colors), Fish and Water 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. Lonely and in the midst of pandemic-related shutdowns, Akira uses this as an excuse to come hang out at Koji's house. Once they get past how to be covid-cautious, they become quite relaxed with each other, creating an amusing but emotionally confusing scenario. Akira and Koi 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.
© Courtesy of the Author
GENGOROH TAGAME was born in 1964 and lives in Tokyo. After graduating from Tama University of Art, Tagame worked as an art director while writing manga and prose fiction, contributing illustrations for various magazines. In 1994 he cofounded the epochal G-Men Magazine, and by 1996 he was working full-time as an openly gay artist. He is the author of dozens of graphic novels and stories, which have been translated into English, French, Italian, and Korean. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries across Europe and America. His first all-ages title, My Brother’s Husband, earned him the Japan Media Arts Festival Award for Outstanding Work of Manga from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. In 2018 it received the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia. View titles by Gengoroh Tagame

About

A tender and beautifully illustrated story, FISH AND WATER is a new graphic novel from Eisner award-winning graphic novelist Gengoroh Tagame. He asks: What if The Odd Couple were Japanese, living in the middle of COVID, and just might be . . . gay?

From the brilliant mind behind Gengoroh Tagame (My Brother's Husband, Our Colors), Fish and Water 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. Lonely and in the midst of pandemic-related shutdowns, Akira uses this as an excuse to come hang out at Koji's house. Once they get past how to be covid-cautious, they become quite relaxed with each other, creating an amusing but emotionally confusing scenario. Akira and Koi 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.

Author

© Courtesy of the Author
GENGOROH TAGAME was born in 1964 and lives in Tokyo. After graduating from Tama University of Art, Tagame worked as an art director while writing manga and prose fiction, contributing illustrations for various magazines. In 1994 he cofounded the epochal G-Men Magazine, and by 1996 he was working full-time as an openly gay artist. He is the author of dozens of graphic novels and stories, which have been translated into English, French, Italian, and Korean. His artwork has been exhibited in galleries across Europe and America. His first all-ages title, My Brother’s Husband, earned him the Japan Media Arts Festival Award for Outstanding Work of Manga from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. In 2018 it received the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Asia. View titles by Gengoroh Tagame

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